Blogs as essential elements in the art of persuasion a.k.a. marketing your services
John Hoff has a great post on his blog entitled: The Art of Persuasion
In the post, John outlines 5 Keys to Persuasion:
- storytelling
- being observant
- being knowledgeable
- timing
- listening
I encourage you to read the post to get the full benefit of his wisdom (the link above goes to part 1 of the series). It’s really good stuff!!!
From a marketing point of view, John’s list could also read, “5 reasons blogs are better than traditional static web sites at selling your services”.
Don’t like to use the “S” word… then how about “5 reasons blogs are better than traditional static web sites at PERSUADING your web visitors to become your clients”.
- Blogs are great for story telling…..
Often the best stories come from personal experience. Your coaching blog can be easily updated to include the latest and greatest “stories” from your life and times. - Blogs allow you to record your observations
While a blog won’t “magically” enhance your powers of observation, you are able to be “spontaneous” in sharing your observations. Instead of “composing” and article and then sending it to your web master for “publication”, you can just log on and share. There is no “recommended word count”… and your blog allows you to comment on topics of current events as well. - Blogs allow you to demonstrate your knowledge
Keeping content current on your blog will be a habit you’ll want to develop. Regular blogging is a great way to “showcase” your knowledge. When a reader starts clicking on other posts… it’s a good sign that they’re interesting in learning what you know. When a reader clicks to subscribe via RSS, you’ve hit paydirt!
Daily Blog post writes:
“Visitors will subscribe to a blog when they are 90% convinced that it would be a loss indeed to miss that content. I say 90% and not 100% because they can always unsubscribe later, and for 10% people would be willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.“ - Blogging allows you to take advantage of the here and now.
A static web site whose most recent feature is an article about the 2004 US presidential election is going to look pretty outdated these days. However, a blog allows you to make commentary and time stamp it with a date. That means you can write a post about a topical event (for example, a candidate for the upcoming 2008 US presidential election). Your blog post will be topical and current AND may actually land a great SERP (Search Engine Results Page) in the process! - Blogging allows your readers the opportunity to comment.
Listening to users is an ESSENTIAL skill when it comes to communication. Allowing readers to comment on blog posts allows you to see inside your visitor’s thinking process… and allows you to change course if necessary.
If you’re a coach and you hate the idea of the “S” word (selling) then perhaps you should consider a blog as a marketing tool. That way you can “soft sell” your services by sharing your expertise!
Creating Blog Content is not as hard as you might think….
Content Paralysis… what happens when you think you don’t have enough time to create content for your coaching blog.
It’s a common concern, but like any “problem” there are easy and effective solutions.
Over at Duct Tape Marketing, John gives helpful tips on how to Reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose as a way to generate content. While Shonnie Lavender encourages you to create exceptional blog content by thinking of your reader. Vandalay Web Design offers their advice with a great post on13 Ways to Create Unique, Original Blog Content.
Of course, if you find you’re totally blocked, a great way to get inspired is to begin reading what OTHER bloggers are writing about. Dosh Dosh offers his take on this tactic in his post on using Social News Aggregators to create content.
Of course, when you find you’re on a roll… go with it, but don’t post all those great posts on the same day. Try to build up a post “savings account” for those days when you don’t have “time” to create compelling content.
Choosing a Theme for your Coaching Blog
You’ve done it. You’ve decided to launch a blog to promote your coaching practice. Congratulations! Blogs are GREAT marketing tools for coaching professionals.
You’ve also made another great decision by deciding to take the “high road” and launching a self hosted Word Press blog. Again, another great move. (Some Typepad coaching blogs are having trouble accepting Trackbacks, which are essential to building a successful blog.)
Now, it’s time to determine how you want your Word Press blog to appear. This process should be positively PAINLESS when using Word Press. Word Press Themes can be activated and deactivated with ease, unlike a traditional HTML style web site. Applying a Word Press Theme is like “buying a dress” while choosing a look for a traditional HTML web site is like getting a tattoo.
Despite the ease with which a Word Press Theme is activated/deactivated… many coaches are paralyzed at this phase of the blog launch process. Sometimes, it’s merely a fear of “poor branding” execution. However, there are other times when I suspect that the obsession over the theme choice (and the never ending “tweaking” of the blog’s theme that follows) are merely an excuse to avoid getting down to the real task of blogging.
Make no mistake… the theme (which controls the appearance) of your blog is important. However, it merely sets the stage for the real production… your content. Whether it’s video, audio or merely the written word… your Word Press blog is a powerful communication tool. Don’t get stuck in the endless loop of moving the blog title to the left 10 pixels and then to the right 10 pixels while your “welcome to word press” post is still hanging out there for all to see!
Blogging is not marketing magic for promoting your practice
Last week, I was searching for shining examples of coaching blogs….. coaches who were using their blogs to promote their practice by sharing bits and pieces of themselves via their blog posts. I went to the Blog Catalog to being my search. Unfortunately, I could only find TWO examples of coaches using their blogs in this manner and only ONE of those blogs was accepting a trackback link!!!! I was hoping to include many other coaching professionals who also share a piece of themselves via their blog in that post… but sadly, I found a lot of coaches who are blogging for the wrong reasons.
Remember, I am like any other web surfer on the web. I tried three or four other coaching blog sites in the list, but I didn’t by any means have the time or patience to do an exhaustive search. I chose to search Blog Catalog because at least these are coaching professionals who are supposedly serious about promoting their blog.
One blog I found during my search had what appeared to be a mandatory monthly post. The purpose of this month’s post was to promote an affiliate program. Hey, that’s what last month’s post was as well. According to the blog’s header, this was the blog for a coach who helped people, of all things, WRITE THEIR FIRST BOOK! Imagine, a book writing coach’s blog that is nothing but an endless stream of affiliate links.
The next blog I found wasn’t about anything to DO WITH coaching, despite being included on the list. (Blog Catalog users are able to choose what category hosts their entry.)
On to the next on the list. This one was so jam packed with ads that it was hard to read the content. The ads were for everything from weight loss products to web site hosting and many flashed on and off like a strobe light. Hurry! Look away! (My eyes STILL hurt from the experience!)
Your blog is NOT the magical formula for marketing your coaching practice. Your blog is a POWERFUL communication tool with which you can make contact with potential coaching clients. Think a free session is enough? Think again… you need a blog to establish enough trust with a potential client for them to even ASK for a free session!!!
Does your blog accept trackbacks?
Ariane Benefit is a coach who is BRILLIANTLY using her blog to promote not only her coaching practice, but her book as well! Her blog “Neat and Simple Living” has great timely tips and posts.
So, when I tried to link to her timely post Organizing Financial and Tax Return Information Digitally, I got an error message.
The same error message I got when I tried to link to Patsi Krakoff over at writing on the web or even HTTP Client Error Codes in Cartoon Form
What these three blogs have in common is they are TYPEPAD hosted blogs. When you create a trackback to a typepad blog, you follow the instructions at the end of the post:
I should be able to copy and paste the Trackback url into my blog for the link and VIOLA! A trackback is born!
Trackbacks are the gas for any blog’s engines. These are also known in SEO land as “incoming links”. Typepad honors these salutes to content by showcasing them above comments. But for some reason, these blogs aren’t allowing trackbacks.
Is it an oversight? A mistake? I have no idea what the reason is behind the error… but if you click on the links above you’ll see the error. What confuses me is not ALL Typepad blogs produce this error. Sometimes I can trackback link to a Typepad blog and it works as it should. My readers can click on a link and travel to the other author’s blog effortlessly. However, more often than not lately I’m finding that Typepad trackbacks don’t work…. which if you’re the owner of a Typepad blog this should worry you too.
Trackbacks are literally the lifeblood of your blog. Be sure your blog accepts them by creating your own trackback entry to your own post. Once the post is live… test the link! If you get an error message… you have a critical problem that MUST be addressed if you’re to harness all the power possible from your blog style web site.
Blogs are great marketing tools for coaches
The topic of blogging is HOT, but the reasons why coaches should be blogging MAY surprise you.
As a coach, your most important asset is YOU! Communication is KEY to attracting new clients to your practice and blogging is a great way to achieve that communication!
Natalie Gray does this on her blog Radically Joyful Living. Want to learn more about Natalie’s view and what kind of coach she might be for you? Well, you could read her “bio” or you could check out her post ” A River of Friends” Like what you’re reading? Wondering if this is the “real” Natalie… then you can read another post… and another!
Natalie has done a GREAT job of sharing herself through her blog posts. By reading her blog, I can get a real sense of who Natalie is… which is essential to her breaking through the “barrier” with potential clients.
Yes, there’s a HUGE barrier between you and your potential coaching clients. In a word, it’s summed up with the phrase, “Strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet!” Right now, you’re a STRANGER to your best potential coaching clients. Blogging is a GREAT way to overcome that barrier!
-
Get your copy of
Keys to Small Business Marketing Success
Online and Off line.
When you sign up for
Keys to Website Success
-
