Archive for Attracting Clients – Page 16

How to Make Social Proof Work Online

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Do some client recommendations work better than others? Social proof is such a strong trigger for online action, it’s good to know what works best for your Web content marketing strategies.

In a previous post, What Clients Say, I reported on research that showed people selected travel destinations 20 percent more with a client recommendation and a photo of the reviewer.

Research studies show that some ratings and reviews will influence more than others: This report is taken from Dr. Susan Weinschenk’s book Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click:

  • We are most influenced when we know the person and the person is telling a story. But quite often, it’s unlikely we will actually know a person doing an online review, unless they are a well-known author or respected expert in the field.
  • We are somewhat less influenced when we don’t know them, but we can imagine them because their is a name, a company name, a link to their site, and maybe a persona description of them (like, for example, a stay-at-home mom, a runner, a CEO, a Ph.D.) Read More→
Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Online Persuasion, Pathway to Profits
Tags : , , , , , , , ,

Online Persuasion: What Do Clients Say?

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

How are you using client recommendations in your online content marketing? Do you add them as an afterthought?

Maybe you just collect them and put them on a separate page for testimonials? Or are they a major part of your content creation strategies?

Recommendations, testimonials and client stories are a powerful persuasion tactic. It’s one of the key persuasion triggers that get people to take action. It’s called social proof.

Robert Cialdini wrote about six weapons of influence in his landmark book Influence. Social proof is one of the most powerful mechanisms for triggering buying decisions. Here’s why:

Customer ratings and reviews are one of the ways we decide and choose to buy products online. I use them all the time to click and buy: I glance at the number of gold stars other people have given a book on Amazon, or a pair of tennis shoes on Nike.

If there are two pairs of shoes I’ve selected for my size and price, I’ll go with the one that has 5 stars over 4. Think about it: I don’t know these people, they may have feet completely different to mine, they may not play tennis as often as I do, or on the same court surfaces.

My foot is narrow and bony. Not everybody’s version of a comfortable fit is going to be mine. And I know this. But when I see a customer rave review and 5 stars, I’m all in.

Think about it: we let other people influence our buying decisions even when we have nothing in common with them.

We are heavily influenced by social persuasion, we can’t help it. Our brains respond to our strong need to belong and fit in, and it all happens in our unconscious minds.

Do these same persuasion tactics work for sites and businesses that aren’t selling physical products? Does social validation work for businesses selling services and experiences? Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Persuasion, Pathway to Profits
Tags : , , , , , ,

Top 10 Tips for Creative Blog Writing

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

What creative writing tips would you offer to budding writers?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of introducing my husband (aka Attila the Honey) at the Lake Chapala Society, our local gringo gathering place and library. We were having a book signing party to celebrate the publication of Rob’s first two novels, Die Laughing and Future Schlock.

I’m sharing with you here my speech, because there are some tips for writing creative content not only for novels and fiction. These tips also apply to blog writing.

Content marketing ideas come from many sources, and sometimes you have to go against conventional wisdom and standard trends.

My speech was called:

Rob Krakoff’s Top 10 Tips for Writing 3 Novels in 18 Months…

  1. Don’t follow your wife’s (or partner’s) advice. Sometimes I call an idea stupid just because it’s too far-fetched to be believable. Wild, crazy ideas will certainly get people’s attention and avoid boredom. If someone says it’s stupid, it just might work…
  2. Don’t follow your writer’s group advice: Other authors will tell you to only write what you know about. If that were true, then all mystery writers would be murderers. Don’t squelch your imagination.
  3. Don’t follow your English teachers’ rules: Don’t get hung up on grammar. Write and worry later about the rules, or get someone else to do that. So what if you don’t believe in commas.
  4. Don’t study how others write, or how books should be written: It’s more important to just get started, get your stories going.
  5. Don’t worry, be happy: feed your creativity by squelching anxiety and fear. If you’re not happy, then use that energy to write like hell. Either way, you’ve got no excuse.
  6. Don’t do any housework, just spend time writing. (That’s not entirely true, but it helps not to worry about the ‘other things’ in life.) Read More→
Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Getting Read, On Writing Better
Tags : , , ,

Attractive Content: Speak to the brains

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

How do you write content that attracts readers to your products and services?

I read somewhere that most of what goes into our brains never reaches our conscious mind:

Our five senses are processing 11 million pieces of info per second. Of these only 40 enter our conscious awareness.

Which means our subconscious mind does a terrific job of filtering what we need to pay attention to.

And…which is why there is new research about how to reach consumers based on how the brain works: neuromarketing.

The brain is made up of three parts, the old brain, the mid-brain, and the new brain. The first two are operating out of our conscious awareness, and they help decide what we need to become aware of.

What this means is that most of the time, we’re operating on auto-pilot. Especially when it comes to TV, but maybe we’re cruising when we’re online and even reading. We scan while thinking of other things. Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Getting Read, On Writing Better, Online Marketing
Tags : , , , , , ,

Content Marketing Ideas: Rethinking Blogging

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, July 15th, 2010

There was a time I was in love with blogging… I had already been in the business of content marketing for 5 years on the Web, using an old-fashioned website platform.

In 2004, I started blogging. It changed my life and opened doors and filled a few piggy banks. But my lover wasn’t really “the blog.” It was being able to speak with a world-wide audience. It was like magic.

Writing on my blog is my way of reaching out to people looking for ways to write content on the Web so that they can get found, get known and get new business.

A blog is still “The best darn content marketing tool on the planet!” But it’s not about “the blog…”

This year I switched from Typepad to WordPress, and I’m creating a new banner to reflect the changes.

When’s the last time you reviewed your site or blog banner?

For a while now I’ve been playing with some ideas. The name will remain the same, but the tag line will read,

“How to Use Online Content Marketing to Get Found, Get Known, and Get Clients.”

I wrote about these three big marketing challenges a few days ago, and I’ve blogged about them over the past five years.

Without doubt, people who use the Internet to market their services must find ways to solve these three issues, or they won’t stay in business long.

You might notice there’s nothing in my new tag line that mentions blogs, blogging, or WordPress. Because, just as I predicted a few years ago, it doesn’t matter if you’re blogging or not. What matters are results.

(I predicted the buzz about blogs would die down simply because everyone would be using a blog platform, such as WordPress, to build and manage their websites as well as blogs. The blur between the two has already merged.)

We’ve been told that world-wide, there are a billion people online, and we can reach a global audience for free. So it doesn’t matter if you’re using a traditional website platform or WordPress, or even Blogger (well, why not?), if that’s working to get you found, get people to know, like and trust you, and you’re converting readers to clients.

It’s not the messenger, it’s your message. It’s not how you do it, what matters is that you do it effectively.

For myself, I’m constantly learning, reading, and evolving (hopefully!)… I’m not sure where I’m going to be in 5 or 10 years, but I am intuitively following a direction. I’m sharing these ideas here with you, about changes to how we process Web content and marketing, and would love to hear your thoughts. Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Marketing
Tags : , , , , , , , , ,

Blog Checklist: 10 Items BEFORE You Publish…

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

What is a good checklist before you publish on your blog? I’m preparing some learning modules for a content marketing presentation and came up with this checklist of 10 items. Tell me what you think.

Here’s what happens, usually. You’re in a hurry, you write up a short post (300 words), hit publish, and then realize you’ve forgotten to write the headline… or select tags… or add any links or images!

Well, it’s easy to go back in and update your post… but what if the phone rings, you have a crises, you get distracted (this is my world)… and you’re stuck with an incomplete blog post.

Reminds me of going out of the house with your zipper undone…

So here’s my handy-dandy checklist to whip out before you hit publish…

  • Pick the topic, find a hook, tip, trend
  • Write 350-600 words (educate, entertain, engage, enrich readers)
  • Format post (bulleted lists, etc.)
  • Write headline (compelling yet clear, keywords)
  • Add image
  • Add links, including to your own previous posts
  • Check grammar, typos
  • Identify tags, categories
  • Search Optimization, (use Scribe SEO, All-in-One SEO Pack, YARPP)
  • Connect with social sites (use Sexy Bookmarks, etc.) Read More→
Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Getting Read, How to...Tips
Tags : , , , , , , ,

3 Biggest Challenges for Online Content Marketing?

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

What are the three biggest challenges to marketing your business? I know, I know, there are so many, but if you could distill them into the most crucial for online content marketing, how would you do it?

(I’m always asking you, because some of my readers are very smart and think of things I don’t. So please feel free to add to this by leaving a comment…)

To me, it’s these three that count more than anything:

  1. How do I get found by the people who need my solutions?
  2. How do I get them to know me, like me, and trust me to do business with?
  3. How do I get clients? Convert readers to buyers?

Get found, get known, get clients… there’s a lot that goes into creating content on the Web that leads to results, and each marketing task, each piece of content, each program you offer, falls into one of these categories or challenges.

I did a survey on this in April, 2010: Readers say that getting traffic, building a list, and converting readers to clients are their biggest challenges. It’s still a matter of findability, creating trust and getting people to take action.

Get found: What does this mean?

You’ve got to be easily found when an ideal client sits down to the screen and looks for solutions to their problem: Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Pathway to Profits
Tags : , , , , , , , ,

Online Reputation? 4 Tips

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, July 9th, 2010

Friday’s guest post is by Robert Stretch, author of VA Mortgage Center blog:

For business people, few things are more important than reputation. Thanks to the worldwide web — which sometimes feels as vast as a universe-wide web — monitoring your online reputation demands serious attention.

Only a few belittling remarks can spread like wildfire online, and damage your online image in no time.

By taking some simple precautionary steps, you can not only reduce invalid criticisms about you, but you can also promote yourself. In fact, having a good online reputation is essential to branding yourself or your business.

Just last week, BtoB Magazine Online reported that Dow Jones hired an online marketing company. The company, Marchex Inc., will work with Dow Jones Local Media Group to make an exclusive online reputation management plan.

By doing so, Dow Jones’ customers get the privilege of responding to blog posts, news and any mention of DJ in social networks.

Not everybody or every company has the resources to hire a third-party that monitors their online rep. Dow Jones is several steps ahead of where some small businesses are. For one thing, the company already owns dowjones.com, dowjones.net and dowjones.org.

Why? Well, it wouldn’t look great if one of those got bought by an angry customer whose goal is to take down the company.

Here are the 4 things you should be doing at a minimum to protect and improve your online reputation, no matter how big or how small your company is. Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Social Media Stuff
Tags : , , , , , , ,

Online Content Marketing Results: Poll Says 50% Dissatisfied

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, July 8th, 2010

In a recent poll, I asked readers if their marketing tasks were easier, faster, more effective since publishing a website or blog…

  • Half of respondents said yes, significantly better results since doing web marketing
  • One-third said yes, but still needs improvement
  • 16.7% say, not much difference

My conclusion: half of you are getting results with your Web content marketing, the other half still struggles to see the kinds of results you want. This is a liberal interpretation to a poll that doesn’t lend itself to participants explaining their answers.

This brief poll was hosted on here on this blog, so only my readers would have responded. I don’t reach significantly large numbers to be able to say half of all people using the Web to publish content are dissatisfied.

Based on what I hear from clients and colleagues, I’m going to speculate some of the reasons this may be so:

  1. Web marketing is complicated: Although tools (blogs, sales pages, shopping carts, audio and video, email marketing) have become more user-friendly in the last few years, there’s a lot more to do (social sites)
  2. Web marketing is crowded: Ten years ago there weren’t as many businesses in your field competing for readers’ attention online. Competition is fierce.
  3. Web marketing is confusing: There are so many ways to publish content online, it’s hard to know what to do first and most.

I’m thinking about this a lot. And, I’d love to hear from you in the comments about what you think the challenges are, for using the Internet to grow business.

One possibility that comes to mind is that some professionals are unclear about their goals for their Web presence. They may be measuring the wrong things. Sales isn’t the only measurement, nor is traffic.

And when it comes to things like thought leadership, reputation, credibility and trust, it’s hard to measure in terms of numbers. Branding is another key element that gets reinforced through web marketing, but it’s also hard to measure.

What do you think about the reasons why many entrepreneurs, small businesses and professionals may be dissatisfied with their online content marketing? What have been your own experiences?

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing
Tags : , , , , , , ,

Phony Testimonials and Dumb Social Proof

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

How do you get good client testimonials for your sales copy, for example, content for a landing page, when you don’t have a lot of previous clients?

There’s no doubt that social proof is one of the key ways people decide to buy or try your products or services.

I get asked about this by some of my consulting clients who are starting a new business or product launch. Nothing can back fire and destroy trust and credibility more quickly than phony testimonials, as well as vague or anonymous comments.

I’ve been working with an old client who’s been working hard to master blogging so he can have a strong online presence. He’s just about ready to start offering products and services for sale.

He’s got a solid reputation as an expert in his field, but up until now, he’s been working for someone else. He doesn’t feel comfortable using testimonials or positive comments acquired when he was a part of a team effort.

I don’t blame him. Not only will he not feel authentic and sincere, but depending on what the old clients say, it might not ring true for his new company, products or services. Readers can smell a phony testimonial a mile away from the computer screen.

There are a couple key persuasion triggers to remember when composing sales content: Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Marketing, Pathway to Profits, Writing Great Copy
Tags : , , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »

Content for Coaches and Consultants

Serenity Virtual Assistant Services

Social Buzz Club

get your bright idea known