“I Don’t Need to Blog. It Won’t Help My Business.”
People tend to look at blogging and marketing as trying to attract new customers. But that’s not really quite right.Dan Kennedy, the master marketer tells a story about a marketing-savvy plumber that illustrates the point. Now, Dan would probably sue me back into the womb if I recounted the whole thing here, but the salient point is as follows...
The plumber doesn’t advertise in order to get you to choose him now, he builds awareness (leaving little stickers on all your pipes following a free checkup) so that when you need a plumber you call him, and not someone else.
Now, the reason I’m not worried that Mr. Kennedy will sue me for sharing that tip is that this step is the culmination of a whole series of steps, without which the punchline won’t work. It’s a useful point, but to implement it properly, you need the rest of the story.
(The story is included on the CD that comes with his “No BS Marketing to the Affluent” book. Yes that’s an affiliate link, so if you buy it I will get paid, but we all have to eat.)
As far as blogging goes, the relevant bit is the fact that the plumber splashes himself all over your house pipes so that you know who to call when you need a plumber. The people who installed our nice shiny solar boiler did the same. As did the people I bought my car from.
And the lawnmower.
So, don’t blog because doing it will get you a new customer now, blog because you have something interesting to say that will make a whole load of potential customers remember you.
If you didn’t get that, read it again. It’s important.
This is what blogging ought to be about. It’s not some underhand SEO gaming tactic trying to con Google into putting your page at the top of some arbitrary list of web sites; it’s about delivering value to readers in the hope that they’ll trust you more.
Then, one day, when they need what you’re offering, maybe they’ll remember you, and come running with their credit card. Until then, provide them with solutions, entertain them if you must, and get them on a mailing list if you can, but above all - stay on their radar.
Be everywhere. Tweet them your blog articles. Pinterest pictures of your stuff. Facebook message everyone who might be interested in where your products come from. Tell a story on your blog, and give them a million reasons to pass on your content to their friends.
Make your blog good. No, make it awesome, and if your readers love you enough they’ll eventually become your customers. And that transition from reader to customer will make it all worthwhile.
