Are you the type of person who goes after what you want? Do you walk around obstacles, or do you come to a screeching halt when faced with adversity?
When we were younger, we didn’t care much about obstacles (we even loved them on the playground).
When one parent said no, we thought perhaps our other parent would say yes. When our crush didn’t show a lick of interest in us, we figured they would…some day. Or, at least, that’s what we wished for at 11:11.
Let’s channel that hope into our businesses, and mix it with a huge dollop of strategy based on seduction.
There is a reason that seduction is likened to an art. It’s like a special dance between you and your target customer.
This article will help you apply the rules of seduction to your business’ content marketing strategy, so you can make more money online.
1. Select Target
Just like you set your eyes on that special someone, set your eyes on a target audience. Pretend you’re selling to one person alone. Make him or her feel special. How? Get to know him/her intimately and give him/her everything they need. When selecting a mate or a target audience, you have three options. You could be led by your heart (sometimes you’re just drawn to certain people), your mind (does your partner/audience simply make sense?), or your wallet (does your audience have huge buying power?). Why do you want to work with your target audience? Regardless of what informed your decision, the goal is to make your audience choose you, too.
Your actionable step: Once you select your audience, create something specifically for them, or tailor one of your current offerings to their needs. For example, you have an impeccable handle on the English language and you’re passionate about helping students. You could create a revision service and couple that with providing feedback on the academic merit of research papers, or you could do sales around midterms. Listen to your audience. Get to know your audience. Serve your audience.
2. Be likeable and desirable
When you have a crush on someone, you want them to like you back. How do you do that? By being likeable. Duh. What exactly does that entail, when it comes to business? Showcase your personality through your content. I’m not a pro at the dating game, but I recently found out that some people lie to make themselves more desirable to their mates (clutches pearls). Yes, it’s actually a thing. But the best way to win at this dating game and business is to be yourself. If your audience likes your false persona, the moment you actually show your true colors, you’ll lose clients and the money they were prepared to give you, had you only been yourself.
Now about the desirable part. People others like intrigues them. So, dedicate time to building your social media following. Here is how you can use Instagram for business. We like to say that numbers don’t matter, but an account with 20K followers, and an amazing engagement rate, makes you stop and stare (and read the comments). Comments beget more comments. It’s the law.
Your actionable step: Make sure your captions have some personality to them. You should have a clear content strategy in place (determine your goals and create content to meet those goals). Your content should give people a sense of who you are and how you can help them. Write like a human - not a robot. People love humans. They’re kind of scared of robots. By the way, did you know that powerful scents can actually boost your self-esteem, which in turn makes you more likeable? Check out Cologne Masters; it’s a great resource for those who love masculine scents.
3. Show interest…
Ask your target audience questions and respond to your followers’ comments. Check out their page on social media. You can’t just talk and talk and talk and never listen. That doesn’t work in the dating world. And it surely doesn’t work in business. Kat Gaskin once said that when someone comments on your Instagram page, you should take a quick second to check out their page and come back and respond to them using their first name. You know just how special you feel when you go to a coffee shop and the barista remembers your name AND your order.
Your actionable step: Join a few Facebook business pages. Ask your fellow entrepreneurs (if your target audience is entrepreneurial) what their main problems are in their area of expertise. Then, create an epic blog post (or multiple blog posts) surrounding the topic. Repurpose said blog content into different social media posts.
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4. …but not too much interest
Would you like it if someone bombarded you with text messages every. single. day? Don’t be that person. Don’t bombard your potential clients with too much promotional material. Don’t post 20 times a day. Yes, we get it, you want to connect with your audience; but you want to leave your audience eagerly awaiting your next post, not unfollowing you for blowing up their feed. Would you brag (unnecessarily) on a date? I think not. Unlike a date, in the online world, you’re able to provide testimonials to back you up a little more. Lay all you have on the table (in one-on-one exchanges) and give your potential client the opportunity to make a decision. After a week or so, you can check-in and see where they’re at in their decision-making process. Now, it’s their turn to contact you. You don’t want to come across as too eager or disingenuous. You have a lot of value. Your ideal client will see that.
Your actionable step: Create an offer to which your target client will have a hard time saying no. Position the offer as a solution to your target client’s problem. Prepare content to prime your audience for the sale. Here is how (each step represents an Instagram post):
- To spark engagement, make your client aware of the problem and ask him/her how they handle it.
- Present your product as the solution.
- Describe your target audience, your client recognizes himself/herself, and why what you are offering is perfect for him/her.
- Focus on the benefits.
- Explain how your client’s life will improve, or how he/she will become a greater version of himself/herself - with the help of your product.
Each step could be a different Instagram post, or you can combine a few steps into the same post.
5. Don’t be too attached to making a sale.
There are 7 billion people in this world. Surely, someone is bound to enjoy your products - if you market them well. Whether Lindsey or Jo gives you the time of day, your self-worth shouldn’t be wrapped up in sales. Be strategic with your content. Just like when the person you were fancying doesn’t fancy you back - yes, even after you’ve danced the dance of seduction - if a launch doesn’t go as well as planned, take a step back and reassess your strategy. The process is as important as the outcome. Flukes are nice. But strategies can be replicated. Flukes can’t. We want repeat success around these parts. Don’t you?
Your actionable step: Plan your social media content a week to a month in advance, or hire a content marketing strategist (like me) to do it for you. Content really drives your sales. So, don’t neglect this part of your online business.
Business can be a lot of fun, but if we want to increase our chances of success, we have to craft a strategy based on the people we want to serve. Let me know…which step resonated with you the most?
P.S. If you’re interesting in creating a financial cushion to start on online business, enroll in my free 5-day e-mail course, which is based on the strategy I used to save 20K in a year.