Marketing and the Hired Guerrilla
©
Claire-Jean Korzenewski
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PERMISSIONS TO REPUBLISH: This article may be
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Notification by email to
cj@BestExpressions.biz of intent to publish is appreciated but not required. ========================================= It’s a jungle out there,
so know and use your guerrilla marketing tactics! Jay Conrad Levinson wrote
the book that started it all, the popular guerrilla marketing series. He has
compiled a list of 100 tactics – most of them free – that savvy business leaders
use. One increasingly popular –
and profitable – tactic on Levinson’s list is the informative article. Articles are not ads. Articles are
written to inform, to educate, and to help people solve problems. Articles
you publish, online or off, can help you achieve several worthwhile marketing
goals. ARTICLES ESTABLISH YOUR
CREDIBILITY It is well accepted that
consumer confidence is the number one factor affecting purchasing decisions.
A potential client who does not trust you will not call you to place an
order. He will not access your website and click to purchase. He will not
talk to your sales rep. Through articles you
write, you can gain consumer confidence by demonstrating to readers that you
understand their needs and that you have the knowledge and ability to deliver
what they want. You feel their pain and
can meet their needs, competently and efficiently. When you communicate this
in articles you write, you establish your credibility. Now when customers need
services you provide, they have the confidence to click through to your
website, to pick up the phone, or to walk into your store. ARTICLES POSITION YOU AS
THE EXPERT If you run a business, you
are an expert. You can demonstrate your
expertise by sharing your knowledge, experience, and insights with potential
clients through your articles. By doing so, you position yourself as the
expert. Now as the credible expert
you are the one to go to when it’s time to make a purchase. ARTICLES ARE MORE
EFFECTIVE THAN ADS Ads are good for grabbing
attention, but well written articles can be much more effective since
articles, as mentioned, establish your credibility and your expertise. ARTICLES ARE LESS
EXPENSIVE THAN ADS Articles can be published
in traditional print media, including newspapers and trade magazines, or be
widely published and read online in opt-in ezines or newsletters like the
ones you read. Or, better yet, the ones your clients read. Since your articles can
provide interesting content for their publications, many ezine and print
editors will want to publish them at no cost to you. More effective, less
expensive - just what every guerrilla needs. ARTICLES CAN INCREASE YOUR
WEB TRAFFIC, YOUR CLIENT BASE, AND YOUR INCOME You can learn how to
easily publish articles you write and begin to reach a wide audience quickly,
especially when you publish electronically. Your helpful articles motivate
readers to contact you. Your resource box or bio at the end tells them how to
reach you and gives them the links to do so.
Several entrepreneurs who
have published a number of articles have begun to get 100 new visitors to
their websites each week. Those are targeted visitors. Visitors who chose to
click through to their site for a reason - for more information, for a gift offer,
or to make a purchase. With your effectively
designed web site, you can convert your new visitors into new clients. You
should provide some motivation for people to leave you their contact
information. Perhaps they could request one of your free offers. That could
be an ebook or simply another article or special report you have prepared. Or ask them a question
they’ll want to respond to. Since you want to understand your customers needs
anyway ask, “What are your biggest challenges/obstacles/complaints with…”
marketing, writing, investing, or whatever your field of expertise. Better
yet, give them a gift for answering the question. ALL RIGHT! I’M CONVINCED All effective marketing
plans must be implemented and must be ongoing. In other words, you’ve got to
start and stick with it. Levinson, the original guerrilla marketer, says this
is an area where many businesses drop the ball. They quit working their plan.
He says all marketing works, you’ve just got to give it enough time. PLAN YOUR WORK, WORK YOUR
PLAN Work into your calendar a
time slot for writing an article at least once a month. You should expect to
spend 4 to 8 hours writing and submitting a 400 to 1000 word article. This may seem like a large
commitment, but the return on your time investment could be dozens or even
hundreds of targeted new contacts each week. You can learn more about
preparing and submitting articles from several websites by searching online
for ‘article writing.’
Opening
Doors with Your Articles is a helpful ebook written by Charlie
Cook explaining the process from writing to formatting to submitting
articles. By searching online for
‘article announce,’ you can find several sites that make articles you post
available to ezine and website editors who are seeking content for their
publications. Yahoo has half a dozen
sites used by hundreds of editors and writers. You might begin with
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce/. DO WHAT YOU DO BEST If you feel you need to
improve your writing skills, you can read books, subscribe to email courses,
or study writers’ websites. On the other hand, you
need to determine the best use of your time. If writing articles takes energy
away from doing what you do best, then maybe you should... HIRE A GUERRILLA! Smart marketers don’t
reject an outstanding marketing tactic just because it’s inconvenient,
uncomfortable, or outside their realm of expertise. They find a way to get
the job done. Levinson finds that most
business owners are aware of only 5 to 10 of his guerrilla marketing tactics
and possibly only use 3 of them. But he says guerrillas are aware of all 100
tactics and use about 40 of them. You can read Levinson’s
100 tactics at
http://gmarketingcoach.com/weapons.htm.
Over half of these tactics cost nothing, but others are outsourced. Just like many business
owners outsource their website design, their advertising campaigns, or the
manufacture of their signs, you can outsource your article writing needs. A
search for ‘freelance writer’ or ‘copywriter’ turns up links to individuals
or to services that connect buyers to writers. Promote your business like
a guerrilla. There’s always more than one way to get a job done. In fact,
Levinson tells us that there are at least 100 ways. Publishing articles in
ezines or in print is one tactic that needs to be in your arsenal. So
consistently write and publish your articles or hire your own guerrilla and
get the job done! ========================= This resource box with
live web links must appear if you wish to reprint this article. Claire-Jean Korzenewski
writes effective content that works hard for you - to improve profits, to
enhance your image, to inform, to educate. She is the owner of Best
Expressions Writing & Desktop Services at
www.BestExpressions.biz.
Email her at
cj@BestExpressions.biz. |
