As many of you know, I’ve been conducting interviews with successfully self-employed people for many years, and posting the audio of those interviews on my website.
I have four interviews that you’ll want to listen to:
Listen to these free interviews here:
http://www.passionforbusiness.com/interviews.htm
Who are those people who attend your class but never talk, or who friend you on Facebook or Twitter, but never respond?
Back in the mid-90s when I first went online via CompuServe (remember those days??), we noticed that for every 1 person who was interacting in the message forum, another 10 were logging on and reading the message threads, but never interacting. Back then, we called the people who didn’t participate actively in discussions “lurkers.”
Fast forward 17 years, and we find that Lurker Ratio of 10:1 still exists – in online message forums,on my teleseminars, and in any other place where groups of people congregate.
In some places, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other online social media forums, the lurker ratio is closer to 100:1 (for every 1 person who participates, there are 100 people just reading and absorbing the conversation).
I think there are a number of reasons why people don’t comment on Facebook or blogs: too busy, nothing to add, feeling shy. That’s what the “Like” button is for on Facebook: if you don’t want to leave a comment but you want to still let the folks know that you’re interested, you click Like.
Jakob Nielsen calls it Participation Inequality. I see it most often with “remote” groups that meet online or over the telephone.
We ALL have something to add to a conversation – our feelings, our experiences, our knowledge. What comes from within counts for a lot with me. I love when people leave comments on my blog and when they interact in my classes.
In your business, you want to build connections and relationships with your customers and audience. Being aware of the lurker ratio when you’re using social media for marketing, and in your classes and online message forums, will help you gauge the quality of your connections and relationships.
Just thought you’d like to know!
Aly and I had lunch the other day with my Mom and Dad at a trendy fusion restaurant with a really creative menu. While we were trying turkey wraps with butternut squash inside, what did my Dad have? A steak sandwich and a Coke.
“Dad,” I said, “Why not try something new?”
My Mom (as many Moms do) answered for my father:
“Because men won’t eat what they don’t understand.”
I cracked up laughing because it seemed such a preposterous and over-the-top statement, especially since Aly was sitting next to me trying quinoa for the first time.
But on the way home I got to thinking: maybe she’s right!
Aly had asked the waitress: What Is Quinoa? She gave him a full description of what it was, how it was cooked and how it would taste. She took the mystery out of this new item and made Aly feel safe in trying it.
It’s not just men who won’t try something new unless they feel safe about it, it’s all of us.
When you’re doing marketing and explaining to your customers the service or product you’re offering, you must help them to understand everything that’s involved with it:
Some buyers are risk-takers and love to have the newest, latest thingie regardless of whether there might be some glitches or not. They want to be the first to have something or to be in on the newest experiences. Often these are the customers who already know you and trust you, so the risk isn’t actually too high. But they still won’t buy if they don’t see a benefit or if the price seems too high for the benefits they’ll get. You need to help them see that the price is equal (or less than) the benefits.
Next you have those customers who don’t want to be “bleeding edge,” but they do want to get in on a great service or product that will help them. They have to think about it, weigh it in their minds. They can take days and weeks to decide, so you have to keep your offer in front of them, and answer any questions they have. Sometimes they’ll call you with questions, sometimes they’ll email you, sometimes they’ll post a blog comment. Your job is to be present on whatever channel they use to communicate, and answer their questions thoroughly so that they understand the offer completely.
Because customers won’t buy what they don’t understand.
Do you have a story about a time you walked away from an offer you didn’t understand? What comes up for you when you try to put together your words around your service or product? Please share your stories, questions and comments on my blog…I’d love to hear from you!
Whew! After 11 months of hard planning, multiple website graphics choices, and lots of coding (700 pages!), we launched the new-and-improved version of the Passion For Business website yesterday. Poor Aly, I think his fingers are whittled to the bone with all the website coding work he did. He gets a much-deserved vacation after this launch!
I know many of you are thinking it’s time to redesign your website, but you don’t know where to start or how to manage the project. Let me share my experience with you in hopes that it will make your website redesign process smooth and efficient.
)Congratulations, you’ve done it! Have a huge party to celebrate!
(If I’ve missed any steps, please leave a comment and tell me about YOUR website project experience!)
This month, I will continue the copywriting topic with some more copywriting basics. Here are the steps to any marketing copywriting, whether you are selling services or products.
Last month I gave you some ideas about formulas you can use to write good headlines for your sales pages and newsletters. (If you didn’t see the post, you can still read it on my blog: 3 Headline Formulas for Non-Copywriters.)
First, know thy audience. This sounds so familiar, right? But do you really know what it means and how to DO it? Before you begin writing, close your eyes and put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Ask yourself these questions:
Now, write a headline that promises to help them create the life they want, or helps them solve a problem. You can read more about writing headlines here in this blog post. Remember, the whole purpose of writing a headline is to grab their attention.
Next, help them to get to know you and trust you by honestly talking about their dream or their challenges. Give them some tips. Give them examples. Tell them a story about how you have been where they are and how you created the life of your dreams. Above all, educate them so that they receive real value from you. This isn’t the place to fluff it up.
This next one is the hard part, the part where nearly everyone falls down: You have to make the offer. You have to tell them what you are offering, and ask them to buy. Be clear and straight-forward here. Tell them the benefits of your product or service, exactly what they’ll get, the price, and how to buy. Answer any questions you think they might have about your product or service. This is no place to be shy. If you don’t believe completely in what you are selling, why should your customer? You don’t need to be aggressive or manipulative; just tell them how you can help them and make an offer. Trust their own intelligence that they’ll know if it’s a good fit or not.
To help build your credibility, next you will share testimonials from your satisfied customers. Testimonials that tell how the customer benefitted from your product and service are best. It’s far better to have a testimonial that said, “I was able to create my lesson plan and teach my first class within one month of taking Karyn’s program,” than to have a testimonial that says, “Golly, Karyn is a great teacher.” What were your customers able to DO after using your service or product?
The final step is the Call To Action. What action do you want them to take? Should they visit your website for more information? Should they click a button to buy the product or service? Should they call your office to schedule a time to talk? You have to tell them exactly what to do next so there is no confusion.
Copywriting is no mystery. There are some straight-forward formulas that work every time. But you have to be willing to ask for the sale.
Are you ready to try these copywriting steps in your own business?
Over the next month or two, I’ll begin to go into the details of each of these steps, give examples, and answer your questions!
I’d love to hear your comments and questions — won’t you join in the conversation on my blog?
Go to the Passion for Business Website
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copyright © 2012 Karyn Greenstreet.
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