“Physical and Free: How to Use Real-World Gifts to Inexpensively Drive Online Traffic” plus 1 more

Physical and Free: How to Use Real-World Gifts to Inexpensively Drive Online Traffic

Posted: 03 May 2012 01:04 PM PDT

This guest post is by Danny Iny of Firepole Marketing.

If you're reading this, you probably want traffic. And when it comes to traffic, there's a lineup of "usual suspects" to consider; there's SEO, PPC, blog commenting, Facebook, Twitter, and the list goes on and on.

Except I'm guessing that if you've been online for more than a few weeks, you've already considered all of these options, and they haven't panned out nearly as well as you hoped.

I'm guessing that if you're reading this, it's because you're looking for another option. One that everyone else isn’t doing, and one that really will give you a chance stand out, build relationships, and develop a following.

Been there, done that, seen it already

Let me start by asking you a quick question. How many free ebooks have you traded your email address for lately? What about free reports? White papers? Video courses? Lots, right?

Giving and getting free digital content has become so common that it's almost a joke, and it's definitely a commodity that—while sometimes useful—doesn't impress anyone.

Do you have a folder on your desktop for all the free digital products that you signed up for? Many people do, and so did I—until I realized that I'm never really going to get to them, and deleted it!

At best, it's a folder that people have every intention of sorting through, making use of the contents, and hopefully learning something. But the honest truth is that most of these things don't get read, or even noticed.

Which leads to a big problem that many bloggers and online marketers face when it comes to getting attention…

Forgetfulness, inattention, and digital overload

Most of the time, we download our free content, put it aside and forget about it. We're busy. Well intentioned, but busy. And it doesn't take long for "I'll download it and read it eventually" to change into "I'm not going to bother downloading it at all!"

It's a practical and reasonable defense mechanism. There is only so much information a person can take in over the course of a day, and when you spend most of that day online, you're looking at a veritable sea of facts, ideas and opinions.

So, out of necessity, we learn to filter our digital information input, and all too often that free report you slaved over ends up being passed over, ignored, or not even noticed in the first place.

But that doesn't mean that you can't capture attention by offering something, it just has to be done differently…

The beautiful difference of "physical"

I want to contrast—just for a moment—that folder of PDFs hidden somewhere on my computer with the pile of books looming over my desk. I bought most of them because I was interested, several of them because of a friend's strong recommendation, and a few were gifts.

They sit in a pile on my desk and I look at them every day. They're begging to be read, and I want to read them. And sooner or later, I make the time to do it (that's why I made a point of creating a physical version of my book, even though it's available as a free download).

Now imagine if your free giveaway had that kind of a hold on the recipient.

When the giveaway is physical—whether it's a book or a refrigerator magnet—it creates… not quite a sense of obligation, but a sense of privilege. You get to use it, because someone took the time to create it and send it to you. And you're a lot more likely to make the time for it, remember it, and maybe even talk about it.

Why? Because we are physical beings. We like to hold things in our hands. We develop strong emotional and mental attachments to the physical objects in our lives. That's just a fact.

So why not take advantage of it? Ah, yes, the issue of cost…

Doesn't physical = expensive?

This is the part where people jump up and down and say "Wait a second, isn't giving away all of that free stuff going to be expensive? How am I supposed to afford it?!"

That's a fair point, except that it misses several important points:

It's not cost that matters, it's return on investment. If you spend a certain amount per subscriber, and each subscriber generates several times that in annual revenue, then it's a great deal.
It doesn't have to be expensive. You'd be surprised what you can have produced these days and how low the prices can be. More on that in a bit.
Not everybody has to get one! Who said that a physical free product is available for anyone who raises their hand? Why not make it that much more attractive (and make the digital version that much more attractive, too) by limiting access?

The third point is what I really want to talk about here: limiting access by giving selectively, and doing targeted contests giveaways.

First, let's define our terms. A blog giveaway is where the reader who leaves the best comment, creates the most social shares, or comes up with the best idea gets an awesome physical prize. In other words, you get the best of both worlds, and at a very reasonable price: everyone gets a shot at the prize, it raises the value of everything else that you're doing, and it generates buzz and excitement in the process!

It's a great way of having something physical, and valuable, showcasing it to everyone, and giving people a good reason to spread the word. But you don't even need a contest to give something away for free.

Targeted giveaways of free physical goods

Sometimes, you'll want to do a giveaway without all the fanfare, just as a gesture of appreciation of goodwill.

Maybe for people who have already bought stuff from you in the past, or who have been on your list for a long time, or filled out a survey … or maybe you just appreciate them for who they are and what they do, and give them a chance to feel the same way about you.

Your giveaway—whether it's a book, booklet, CD, worksheet, or whatever—can be a wonderful testament to the value that you're looking to offer, that will impress those who receive it. So if there's someone that you want to connect with and impress, then send them something physical!

Or better yet, send them two—one for them, and one that they can use as a giveaway on their blog. We did this with Engagement from Scratch!, and it helped us connect with a huge number of new readers. And it wasn't complicated, or expensive—we just added another copy of the book into the packages that we were already sending out, with a note saying: "Ideas are for sharing. So are books. I hope that's what you'll do with this—share it!"

So am I saying that you need to publish a book to make this work? No, of course not.

Getting started with physical and free

The key is to take the time to think about who you might want to give something away to, and what they would appreciate.

It can be as simple as turning your digital ebook into a physical book using a service like Blurb or Lulu (which are great for inexpensively self-publishing books, booklets, photobooks, etc.), or putting your logo (or a snazzy design) on some apparel, decorative office items, fridge magnets, or anything else, using a service like CafePress or Zazzle.

Just decide what you want to create, get the file ready, and upload it to the service of your choice. And order one copy. Just one. For you.

Once you hold it in your hand, your head is going to start spinning with ideas.

Why? Because we're physical beings, and we like holding things in our hands. And so will your audience.

Danny Iny (@DannyIny), a.k.a. the "Freddy Krueger of Blogging", teaches marketing that works at Firepole Marketing. Together with Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark and Mitch Joel, he wrote the book on building engaged audiences from scratch (available on Amazon, or as a free download).

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Physical and Free: How to Use Real-World Gifts to Inexpensively Drive Online Traffic

Build Blog Products That Sell 5: Finding Customers

Posted: 03 May 2012 07:06 AM PDT

This guest series is by Greg McFarlane of Control Your Cash.

History dictates that the current economic malaise will eventually end, but we're still waiting for some unambiguous signs. That's why for the past few weeks, we've been learning how to create products that are inspired by (and that tie into) your blog, and how to plan to sell them to an audience whose collective disposable income isn't quite what it used to be.

So finally, after approaching this scientifically and methodically, you're there. You've created a product built on the expertise your readers have expected from you and your site. And you've priced that product (or series of products) at a level that will generate income without scaring off too many potential buyers. Now all you have to do its open up the storefront and watch the money roll in.

If only.

The good news is that at this point, most of the work is done. But you still need to build your clientele beyond its traditional bounds. To amass your army, if you will.

Flipping the switch

After you've created products and made them available for purchase, a radical shift occurs. Whether you realize it or not, you're now (at least) 51% entrepreneur and (at most) 49% blogger. The set hours that you spend updating and freshening your blog every week are now secondary to your sales efforts. Once you're committed to creating and selling your product, people will identify you with it, for better or for worse.

If your product is, say, a collection of spreadsheets you can use to organize your home and eliminate clutter, then sink or swim with it. Henceforth, home organization will be your blog's primary focus. Even though you may love collecting miniatures, and have occasionally blogged about it in the past, your days of doing so are now over. Apple used to sell stand-alone digital cameras. Not anymore.

You're now a salesperson, and the more seriously you take your new job, the better you'll do.

For generations, your typical commission salesperson was given a list of leads and an admonition to break a leg. If the new hire didn't work out, no big deal. There would always be plenty of others willing to step in. Unfortunately, your incipient business doesn't get that same luxury. The sales staff is you, as is the product.

And your current audience, regardless of its size, is limited. Some of your longtime readers might buy out of a feeling of allegiance or mild obligation. If they do buy, it probably won't be because they'd been dying for someone to create whatever it is you created. And while your loyal readership may have given you the impetus and spawned the idea for your product, they’re not the only ones you’ll want to buy it.

So where to find a lasting and larger clientele? It involves expanding your horizons, but not in a rote way.

Finding customers

If you blog long enough, eventually you'll be approached by similar bloggers offering you various stratagems for mutually benefitting your sites. A link exchange, a guest post exchange, and so on. Those are all well and good, if you enjoy the novelty of exposing your blog to an audience that is already loyal to another blogger who operates in the exact same field of interest that you do.

One fellow personal finance blogger, who seems to be an awfully agreeable fellow, recently offered to create a discreet badge allowing me to sell my products on his site, and vice versa. I trust that he accepted it as a business decision and didn't take it personally when I told him I wasn't interested.

Why not accept the exposure? Among other reasons, his blog has fewer readers than mine does. Many of those readers of his already read my blog anyway. Besides, what's to stop him from making a similar offer to other bloggers with greater readerships than his, diluting the impact of his agreement with me?

Also, to put it kindly, he's not an authority. He's a guy with a blog, and a relatively new one at that. My products will be an afterthought on his blog, as his would be on mine. That won't do.

A passionate evangelism

In selecting and pursuing offsite promotional opportunities that will actually help you find customers, you need to be a passionate evangelist for your product. Whether you’re considering buying ad space, using email marketing, social media promotions, or even creating a physical promotional freebie to give away (which we’ll cover on ProBlogger later today), you need to advocate strongly for your product, all the way.

My products need to be advertised in a place of prominence, because I care about them. Not just in and of themselves, but for a more pragmatic reason: it sounds obvious, but every item I ship makes me wealthier. I don't want the seminars I hold and the ebooks I create to be just another offering in a catalog, vying for attention with someone's unreadable treatise on dividend investing and the overpriced collection of Visio diagrams that someone else slapped together.

I want my products to stand front and center. I also want to remind potential buyers that no one else's work can substitute for what I've created. If you want to know The Unglamorous Secret to Riches, no one else has it. If you want to know how to get out of whatever unhealthy relationship you have with your employer, that outspoken guy who runs Control Your Cash is the only one who's going to show you how.

Just another vehicle

That's why you have to acknowledge the limitations of your own blog. Most of your buyers aren't there. They're on unrelated sites, where it's your job to get their attention and show them what you have to offer. It takes time. In my case—and you can apply this to your own situation—it means posting regularly at major, well-established blogs in my area of concern. It means guest posting at general-interest blogs where I know I'll reach a diverse and erudite audience. My business model is predicated on the following belief: if people like anything I have to say, once they find out a little bit more, they'll like everything I have to say.

Which means your blog becomes just another vehicle for selling your product(s). Once you sell to someone unfamiliar with your blog, you then sell that buyer on your blog itself. Anyone who buys your product should immediately become a subscriber. Now that buyer knows where to find your entire oeuvre, including the subsequent products that you're doubtless working on.

Key points

Once you launch your product, you’re a salesperson. Be prepared to put your product first.
Recognize that the bulk of your buyers should not come from your own site: if you’re to give your product the best chance of success, you’ll need to sell it to people who have never visited your blog … so far.
Be choosy about the promotions you use.
Become a passionate evangelist for your product. This will help you sift the great promotional opportunities from the not-so-great.
As your promotional efforts gain traction, you’ll begin to see your blog as just another vehicle for sales. Importantly, those customers are becoming subscribers … which will help when it comes time to sell your next product.

Still, buyers in 2012 remain wary. They have less money available to spend in an ever-growing market. With more vendors making their products available for sale every day, the successful sellers aren't necessarily the ones who shout the loudest or the most frequently. Instead, the ones making sales are the ones who communicate the most effectively. Next week, we'll find out how they do it.

Greg McFarlane is an advertising copywriter who lives in Las Vegas. He recently wrote Control Your Cash: Making Money Make Sense, a financial primer for people in their 20s and 30s who know nothing about money. You can buy the book here (physical) or here (Kindle) and reach Greg at greg@ControlYourCash.com.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Build Blog Products That Sell 5: Finding Customers