High vs. Low Level Blog Marketing

/0 Comments/in , , /by

 

“The problem with the hard and soft sell definitions is that they are subjective,” Gemma Wright comments in ProCopyTips. “Hard sell can also be viewed as aggressive and could potentially turn off prospective customers, whereas soft sell can be thought of as ineffective as it’s considered too gentle and doesn’t necessarily convert into sales.” “The trick, Wright concludes, “is finding that elusive middle ground that works for your business.”

When it comes to dog obedience training, as Sit Means Sit explains, “high vs. low level training is kind of like a steak. A ‘medium’ steak is over cooked if you prefer rare, and under cooked if you prefer well done”. And when it comes to dog obedience training, Sit Means Sit goes on to say, “one trainer will feel the level needs to be higher or lower, which might vastly disagree with what another trainer thinks”.

That dilemma constitutes a large part of what blog posts are for, we realize at Say It For You. In any field of business and in every profession, there will be different opinions about the most effective way to approach problem solution. Because it may not be feasible to explore all possible solutions on the welcome page of a website, blog posts are ideal for delving further into the many aspects of a topic.

Most people will not react overly positively to a blog that is just sales spin,” cautions Problogger.net. “While blogs can be used as a tool for selling they are at their best when they are relational, conversational and offer their readers something useful that will enhance their lives.”) The good news for business owners and practitioners who use blogs as a marketing tool, is that blog posts are an ideal vehicle for demonstrating support and concern while being persuasive in a low-key manner.

So what are some different ways to “cook a blog steak”?

  • building good will
  • staying in touch with existing customers and clients
  • defining terminology
  • offering how-to hints
  • announcing changes in products and services
  • controlling damage when it comes to negative PR or complaints
  • recruiting employees
  • ”humanizing” the owners and employees by presenting them as real, likeable peopleAt Say It For You, we teach that blog posts are, like advertorials, a “softly softly” form of advertising, in which you use a news or human-interest story to sell a product or service. The story ties together the answers to readers’ questions, and the solution you’re proposing.

You might say that well-written blogs combine the best of both high and low level marketing!

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Blog Your Sit-Means-Sit

/0 Comments/in , , , /by


Judged by Shakespeare’s famous line “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, the Bard didn’t think monikers were very important. Apparently, to investors selecting stocks these days, they are: on average, Harvard Business Review found, companies with short, simple names attract more shareholders and generate greater amounts of stock trading than companies with hard-to-process names.

While I’m not currently a pet owner, the other day I came across what has to be my all-out favorite corporate name – Sit Means Sit. No explanation needed – not only do you know immediately that what the company offers is dog obedience training, you get a sense of the owner’s stance is on the subject.

Blog readers need to perceive you as an expert in your field, I teach at Say It For You.  And for that to happen, I believe, you need to clearly demonstrate a firm perspective on your subject. There’s no lack of information sources – and no lack of “experts” (purported or real) on any topic In blog marketing, therefore, we need to go beyond presenting facts, statistics, features, and benefits, and get authentic and yes, even opinionated. Taking a stance on your subject, using the blog content writing to express a firm opinion on issues in your industry and community, is how you leverage your uniqueness.

Blogging, remember, involves providing new material week after week, month after month, year after year. We can highlight less well-known facts about familiar things and processes. We can suggest new ways of thinking about things readers already know. Still, that’s not enough. Whether you’re blogging for a business, for a professional practice, or for a nonprofit organization, you’ve got to have an opinion, a slant, on the information you’re serving up for readers. In short, as blog content writers, we must help our clients become influencers.

“We don’t train dogs the same, because not every dog is the same,” the Sit Means Sit website continues, going on to explain that the company offers programs geared to “any dog, any age, any problem”. In fact, the Sit Means Sit website contains information about different training approaches, and, in your own blog posts, there will be ample opportunities to explain and explore different aspects of your own products or services.

“When writing an opinion piece, you are taking a side on a particular issue and trying to communicate to your audience why you believe your chosen side to be the correct one,” 201digital comments. “In fact, research shows that the only type of content more popular than that which encourages reads and shares is negative or controversial opinion.”

What are those things that you really mean when it comes to delivering your service or product to your customers and clients? Blog your own “sit means sit”!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Aiming for the “Me, Too!” Effect in Blog Marketing

/0 Comments/in , , , /by


“All salespeople present themselves as problem solvers yet most never ask clients to vividly describe the problems they are experiencing,” Paul Cherry maintains in the book Questions That Sell. An outstanding salesperson, the author teaches, will offer clients the opportunity to open up and vent their frustrations. “You will have success building a relationship with your potential customers only when you can get into their world and identify the forces at work in their lives.”

In blog marketing (where prospects are meeting you before you’ve had the chance to meet them), as Jeremy Porter Communications teaches, the goal is to create a connection with your audience that makes them receptive to your message. He names seven emotions and their opposites that marketers can tap into to get an audience “from where they are to where you want them to be”:

  • anger/calmness
  • friendship/enmity
  • fear/confidence
  • shame/shamelessness
  • kindness/unkindness
  • pity or compassion/indignation
  • envy/emulation

At Say It For You, we understand that, in blogging for business, face-to-screen is the closest we blog content writers will come to our prospective buyers of our clients’ products and services. On the other hand, we’re conscious that behind every decision, there is always a person, a being with feelings. One of the most direct access paths to prospects’ feelings is through stories. “Consumers are used to telling stories to themselves and telling stories to each other, and it’s just natural to buy stuff from someone who’s telling us a story,” observes Seth Godin in his book All Marketers Tell Stories.

The thing to remember is that people are online searching for answers to problems or solutions for dilemmas. If, in encountering a blog post about a customer who went through a sort of pain and suffering akin to theirs (and who has now come out the other side), readers’ natural and highly emotional reaction might well be “Me, too!”.

Far sooner and more directly than descriptions of features and benefits of your offer, an emotionally charged story of suffering solved might well result in a “me, too” sale!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Blogging for Window Shoppers and Tire Kickers

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by


“Many of the folks who come to see me aren’t necessarily looking for a new plan or a new planner,” financial advisor Zach Fox, AAMS®, says. “They may just be looking for confidence in their existing plan.”

Diane Wingerter, certified grantwriter and owner of GrantWriting for Goodness™, agrees. “Yes”, “no”, “maybe”, or “not now” are all possible responses by people who are seeking funding – or, indeed, by funders themselves, she notes.

Blog marketers need to approach readers with a similar mindset. Will blog marketing “close deals” in the same manner as a face-to-face encounter between a prospect and a sales professional? Of course not. Hubspot blogger Corey Wainwright lists some of the indirect selling benefits of blogs and their place in the sales process:

  • If you’re consistently creating content that’s helpful for your target customer, it’ll help establish you as an authority in their eyes.
  • Prospects that have been reading your blog posts will typically enter the sales process more educated about your place in the market, your industry, and what you have to offer.
  • Salespeople who encounter specific questions that require in-depth explanation or a documented answer can pull from an archive of blog posts.

Blogging is what marketing firm pardot.com calls stage-based, meaning that prospects move through different stages of the sales cycle. In one study, Pardot found that B2B consumers started their research with Google, then returned two or three times for more specific information. For prospects at the top of the “funnel”, the most effective content will be light, educational and product-neutral. Later in the cycle, readers who are already sold on your industry, just deciding among vendors or providers, need more specific information.

The “maybes”, the “not nows”, and readers looking only to bolster their confidence in their existing plans or product choices will come away with a positive experience and valuable information. On the other hand, readers who have reached the final decision-making stage might just be ready to consider your unique value propositions and to follow one of your Calls to Action.

In blog marketing, don’t ignore the window shoppers and tire-kickers!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Can the IKEA Principle Work in Blog Marketing?

/0 Comments/in /by

“One of the most popular business cases I’ve ever written about,” says Youngme Moon, author of Different – Escaping the Competitive Herd, is IKEA North America. One of the most popular consumer brands in the world, IKEA, Moon explains, has built its reputation around a set of negatives, service elements it has deliberately chosen to withhold from its customers. Rather than trying to offer more features and benefits than its competitors, IKEA offers what Moon calls “a reverse brand”, with:

  •  minimal variety (the furniture comes in only four basic styles)
  • very little shopping assistance
  • no delivery
  • no assembly
  • no promise of durability

Moon’s theses is that a reverse-positioned firm refuses to get on the augmentation treadmill, constantly trying to offer more than other companies, when customers don’t necessarily care about all those bells and whistles. A reverse brand offers something less, but focuses on those things their target buyers care most about.

At Say It For You, we know that the blog for any business or professional practice needs to be targeted towards the specific type of customers they want and towards those most likely to want to do business with them. Everything about the blog should be tailor-made for that customer – the words you use, how technical you get, how sophisticated your approach, the title of each blog entry – all of it.

In any field, there will always be controversy – about best business practices, about the best approach to providing professional services, about acceptable levels of risk, even about business-related ethical choices. Rather than ignoring the controversy, bloggers need to comment on the different views and “weigh in” with their own.

Helping online readers know the difference between you and your competitors is certainly a core function of blog content writing. Exactly what factors distinguish your products and services from everyone else’s? But, even more important, what features and benefits have you chosen to de-emphasize or eliminate entirely and why?

For example, at Say It For You, we pointedly do not offer Search Engine Optimization analyses, instead taking guidance from our clients’ webmasters or SEO consultants. We do not offer video services opting to focus on the “word-smithing” piece of the content marketing challenge.

The Harvard Business Review has this to say about Youngme’s book: “it will inspire you to rethink your business strategy, to stop conforming and start deviating.” Could the IKEA strategy work for your blog marketing?

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail