On Tuesday we talked about the importance of keeping the content processing preference of your target audience in mind and how, for example, you are essentially blocking out those who don’t like ezines when that’s the only type of marketing you do. (Catch up by clicking here.)
Today I’m going to go over some different types of content you can create to connect and communicate with all of the different types of people who make up your target audience:
- Electronic Newsletter (also known as an e-Zine). I know this one is daunting to some business owners, but it doesn’t have to be. Set up a schedule, stick to it, and send pertinent, relevant, and useful information to your subscribers. Besides being a great tool to keep in touch with your audience, it is so easy for them to share it with others, putting your message in the inbox of more people than you sent it to.
- Archive it. Not publishing your previous electronic newsletters in an archive on your website would be like having a library with one shelf of books…only the most current one out there. Ridiculous, huh? Well imagine someone visiting your site for the first time. They see you have a monthly e-Zine about how to make widgets…and they are really into widgets. But they want to make sure you know what you’re talking about and that subscribing to your e-Zine won’t litter their inbox with a bunch of rubbish, so they look for your newsletter archive. When they can’t find it, they move on. Why? Because they wanted to SEE exactly what they were signing up for. We forget sometimes that in a world full of email, instant messaging, and being behind the scenes that people still actually want to see, touch and feel what they’re getting. And since they technically can’t touch, YOU can give them the opportunity to SEE past issues and get a FEELing of what it is about.
- Post your expertise on a Blog. Posts do not have to be full-blown articles. Short entries are great – remember we live in an information world and we are overloaded already. This also makes it easier for you to keep up with a regular schedule…and you MUST post regularly or you’ll lose your audience.
- Feed your subscribers. Having a blog without an RSS feed is like not asking, “Would you like fries with that?” It’s actually kind of pointless. Show your readers how to subscribe to your RSS feed and make sure it is prominent on your blog. If they can’t find it, they’ll lose interest and you’ll lose a possible subscriber.
Now, in a perfect demonstration of how shorter entries are just fine, I’m going to leave you hanging here and you can come back on Tuesday for some more ideas. Really, do you have time to read anymore at my little old blog today anyway?
Didn’t think so! See you next week.
