Creating Your Message

At its most basic level, a successful marketing plan must address three interrelated areas – market, message and media. We’ll cover market research in a separate training module, and the media we’re discussing is WordPress, so today let’s simply focus on the message.

Lesson 3

At its most basic level, a successful marketing plan must address three interrelated areas – market, message and media. We’ll cover market research in a separate training module, and the media we’re discussing is WordPress, so today let’s simply focus on the message.

Message – Your message is what you want your customer to know about your company as it relates to him. What do you want your website visitor to know about your business?

Remember, if 97% of everybody is going online to compare businesses and make a purchase decision, and as many as 60% of those looking to buy immediately and on-the-go are doing those comparisons with what they can easily learn from mobile, you have to be the clear choice.

How does your message communicate why your customer should buy from you and not the guy down the street? Or from another website?

• Video – Keeps eyes on the page longer, and can be immediately convincing.
• Audio – Listening to your information is easy to do on the go, and is retained 2x longer.
• Text (copy) –  Page copy leads to a purchase decision.
• Blog content – Is a supportive, interactive way you project your advantage to your customer by helping them understand your philosophy, product lines, and customer service. Blog content should lead your reader back to your product or services pages, and the copy on those pages should result in a communication with your company.
• Social media – Share your blog and page content with others in a manner that’s interesting, humorous, gratifying or vilifying so that others read that material and share it, too.

As you can see, your message is vital, and you need to spend ample time figuring it out. Address your customer’s point of pain.

At what point in their cycles of habits or routines does their need require your product or service to comfort or reward them?

Right now, I want you to focus on your message for a minute. Schedule time every day to ponder this with your team, and get on the same page! Your message will be portrayed on your front line, through social media, on your website, and in your direct mail.

Make Your Message Available Many Ways

Your visitor has many reasons they came to your site. If you’re paying attention to their needs, you’re answering their questions when they get there. Make it easy for them to get it.

• Browsing customers who might be window shopping may like to get their messages through a reader, or RSS feed.
• Those same browsing visitors may have found your website when it was shared on social media.
• They might like to watch videos.
• They might like to listen to your information.
• They might like to get it sent to them automatically through their inbox.

You’ll increase the scope of your shared information when you take this into consideration.

Two Different Customers – Why You Need an Email Campaign

Over the life of your website, you’ll encounter two different customers. Some need you right now or soon enough to schedule. Some are keeping you in mind for a later date. Everything about your message should make the urgent requests very easy to respond to, while capturing all the data you can about the one that got away. The ones who don’t buy now aren’t lost. You didn’t necessarily miss a sale. AND, if you stay in front of them and are easy to reach when they need you, they’ll buy from YOU.

If your content is truly helpful, visitors will sign up for your newsletter with their email address and name. Your newsletter is simply your blog sent to them.

This is called an email newsletter campaign. Your company name in their inbox is pretty important, don’t underestimate that! It’s valuable, sought after space by every marketer in the world. Your message has to matter to them, actually serve them, to get them to open it.

Your email newsletter should link back to your website, where it can do more of the work. Make your social media connections available in the email, too, as well as any licensing that your state requires.

With AWeber, you can automate your blog to be your newsletter. Very convenient, and you can reach up to 500 people with unlimited messages for around $20.00 a month. Helpful videos walk you through it, and it’s very easy to learn. Using a system like this allows you to start capturing leads that browsed your site and might be interested in purchasing from you later. This is a warmer lead, and you’ll find that as your newsletter subscriber list grows – so will your reputation and brand recognition.

You’ll learn more about email in another module. Now you can understand how having a consistent message improves your customer relationship and promotes interest from other people – people who may not have even made a purchase decision yet.