How Can Freely Sharing Articles You Author Help You Build Business?

Make friends with your customers, both potential and existing, by giving freely.

Summary: Customers ignore advertisements because advertisements saturate our lives and we've learned most of them can't be trusted. So how can you reach ad-weary customers? By freely educating them. If a customer can learn something valuable from you, they are more likely to respect you, trust you, remember you, and recommend you. This technique is often called "Content Marketing." To help you better understand what Content Marketing is and how it can help your company, I thought it would be helpful to share an excellent definition I found on Wikipedia today.

Which is a customer more likely to ignore, a helpful article or a traditional advertisement? Which is a customer more likely to show to colleagues, an educational video or a video advertisement?

Freely sharing helpful articles, videos, etc. to grow your business is an effective method called "Content Marketing." Below is a definition of Content Marketing from Wikipedia.org:

"Content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases. In contrast to traditional marketing methods that aim to increase sales or awareness through interruption techniques, content marketing subscribes to the notion that delivering high-quality, relevant and valuable information to prospects and customers drives profitable consumer action.

The idea of sharing content as a means of persuading decision-making has driven content marketers to make their once-proprietary informational assets available to selected audiences. Alternatively, many content marketers choose to create new information and share it via any and all media. Content marketing products frequently take the form of custom magazines, print or online newsletters, digital content, websites or microsites, white papers, webcasts/webinars, podcasts, video portals or series, in-person roadshows, roundtables, interactive online, email, events. The purpose of this information is not to spout the virtues of the marketer’s own products or services, but to inform target customers and prospects about key industry issues, sometimes involving the marketer’s products. The motivation behind content marketing is the belief that educating the customer results in the brand’s recognition as a thought leader and industry expert.

Marketers may use content marketing as a means of achieving a variety of business goals, such as thought leadership, lead generation, increasing direct sales, improving retention and more.

Content marketing is the underlying philosophy driving techniques such as custom media, custom publishing, database marketing, brand marketing, branded entertainment and branded content." (Wikipedia, 2008.)

Put simply, Content Marketing allows you to build a closer relationship with the customer than mere advertising can provide by freely giving him with educational articles, audio, video, that address his problems and also demonstrate your company's value and expertise.

So do not delay. Start sharing your expertise with your existing and potential customers by writing articles with solutions to their problems and placing them prominently on your website, sending them out in email, and using any other reasonable method. If you share your expertise freely, you will generate goodwill and will gain the potential customer's respect and business. However, if you do not share your expertise freely, customers will incorrectly assume that you don't share information because you don't have their interests in mind, or worse you don't have the expertise you claim to have. As a result, they will take their business to a more convincing competitor. So apply this saying to your expertise, "Practice giving and people will give to you."

References

Wikepedia. 2008. "Content marketing."

This definition of Content Marketing was shared under the terms of the Wikipedia Licensing agreement.

Internet Discounters: Do you really provide a discount?

Summary: If you are an online discounter, how can you convince customers that you really provide a discount? You can't expect the customer to trust you. You must provide the customer with evidence either by showing your prices versus competitor prices or by offering a deal so good the customer can't refute it.

"Super sale!!", "Only One More Left!!" These are phrases we hear all the time. But do customers believe those statements? After hearing overstated hype so often, customers are now skeptical that prices being advertised are really lower than average. If you can convince the customer your prices are good, you are many times more likely to win their business. You don't want the customer to just window show.

There are two principal ways to convince the customer that you provide a meaningful discount.

1. Show actual prices of your competitors.
2. Find one product you can sell so cheap, that customers don't question your discount.

Showing actual prices from your competitors is effective because such facts can't be questioned by the consumer. The key is that the company you use as a comparison does not need to be another discounter. You don't have to convince the customer that you have the best price on the web, you just need to convince the customer that you truly provide a discount. Therefore, if you sale an identical product as a premium retailer such as Nordstrom's, and you can prove your price is lower, by all means refer to the competitor explicitly. This evidence makes a far stronger statement than your merely stating you provide a discount.

Your second option to convince the customer that you provide a great discount is taken from Walmart's playbook. Do you remember November 28, 2003 when a Central Florida Walmart offered a DVD player so cheap ($30) that it caused a stampede? Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, began Walmart's use of this technique to draw in shoppers.

Sam Walton realized that if he offered even one product at an unforgettable price, he could draw in shoppers to shop at his store at an incredible rate. Such outlandish sales accomplished two things. First, it generated publicity and drew in shoppers for higher margin products. Second, it gave Walmart a reliable reputation for low prices.

However, you may be worried that you can't profit by copying what Walmart has done with success, because while Walmart was selling more than just the $30 DVD player to visiting shoppers, your website tends to sell only one or two products in a single shopping cart.

That's a valid concern. Your best option here is to try and cross-sell higher margin products or services to make up for margins you lose on your sale.

Nevertheless, if neither of the suggestions in this article seem to work for you, you may need to consider another reality.

You may do well to ask yourself, "Am I really able to provide the customer with a discount?" Some industries are so competitive that it isn't possible to offer a better price than what your competitors offer. If that is the case, then can you really build a business based on discounting? Sometimes it is wise to consider another business model. For instance trying to be a premium retailer instead of a discounter, essentially becoming a Mercedes of your industry instead of a Kia.

No matter what you end up choosing, be honest with the customer. The worst thing you can do is tell the customer an untruth. If you offer a consistent discount, then by all means state this on your website. However, if you don't offer a discount, it is best not to lose the customer's trust by telling him that you, like Walmart, have "Always low prices."

By being honest and providing evidence that your website's prices are lower than the competition you will win customer trust, generate buzz, and have a consistently higher sales conversion rate for your website.

[Video] Site Review: Using a Loss Leader to Stimulate Discount Website Sales

Summary: How can a discount website attract traffic and generate buzz rapidly? Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, perfected the art of using unheard of discounts (a loss leader) to generate foot traffic and buzz. In this video review, we discuss how a discount website can leverage this strategy to grow sales.

[Video] Site Review: Music Instruments Website

Summary: Today I review a music instruments website. This website does an excellent job of providing visitors with articles, encyclopedia links, pictures and more about hundreds of instruments around the world. By educating customers, this website will satisfy visitors and get more Google search visitors. However, the site lacks a method for speaking directly to the customer, like I am with this blog. Blogs give a visitor incentive to come back to your website for further education. Watch the video to see the full review.

Is your website useful?

Google is the number one website on the internet. What can we learn from them?

Summary: A useful website generates sales because it convinces the customer that your product or service is likely to also be useful. Google is the quintessential useful website. Therefore, we do well to analyze our website to see if the website is really useful or if it is nothing more than a glorified business card.

Why is Google the number one website in the United States? Is it because Google has the prettiest colors? Is it because Google has the coolest logo? Or is it perhaps because Google is a great name for a website?

No. It's because Google is very useful to the people that use it. And what do those users do? They use Google over, and over, and over again.

We then should be seeking to do the same with our websites. Just like Google, our website needs to be useful if the customer is going to use it and tell his colleagues to use it.

What constitutes a useful website?

First, we must keep in mind why people use the internet. The average person uses the internet to get information. When a customer is on your website, remember he or she is likely looking for a specific piece of information. He may not be ready to buy just yet. So if you don't have the information he needs, the customer is going to leave in frustration and may never come back.

Therefore, what are some types of information you can and should provide on your website?

1. Detailed specifications for your products and services. Make sure to include prices and price or fee structure.
2. Articles, audio, and video to educate the customer about when your product or service should be used and when it should not be used.
3. Interviews with company executives, employees, and customers.
4. Case studies showing how your product or service has benefited previous customers.
5. Presentations demonstrating pertinent research your company has done in your field.
6. Data to help keep the customer informed about his competitors use of your industry's product or service.

No doubt there are many other valuable pieces of information you can give to your customers. Don't say, "Well, I sell a boring product and thus, I can't provide an abundance of helpful information to the customer." Can your customers benefit by understanding more about your products, your industry, and their own needs? If you answered, "Yes," then start sharing that information now.

What will be the result?

A useful website increases sales. When your website helps the customer, the customer is more likely to believe that your product or service will also help him. Therefore, he is more likely to give your product or service a try. However, if your website is useless and frustrating, the customer will doubt your entire company and your sales will be scanty.

That being the case, your goal should be to show the customer how valuable your company really is. Prove your value with a useful website that addresses his needs. Educate the customer, become an expert, and build the trust that generates sales.

[Video] Site Review: Skating, Surfing, and Active Wear Website

Summary: Today I review a skating, surfing, and active wear website to look at what they do well and what they can improve on. As always, the goal of this review is to look for lessons business owners and executives can use as they think about how to improve their website. This website does a very good job of using a black background to target the young skater demographic. Also, a large prominent picture on the home page draws in the shopper. Watch the video to learn more.

[Video] Site Review: What contributes to a successful e-commerce website?

Summary: A good e-commerce website should have large, quality pictures, clear pricing, and a professional clutter-free design. In this video we analyze the website of a hardware tools e-commerce site and see how it rates on each of these factors. As you watch this video, think about what you are doing well and what you can improve on your website.

Give Customers a Reason to Visit Your Site Frequently

Midtownlunch.com generates $1,000 per month merely from regularly posting experiences at eateries in Midtown Manhattan.

Summary: To grow your online customer base, post entertaining or educational content (whichever is appropriate for your business) to your website at least once per week.

If a customer visits your site once, do they have a reason to ever come back again? Take a good look at your website and ask yourself that question.

Most salesmen will tell you that you almost never win a customer on the first phone call. A good sales person builds a relationship with his customer. Your website must do the same.

Building relationships takes time. At first, a visitor to your website is going to eye you with skepticism, especially if they've never heard of you and just chanced upon your website through a Google search. Chances are, most customers will look at two pages on your site and then leave.

However, if you can give the user a reason to come back to your website then perhaps on their 2nd, 3rd, or 49th visit they will buy from you.

How do you keep customers coming back? The best way is through entertaining or educational content. Try some of the following:

1. Put a blog on your website and teach a lesson in each post.
2. Post training videos on how to use your products or services.
3. Conduct your own audio talk show, and place the MP3 files on your website.

Any of these ideas will get users to regularly return to your website, and eventually these users will become paying customers.

The key though is regularity. You need to post new content at least weekly, but at best daily. The truth is you can never post too much, but of course time is limited. So put something new on your website at least every week and stick with it for at least six months. If you do so, you will see results.