HOW DO YOU GET PEOPLE TO NOTICE YOU?
Forget old-school, dried up advertising methods!
Andrew Davis, best-selling author and former television producer, believes he has a better way for you to spend your advertising or marketing budget.
His idea is quite simple: create great content and engage your audience. Then use that content to leverage sales. Content brands build relationships. Relationships build trust. Trust drives revenue. It’s an approach Sesame Street and Walt Disney have used for years to drive millions in product sales, and Andrew believes it can work for small businesses too.
He has a five-step approach that’s already producing some great results for small online businesses.
- Get Rich, Target a Niche. Stop trying to be everything to everyone and find a niche where your content can flourish. ChickenWhisperer.com did exactly that. Rather than trying to talk about farming, livestock or even chickens, founder Andy Schneider narrowed it down to people who wanted to grow chickens in backyard, urban spaces. He started a radio show that now attracts over 20,000 weekly listeners. When it came time to promote his book, Andy had a ready audience.
- Exploit Content Holes. Examine the market and find areas for new content. What needs aren’t being served? Where can you fit it? Trish Witkowski, founder of foldfactory.com found her spot. She specializes in folding patterns and template software for greeting cards, brochures, wedding invitations and everything in between. By hosting online tutorials and a “super cool fold of the week” segment for viewers interested in making their own creations, Trish leveraged her content to create an entirely new line of business in workshops, speaking engagements and merchandising.
- Make an appointment with your audience. Remember in the old days when the family would gather round the television every Thursday evening? Say Daily is an online publication from Say Media that covers technology, innovation and the future of digital media. Every Friday the editors produce a feature story about an aspect of online marketing. The idea is to own a little bit of your audience’s day just like those old shows did.
- Attach talent your audience trusts. Who does your audience already have a relationship with? A familiar face or an engaging spokesperson can help bridge the gap between your product and your audience. Many times a personality can draw in an audience in, even though they might have no initial interest in the product.
- Think like a TV exec - get a hook. What variation on a familiar theme can engage your audience? Gary Vaynerchuk found one. He combined wine tasting with ESPN style sports broadcasting and created Wine Library TV. By providing a hook to draw his audience in, Gary was able to build his wine business from 4 million a year in sales in 2006 to over 60 million by 2011. Check him out on YouTube.
How are you getting noticed?