When I start working with clients, they often come to me wanting to create content around their product or service. Why it’s better than their competition, what it can do for someone’s business, why people should buy it already.
And while it’s important for people to hear some of these things, content marketing isn’t about selling something. (Though it will lead to sales…but bear with me.)
Content marketing is about educating your audience so they come to know, like and trust you–so they’ll buy from you. But first you have to give away some information for free.
[bctt tweet=”Give away free content to grow your know, like and trust factor.” username=”AbbyMHerman”]
When you’re getting ready for a launch or trying to promote a specific service, you need to bring attention to it. Your audience needs to know that you’re an expert in your field and in whatever it is you’re trying to sell.
That means, it’s time to tease them a bit. Here’s your guide:
Start talking about it on social media
Have you ever had someone tell you, “I didn’t know you did that in your business!” I have, and I’ll tell you: it didn’t feel very good. People need to know what it is you’re selling, so you need to talk about it. Not in an, “I have this course launching in three weeks” kind of way, but in an “I’m going to teach you about XYZ” kind of way.
When you start giving people tidbits of information, whether it’s a quote or a link to valuable content or a short statement that gives value, people start looking at you differently. They see you as a problem-solver and as someone who has something they need.
Write blog posts about the topic
Here’s where you start giving away some of your offer, or teasing pre-offer value. Your future customers need to have some knowledge before they buy from you. If you’re a website developer, your clients need to have a logo and branded photos. If you’re a coach, your clients need to have a business idea. If you’re an accountant, your clients need to have their account information in order. And all this needs to happen before they work with you.
Teach your audience how to get there–how to have their ducks in a row before they come to you. And then give away the first bit of information that you teach your audience when you first start working with them. For me, I have a lot of content around creating a content strategy and figuring out what topics to blog about because I want my clients to be educated before we work together.
[bctt tweet=”Teach your audience what they need to know before they buy your paid offer.” username=”AbbyMHerman”]
Whatever it is you see your audience needing before they work with you, create content around that. And give away pieces of your paid offer, for free. Trust me when I tell you that your ideal audience will buy from you anyway. And someone who just wants free content isn’t someone who will work with you anyway–no matter how many times you get on a call with them. So you’re saving you both some time.
Create videos that show off a little how-to
Video is all the rage and it’s the perfect to build more trust with your audience. When you create a video with your voice and your face, you’re jumping out of your office and into someone else’s space. Sharing valuable content–content surrounding the topics in your paid offer–gives you one more way to connect.
If you’ve already written about it in your blog, create a how-to video showing your audience. Go a step further and provide more value, then embed that video into your blog post.
It’s a lot of work to create a course or signature offer, but don’t feel like no one is going to buy because you’re giving some of it away in your promotion. Instead, people will buy because of that free value you gave them already. They trust you more and are ready to learn more!
Ready to start promoting? In this video, I’ll tell you when to start and give you some bonus tips!
