[s3file s3url=”who-is-buying-from-you.pdf” s3bucket=”staciannlowry” newtab=”yes” ](Did you come here from a link in my eBook? If so, just click here for the customer profile questions.)[/s3file]
There are 3 keys to keep in mind that will help you to write blog posts that will attract new visitors to your site, and help you grow your business. Keeping these 3 things in mind will bring you so much clarity about both the purpose of your blog, and how to use your blog in order to attract the right audience.
1. You should know exactly who your products benefit. Who is the person who would buy from you?
In order to see any benefit from blogging, your blog posts need to be intended for your specific target audience. Only then, will the visits you get actually do anything to help you grow your business for the long term.
For example, let’s imagine that I’ve written an article about “5 things you can do to get more visitors to your blog and grow your handmade business.” There are lots of people out there who might find that to be a valuable article. In fact, I know that YOU are one of those people, since you are taking the time to read this right now. You are a member of the audience this website is intended for. (And, thank you for that!)
But, what if I published that article on my Christmas ornament site? Does that mean that if you read and like that post, you are automatically going to be interested in buying a quilted Christmas ornament from me? Definitely not. In fact, that’s a pretty silly question.
And yet, that is exactly how so many people tackle their business blogging. They write about whatever they can think of, and then hope that the people who happen to stumble across it will also happen to love their products, by chance. It’s like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping for something to stick. Well, every once in a while, something might. But, the majority won’t. This is why those lists of generic “blog post ideas” out there, won’t actually help much.
I might get lots and lots of views to my article, but those views would probably not convert into many Christmas ornament sales for me. That’s because someone who is looking to grow their own handmade business blog is not a target customer of my ornament shop. That visitor might like Christmas. (Doesn’t everyone? ;)) But, Christmas ornaments are simply not what they were looking for when they found me through my blog post. I might get a sale here and there, every so often. But, I wouldn’t get nearly the sales from it compared to if I wrote something specifically intended for people who love and buy Christmas ornaments.
As counter-intuitive as it may seem, 1,000 visitors who are in your target audience are far, far better for your business than 1,000,000 random views. A million views will certainly generate some sales. But it won’t generate nearly as many sales as you could get from that much smaller group of 1,000 people, who are the ones that actually want what you’re selling.
So, who would buy your product? What is their age, gender, occupation? Why would they want your product? What will they use it for? It may help to look at people who have already purchased from you. If you’ve not yet had a sale, then use your imagination It might even help to use yourself as an example, as I’m sure you yourself love and use what you make.
I also suggest looking at the people who “like” your Facebook page. Look at their picture, their location, their approximate age. I’m not asking you to be a stalker. But, you can decipher a lot simply by taking a quick look at those people who are clicking “like” for your business. Every day I take a look at some of the new people who have joined my Facebook page. These are the people who care about what I’m doing, and so I care about getting to know them.
Write down all of these things that you find out, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Create a profile all about this person. This will help you with the next question.
[s3file s3url=”who-is-buying-from-you.pdf” s3bucket=”staciannlowry” newtab=”yes” ]Click HERE for a set of questions that can help jog your mind a little bit.[/s3file]
2. Once you know who is buying from you (or who WOULD), get to know their wants and needs.
Once you know who your ideal customer is, you will be able to figure out what it is they want. Why do you need to figure this out?
Well, the unfortunate truth for many of us handmade sellers is that most people, even those people who we know we could benefit with our products, simply don’t know we even exist. And therefore, they don’t know our product exists. People aren’t going to look for your product if they don’t know it exists (just another reason that relying only on the Etsy search engine isn’t good enough).
So how then, can you help them to discover you? You need to tap into something that your target market does know exists. The way to do this is through their wants and needs. When you know their wants and needs, you can use them to help you generate infinite things to write about that will enable your target market to find you.
What does your target customer search for in their internet travels? What problems are they trying to solve? What fears do they need to conquer? What goals do they want to reach? What kind of entertainment do they like? What do they want to learn?
Those may sound like huge questions, but if you put it into the specific context of your ideal customer, it becomes much simpler.
For example, if you design your own line of toddler clothing, then your target customer is obviously a mother of young children. Writing a post called “7 Things That Will Keep Your 3 Year-Old Entertained” would solve a problem for that mom, providing value to her, AND exposing her to your brand. Or, how about “Healthy & Easy-To-Make Snacks Your Toddler Will Actually Eat” and “My Top 10 Favorite Pre-School Toys, and Why.”
Once you put yourself in the shoes of your target customer, and think about what they are searching for on the internet, thinking up blog post topics tailored just for them, will be the easy part.
3. Now, you can provide real value to that person, through your blog.
Now that you know the wants and needs of your ideal customer, the person who would love to have those beautiful things you make, you can provide them with just that, by writing about those topics that will help them fulfill those wants and needs, offer solutions, or just plain give them some entertainment.
When he/she is surfing around the internet, or does a search on Google for something that you’ve blogged about, they will find you (with a little help from some good SEO, which I’ve got more info on in my Website Tutorial Library). And, when you deliver real worth to your target audience, you will reap the rewards of them staying around, interacting with you, building a relationship with you, and discovering your brand and products. It’s a winning situation for you, them, and your bottom line.
Always remember the core purpose of your business blog. The purpose of your blog is to attract customers. Not just anyone; your perfect customer.
When you keep your blog’s purpose in mind, you’ll have infinite things to write about, and your blog will begin attracting a non-stop stream of traffic to your business. Your website will come to be a virtual treasure trove for your business.
Christy
July 31, 2015Hi, Staci Ann ~
The link(s) for the customer profile questions is not working, and I’m getting an error message. Can you email them to me?
Thanks,
Christy
Staci Ann Lowry
August 1, 2015Hey Christy…. Yes, I sure can. I’m sending it right now. Sorry the link wasn’t working for you!