Why Content Marketing Can Drive New Sales

“Today prospects respond better if you promise to send them free information that will be useful to them in their job.” – Robert Bly

That is as true today as when Bly, an enormous legend in the world of Direct Marketing, first said those words. Often in these articles you read on various coaching subjects, I try to push you to think about your activities in a way that feel like you’re in the prospect’s shoes; thinking of the best way to approach a prospect as if you, yourself, were being sold the product or service in question.

We’ve talked about the offer, and how to make it substantial enough to move that prospect toward whatever your Call-to-Action is asking of them. A fantastic way to do that, is to utilize Content Marketing to drive that interest, stoke the curiosity of the reader, and have them subconsciously check off the boxes for your product – and your alone. There are 6 Foolproof Reasons You Need to Consider Marketing:

1.) Content Marketing sets the criteria – You have the perfect opportunity to solve a problem that the prospect is well aware of, by simply listing out the pain points and what aspects of ‘a product or service’ will solve that pain. Just so happens all of the criteria line up with what you’re selling.

2.) Contact Marketing makes the prospect beholden – Robert Cialdini calls this ‘reciprocity’, or “when you give somebody something, they feel obligated to give you something in return.” That’s not to say you’re expecting them to buy from you. But by giving them credible and useful information about a product or service that you can supply to help them eliminate a pain point, they might be more likely to buy from you than someone else.

3.) Content Marketing generates more (qualified) inquiries – Especially if you have a product or service which is aimed at a target market (not everybody needs a 12-inch compound miter saw capable of cutting metal and PVC…), the right content marketing pieces will efficiently filter the serious inquiries and let you spent less time speaking to the wrong prospect.

4.) Content Marketing establishes you as the expert – People want to make the buying decision, but they want to know they’re making an informed choice – the BEST choice. And the best pre-purchase information comes from voices they believe to be experts in the field. Content marketing gives you the chance to present yourself as that expert.

5.) Content Marketing educates the market – Each time you publish a piece of Content Marketing and make it available to your prospects, you’re also making it available to the larger market AND your competition. Much the same way you’re using Content Marketing to establish yourself as the expert, you’re also in a position to help your prospects and competition increase their knowledge about a particular subject or position. Just make sure you’re doing it better than your competition!

6.) Content Marketing drives sales – The most important reason to utilize strong content marketing is because it can be used to generate and sustain sales – it will bring people in the door who haven’t bought from you before. And by dripping content marketing to existing customers (enriching their knowledge base, and thinking about you as an expert), they’ll be set to think of you first, and hopefully continue to buy product from you when the need arises.

And one of the best things about Content Marketing is that you don’t have to write it yourself! There are professional copywriters with whom you can collaborate to get the right message to the right set of clients or prospects. Short message, white paper, case studies, whatever – it all counts as ways to reach your audience and promote your business.

Give Opportunity Knocks a call today. We’ve got Success Coaches standing by to help you understand the best way to take advantage of Content Marketing, and the best way to incorporate it into a powerful and productive Direct Marketing postcard campaign.