You want to harness the power of blogging to attract attention and promote your brand. But as a business owner, your main objective is turning online readers into regular customers. In our first two articles in this series, we discussed the importance of understanding your audience and how to create effective blogs. In Part Three of our “Blogging for Dollars” series, we will share a few more tips on converting blog readers into customers.
Step Six: Provide testimonials. Before you make a large purchase, do you ever read product reviews? If so, then you understand the power of testimonials. Whether you sell products or provide a service, your blog readers will be interested in reading testimonials from former customers. It’s one of the oldest forms of “word of mouth” advertising, and one of the most efficient ways to attract new business.
If you receive compliments from customers, simply ask if you can quote them in your blog. You might even wish to provide feedback forms so that clients can submit their comments to be used online. Just remember that the quotes should be integrated into your blogs in such a way that they support your points. Don’t create a page of testimonials purely for the purpose of blatant self-promotion.
Step Seven: Write a clear call to action. Blogging will attract traffic to your website and establish brand awareness. But subconsciously, people still need to be told what to do with this new information. Your blogs should include a simple, clear call to action, such as:
- “Call me to learn more”
- “Sign up for our free newsletter”
- “Click here to schedule an appointment”
- “Stop by to visit our showroom”
A good call to action will accomplish one of these purposes: Your readers will contact you directly, or they will submit their contact information so that you can target them in further marketing campaigns (email, for example). This puts the ball back in your court.
Step Eight: Infuse your blogs with sense of urgency. When deliberating over a purchase, you might notice that you tend to go for it when quantities are limited or a sale is ending soon. We call this the “fear of missing out”, and it refers to the idea that an opportunity might soon disappear. Often the fear of missing out is enough to push a consumer over the edge of indecision, and they will purchase an item or a service.
The fear of missing out provides us with a good psychological trick that we can use in blogging. However, you should be careful not to be too transparent about your tactic. If you push too hard, your overall tone will become negative and turn off much of your audience. You want to create urgency, not fear.
Tip: A good call to action often utilizes a sense of urgency. Offer a discount to the first 100 people to comment on a post, or emphasize that an offer lasts for a limited amount of time.
Step Nine: Avoid blatant self-promotion. In this series of articles, we have offered numerous tips on how to convert blog readers into customers. Now we will close with a word of caution: Avoid blatant self promotion at all times! If you sound like you’re pushing for a sale, you risk turning off your readers. Think of your blog readers as visitors. You want to welcome them and provide them with something useful, not immediately pounce them like a stereotypical used car salesman!
At all times, your main objective should be to provide your audience with useful, relevant information via your blogs. Over time, you will establish a rapport with your readers, and that trust will lead them to become paying customers.
