Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

7 Content topics to grab the attention of your marketplace

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content marketing tip

I write a lot about the importance of being useful with your marketing. A number of you have asked me if I can give you some specific examples, which you can apply to your content marketing.

And that’s exactly what I’ve done in this post.

Their needs and your products or services

Start off by thinking about the services you provide or your product range. Then, consider the following 7 topics (or theme ideas) and how you can incorporate them into your content marketing messages.

  1. People have an inbuilt need to feel connected: Share ideas to help your prospects connect with useful contacts. The Wall Street Journal wrote about how I achieved this for one of my clients – 4 Marketing Strategies That Paid Off For Small Companies
  2. Everyone is trying to succeed at something: Share ideas to help your prospects achieve their targets, goals or dreams. Obviously, as with pretty-much every topic here, if you offer a specific product or service that can help them in this area, incorporate that into the content.
  3. We all need to feel safe and secure: Share ideas to help your prospects reduce risk or feel safer.
  4. We also share a common need for a sense of belonging: Share ideas to help your prospects feel like an integral part of your business.
  5. Everyone wants to avoid wasting time: Share ideas to help your prospects maximize their time, or help them complete certain tasks faster, etc. I’m not a time management expert, but I’ve shared tons of ideas in this area, based on decades of running a successful business, without working crazy hours. The response is always excellent. So don’t be put off sharing from your experience.
  6. People want to improve and expand their knowledge: Share your industry knowledge, sure. But ALSO share your experience with them. For example, if you’re an accountant, don’t just focus on tax, profit and loss or the latest business news. They can get that anywhere. Tell them the common factors you’ve identified in successful businesses. And the ones you’ve identified in those that flounder or fail. Your experience is extremely valuable.
  7. Everyone wants to avoid unnecessary stress, especially now: Share ideas to help your prospects feel more relaxed and assured. If there’s a specific product or service you offer, which can assist them with this, incorporate that into the message or idea.

Are any of those topics missing from your content marketing? If they are, look for ways to incorporate them. Because this kind of useful, relevant information is the cornerstone of successful content marketing.

You’ll know you have the balance right, when your content marketing is SO USEFUL that people would really miss it if you stopped.

He’s after you! And that sounds scary

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writiing short, writing for business

Imagine it.

You find a Twitter account and it has a very short profile message. It’s just 3 words long.

It rather menacingly says: I’m after you!

This was a genuine Twitter profile from a marketing adviser.

So, what happened?

The profile’s owner intended the message to suggest, that he puts everyone before him. However, it read very differently.

His unsmiling profile photo only added to the likelihood it would be interpreted in the literal sense. That he’s pursuing you. That you are his intended prey.

The person in question is one of my newsletter subscribers. He explained that he was trying to write short, having just read one of my articles. Apparently, it was only after he noticed an increasing number of abusive tweets, which made no sense to him, that he figured out his mistake.

He went on to say that the offending profile message had been live for well over a month, and he’s still suffering the reputational damage. (Screenshots of his original profile have circulated in his local area).

Writing short

Writing short is about impact. From a word-count perspective, this means using as few words as required, but no fewer.

And writing for business in general, requires attention to detail. This includes looking for possible misinterpretations. Especially those that could be embarrassing or, as with this case, embarrassing and highly toxic.

First impressions are crucial to your success. And scientists agree!

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first impressions, initial impressions, more sales, get clients

First impressions count. And they count far more than most people know.

Alex is a web designer.

Think for a few moments about the mental picture you’ve just built of Alex.

With only a name and job title, you’ll have almost instantly started to think about how they look.

Perhaps, you’ll have pictured them dressed a certain way.

You may have decided they’re arty. Or maybe a bit of a geek.

Here’s the thing. Your first impression of Alex wasn’t based on who she really is.

It can’t possibly be!

Your impression was based on what your perception of a web designer is.

How to create high value, first impressions

Using Alex as an example, try thinking for a moment about the initial impression a prospective client or customer gets, when you describe yourself by your job title, industry or profession.

Remember to include the fact that some people, perhaps many, will have had a bad experience with one of your counterparts, before encountering you. This is an important factor to take into consideration.

If we want prospects to form a powerful first impression of us, based on the huge value we bring, we need to start by focusing on that value.

initial impressions, first impressions,

Here’s an example of what I’m referring to.

When Alex describes or introduces herself, she starts with something very like the following:

“I provide companies with a way to attract high quality clients and sales, with websites that deliver consistently outstanding results”.

Alex is a former client of mine. So I know that her description works extremely well. You only have to consider how your impression of her radically changed, when you read it!

But that’s not all.

Something else happens

When you intentionally guide a prospect’s first impression, you also switch their perception of your service or product, from a cost to an investment.

Yes, on an intellectual level, most business owners know that there’s a difference between a cost and an investment.

But on an emotional level, many still regard the procurement of a new service or product as a cost. And sales are made based on emotions or feelings, way more than on logic.

By encouraging them to focus on the value you bring, they’re able to robustly position yourself as an investment. This dramatically increases the likelihood of them hiring you or buying from you.

What about the science part?

Remember at the start where I mentioned how scientists have proven this?

Well, they have.

In 2014, scientific research confirmed that first impressions are so powerful even facts won’t change them. This is something marketing professionals have known for years.

Let’s recap first impressions

  1. You set the foundation, upon which prospective clients or customers will form their first impression of you.
  2. If you start off by referring to yourself by your job title, industry or profession, you’ll create potentially damaging preconceptions.
  3. By intentionally starting off your conversations, presentations and marketing messages with the value you bring, you position yourself far more attractively to prospects.
  4. You also switch the perception of your services or products, from costs to investments.
  5. This all combines to dramatically improve your results.

In short, people will form their first impression of you regardless. It makes sense to intentionally ensure they form the right impression.

Why email marketing doesn’t work

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email marketing doesn't work, does not work

A reader shared an interesting observation with me.

She told me she had “found out the hard way that email marketing doesn’t work“.

She asked me for my thoughts on why email is so ineffective. I said I’d share them here, as I’m sure some of you will find it useful.

Email marketing works

Email marketing works. In fact, email marketing works extremely well.

Just ask any business owner who’s using it correctly. Whether it’s used for newsletters or promotions, the return on investment is off the charts.

Email marketing also works more predictably than just about any other form of marketing. And the tiny financial investment required for email marketing makes it the most cost effective form of marketing out there.

email marketing doesn't work, content marketing

When email marketing doesn’t work

What doesn’t work is ineffective email marketing. Just ask anyone who’s doing it incorrectly. Here’s the thing: ineffective email marketing can’t work.

Here are just a few, very common examples of how small business owners get email marketing wrong.

  • A poorly written email won’t work. It will fail to motivate the reader to take action; to call you, email you, visit your website, make a purchase from you, whatever.
  • A professionally written email, sent to the wrong people, won’t work. It will fail to reach those with a want or need for your services.
  • A well written email, sent to the right people, with a dull subject line, won’t work. That’s because no one will open it. The subject line has to be compelling or no matter what your message is, it will literally be ignored.
  • A well written email, sent to the right people, with a compelling subject line, offering a generic product or service, won’t work. No one wants to switch to a service that’s no better then their current service.

You get the idea.

In short, before you reject any form of marketing as ineffective, make sure you’re using it correctly. Email marketing does work. And it will work for you and your business when you do it correctly

Get more client enquiries by being approachable

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marketing approachable

How easy is it, for your prospective clients or customers to get in touch with you?

I’m not talking about how visible your phone number, email address or contact form are. I’m referring to something that is just as important and yet seldom written about: How approachable you seem to be, to a prospective client or customer.

For example.

  • When a prospect is reading your newsletter, how approachable do you sound to them? The best newsletters are written, so that the author comes across as friendly, informed and interested in helping you. The least effective are written by people who come across as impersonal, distant and only interested in what’s in it for them.
  • When a prospect reads your comments on social media, how approachable do you sound to them? Some business owners can appear patronising or sarcastic when people dialogue with them or ask questions. This is a really, really bad move, if you want prospective clients to feel comfortable contacting you.
  • When a prospect reads the about page on your website, how approachable do you sound? Many small business owners write their about page in the 3rd person, rather than speak directly to their reader. Instead of saying; ‘Hi, thanks for stopping by. My name is Jack and…’ they start with ‘Jack has worked in web design since 2012 and… ‘

Why does this matter to you?

Here’s what we know for absolute certain: The less comfortable someone feels about approaching a potential service provider, the less likely they are to contact them.

By building the human touch into your marketing, you start to nurture a positive relationship with your prospects long before you ever speak with them. This helps them feel far more comfortable contacting you, hiring you or buying from you.

The huge Google problem, which they don’t give a rat’s ass about

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Goolge content theft, crooks

Image: Pawel Czerwinski  

This brief post is unlikely to be indexed by Google. Although it’s written for humans (like you), it’s value will be determined by Google’s famously incompetent bot. The bot needs a minimum of three hundred words in order to get a handle on what the topic is.

That’s why lots of blog posts and articles read so poorly. They’re deliberately written over-long. The author is playing the Google game. If they want search traffic, they have to add unnecessary fluff. They also need to keep repeating certain words and phrases, or Google’s bot won’t know what to rank them for.

Google’s stolen content problem

The Google game is like most games. The vast majority play by the rules. Others don’t.

My posts are stolen by criminals within minutes (sometimes seconds) of publication. They use software to publish them and submit them to Google’s index.

In many cases, their illegal copy of my copyright protected work is chosen by Google as the original ‘canonical’ version. My original is then seen as a copy. I could even be penalized by Google, for Google’s own mistake. There’s no workable recourse. The bad guy wins.

Google search is broken. And for the foreseeable future it will stay like that. They’ve trained writers how to write for their extremely limited Google bot. The bad guys know how to profit on autopilot. It costs Google nothing. So, there’s no motivation for them to put their house in order.

When an service is as huge as Google, it’s beyond reproach. Yes, if a major publication complains, Google takes immediate action. The rest of us need to live with it. We need to play the Google game and accept theft of our work. That really sucks, but they’re Google… so!

BTW: This was 299 words.

Here’s an update: Google indexing scraped content from my blog: Part 2