December is the perfect month for planning your approach for the following year. Chris Brogan calls it ‘the power month‘ – and I like that. For all us hard-working business owners it’s our secret slowdown: somewhere between December and January we carve ourselves just a little bit of head space to look forward and think back; a good time for letting those creative ideas fly.
If marketing is one of the things you want to improve next year, here are a few ideas to add to December’s thinking pot:
- Start blogging in earnest – write articles regularly that help your customers do business better and you’ll be amazed at the results – wider awareness, increased trust, easier referrals, more sales.
- Keep in touch by email. Don’t forget your current contacts in 2012 – if you want to make your life easier, devote time and attention to keeping in touch with those that know you. Communicate with them regularly in ways they appreciate and find useful and they’ll reward you with referrals and new business when the time is right.
- Produce something really valuable. Take it further in 2012. Produce a piece of high quality stock content with a shelf life – the really strong, valuable stuff – a useful downloadable guide, ebook, whitepaper, research or king of them all – a book. Up the value for greater return.
- Stop flirting with social media and get stuck in. It’s no longer on the fringes, it’s how many of your customers and clients research, connect and communicate today. Get involved!
- Make your website a resource, not a brochure. Turn it into a valuable resource for your clients, not just a promotional tool for you. Stop shouting, start helping: put your clients first.
At the heart of each of these ideas is valuable content. Make your marketing all about creating and sharing information that is genuinely valuable to your particular buyers and watch your business grow.
We wish you the best of luck for 2012.
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Hi Sonja,
Great article – really concise and full of “actionable stuff”…point 5 is great advice. Thank you, and see you soon,
Jim
Cheers Jim and Happy New Year to you. If websites are libraries, not brochures yours is one I want to visit! Hope 2012 is a great one for you. Sonja
You are so right about the new year – certainly true for us here, in spades.
You’re right too about all five points and the thrust that lies behind them. People generally are immersed in and unimpressed with self serving junk and are fast developing whatever the reverse of a BS-detector is… they are attracted by generous, valuable, relevant, interesting, er…. content 😉
PS
I’d promote point 4 to first place if I we’re you (or probably second place after what is now point 3) – but I’m sure you could have guessed that – and why?
Thanks Barry.
As you say the days are gone when we’re impressed with any old content, served up with the sole aim to dominate a particular key word. If you’re going to get results with your content it means a big mindset switch from the traditional marketing view – its about producing information that is primarily of value to those who receive it, and secondarily of benefit to you. It’s not about manipulating people into buying from you, it’s about genuinely wanting to help them. I think the bottom line is that you have to care.
I take your point about numbering – not surprised you’re elevating social media!
Great article. We follow each other on Twitter which where you directed me to your blog.
I like people who follow their own advice. You certainly do. Great content worth sharing which is exactly what I’m going to go do now.
Thanks for sharing.
Dan
Thanks Dan – that’s really nice to hear. Much appreciated.