You’ve probably wondered at some point, ” How can I attract new customers without stopping selling at any time in my business?” Or you’ve dreamed of generating new business automatically , even while you sleep or on weekends when you’re resting.
It may sound strange to you, but it is actually something that all companies are already doing worldwide and it is achieved by selling online .
It’s as simple as this:
As you know, consumers’ spending habits are constantly changing. Nowadays, people no longer shop the same way they did in the early 2000s, for example.
Traditional media—cold calling, cold emails, TV ads, and radio spots—are increasingly losing popularity. On the other hand, online, social media, and app ads are becoming increasingly common.
However, users of these networks and apps tend to ignore or skip ads to view content that interests them. They don’t like the feeling of being “sold something.”
Therefore, one of the new sales strategies is inbound marketing or attraction marketing. This type of sales strategy allows you to attract potential customers by having them find you online and learn about you.
The goal is to sell in a way that doesn’t feel intrusive or invasive (which often has the opposite effect and causes your customers to move away). This is achieved by offering added value to the customer.
You can implement inbound marketing too
Inbound marketing is divided into 4 stages:
- Attract
- Convert
- Close
- Delight
This time, we’re going to focus on everything related to the attraction stage, with some tips for potential clients.
1. Create a content blog
Something fundamental to attracting clients through inbound marketing is the valuable content offered through a business blog .
Free? No, thanks!
A business blog or one intended for sales should represent your brand identity and be personalized. It should also have its own domain (yourname.com, .net, .org, etc.).
* See how to write an engaging article to boost your brand 100%.
Don’t make the mistake of making a free site:
If you think this will save you money, think again. The reality is that many of the free tools aren’t that flexible.
They only offer some of their options for free or use their own advertising as part of their domain name… and the last thing any business needs is free advertising for another business.
To sell online, you need complete versatility and a complete level of customization. Plus, having a blog with a name other than your brand’s is very damaging to your brand.
Imagine this:
Suppose you have your own company. Let’s call it “CoolDesigns”… A blog called DiseñosCool.com isn’t the same as something like DiseñosCool.ServicioDeBlogGratuito.com.
In the first case, the site only has your name. In the second, the credit goes almost entirely to the free blogging service you choose ( Blogger , Medium , WordPress , Wix , Tumblr or any other).
Don’t underestimate the value that a domain name can add to your brand. It’s the most appropriate and beneficial option for your brand.
* Learn more about how your blog can help you get clients without spending money on advertising.
2. Ensure consistency in design
It’s a fact:
People love what’s familiar, what seems familiar. They even come to identify with certain tendencies, ideals, or life philosophies. This applies to developing or strengthening your brand. The most successful sales strategies take advantage of this unique feature.
Everything in your company should be in harmony. From your stationery (business cards, letterhead, brochures, invoices) to your website and/or blog. Together, they should represent the very essence of your brand.
Let it be a virtual extension of your business:
Make sure your blog or website maintains the graphic style that your company uses in its logo, advertising, etc.
Use your colors, fonts, logo, and other relevant elements. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a visual dissonance that could create distrust or cause people to abandon your blog.
One way to solve this problem is to choose one or two fonts and two or three colors that become part of your identity. It should be something your customers can easily recognize.
Example: Don’t expect Coca-Cola’s website to be blue and Pepsi’s to be red. Your branding should also be consistent.
And what to post on your blog?
You might be wondering what kind of content you’re going to publish on your blog. Don’t worry, the key answer is that it should be topics of interest or help to your clients, as you’ll see in the following sections.
* Also see how you can choose a good writer to help you with your blog.
3. Research your industry and you’ll get more attention
Research your target audience’s topics of interest and create articles based on them.
Observe and research what your local competition is doing. If no one else is doing it, you can also use a foreign example.
Make it easy to find you:
Use tools to find out how people search for the service you offer. That is, what keywords they use to search for it.
Once you have them, include them in your content so people can find you more easily.
Some of the tools you can use are Google Keyword Planner or Keyword.io , but there are many others. You can try the ones Rhuven recommends in Alternatives to Google Adwords Planner .
4. Answer questions and provide added value
Humans are naturally curious. Try to answer any questions they may have about a problem you can solve.
Example: “How to eliminate the smell of cigarettes”. If you are a seller of some type of disinfectant, you can give a couple of natural methods and other chemical products. In both cases you can offer your product as an alternative.
Or if you’re an editor, you can create a post with a topic like: “5 Serious Mistakes You Should Avoid to Write Better . ”
Why does it work?
This type of content gives you credibility, as answering common questions and conducting research establishes you as an expert on the topic.
5. Make your client feel special
Give your clients something for free: a more extensive report, a 30-minute consultation, a 10% discount on their first purchase…
In short, some kind of valuable information in exchange for writing your name and an email address or phone number on a form.
This will generate a list of new prospects with some interest in the product or service you offer.
You can connect your form to a CRM ( Customer Relationship Management) service.) or send an email to an account to later transfer to a spreadsheet to keep track of new clients. Something like may be sufficient.
That way, you’ll be able to contact them by phone or email to follow up.
Additionally, you can email them more relevant and interesting information, as well as news about your promotions and offers.
6. Calls to action: a key element in sales
This is important:
Calls to action, or CTAs, are actions you want the customer to take : like your fan page, buy something, subscribe to a newsletter, request a quote, download, etc., and they are a key element in achieving your marketing and, of course, sales objectives.
The calls to action you place on your blog should be clear within the site. Try to include one or two per article, no more, and make sure they’re relevant to the topic you’re discussing in your post.
If your blog is built on WordPress, if you want to add sharing options, commenting, etc., you can hire a WordPress plugin expert to help you.
You may also want to hire a professional to help you create your online store , so you can include calls to action for direct purchases.
7. Keep your customer engaged with frequent posts
Make your posts regularly to keep fresh information on your site. This way, there’s always fresh content to attract new customers who come in, whether they have new questions or are interested in the topics you’ve published.
Additionally, you’ll be able to maintain a relationship with your existing customer prospects. This way, they’ll remember you and keep you in mind when they need to buy what you offer.
Of course, be sure to share the content on your social media so more people can read and share it.
Keep people interested:
Don’t let months go by without posting, as some customers may think that no one will help them or that the information displayed is no longer valid, and abandon the site in search of more recent content.
An updated website reassures your customers that your business is current, offers innovative products and services, and will therefore be well served.
Think about the times you’ve searched for articles that explain a particular topic. You usually go to the most recent one, and you find the information is comprehensive.
If you want to attract new customers, you need to make users want to see what you’ve posted.
Schedule your posts, planning topics in advance. Preferably, post them on a specific day. For example: new content every Monday or Friday, a monthly roundup of featured products, etc.
Keep a spreadsheet, or even a notepad. Always jot down any new topics that come to mind so you can develop them later.
8. Measure your results and optimize
No marketing strategy to attract customers would be complete without measuring results . This helps you make adjustments and improvements. You should regularly review your customers’ response to your published content.
Use tools like Google Analytics or Webmaster Tools to measure which posts on your site have the most visits, impressions, etc.
Do this to improve:
Look at the CTR ( Click-through Rate)) of the content. This is a measure of how many times a user clicks on one of your links, compared to the number of times it appears on screen (impressions).
Content with a CTR of less than 5% is a candidate for review and optimization to help it achieve its goal of attracting customers.
To achieve a higher CTR, you should create your posts using titles and descriptions that grab your customers’ attention.
Also, try to make the content easy to read, but at the same time offer clear and complete information. Remember that you will have competition. To attract customers, you must make your blog stand out from the rest.
Get help from professionals
At first, all of this might seem like a lot of work, or you might feel a little insecure about using online tools.
If you have no idea how to get started, you can seek the help of a digital marketing expert to support you with your inbound marketing and social media advertising strategy.
You may also need the advice and services of a systems professional to help you create your custom blog, purchase a domain, etc.
You can hire an expert in any field at SoyFreelancer.com. You’ll have the advantage of paying only for completed work.
Go ahead and create your own blog and offer valuable content to your clients. You’ll soon see how you’ll actually have a 24/7 salesperson who speaks for you and attracts clients to your business. Good luck!
