Not too long after I began blogging, I received an email from the author of a blog I regularly (and still do) read -- Drew's Marketing Minute. It seems I had posted the 1,000th comment at Drew's blog, and he asked if I would, to commemorate the milestone, write a guest post. I was honored and flattered and, of course, I said yes.
1,000 comments! At that point, I was lucky if I had much more than 100 comments here.
So how ironic and funny that I recently received my 1,000th comment and who was it from? You guessed it -- Drew McLellan. (My good friend and blogging instigator CK was # 999.)
What better way to celebrate the milestone than with this guest post by Drew.
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At this post in celebration of David's 1,000th comment and his ability to not only welcome but nurture comments and conversations, it seems fitting to talk about how we initiate conversations with the audiences we're trying to attract.
I have to admit, I don't really understand why businesses are so bad at this. But most of them truly don't get it. And yet, we live the model every day.
You wouldn't walk into a party, stick your hand out and say, "I'd like to tell you why I am going to be much more interesting to talk to than anyone else here." Would you?
Think about when you meet someone new. How does that initial conversation usually begin? If you're like most people, you start off by asking a few questions to get your footing. Is this someone you have something in common with? What connections might you share?
Once you've demonstrated your interest in this new person, odds are they'll do the same. Ask a few questions. Learn more about you. And so it goes, back and forth until one of two things happen:
- The foundation for a relationship is built
- One or both of you decide there isn't a good fit and you move on.
Either way you win. You've either made a new connection or you've avoided a bad one before you invested too much into the relationship.
The same truths hold for business communications. When we do it right, we filter out the potential clients who are a bad fit. Which saves us time and money. But to do that, we need to model our initial foray around communicating, not talking at them.
Look at your marketing materials. It might be your website, a PDF you e-mail, or an old-fashioned brochure. Does it connect with your audience right away by focusing on them? Do you ask questions to get to know them better? Or do you demonstrate that you have something in common?
Or like most businesses, is it all about you? Your products. Your awards? Your prices. Your guarantee.
Which conversation would you find more appealing?
-- Drew McLellan