This post wasn’t planned. If you’d asked me this time yesterday if I’d be talking about how to promote a band online, I’d have shrugged off the idea.
But then something changed.
I recently bought a product about using Soundcloud for podcasting and there was a follow-up Google Hangout that I joined.
I thought the Hangout was going to be Justin talking about how to use Soundcloud. And it kind-of was. But it also turned into an interview which – as you can see from the video – I wasn’t exactly prepared for (not that I’d use a makeup artist but the webcam wasn’t fantastically set up either.
But one thing led to another and Justin asked how I’d promote a band…
We’re bombarded by hype from an early age. Television commercials make sure of that.
But that also means that we learn to tune out from most hype at an early age too. Not totally – especially if the hype is under the control of a master copywriter who knows how to press all the right buttons to almost compel us to buy. But certainly often enough for our built-in anti-hype defence mechanism to kick in and protect us from a good number of potentially rash decisions.
It’s often difficult to know what works and what doesn’t work in internet marketing. It’s even worse when things are at odds with each other. For instance, it’s often a wise decision to follow one or two people quite closely, maybe even get mentored by them.
If you’ve got a website or a list (or, ideally, both) then chances are that you’ll need products to promote to it. After all, earning even a bit of pocket money from those promotions could turn your hobby from something that costs money to something that earns money. Or it might even take over as your full-time income source.
The best way is to sell products for commission – a bit like normal retailers do, except you’re not investing in stock.
Often companies treat loyal customers with contempt:
Higher prices
Insurance companies are masters at this tactic although most have the grace to match the online renewal price when you phone them. Which is OK if you’re the kind of person who instinctively goes to an online comparison chart when the renewal letter arrives (we’re sometimes called rate tarts) but less good if you just accept this year’s price unquestioned.
Personality counts for a lot. Big brands know that – it’s why they pay celebrities large amounts of money to endorse them or even create a brand mascot like Tony the Tiger to help create a personality for their products.
Yet when it comes to internet marketing so many people think they need to leave their personality out of it.
I did that when I first started and it’s something I see a lot of people doing. Probably because they’re worried that someone won’t like what they say – that was certainly one of the things running through my mind when I first started out.
The trouble with that approach is that bland just isn’t memorable.
And we’ve got so much going on in our lives that if something isn’t memorable, we’ll forget it in an instant, never to return.
Which means you need to give your audience something to relate to.
Over time, even though you’ve almost certainly never met each other, your site visitors should feel as though they know you.
Think about the emails you read regularly – do they have a personality or could they have been written by a robot practising for its Turing test exam?
Chances are it’s the ones where the author has a personality. Whether it’s a brief “I related to this content” or a longer story about how bad the traffic was today on the school run or anything else.
Don’t be afraid of doing this.
Sure, you’ll get some people who don’t like what you say but that’s the same in real life. You really can’t please all the people all the time – it’s impossible.
One of the things I like to do is get my site visitors to nod their head in agreement. Not because I read a sales book that said I needed to get 3 “yeses” before I asked for the sale. But because it’s fun.
So often, things hide in plain sight. Not just missing keys that turn up in the first place you looked for them (but only once you’ve been through the whole house at least once).
Lots of things are obvious but only once they’re pointed out.
Or you can just say things that have been at the back of people’s minds but they’ve never vocalised.
For instance, I run a Scout Troop and UK schools don’t allow children to have time off for holidays during term time.
That’s generally accepted – although one company recently got a lot of attention and publicity when it said it would pay any truancy fines if people booked a skiing holiday during term time.
But there’s also another exception: school trips.
In the summer term, the local school runs an activity week where the pupils go away for several days and take part in various activities such as rock climbing, canoeing, etc.
An activity holiday in other words.
So I occasionally point out the double standards – my Scouts can’t go on holiday in term time with their parents but they can go on holiday with the school in term time.
Heads nod every time.
If you can work out a way to get that happening in most of the content you create for your website, that will help your personality to shine through and will encourage loyalty from your visitors.
One other very important thing with letting yourself come through into the content you create is to press the “publish” button.
It sounds obvious.
But if you’re always tweaking something until it’s completely perfect but never actually publishing it, no-one will have a chance to find out what you’re talking about because it’s just permanently waiting on your hard drive.
If you’d like to know how to write sales copy for your website or need ideas for content to write about, check out this offer.
For more thoughts on this, watch the video or listen to the audio:
The world is changing but internet marketing seems to be changing even faster.
Some people give up when faced with the kind of change and upheaval we’re experiencing but that allows room for those who are persistent and still around.
You need to adapt to change otherwise you’ll get left behind – it’s as simple and as blunt as that – and if a week is a long time in politics then 6 months or a year is a very long time in internet marketing.
It’s long enough for Google to have had one or two major updates and hundreds of minor ones (there are one or two of these every day).
And, of course, it’s long enough for your competition to outwit you unless you’ve kept on top of things.
Ready made websites can mean lots of different things.
I’ve chosen to ignore the kind of ready made website you can buy for pennies on sites like eBayor even the ones where you’re paying tens (or hundreds) for a limited edition ready made site, restricted to a handful of people who buy the same content and template.
In my experience, those tend to be not worth spending your time on:
Creating content for your website is sometimes like being on a treadmill – it seems never ending.
The video and audio below go into more depth but here are the 5 ways I talk about:
Compile a list: lists work for near enough everything. They’re quick and easy. Top 10’s work nicely but any other figure is OK as well.
Add your twist to the news: news pundits are everywhere. Share your opinion with the world (everyone else does!) and invite comments back. Use those comments to get ideas for your next piece of content.
Interview someone. Often interviews are available just for asking, especially if someone has just launched a new product or service and wants to get the word out to anyone who’ll listen. So be the one who asks them and get an interview. Record your call on Skype or a similar program and upload it. Maybe get it transcribed as well if you think there’s sufficient value in it. That gives you content in another format, which always helps.
Invite a guest author. Google aren’t fans of networks that exist purely to boost search engine ranks via guest blogging. But they’re perfectly happy for guest authors to create content for sites naturally (Huffington Post does this all the time). Just reach out to friends on Facebook & LinkedIn, people you know on forums and Twitter followers.
Find a trend: search Google Trends for hot trends across the world or in your niche. Then work out how you can create an “angle” on those trends. I’ve used Justin Bieber and the Rolling Stones in an article about WordPress – it’s not much of a stretch, you just need to do a bit of digging.
