I love January. Despite the anticlimax of Christmas being over for yet another year, there’s also a powerful opportunity for a new start.
And in business, looking at what you do through fresh eyes and making new decisions and commitments can be incredibly beneficial.
As you know, if you’re not looking at ways to evolve and press forward, your business will at best stagnate and at worse back peddle. Which means smart business owners stay forward looking, set goals and are constantly seeking out those opportunities to innovate, implement and do more of the good stuff.
So as we move into 2013, what goals have you set for your business?
In particular, how are you planning to use content to drive sales, attract new customers and boost your authority in the coming year?
You see, content marketing is continuing to evolve. It’s at the sharp end of available tools which very small, niche businesses like yours can use to their advantage to carve out a competitive edge.
However, it’s no longer enough to keep churning out new stuff. Consumers (and Google) are becoming a lot smarter and as such quality alongside the nurturing of an engaged audience are really key.
So to help you get off to a flying start in 2013, here are some ideas to get you thinking about how to use content to market your business…
1. Guest blog
I’m a big fan of guest blogging.
Guest blogging can help you tap into a new audience and start to carve your niche authority more quickly. What’s more, guesting can prove to be an excellent way to forge relationships with other players in your niche that you would like to connect with. Of course, attracting links from authority sites can do wonders for your own SEO but this shouldn’t be your only reason for wanting to guest.
The trick is to find the right blogs to guest on, and then start to build those all important relationships with the blog owners and convince them to give you their stage! Jon Morrow runs a cracking Guest Blogging course which I’d highly recommend, and if you target micro business owners, the guest blogging opportunities available at the Micro Business Hub are well worth a closer look.
And here’s a final tip – it’s well worth saving your best stuff for publishing elsewhere – especially if it’s that dream gig 🙂
2. Start an email newsletter
Permission marketing is another profitable outlet where content can be used to forge deeper relationships with potential customers.
You see, people will only buy if they are good ready, and whilst a prospect may be your ideal customer, the timing may be all wrong. And that means you need to take a different approach – namely convince someone to sign up to your list…
Offer an incentive to get people to part with their email address and then start regular communication. You could try a monthly newsletter, weekly updates or if you really lack the time simply send out your blog posts to people that sign up.
By staying in touch, you also stay on your customer’s radar. And if you continue to send out information that’s relevant and useful (i.e. it addresses the pressing questions your customers are grappling with), when they do need your products and services, you’ll be foremost in their mind.
In fact, I believe helping is often the quickest route to selling.
3. Use an autoresponder
If you have more time it’s well worth thinking about setting up an email autoresponder.
An autoresponder is simply a series of emails which are sent out in exactly the same order to new members of your list. An autoresponder works like this. You write a sequence of articles that takes your readers on a journey.
- Educational type series like this classic from Copyblogger are great for establishing authority in your niche.
- Alternatively, if you have a product or service that you wish to promote, use an autoresponder that persuades prospects to buy through drip feeding benefits, testimonials, an offer etc.
And if you’re at a loss of where to start, why not have a chat with a copywriter (like me 😉.
4. Revisit your home page
Your website is your base station and your home page is probably the most visited page.
Take a fresh look at it today and give it the critical eye.
- Does it accurately reflect your business right now?
- Are you positioning yourself effectively?
- Could your headline be more compelling?
- Is it easy to read?
- Are you targeting the right keywords?
5. Content isn’t just about the written word
Many micro business owners get nervous about content marketing because they feel writing isn’t their strong suit.
However the beauty of this multi-media age is there are stacks of other opportunities for you to exploit and get your voice out there. For example:
- Get a professionally produced video and use it to enhance your home page.
- Experiment with self-recorded videos and post them on YouTube.
- Share your knowledge and experience in a webinar.
- Hangout with Google+.
- Present at your local networking group.
- Get interviewed by a personality in your niche.
Above all discover what works best for you and more importantly – your audience.
Over to you
What will you cast fresh eyes over this year? How will you step up your use of content to promote your business, grow your reputation and attract more customers?
Tell me in the comments below. And while you’re there, please post your questions too.
Here’s to a cracking 2013 🙂
David Boozer says
Hey Georgina, great piece…and just wanted to say I found you through CopyBlogger. I love creating content, although I have been doing it for a few years, this year it seems to be transforming into something I never expected. I like the techie side of SEO and what-not, but following people like you, Brian and Darren Rowse, it makes sense to perfect the content marketing efforts using everything I possibly can. Thanks for the post, it really helps!
David Boozer says
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Hey Georgina, great piece…and just wanted to say I found you through CopyBlogger. I love creating content, although I have been doing it for a few years, this year it seems to be transforming into something I never expected. I like the techie side of SEO and what-not, but following people like you, Brian and Darren Rowse, it makes sense to perfect the content marketing efforts using everything I possibly can. Thanks for the post, it really helps!