10 Attraction Marketing Tips When Blogging

Wikipedia defines attraction marketing as "marketing techniques specifically designed to teach the customer what you are doing and how a service or product will benefit them well before they purchase it."

But when blogging for your business, how can you make your product, service, or brand attractive to potential customers? And how can you create content that will generate referrals for your business and that will bring qualified leads to your site?

Here are 10 tips you can use to incorporate attraction marketing into your business blogging efforts:

1. Offer something free. This could be something as simple as the free and informative copy in your blog articles, or could include other free content like informative or entertaining videos, free apps, e-books, or other downloads. Your blog allows you to update constantly, so you'll want to keep the free offers coming, encouraging readers to always return for more.
2. Define a problem and a solution. Most important in the concept of attraction marketing is showing customers the benefit of the product or service you offer. Blogs can be an excellent way to do this. What are some problems your product or service is designed to address? Publish a few posts about how your brand solves them.
3. Talk about your product or service. Tell readers about your product, how it can help them solve a problem, and why you created it in the first place. While focusing on solving a need for your customer is always a great way to get their attention, rounding out your company by explaining your product or service and how your company works is a way to establish a brand they will remember.
4. Create content for your customers. Yes, content is still king, but, of course, it must be the right content for the customers you are trying to win. You wouldn't put blog posts about vintage muscle cars on a blog for your motor cycle repair shop or articles about cat grooming on a site advertising custom dog toys. Be sure to stick to the subject and reach out to the audience interested in your products or services.
5. Remember, you're in show business. Your posts must be entertaining and something that readers look forward to each day, not pages that drone on endlessly about you and your brand (and how great you both are.) Sure, you'll want to pay attention to point number 4 above. Be sure that your content attracts the right audience, people who are either potential customers for your product or service or those who will create referrals for you. But targeted content still doesn't give you a license to be boring.
6. Help someone with something they need. One great way to get your audience's attention is to help out with something they need. Are you an accountant? Can you explain the new tax code in language anyone can understand? Do you sell electronics? Can you show someone how to use their new digital camera or give tips on the best video camera on the market?
7. Find a niche/need no one else can fill. It will always be easier to show customers how your product or service can help them if you find a unique and elegant solution to a problem everyone has--like the need to market effectively online. Can you show people a unique solution to their problem, one no one else can easily provide? Great! Build this into your business blogging efforts.
8. Explain things step by step. Don't just tell people what you are going to do. Tell them how you are going to do it. Don't be afraid they will steal your solution without hiring you. They are paying for your expertise, not just an idea about how to address their problem. Explaining how you will solve their problem or, in another case, how your newest product really works, will add to a customer's perception of the value you provide.
9. Tell a compelling story. Back to the importance of entertainment in effective blogging, your blog posts should NOT be about a boring list of features or a complicated pricing breakdown (though certainly demonstrating the value of your product or service should be a part of the story you tell.) Instead, focus on the narrative of solving problems and providing solutions. Your posts should be about changing the lives of your customers, not about a dusty old list of benefits. Blogging is the perfect format for telling this story.
10. Forge a connection with visitors. Your readers shouldn't be people who simply stop by and then move on to the next available page with content. They should be people you establish a relationship with and get to know personally. Knowing what they expect through comments and other interactions will help you understand what they want and need and allow you to tailor your products and services accordingly.

How would you use blogging for effective attraction marketing? How can it help your customers get to know your product, service, or brand better? Leave your comments below. We'd love to hear from you.