If you are a business owner, or someone responsible for sales and/or marketing in the company you work, the information provided here can help you. This article is based on a suggestion I recently sent as an email message to a solo entrepreneur.
I ended up making it so long and detailed that I’ve decided to publish it as a blog to help others. It offers ideas for taking your marketing to the next level by creating Information Products – especially special reports called “Educational Commercials”. I hope you find it useful.
Background
It all began when I read a interesting post by the entreprenur about the powerful health enhancing qualities of products he sells. It struck me that he would most likely have more details/insights to offer on that subject that would interest many people and possibly make them want to buy.
So I wrote the lengthy message below to him. I now invite you to read the same message as if it’s meant for you. It offers valuable insights and tips.
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Hi,
I’d like to make a suggestion to you regarding the products/services you promote using your social media profile.
Don’t wait till people get in touch or come to you to tell them, and many others who may likely need to know.
When you stay on your profile, posting brief descriptions and benefits, you can only say so much.
You need to be able to say more to get people from the state of mind in which they are just curious, to one in which they begin to seriously consider buying from you.
To make that happen I suggest instead that you create useful resources that they can discover on their own, which will tell them most of what you would normally tell those who come to you.
Don’t use the generic marketing and sales flyers and brochures supplied by the maker(s) of the products you promote. Their style of communication is too direct.
The minute people see them, they’ll know they’re about to be sold on something!
Instead you need to offer resources they will instantly perceive as offering information or news that is truly helpful.
I refer to the need for you to create your own unique range of information products to inform and educate people about your theme or area of focus (e.g. health, wellness, self image, fitness) as a means of achieving greater and more impactful name recognition/marketing reach.
I offer an example of a strategy you can put to work, by yourself, starting today, below:
Why not write a special report (PDF) branded with your name, photo of you and your product? It won’t be an advert. Instead it would serve as what I like to call an “Educational Commercial”.
In it you would offer tips (for instance, on preventing and managing high blood pressure) that in themselves would be useful to the reader, even if she did not have your product.
At relevant points in the report, you could make “non-salesy” references to the different benefits that your product offers.
Note that it’s important to be subtle in doing this. It’s an aspect of a strategy called “Marketing Without Advertising”.
Click here to view one of the many “Educational Commercials” that I use to promote Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Products and Services to experts working across Africa to get an idea of how this is done.
Basically, you will find creating zero cost custom marketing resources like these useful for the following purposes:
1. Establishing yourself as an authority in your area of business focus.
2. Achieving what is called “Top Of Mind Awareness” (TOMA) in the consciousness of members of your target audience.
3. Saving time in explaining to enquirers how you can help them.
For instance you could include detailed responses in your PDF report, to Frequently Asked Questions you’ve answered from enquirers in the past.
That way next time you get enquiries from someone trying to decide whether or not to buy, you would then be able to simply email her/him a copy of your branded educational commercial, and let it do it’s magic!
As a result of the above you won’t have to waste quality time answering the same questions asked by people just curious.
You would instead be free yourself to attend to those people who are closer to making up their minds, having gotten answers to their queries by studying the various resources you would have prepared.
4. Generating & Nurturing Sales Leads:
This is where it gets really useful for YOU.
Make sure your report is well prepared with information your readers/potential buyers consider valuable.
Also include an invitation for them to subscribe to your email newsletter mailing list, this would enable you effortlessly build a phone number and email addresses database of “Pre-qualified Prospects”.
You can then follow up with them by sending more useful tips and information, possibly in form of articles or other special PDF reports.
To do the above without stress, you will need to use a web based automated email marketing system.
One you can start with is www.mailchimp.com.
I currently use the FREE version for the weekly Speaking Ideas Newsletter I send out to subscribers, to promote Burt Dubin’s products and services (along with mine) – see www.spontaneousdevelopment.com/blog.
It also has paid options you can adopt if/when your needs require advanced features.
If you do the above, I anticipate you’re likely to quickly build up a library of useful reports, articles & presentations.
They would ideally be in digital form (PDF, Power Point, Video, Audio online/on DVD etc).
It would however be wise to make them print-ready so you can print on paper and photocopy to give out at networking meetings or other events.
Having said that I strongly advice that you lean towards asking persons who indicate interest in your relevant products/services, to give you permission to email the URL (or download/view links) to them to answer questions they ask you, and/or as a gift from you to them.
Sometimes that can evolve into a quality sales lead for you. And you’d have their email address to follow up with them.
Can you see how having an Educational Commercial with useful information gives you a legitimate excuse to ask people to give you their contact details?
It makes it so easy to attract – and convert – potential buyers.
I Use It All the Time. And it Really Works.
Indeed, just yesterday at an exhibition fair, I got 2 purely French speaking exhibitors of artificial aquariums at the Universite D’Abomey-Calavi, here in Benin Republic to eagerly offer me their email addresses (within 2 minutes of my speaking to them in my shaky French).
They did this in order to get the URL to the Educational Commercial for my Self-Cleaning Natural Aquariums.
Basically, what I did was to ask them if their aquariums on display could keep the fish alive if their electrically powered air pump/oxygenators suddenly failed.
I pointed out this was a real possibility, noting that in my country, Nigeria, people sometimes do not have electricity from the power company for months on end.
As a result, most people use generators for alternative power supply.
In such a situation, not many would be willing to keep their generators running (and therefore guzzling expensive petrol) in order to ensure aquariums are oxygenated. And even when willing, some would not be able afford it.
The smart alternative, I told them, would be to build and offer aquarium systems that do not require artificial oxgenation.
In other words, find a way to replicate the balanced ecosystem we see in (especially non-salty) natural water bodies that sustain aquatic life (e.g ponds, rivers, lakes) in our glass aquariums.
Then I explained the scientific principles that make it possible, showing the photos of such aquarium systems I built and kept that way for over 2 years.
I also told them how I have been paid to setup similar systems for school clients to use in explaining the role of the Nitrogen cycle and other naturally occurring processes in keeping fish, snails and other life forms alive in balanced ecosystems.
Before leaving, I subtly suggested that they consider inviting me to speak to deliver my one hour talk on this subject to their members.
The talk is titled “Why Natural Aquariums Never Turn Green & How They Can Be Used As Powerful Aids for Teaching Science & Art Subjects”.
Who knows what opportunities will emerge from that simple 2 minute exchange in the weeks to come!
In case you’re wondering…This Strategy Enables Me (& Can Help YOU) Kill Many Birds With One Stone. Here’s how…
For instance, I have a 5 page report I sell on the differences between Natural & Artificial Aquariums.
With the help of a bilingual consultant friend I’ll be preparing a French version for sale to attendees of my learning events out here.
Also as you can imagine, one or more persons could request training to learn how to build my kind of aquariums…
Or they could even place order(s) for me to build one or more of my custom Natural Aquarium Systems.
The possibilities are almost limitless!
BUT to succeed in doing all the above, for the long term, you would be better off operating from YOUR OWN website as you Business Home on the web.
A recent article I’ve written on the above explains how doing this can protect you from losing the fruits of your hard labour without warning.
Read it at http://spontaneousdevelopment.com/sdnuggets/2-dangers-of-using-social-media-as-your-business-home/
If you need help making use of the above ideas, I offer a coaching support service you can take advantage of.
Goodluck.