How to Make Money with Content Marketing

In the past advertising was king and businesses got new business by simply posting ads with some variation of the message, ‘buy this’. Those days are past.

Today’s shopper is much more savvy and they want a lot more information before handing over their hard earned dollars for a product or a service.

While in the past, they might buy after a slick advertising campaign or a sample, today, more and more consumers are hitting the internet long before they hit the stores to get information for every purchase from toothpaste to coffins.

A Slick Website is not Enough

Simply having a slick website full of pictures and cool effects is not enough. Most consumers can see through the hype to the thinly veiled advertisement and will quickly click elsewhere for the information they seek.

Today’s internet shoppers want content. They want to know how your product or service can solve their problem and they want to know in detail. Welcome to the age of content marketing.

Content Marketing is the Modern ‘Soft Sell’

Content marketing is what the old sales people used to call the ‘soft sell’. The ‘soft sell’ consists of building relationships with potential clients and customers before the questions of doing business is ever raised.

While salesmen in the past did this by making contact with a potential client several times over time to develop the relationship, in today’s internet age, the company must wait for the client to find them. The way to do this is by having the information the client wants when the client wants it.

How to Find Content for Your Business

While all this may sound great and like a potential gold mine to a company, the question arises of where to find this content which will make potential clients seek out your company?

The best way to develop this content is by putting yourself in your clients’ shoes. What are the questions most frequently asked by potential and actual clients about your business?

Another method is to take the know benefits of your product or service and turn them into questions. If your service is a beauty salon, then a known benefit is making your clients look better.

The logical question from that known benefit is "how can your salon make me look better?" A quick article describing your services in an informational way will get the point across without potential clients feeling like you are trying to sell them. With content marketing, your job is to provide the information that makes your prospects want to buy.

Content marketing can be a valuable way to increase the market share and visibility of your business if used properly.

Content marketing is like having a 24 hour salesperson that is always available to answer your prospects questions, even if those questions occur at 3 o’clock in the morning. Include content marketing in your marketing program and watch your market share increase dramatically.