If you’re a client of ours or been to any of our seminars, you’ll hear me banging on about the importance of writing articles, free reports and white papers.
And while most people baulk at having to write, let me tell you why you should.
Articles, free reports and white papers are in my experience, some of the most powerful marketing tools you can use whether you’re a one man band or a large multi-national wanting to get your message out to a specific audience.
Here’s why...
It can often be quite difficult to quickly communicate your value when you first meet someone. You have limited time to explore how you could provide value.
However, giving them an article or white paper which sparks their interest is an excellent way of drawing them in without them feeling sold to.
Articles must be both educational and provocative, designed to give your reader a wakeup call and get them to take action.
So your article needs to "disturb" your reader by outlining issues they’re facing and showing them that you have a solution.
Essentially you’re saying "if you don’t pay attention to what I’m saying, you’re likely to make some serious mistakes". And if you don’t take the action I recommend, it’s going to cost you in some way.
Your goal is to get the reader to come back to you and explore how you can help them.
And the beauty of this approach is only people who are directly interested in how you can help them will contact you. So you don’t waste time with people who have no interest in what you do or how you can help them.
Here are a couple of fictitious examples of articles you might write...
A real estate buyer’s agent: "7 Major Mistakes People Make When Buying An Investment Property and How to Avoid Them".
A recruitment consultant: "Avoid Bad Hires. 3 Steps to Hiring The Right Staff The First Time"
Financial Planner: "5 Common Mistakes Pre-Retirees Make Which Potentially Wipe Out Major Tax Benefits"
Notice each one targets a specific group. If you’re not in the target audience, you won’t be interested.
Each article should be 2-10 pages long. Remember it’s not the length that counts. If your reader is interested, and you write well, they’ll keep reading.
So where can you use these articles?
You can offer them to people you meet at a networking event. Say "I have an article you might be interested in. Can I send you a copy?"
Offer it on your website as bait for their contact information. This way you can keep following up in a non-threatening way.
Use it in a direct marketing campaign. Send the articles/whitepapers to prospects first - and then follow up them. You’ll be amazed at the improvement in response you’ll get.
If you’re giving a talk or presentation - use the offer of the article as a way of getting business cards.
Send them to existing clients and ask them if they know other business owners who might be interested in the article.
Are you starting to see how articles can be the ultimate marketing tool?
They are multi-purpose. They are easy to produce. If you can’t write, there are plenty of free-lance writers who will do an excellent job.
They can be used wherever and whenever a prospect wants to know more about your business. You can send one at a time or do a campaign that sends out thousands.
It's time to start writing that article!
Rashid.
P.S. If you’re stuck and would like help in what to write about, how to structure the article etc., give me a call and I’ll give you a hand.
P.P.S. If you would like help structuring a direct marketing campaign using articles that will generate interest, we can help you put one together.
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