Zine

By now you have no doubt heard the words “content marketing” in your business circle. It’s all the rage and like the latest diet or exercise fad, everybody is doing it.

Well, it’s not a fad.

In a world where we are constantly bombarded by advertising messages, it’s something you should be doing if you want to have any hope of getting new clients and having a successful business. 

Here is the skinny on content marketing…

Telling people what you sell and why its so great will not get people to buy from you. You might even tell them why your service is better than others. But, you’re still just telling them about what you sell. 

That’s the traditional method of marketing: explain your service and the great features of your service, and describe how it will benefit them. Maybe you throw in a special offer or a discount. 

Prospective clients MIGHT pay attention to this kind of marketing IF they happen to be in the market for what you’re selling. And IF they happen to run across your advertising at the time they happen to need it. 

But, what are the chances of that?

And, what if some Joe Schmoe next door who is selling the same thing catches their attention by offering a better discount or incentive? 

Consumers don’t owe you their loyalty just because you’re selling good stuff. 

Loyalty (and trust) are things that you have to earn. 

How do you do earn the trust and loyalty of your prospects?

By changing your marketing message from features/benefits/buy-now to relevant, useful, educational, entertaining information that will engage your prospect. 

And what do we call relevant, useful, educational, entertaining information that engages your prospect?

You got it…content marketing!

I also like to call it “wooing” your prospects. By engaging them in conversation that is fun or useful, you are gaining their trust, increasing your credibility and your likeability as a person. 

People like to do business with people they know and trust. And content marketing, when done right, is the perfect way to accomplish this. 

Once you have their attention (and their trust) then, voila, you can now begin making sales offers and convert them into money, er…I mean clients.  

If you’ve agreed with me so far about why you need to be doing content marketing, you might now be wondering how to start. Or what to write about. Or how to distribute the content. 

It’s not as hard as you think. Here are some ideas to get you thinking…

How to start:

Start with a list of topics you can write a short article about. For example, if you’re a personal injury attorney, some of your topics can be

• The biggest mistake a car accident victim makes
• How to find the best lawyer for your accident
• Why settling your case is not always the best option
• How to talk to the insurance company after an accident

You can also write about local or national news that relates to your area of expertise. For example, if a lawyer recently got in some kind of ethics trouble, give an opinion on it. 

The goal is to show that you are experienced and know what you’re talking about. You also want to show your personality through your writing so people connect with you on a more personal/emotional level.

That means don’t be afraid to be edgy, funny, or opinionated. Don’t be afraid of how people will react. It is better to authentic than to be boring. You don’t need to bludgeon people with your authenticity, but don’t make your content vanilla either just to please everyone. 

How to distribute (aka your media):

With all the amazing technology we have these days, distributing content is the least of your problems. Here are some ways to get your message out:

• Blog/website 
• Email  
• Print newsletter
• Facebook and other social media (this is just fabulous for getting content out)
• YouTube (you have to convert your content to a short video)
• Webinar
• Direct mail (yes, this still works and is highly effective when done right)
• Print Advertising

Each of these has it’s own strategy and method on how to do it effectively.

So if you already have content, then start promoting your content using whatever media you are able to do now. 

If you don’t have content, start by writing one or two short articles and blasting them out. 

How to convert the prospect:

Sometimes your content marketing is just for engagement and fun. For example, you can run a contest for best holiday recipe, or ask people to like your page, or reply with their favorite books. You would then pick random winners and award a prize. 

But, most of the time, you should be making some kind of offer. The offer could be to sign up for a consultation with you, buy an information product that you’ve created, request a free book or report, or give you a referral. 

If you’re selling products, you would offer those products for them to buy.

Remember, the content should be relevant to the offer.

For example, if your content is about the biggest mistake people makes in selecting [the service provider for the services you provide], you could offer a special guide that tells what to consider when making that decision. Or you can make a sales offer for your services. 

The funny thing about attorneys and accountants and other service professionals:

If you are an attorney or accountant or a company that provides services and not goods, you have the extra challenge of being at the right place at the right time. 

In other words, no one wakes up and decides they need an attorney today, or a financial planner today, or a consultant today.

But, when they do suddenly need an attorney when they get in an accident that day, who are they going to call?

When they’re ready to pull the trigger on engaging an advisor, who are they going to call?

For professional services, people often “mull” things over before they commit.

They may not be ready to buy now, but they will be ready one day, either by changes in circumstances, financial situation, or simply their comfort level in moving forward. 

When you do consistent content marketing, you are staying in front of them and developing a relationship with them. 

When that “one day” comes, who do you think they’ll call first? 

If you’ve done your job of giving them relevant, useful, educational, entertaining information, then you will be the natural choice.

Not just that, but you will be the natural choice when their friends or family need a trusted referral.

It’s almost magical how it works.

At Zine, we specialize in helping your business achieve positive results with your marketing, without the blood, sweat, and tears that normally accompany running a successful business.

Contact us to schedule a 30-minute marketing assets analysis, and get a second set of eyes on the marketing you’re doing for your business.

 

The answer to this question is revealed in the kind of marketing you are doing. 

Most business owners do what I call “shoot in the dark” marketing. They create an ad or a postcard, and throw it “out there.”  Where this “out there” is…well, they can’t really give you a good idea.

It could be a list they purchased based on geographic area (zip code). It could be an ad in the local paper. It could be a flyer they leave in piles in “busy” places.

It never occurs to them to mail to their own list, which is one of the biggest mistakes I talk about in my Top Ten Mistakes book. 

What is wrong with this strategy? (And I’m using the term strategy here very loosely.)

For one, you do not have a good idea WHO  is getting your ad, and whether they are your ideal customer or not.

Furthermore, the ad has no tracking mechanism. It has no offer, no call to act now. In other words, you have no idea if people are responding to your ad unless you ask each and every new customer.

When marketing is done like this, then yes, it is merely an expense. You have no way to measure the return on the money you spent (your ROI—return on investment). Because of this, the business owner wants to make sure they spend the least amount of money.

Does that sound like an effective marketing strategy to you? Why, then, would a smart, rational, numbers-oriented business person do this?

Well, there are a couple of reasons. Sometimes, a business owner reasons that he wants to get his name out there, “be known”, build his brand. I get that. But, why not do that AND get boost sales?

In other words, building your brand is a bonus; getting an increase in sales is the primary objective. Make a spectacular offer that will have people running to you.

This is called direct response advertising…making an offer that demands a response or an action.

By using direct response advertising, I’ll betcha they’ll remember your brand much better than if you just sent them a glossy postcard telling them “Hi, this is me, call me if you need me.” Yawn…

Another reason is…and you can guess this…laziness.

Some business owners just don’t want to put the effort into crafting an effective, targeted, trackable, direct response ad. Too much work.

But, they want to make themselves feel better by doing something. They mistake activity for achievement and figure doing something is better than nothing.

But when they get no responses, and sales slump, they blame the economy and complain that marketing doesn’t work.

Let’s talk about the right reason for doing marketing—to get a measurable response.

Say for example, you have a product or service that sells for $20 per unit. You mail 5000 postcards to a list that you’ve carefully screened to include people who would have a moderate to high interest in your product. The total expense, including postage comes to $1200.

How much would you need to break even? You would need to sell 60 units ($60×20=$1200).

What if you sold nothing? They you would be out $1200 and realize your ad, your list, or both sucked and go back to the drawing board. An expensive lesson, but a good lesson nonetheless. Zero is a result. Successful people learn from results, whether or not the results are in their favor.

What if you sold 30 units? You made $600. That marketing effort cost you $600.

What if you sold 300 units? That means you netted $4800—a 400% return on your investment.

If you sold 300 units, would you run this campaign again? You betcha.

Would you run it if it cost you $1800? Yep. What about $2400? Yes, again. Because you’re still getting a nice return.

For my attorney friends, think in terms of getting ONE case. If this $1200 postcard mailing brought in a case that is worth $5000, $15,000, or $30,000, wouldn’t you be dancing in the streets over it?

It’s not about how much it costs, it’s about how much it will increase your sales. How much it will return money into your pocket.

But, you will never know unless your marketing is targeted, effective, and trackable.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to get the best deal or a reasonable price. Just keep in mind the best deal is not always the lowest price.

For your next marketing campaign, download this worksheet to help you figure out your ROI. And remember that you will never know what will work unless you try it.