Want to know the real secret to a successful blog?
It’s probably not what you’ve been told — posting super frequently, getting just the right blog template, having the perfect header image or font for your brand…
Don’t miss this guest post by Jeff Molander. It’s one of the smartest posts I’ve shared so far this year on my blog (and hey, I DO like my own writing… but that tells ya how key I think this concept is!).
The Most Powerful Blogging Lesson Learned (that nobody is talking about)
Guest Post by Jeff Molander
In the last few years of blogging for business what have we learned? When all the articles and YouTube videos have been published what did we learn—that we took action on and improved our businesses with?
Answer: Readers don’t need us. They need confidence in themselves. They need to believe they can find a better way to create material or spiritual wealth for themselves. If you or I give them an experience that creates that confidence? We earn their trust and business, faster.
The fastest route to trust: Confidence
Want to earn trust? Move your readers’ needles. Give them an honest sense of “can-do” based on something you do for them, not something you tell them. Confidence is the key to unlocking your business blogging success.
When my readers achieve results based on something I did for them I’ve all but sold my product. The rest is downhill. Here’s the best part: Helping readers do something vitally important to them is a wonderful excuse for you to earn their name and email address.
Engagement is not the goal (response is)
Nothing influences and motivates a prospect more (toward purchase) than moving their needle. Nothing. Think about it in your life. Have you ever been given a “taste of success” (a free trial) or a stronger sense of confidence in yourself as a buyer?
If you’ve attended a first time home buyer’s workshop sponsored by a mortgage broker you know what I mean. Giving someone confidence proves what you charge for is worth it, beyond a doubt. The only way to do that in your business is to take action on a bold idea.
Attracting and engaging customers is not a sufficient goal. It is a starting point.
Engagement is an opportunity to get customers to act. Your investment in attracting and engaging someone who lands on your blog is wasted if you don’t earn a response from them.
Michelle recently asked that you do one scary thing per day. Make acting on this idea your scary thing.
Right now, make sure your blog invites prospects to respond to you in ways that bring a “taste of success” into their lives. Make sure you have a call-to-action, inviting customers to take a journey toward what it is they need or crave.
Take action now
Let go of familiar, comfortable habits. I did it and customers started asking me for the sale. Because I am moving their needles with my blog. You can too.
Start causing a little bit of success in potential customers’ lives with your blog. Do it well enough and you’ll see them craving more of those results. That’s because they’ll trust the person giving them that taste of early success, that confidence—you.
Here’s how:
Step #1: Share your best, NEW insights liberally (or don’t share anything at all)
Step #2: Prove you’re worth investing by giving ‘results in advance’
Step #3: Affirm buyers’ right to choose (give them freedom, disarm them)
Get started by asking yourself:
- What pressing problem do I solve?
- What pain do I remove?
- What pleasure can I help create?
- What freedom does my service permit?
- What important connection does my product allow?
Begin the journey
Engaging someone who lands on your blog is your big chance to do something for them. Something that moves their needle, creates confidence in them and (as a result) trust in you.
The great Napoleon Hill said it best. Here on planet Earth, we are paid not merely for what we know but more particularly for what we do for others. Learning is in the doing, not the knowing.
Engaging is a chance to enter into a journey with a prospect. A trip toward whatever it is they need, desire, hope for or need to avoid. Make engagement the start of a series of “fair exchanges” that guides prospective buyers toward, or away from, what you’re selling. Good luck!
Jeff Molander is the authority on making social media sell, adjunct faculty at Loyola University business school, author of, Off the Hook Marketing: How to Make Social Media Sell for You and a social sales training speaker.
You can reach Jeff at www.makesocialmediasell.com/blogor .
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Always great information, Michelle! Thanks!
You’re welcome, Carrie, thanks for reading and commenting.
Excellent post! I will be writing down those questions and posting them in front if me when I write my posts. Thanks!
Smart idea, Emily!
Hi, Emily…
I do the same. I have a handful of these lists in front of me… and “rules” like:
“Every piece of content makes them crave more.”
I try to look at these throughout the day and act accordingly. Soon they become new habits!
All the best to you!
Getting people to respond to calls to action is not an easy task. I guess I have to keep experimenting and trying until I find something that works. The great info in ths post will come in handy. Thanks for sharing.
It’s always an experiment. :) But the strategies Jeff shared here are what’s worked for me, too, so definitely give them a shot.
“Engagement is not the goal, response is” that just blew my mind!
Yep. Response is what we’re after. Action. Confidence. Success.
I’m going to use Jeff’s questions. My goal is to move a lot of needles.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi, Adalia (what a lovely name!)…
I love it. Your words gave me a big smile. I wish you nothing but success!
Michelle,
I just took a deep breath as I read this post. It was a refreshing read. It sounds a lot like what I’ve read from Seth Godin: fill a need, and they will come. How to apply that to my own blog is the tricky thing–I’m not writing about marketing or blog-development. Thanks, Michelle–and Jeff! I’m copying Jeff’s questions into my idea book.
Hi, Amy. Re: your apple tree… have you tried brewing some tobacco tea (water and tobacco) and spraying the tree with it? I’m trying that currently w/ some success on cherry trees and pears. My apple trees are doing fine, I’m pleased to say (so far!). But I’ve done some research on the tobacco. So long as you spray on young fruit the residue is minimal (re: human consumption).
Glad my thoughts gave you something to consider. Now put them to action! :)
This is such a great, well-crafted article, Jeff. I’m really grateful that Michelle invited you to post here. I especially resonated with your distinction between giving them the experience of confidence by something you do *for* them, not something you tell them.
The internet is full hot air from all the gurus/experts/leaders telling us what we should (or shouldn’t) do. Those who walk me through the steps and show me the value of what they have to offer earn credibility and my trust (and probably, as you point out, my $$).
Excellent post. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
Isn’t that a cool distinction, Steve? It’s one of the little secrets behind why the Ultimate Blog Challenge works, too. Instead of narrowly defining success as writing and publishing 31 posts, we send out encouraging posts to boost confidence about how success can be just getting more content than they had when they started (so if they gave it a shot and blogged a few times, they succeeded!), or building relationships (left a comment on a blog–success!), or just *having more ideas* than they did before (and since we emailed 100 or so ideas during the month… everyone succeeded just by being involved!). :)
I’m glad to be here too, Steve. If there’s one thing there’s too much of in the world of social media marketing it’s agreement. But in this case, Michelle and I agree on an approach that is founded in this (and a few other) important distinctions that are causing folks to get frustrated and (many times) give up.
Personally, I think this is because too many of us are thinking like marketers—instead of thinking like sales people. Sales people have ALWAYS known “closing is all about a successful transfer of confidence” from seller to buyer.
One reason why we see so many folks throwing arms up is because we have “experts” saying “no, don’t expect a hard ROI from social media” (you can’t sell with it). Or (in essence) “it’s all about building relationships” through what you say and how you say it.
The truth is that’s juvenile advice. It’s disingenuous and misguided at best.
Your ability to influence someone is based on your ability to move their needle in a way that creates confidence in them—and trust in you.
That’s how you sell someone something! :)
Ok, off my soapbox!
Blogging is one of the popular profession all over the world. Many peoples are getting successful by blogging. But it is important to learning more about it before starting. So this post can help us to learn about a new thing.
Hi Jane, learning from those who are getting results is a great way to get to success faster. :)
Thought provoking post Jeff. I like the moving their needle part. This is going to help me move more products. Thanks a ton :-)
Glad you found this helpful, Neil. Thanks for reading!
You’re welcome, Neil. Congratulation on setting up a thriving business (and life!) in the U.S. I hope to dispense more tips to you soon. I have some degree of personal interest in your product area.
Thank you Michelle and Jeff! Really helpful post – I love the expression “moves their needle” too! That’s such a fun way of looking at it, that I’m sure it’s going to make it easier to remember what it is that I’m trying to do, so that I don’t get lost in the habit by mistake.
As a newbie blogger, your advices seem to be really helpful for me. I really like your point on the importance of taking action, I think that if we want to reach success, we all have to move our @sses and step out of our comfort zones. Only this way can all the resolutions realized.
Hey Jeff, this is a great post on giving your readers confidence and getting them to respond. I really like your perspective on this. I like the fact that you emphasize doing things for your readers instead of telling them what to do. I’ve only seen this done on one other blog and it definitely goes a long way. Thanks for sharing!