This is a guest post by Amy Harrison, whose previous article here was very well-received so I’m pleased to have her here for you again.
My fiancé builds custom banjos for a living (hands off ladies, he’s all mine…). Recently he remarked that another maker’s website included a whole host of details such as wood density and other wood specific details I’ve since forgotten but am assured were irrelevant .
“That information is useless to someone buying a banjo, why has he filled his site with that stuff?”
“Because it looks like he knows what he’s talking about”
“But anyone who makes banjos knows that information is rubbish”
“Yes, but he’s not selling to the banjo maker, he’s selling to the banjo player”
And here’s the thing: it’s very easy to forget who you’re providing information for when you’re using your blog to sell and promote your business. We want to be seen as experts, but are we trying to impress the right people?
Whilst I don’t recommend filling your site with irrelevant details, if your aim is to appeal to people who want to hire you or buy what you’re selling, here are my 3 tips on how to sell to the banjo player.
1. Be Boring (To Be Sexy)
Okay, I don’t actually mean you should bore anyone, except perhaps yourself. If you’re an expert in your field, you’re probably coaching, training, selling products and services to people who aren’t experts in your field. It’s easy to forget, that for every new thing you learn and for each additional week, month and year of experience you get under your belt, there are people coming to you who are either brand new, or some considerable steps behind you.
They need content that meets that need, which might mean that you have to hark back to the early days of what a beginner might need to know. As a banjo maker, the idea of writing about the different kind of strings you can use for different styles of banjo playing might seem like common sense to you, for someone just starting out, this information could be nothing short of phenomenal.
People will always need the basics if your business model includes continually attracting new people to your site. If so, make sure there’s a nice welcome mat of beginner-friendly information for them.
2. Give Them A Glimpse Inside The Workshop
There’s a jewellery shop in a town near me which has a door open into their workshop so customers can see in whilst browsing the handmade items on display. I love that jewellery shop and whenever I’m thinking of gifts it’s one of the first places I go to because it just seem so darn authentic and “uniquely handmade“. For all I know they could just be huddled over unfolding paper clips, but it’s part of the experience of shopping there, and in the summer when tourists arrive, that place is packed.
Do you need to see the stuff being made to assess its quality? No, but it gives you a sense of what the process is and it highlights more of the “value” in the product because you start to understand the effort that has gone into making those earrings or bracelet.
So how do you do this on your blog?
Explain some of your own process. Peel back the curtains on your workshop and explain how you select the materials to make your product, or go through the steps you use to coach someone through a specific problem. Let them see the value and effort that goes into your process. If you’re the only one providing this information compared to your competition, you’re going to rise above as an expert, giving your customers more confidence in your ability to help them.
3. Give Them A Buying Guide
A buying guide or blog posts with information on how to choose a “marketer/life-coach, copywriter/ blogging coach” is exactly the kind of content someone in a buying mind is interested in. It might seem obvious, but what will probably be very simple content for you to put together is the kind of content that will be incredibly useful to someone looking to cut through the clutter and confusion of advertising messages.
The “how to” posts, and “mistakes to avoid” posts and “things to consider before…” posts are great for proving to your customer that you’re on their side to make the right decision. They also make great search engine fodder, being targeted perfectly for the kinds of questions your customer is going to be typing into Google when they’re looking for trusted advice.
When you build up your expertise, it’s easy to want to write about the problems and challenges that are relevant to you and your stage of learning, but there will always be a growing number of people trying to catch you up that you can cater for with these simple styles of content.
So tell me, how could you “sell to the banjo player” in your next blog post?
About the Author: Amy Harrison is a copywriter for coaches and entrepreneurs. In addition to writing for her clients, she also coaches business owners to smash up their sales copy obstacles and get their offers out there. She is the also the author of How To Get Your Sales Page DONE!
Image by Ryan Abel.
I can be guilty of this. I know that a lot of other Life Coaches read my blog from the feedback I get and too Often I find myself writing for them. Fortunately more recently I have gone back basics a bit and started doing more mass appeal type posts. I have really seen an improvement in traffic and inquiries, albeit at a slight dip in the comment level.
But whereas comments are cool, I’d rather have the former at the expense of the latter.
Absolutely. It’s great to be a leader in your field, and as I’ve said before, any life coach without a life coach of his own is probably a raging hypocrite. So it makes some sense. But as soon as you talked about coaching methods using industry jargon you’d be writing to the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
I know what you mean about a dip in comments, they’re really addictive even though they’re not necessarily the best thing for business!
I know what you mean about a dip in comments, they’re really addictive even though they’re not necessarily the best thing for business!
Great article. I do write for general masses. I find that when I become to specific I lose people in my genre. I’ve learned cast a wider net on my blog then write for my niche in my newsletters.
You need to be specific for your audience or customers, not necessarily to your peers.
These were all great tips to keep in mind and I have been guilty of making some of these myself and forgetting the real purpose of my website.. to convert sales. Remarkablogger, you just gained a new fan and I’m going to start forwarding your newsletters to some of the other bloggers I know.
Awesome, thanks so much!
Glad you liked this Tom, I love Michael’s site for reminding us about the business side to our blogs
Glad you liked this Tom, I love Michael’s site for reminding us about the business side to our blogs
Brilliant article! So many of us in business and in the blog world forget that we need to look at the information we provide through the eyes of our biggest target market, rather than our own. That includes staying away from using jargon that not everyone knows. You have definitely highlighted some issues for me…Thanks!
Hey Nathaniel, jargon can be something easy to forget to explain because for those in the know, it’s a great shortcut to understanding, however if your audience are on the outside of that insider language, it can be a big communication barrier.
Explaining jargon is a great way to reach your prospect and sell by educating them (and can be very good for search engine optimization). It also has no appeal to your peers or colleagues.
Great article. In fact, the very nature of my blog is a beginners/how to guide.
I won’t forget these points when I’m a super internet marketing mogul.
This analogy is so helpful. I’m a writer…and especially because my blog is an extension of that skill, it is so tempting to blog about the business of writing. And I think there is a comfort in aligning myself with other writers/bloggers and seeking their support and approval. But, as this post points out, I’m not selling my services to other writers. I’m selling my services to technology companies. Different perspective altogether! Time to shift gears….
Hi Ruth! I have a similar problem, it’s so tempting to blog about the challenges I face as a writer, and I know other writer’s will empathise, understand etc, but I have to remind myself that my blog readers who also fall into the category of potential customers, aren’t going to be interested in the same thing. It does keep you on your toes!
Just want to say that since I changed my Disqus account all my comments have been turned to “Guest” with an anonymous face on here – didn’t want you to think I wasn’t getting involved and having some grey faced avatar swan in instead!
This is a great article! As for me, Put an article on your blog that mostly attracts them. Give them information that makes them happy to read about. This strategy works for me! Interesting information Micheal!ategy works for me! Interesting information Micheal!
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Great article. In fact, the very nature of my blog is a beginners/how to guide.
I agree – you’re talking to you customers and potential customers, not yourself.
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