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Which direction to go next…
Wondering what products to create, what services to offer or how to package them, or what topics to write about in your newsletter or blog? Here are three ways to find out what your audience is most interested in.
1. Create a Giveaway
Last December I did a 12 Days of Christmas style giveaway where each day I offered a freebie on a different topic ranging from life goals to keeping your website domains/hosting organized to outsourcing to article marketing… well, you get the idea – there was variety.
By watching which freebies were most popular I was able to tell what my audience was most interested in taking action around.
My newsletter opt-in page also offers new subscribers a range of free downloads and worksheets to choose from. I monitor which are the most popular and it helps me to target my articles and content to what’s in demand.
2. Watch Your Stats
Which posts, pages, articles, or products on your site are the most popular? Most commented on? Most shared?
Watch what links visitors click when they leave your site. You may spot trends in what they’re leaving to find out more about.
3. Ask Them
Yes, I’ve saved the most obvious for last. If you really want to know what they’re interested in, just ask!
Here are three tools you can use to create your own online survey (you just type in your questions, choose the type of answers, then at the end it gives you a page you can link to):
- Google Docs (free)
- FreeOnlineSurveys.com (free for up to 20 questions & 50 responses)
- SurveyMonkey.com (free for up to 10 questions & 100 responses)
If you’d like a step by step guide to help you setup a survey, here’s a blog post I wrote with tips.
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Twitter: melaniekissell
says:
Rock solid tips, advice, and resources here, Michelle.
I’ll make a confession that I don’t really watch stats since I’m not really sure of the best and easiest ways to do that. So … if you were asking your readers right now what they’d like to know more about, that’s the topic I would pick!
I love the idea of conducting surveys. I’ve tried that approach a time or two in the past by using the survey option at LinkedIn, by creating a survey via Twitter using Twitpoll, and by using Survey Monkey and posting to all my social networks. I didn’t get much of a response from any of those surveys, which was disappointing. It may have been a case of simply choosing topics that people just weren’t interested in at the time.
So excited and happy to see you featured on Terrie Wurzbacher’s site! Kudos!
Melanie
@blog30
Melanie Kissell’s last blog ..Are Branding and Bragging Cousins? Or Twins?
Twitter: SmallBizMuse
says:
@Melanie – The first time I did a survey I got exactly 3 responses. :) I’ve found that two things helped boost that – offering a thank you gift (free report, ebook, coupon, audio, etc) and doing a solo mailing to promote it instead of just including a link in my regular ezine. I’ve also promoted surveys on social networks but I segregate responses so that I can tell which responses are from which groups when I do that.
Twitter: melaniekissell
says:
Leave it to you, Michelle, to come up with the solutions! GREAT ideas. Thanks.
Melanie Kissell’s last blog ..Are Branding and Bragging Cousins? Or Twins?
Twitter: myndersglover
says:
Michelle:
I love your 3 tips. The last one brings a smile to my face. How many times do we try to figure out what our market wants, when we could just ask them?
Mynders
BBSTutorials.com
“Helping Online Business Owners solve their technology issues!”
Twitter: SmallBizMuse
says:
Sometimes we do skip the obvious solutions, don’t we? :)
Twitter: gjsuap
says:
I found your ideas interesting. I will try to use them all!! Thanks for sharing -and I will see you all the #blog30 challenge! You are marked now as favorite!!
Twitter: SmallBizMuse
says:
Thanks Gonzalo, I appreciate that. I’m having a great time getting to know all the #blog30 participants.
And then REMEMBER to go look at your SurveyMonkey poll results! Do I need a post it note for Everything? Thanks for the reminder!
Karen’s last blog ..Blog Marketing Tip–No Time to Blog? 4 Productivity Boosters
Twitter: MichelleShaeffr
says:
LOL Yes, that final step is important, too!
Twitter: piotrkrzyzek
says:
Great tips! I’m impressed indeed. Didn’t even kow about the services you mentioned (Except google docs). Thanks for the great tips!
–PK
Piotr Krzyzek’s last blog ..Why Facebook For Marketing
Twitter: MichelleShaeffr
says:
You’re welcome, Piotr.
You are so right! My favorite tip is “just ask.” So simple, yet easily overlooked!
Martha Giffen\’s last blog ..Keyword is Motivation
Twitter: MichelleShaeffr
says:
It’s often the simple things that move us forward so much faster than the complicated ones. :)