When prompted to receive content from you, your target customers should be saying 'hell yes!' not, 'eh.'
It's so easy to make the mistake of creating content that screams - ME! ME! ME! Here is who I am, here is what I do, here is where I was, here is how great I am!!!
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
It's not ME, it's YOU.
People don't want to be sold. They want to be served.
This post is about creating value for your customers -- in your outbound communications, your newsletter, your email campaigns. No matter what platform you (or they) are on.
It's so easy to make the mistake of creating content that screams - ME! ME! ME!
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Don't sell your product. Sell the problem that you are solving.
This very basic concept is so easy to screw up. Everyone does it. I've done it. It makes so much logical sense to tell people about yourself in your outbound marketing. It just feels so right, at first. But then... no one opts in.
We as marketers focus so much of our time honing our copy and announcing our partnerships, our new iterations and features, that we lose track of the problem we are solving for our customers. And so, with each new development we make, we've got to continue to rein ourselves in and get back to the core message: the value we provide.
Maybe we provide value with products. Maybe we provide value with services. But whichever it is, we have to ask ourselves: what is the value I provide, and how can I communicate that in a way that doesn't feel sales-y? That doesn't feel all about ME!?
No one likes hearing all about YOU.
They want to know what value you are going to provide to them. And if you can get your messaging right, you can attract your clients without hard-selling them. Without telling them all about the great things you are doing. If you weave that mindset into all of your messaging, you'll start to feel their reception. You'll start to sense their appreciation. You'l begin to get those 'hell yes!' opt-ins.
Try it, you'll see!
Remember, your marketing is about them, not about you. THEM! THEM! THEM!
Creating opt-in worthy content starts with the answer.
Right now, I'm focused on building a newsletter for my audience that packs a heavy dose of value. And to do that, I have to put myself in their shoes and think about what kind of information they want and need to do their job better. We've already covered the fact that they don't really care about what I'm up to. They don't really care about my milestones.
Sure, I can share little tidbits about my work with them here and there, but that can't be thestrategy. It won't work. They'll roll their eyes. They'll click away. They'll take that extra step to unsubscribe, which will result in three or more days of me sulking... OK, fine... maybe just one. ;)
So, in the process of creating content of value to my customer-base of #sportsbiz execs, I've spent a little bit of time each day thinking about what I can provide to them that will be welcomed with open arms. That will be truly opt-in worthy. That will get me a 'hell-yes!' opt-in.
Ask yourself: what types of content does your customer base actually want to read?
My startup clients who are looking to impact the way sports are consumed with their tech products are focused on staying ahead of their competition, and so they might be (very) open to receiving things like:
Funding resources and pitch competitions
Accelerator program dates and deadlines
Events and conferences in their niche
Sponsorship announcements
I've got a few more here, but you get it. These are things that a #sportstech business or #investor would find useful. You want your offering to contain only the stuff that won't feel like clutter in their inboxes. Only stuff meant especially for THEM.
If you're not giving them stuff that's useful, then what's the point of emailing them in the first place?
Today, there is so much clutter out there between social and email marketing, that building an email newsletter is just not worth it unless you're going to create real value for your niche customer base. If you're really good, you'll create resources that they will find irreplaceable. And sure, the information might exist somewhere else, but they will never need to look for it if they can get it directly from you -- the person or the business that they know and trust.
A final note on the 'hell yes' opt-in...
Avoid the ask.
If you're really looking to get those opt-ins with a goal of sending out a really value-packed newsletter, one of the newer tricks I've come to learn is to avoid the mention of the newsletter all-together.
What's that you say?
Because so many of us are inundated with email, we really don't have the mental (or physical) space for another one. And if that is your customer's thinking going into the ask, you would probably be better off not asking at all.
And so, how do you get around this?
You give them something else to opt-into. This is not a bait and switch. This is an exchange. You want your customers to gain value from their relationship with you. And if your first, or second, or third attempt at connecting with them is asking them to do something for you (like opt-in to your newsletter), you're going to fail.
If you're doing it right, you are doing them a favor. You're providing them with the valuable information they want and need.
You've got to let that first or second or third attempt at connection feel irresistible to them. And so, with your list of things that you believe to be valuable to them in tow, choose one, and give it to them for free... in exchange for an email address of course!
Yes, give them your value-packed offering -- for free!
And that's how you avoid making them feel like they're doing you a favor by signing up for your list. If you're doing it right, you are doing them a favor. You're providing them with the valuable information they want and need.
This is where you begin to build trust and loyalty with your audience. And this is how you attract those 'hell yes!' opt-ins.
So ask yourself: is my content worthy of a 'hell yes!'?
Sometimes, just one simple tweak makes all the difference.
If you need a push toward creating opt-in worthy content, download this free guide to get you started!
