This guest post is by Danny Iny of Firepole Marketing.
Let’s be real for a second.
There’s a lot of information out there about traffic. Tons of it. Entire blogs. Some good, some bad, and some just in between. And tons of posts about it, too—including right here on this blog.
So with all this information out there, let me ask you something:
Do you have all the traffic you want?
Hmmm, I thought not.
Okay, then just what the heck is going on? Why isn’t any of this working?!
Maybe your traffic problem … isn’t a traffic problem!
Considering all of the great information that’s out there about getting traffic, if you haven’t been able to use any of it to actually get some then odds are that your problem isn’t a traffic problem at all.
It’s not about how you’re using Facebook or YouTube, or your Twitter strategy, or even your SEO activities. None of it.
What you probably have is a marketing problem.
You see, all of the traffic generating tools and tips generally work if they’re used correctly within a larger marketing framework. Without having that kind of framework, there’s no way to even know if you’re using Facebook, Twitter, or anything else in the right way.
It’s really, really tempting to look at your problem as a tactic gone wrong. It would be so much easier to fix, wouldn’t it?
If you found out your Twitter headlines weren’t captivating enough, then you could fix them and the problem would disappear. Of course, that’s usually not the issue, and you’re much more likely to spend weeks, months, or longer tweaking and testing things that won’t make a bit of difference.
Take it from me—save yourself the frustration and look at the bigger picture!
The naked marketing guide to traffic that converts
One of the biggest problems with marketing is that anyone who reads a book or a blog post thinks they’ve got it. They’re suddenly an expert.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “everyone’s a writer?”, generally said with a wince and an eye role. Well it’s the same with marketing. Feel free to wince and roll your eyes.
The truth is that most people aren’t expert marketers. They might know some terms and basic concepts, like maybe the Four Ps of Marketing—but very few actually know what those concepts really mean, or how to use them in their business.
That’s where naked marketing comes into the picture—it will make you a dramatically better marketer by helping you understand why you’re going to be doing certain things, and how they all fit into the larger plan for your business.
Without, I might add, any of the jargon, cheap theory, or techno-babble that usually passes for marketing instruction.
We don’t have time to waste, so let’s get started. The first thing you need to do to start using naked marketing is to figure out who turns you on. Yep. This is going to be fun!
So, who’s your type, really?
Don’t worry—we’re not actually talking about fishing for singles! That would be another post entirely.
But in all honesty, the very first step in getting more, better traffic—traffic that converts—is to figure out the one person you should be writing for. I’m talking about that holy grail of readers: the single individual who was made for you, your business and, of course, your blog.
Spend some significant time creating a customer profile that includes everything from their age, gender, location, and income, all the way to their hopes and dreams, favorite books, and frequency of eating tofu for dinner.
If you put in the time doing this, it’s a short leap to imagine where they hang out—both online and offline.
Are they likely a Twitter user? Maybe they spend more time on Facebook? Maybe they use LinkedIn, or even MySpace. Wherever they spend their time online is going to be the best source of traffic for you.
It’s not rocket science—get to know them so you can figure out where they’ll be. And then? Be there!
How to be sexy to them
Okay, all that work you just did, finding out who your one best person is and where they’re going to be? It doesn’t matter unless you’re giving them the right message.
Getting naked is always a two-way street, and you can’t just show up at the party, strip down and demand the same. (Not at most parties, anyway.)
It’s time to bring out your A game. You know what your best traffic source is likely to be, so you’ve got to pull out all the stops and create content and messaging that will be downright irresistible to your one person. So irresistible that they stop and look.
The good news is that this isn’t even all that hard, really.
Think back to the last headline you read that got your attention. How did it do that? What grabbed your interest? I’m willing to bet that it offered you something you wanted in a place that you happened to be. So do the same, and you’ll have your audience’s attention.
But of course, attention isn’t enough. Attention has to turn into desire before their attention is grabbed by something or someone else!
How to evoke desire that prompts action
Getting attention isn’t enough, of course. You want your new reader and potential customer to do something—to engage with you a little. You want them to be interested enough to take action.
Messages (a tweet, a forum post, a status update—whatever) are sexy enough to prompt action when they speak to a problem that your ideal customer has, and promise a solution. Or when they tickle their funny bones and promise more laughs. Or offer a taste of information that they want more of.
Get the idea?
You know who you’re talking to, and you know what turns them on, too—now give them what they want!
This is very powerful, because you’ll be starting a cycle in which you promise something good in exchange for a little effort on their part. At first, it’s going to be a deliciously scintillating headline that promises a fantastic bit of information if they click on it. Once that happens, the ball is back in your court, and you make another offer in exchange for another action.
You never ask for something that is unreasonable given the strength of the current relationship, and with each step in the process you reward them past their expectations, and their commitment to you deepens further and further.
In plain English, that means that they’ll start by reading your headline, then make it back to your website, then subscribe, and then buy everything that you’re selling.
Do you look great naked?
So, are you doing this already? Are you irresistible to your target market, and are they happily consuming the content that you give them? Are you getting the traffic you want from the sources you’re using?
If you are, then congratulations!
But if you’re not, then it might be time to give your marketing a thorough review—strip it bare, see what’s working, and toss out what isn’t. You won’t believe the difference a little “nudity” will make in your marketing!
Danny Iny (@DannyIny) is the co-founder of Firepole Marketing, the “Freddy Krueger of Blogging”, and the co-author (with Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark, and many others) of Engagement from Scratch! (available on Amazon, or as a free download). The latest and greatest thing you can get from him (for free, of course) is his Naked Marketing Manifesto, about marketing that really works!
