It goes without saying that all of us would like better responseand conversion numbers from our websites. This is an ongoingdilemma which, unfortunately for many of us, remains a dilemma.
Its just too easy to sit on the same old tired, sour marketingwith crossed fingers, hoping for better numbers in the future.The whole idea of rolling out a new campaign or overhauling yourweb copy can be pretty daunting.
But if your numbers arent what youd like (and how many of usare really satisfied with our numbers), then you need to get offthe hope wagon and and put a new plan into action.
In the lines that follow, Id like to present a concrete, low-cost,three-step plan for renewing your marketing through repositioning.
Step #1. Get Out of the Commodity Business and Into the InformationBusiness
One of the things that happens to many businesses, both online andoffline, is commoditization. When your business becomescommoditized, you become just another face in a sea of similarproducts or services.
If this is happening to you, you need to change businesses.
Even if you dont feel commoditized, switching gears and puttingyour Web business into information mode can only bring good things.
The first step is to make the psychological leap from beinga product or service provider to being an information provider.
Which means youre going to become an educator.
Youre going to start teaching people about your niche in a MUCHBIGGER WAY than you have been in the past...
And youre going to compete on whole new turf from here on out.Instead of competing with every other Joe or Jane selling theirdieting ebook or doing horoscope readings, youre going to becompeting with those providing solid information about weight lossor astrological services.
A much more pleasing scenario.
Sure, you can still have your root product or service. But that willno longer be the central focus of your business.
Being in the information business offers you a flexibility thatsimply being in the product or service business doesnt. Youll widenyour horizons and branch out into totally new sub-areas of your presentniche.
Step #2. Build A New Knowledge Base
In order to educate others, you need to know what youre talking about.
Even if you already have a huge amount of knowledge, youll find thatonce you start to write and teach there will be plenty more to learn.
In the teaching business theres an old saying:
The easiest way to learn about something is to teach it.
The very act of passing on information to others will stimulate yourresearch. Youll gain knowledge and develop fresh approaches to newareas, and even to old areas you may have thought you knew everythingabout already.
Consider this. If you are reading about something only because youthink you might need the information one day, how motivated will yoube to really get down and study
Better to just enjoy a novel.
But if youre reading something because its contributing to an articleor report or book or other info vehicle youre in the process of writing-- one that enhances your image as an expert -- then youll be much moremotivated to read and study.
As you read and study, use the power of your imagination to see yourselfin a new light. As a soon-to-be respected writer and teacher. Asa distinguished information publisher. As an expert consultant and coach.
Step #3. Publicize Your New Expert Status
There are four dirt-cheap vehicles (outside your basic website) you canuse for establishing your position online as an expert information provider.
The Blog
If you dont yet have a blog, youre missing out on a great low-costpublishing vehicle that will get your info out there on the Web RIGHT NOW.
This blog should be an informational blog, where you teach and pass on infoabout your niche. Not a chatty blog where you pour out your feelings andtalk about your personal life all the time.
If you want to have one of those chatty kinds of blogs, then by all meanshave one. But make it separate from your marketing blog.
Of course you CAN still talk about your personal life in your marketing blog,and you should sometimes! But dont make your life and troubles the focus.
And post a lot. At least three times a week.
You need to build content, after all. The search engines will find you fairlyquickly if you have a lot of good content.
The Expert Article
Write an article a week, if possible. More if you have time! Submit it to thearticle directories and article lists right away.
Every time you put an article out there, youll see returns in the way offresh traffic. Plus youll build credibility. More and more people will becomefamiliar with your name. And other publishers will start to post your articleson their websites, in their ezines, and on their blogs.
Write articles to inform, not to sell. Web-savvy readers dont give an addisguised as an article much of a look anymore.
Keep your articles between 800 and 1400 words. Anything shorter is too littleand anything longer will lose readers.
The White Paper or Specialized Report
Most of us know by now that we need to capture the contact info of people whodont buy from us on the first shot. The one-shot Big Cahuna sales letter canget you some sales, sure, but the real money is in the follow-up.
What do we offer people in exchange for their contact info Well, we needa great freebie.
A great freebie is one that carries value AND positions you as an expert.
Somebody elses ebook that you have reseller rights to doesnt really fit thebill.
The most killer freebie I know of is what some marketers call an info widget.This is an authentic lead-generation document, not some thinly disguised salesletter (although sales letters disguised as free reports can work too,especially offline).
The White Paper or Specialized Report is great for this, because it shows thatyoure not just a run-of-the-mill Web marketer, but a real, bonafide authorityin your field. It carries mega-power for positioning.
The name White Paper is usually used by companies with a technical orientation.So if youre not in a technically-oriented market, you might be better served bythe name Specialized Report. Or you may be able to come up with another namethat works well.
The Customer Newsletter
You dont necessarily need to publish an ezine proper, but you do needto have a customer newsletter to keep in touch with past and current customers.
The real key to a successful customer newsletter is having fun with it. Go outof your way to come up with different, even goofy things to keep your customersinformed of whats going on with your business.
And give them some solid info each issue. Offer them tips and advice. Andoccasional bonuses!
Dont let your newsletter in their inbox be a big surprise either. Keep in touchwith them often enough that they arent shocked to hear from you. Nothing worsethan a customer that scratches his or her head wondering who the heck thisnewsletter is from.
More than anything, though, your customer newsletter contributes to yourpositioning as an expert. To your status as an authority within your niche.
In Closing...
Remember that this is only the beginning!
Once youve repositioned yourself effectively, youll be able to set up hugelyprofitable ventures, such as consulting services and coaching programs. Youll beable to hold teleseminars with expert contributors, sell information packages...
The skys the limit...
But first you need to get out of the commodity business and into the informationbusiness.
Good luck!
Copyright 2005 by Bruce Carlson
Bruce Carlson is a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant living in Finland. Subscribe to his Dynamic Copywriter newsletter at and see how easily you can improve your online copywriting and direct marketing skills.
We know once you have a room full of guests at your online party, getting them to play games is the easy part. While hunting for answers to your game, a guest has the chance to see some products they simply cannot do without, thus making you sales!
We also know from experience that getting the visitors to the party in the first place is like pulling teeth. We have given some ideas to increase your party and really being able to talk with your future customers in a chat room is the best. However, for those that youll never see in the chat room here is a way to increase some party-like sales without having to hold an actual party.
After you build your list of potential customers (and if you dont have one - stop right here and do that FIRST. YOUR list of potential customers is your most valuable asset in business!), play a game with them via email. Announce on a Monday or even Friday (and you can test which days get the best responses) the start of a contest by email. Focus on a specific type of products like you would at your party, and set up some type of questions that can be emailed to you. Be sure to cover some good points about your products in a casual way (you know your subscribers want to get down to the contest part of this, so dont overload them with ads!). You can set this up in any way you wish really, just as long as its something interactive you can do with them.
At the end of the week, send out another email with the answers (this might grab a few that didnt participate before, or maybe got stumped and you never got an entry from). Give the details again of the products, which the answers were related to, and also be sure to announce the winner. You can possibly even give a special incentive to buy the products you featured in the contest, since many of your subscribers have been eyeing these products all week - a special might just give them the extra push to buy.
You can do variations of this, such as having weekly-featured products and instead of giving away prizes each week having a monthly drawing where those that win the weekly contests are entered in. Just as long as you are doing something other than just weekly sales you will stand out of the crowd and increase your sales!
About the Authors: Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank are two busy wahms, and the owners of Direct Sales Helpers. For more Direct Sales Success Tips, visit: