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static web site whose most recent feature is an article about the 2004 US presidential election is going to look pretty outdated these days.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!
