Five Ways To Engage Your Customers

Excited-Customers-Coming-Back-For-MoreIf you want your blog read on a consistent basis, you need to provide your readers with value.  Assuming you started your blog as an extension of your business, your blog is a way to keep customers informed of your comings and goings and also to grow your online presence.  If you are using your blog as a platform for your business, you want to get as many return readers as possible.  This will grow your online presence and your clientele.  How can you do that?  Listed below are five ways:

1. Tell a story

If you have a new product or service to roll out, turn it into a story.  Make what you’re selling interesting.  There’s background to what you do.  You don’t wake up one day put your finger in the air and yell “Eureka” and three seconds later, you have a new product to sell or a new service to promote.  There’s a painstaking process that goes into your work, so share it.  Put a bit of an interesting spin on it.  Perhaps attempt to elicit a chuckle or two out of your reader, but let them know what went into your product.  Not only will you entertain them, but perhaps you’ll sell it them too.

2. Provide new information

In order to establish yourself as an expert in your field constantly be sharing new information.  Not only does it make you look smart, but it will give you credibility with potential new customers.   You know more about your industry than your average customer.  And if they are your customer, they are probably interested in your industry.  So don’t be greedy.  When you find out new information, send it their way.  Turn it into a post.   Share what you know with the Internet.  It may be offering free information, but it will also be interesting and informative and keep those readers coming back for more.

3. Go for the kill

You blog so your readers will buy.  But most people are procrastinators.  Most people will read your post and think to themselves: that sounds like a really good product which I want to buy, but not today.  Or this person is an expert in their field and hiring their time could really help my business, I’ll think about it tomorrow.  However, if you end your post with a call to action, you are giving your procrastinators the push they need in order to use your post to stop procrastinating and start buying.  If you don’t tell your readers what to do, how will they ever know to do it?

4. Put on your teacher hat

One reason people read blogs is to learn something new.  So teach them.  Find something super simple that you know a lot about, because after all, it’s your business.  But try to pick something your average reader wouldn’t know the first thing about.  Write them a very simple lesson and post it.  Perhaps it’s a recipe, or a DIY idea about making their own no-sew curtains.  Really anything that someone would read and want to attempt.  Not only have you shown your expertise, but you’ve motivated them.  A win-win.

5. Analogize

Help your customers understand what you do by comparing it to something almost all people are familiar with.  For example, if you own a yoga studio, explain that the amount of calories you would burn in an average class with you is the same as forty minutes running on a treadmill.  It’s a motivator and helps your new customers feel more grounded in their decision to give you their business.

What do you think about these ideas?  There really are so many out there.  Are you going to attempt any of these and see what the response is?

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3 comments

  1. Very usefull tips. Thanks for sharing…

  2. Rebecca,
    do you think small business blogs can be written in either the first or third person? How about “About” pages, which you spoke of the other day?
    I notice that some blogs and websites speak from the owner’s voice, and others speak as the business.
    Do you have a preference?
    Greg

    1. Hi Greg,

      I think it depends on the business, but I am partial to first person. I am always advocating using as much personality as possible in a small business website, and that will be much easier with a first person voice. Or even a We voice. Thanks for the comment! Rebecca

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