Ever wondered how you can target new clients in this massive, online space?
It’s surprisingly simple.
You just do it through your content. Your copy writing. Your inclusion of your ideal clients.
In other words – you tell them that they are in the right place by specifically talking just to them.
In this week’s blog post, I’m outlining the three main content sources where you can target new clients, and how to work them in to the conversation (even if it’s not really about them!)
Ready to create a steady stream of new clients?
1. Blog Posts
This should be a no brainer, as this is your #1 source of custom copy and content that you create for your clients. But, how can you use them to target new clients?
Write each blog post for just one person. Whether it’s a current client who asked a great question that spurred a blog idea, or it’s an article for an anonymous busy mom of two, write it just to them.
Not only will this help you sound more authentic in your copy, then…
Derek Halpern , of SocialTriggers.com did a great job with blog post targeting in one of his recent posts, Customer Loyalty Secrets. The first sentence reads:
“The other day I walked into one of the local spas by my place…
…and I realized how clueless small business owners are when it comes to using the web to market their businesses.”
If you run a spa, or know someone who does, I bet you’d direct them to this article, right? Of course! Because it’s telling you exactly who this article is for. BUT – it also talks to the small business audience, in the next sentence.
So, if you’re a health coach who helps mom’s get in shape and improve their nutrition, write blog posts that address them in the titles or the copy. Such as,
- 5 Ways to Lose Baby Weight For Good
- Healthy Recipes the Whole Family Will Love
- 3 Things Moms Need to Know About Exercising at Home
See how those articles specifically apply to moms? You’ll let her know she’s in the right place, and that you’ve worked with women in her situation before. This helps you build trust faster, and convert her into a paying client sooner. Plus, she’ll share it with all her mom friends, and help you target new clients.
The same premise applies whether you are a life coach, business coach, or interior designer.
Tell your ideal client that he or she is in good hands with you – by writing content that is specifically targeted toward them.
Have multiple client types? Great! Write to a new one each week, with a new spin on the information specifically targeted toward that unique client type.
2. Change Your Social Language
Whether you’re sharing content you created (like a blog post), or content you found from another source, change the social language to target new clients.
I tweet about a lot of social media tips, and some are from my blog, and others are from third party sources like Fast Company, Social Media Examiner, and Marketing Profs.
So, if I see an article titled “3 Social Media Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners”, and the content is great and could apply to my audience, I want to share it. But, as a coach or consultant, you might skip over it, even though it has relevant information. So, what’s a girl to do?
When I share it with my audience, I change the social language to target new clients. I’ll tweet: “3 Social Media Marketing Tips for Life Coaches”. So, even when you get to the article, you may notice the title is different, but you’ll read the information any way because I told you it was going to be relevant.
Another way I have done this is through my blog post on launching new online products. The article is about a general product launch, so it applies to all online products and services, but my social language for sharing this blog post has been changed to:
- 5 Ways to Use Social Media to Launch Your Detox
- 5 Ways to Use Social Media to Launch Your Online Coaching Program
- How to Use Social Media to Launch Your Interior Design Service
The content is going to be relevant, but sometimes to target new clients, you have to let them know you’re talking to them.
3. Address Your Emails
Want to increase your open rate? Try telling them that this is a must-read email for the results they want, their job title, etc.
You can be as blunt as “Open if you’re ready to lose weight – and keep it off!”, or “Open if you’re ready to take the leap to CEO”, etc.
You can also re-use your same targeted blog post title for email titles, such as “5 Tips for Busy Moms” or “6 Interior Decorating Mistakes Renters Might Be Making”.
Or, create a clever email title that reflects you and your personality, but talk about your ideal client in the content of that email, so that once they opened, they feel like that was a great decision, because you’re offering them valuable tips and content inside, that’s perfectly targeted to them.
*Bonus Tip*
I love this tip that I got from the Rule Breaker’s Club, about creating a client language file.
Whenever you get an email, a question, a social comment or questions from your audience, look at the language they used, and write it down.
Not getting questions? Ask! Even if you have 20 Facebook fans, ask a poll question to your audience. People love to give their opinion, so if you need client language, ask on social media or create a survey.
By tracking how your potential leads talk about their issues, you’ll be able to target new clients using their own language. How brilliant!
My target market is busy moms. I help them lose weight through fast effective workouts and simple nutrition strategies.
Lucky you! looks like most of my examples in this post were already written for you 🙂 But, I would then make sure that you are always using “mom” language. So, maybe try some blog topics like “How to Overcome the Myth that Moms are Too Busy to Workout”, “5 Nutritious Snacks for Busy Moms on the Go”, “A 10-Minute Workout Routine Perfect for Busy Moms”, etc.
I see you’re currently working on your website, so good luck with your launch!
Jessica, my target audience are business owners, csuite executives in manufacturing space in the 5-200m range. I bring breakthrough strategy to organizations in an effort to unlock new growth potential. Eager to get your thoughts!
Great Todd, thanks for helping the real brick and mortar businesses! We definitely more people helping in the “real” world 🙂
I looked at your blog, and the best example is in your most recent post. Your very first headline calls out to your target audience “The most common challenges I hear from business owners and executives…” Great job! I would only suggest using call outs in your titles as well, such as “Are You Vulnerable Enough in Your Executive Role?” or “The Top 5 Skills Manufacturing CEOs Need to Have”, or “What Business Owners can Learn from Two Come-From-Behind Brands”.
Also, in looking at your social media, your most recent FB post is about young leaders… but that’s not really your target audience. They aren’t many young, csuite executives! So, you can still use that post, but your comment should have been “Even though this article is aimed at new leaders, sometimes it’s important to remind ourselves to use these tips too!”, or something like that. Your tweet from Sept. 10 is perfect: “If you’re in the restaurant business (or any business for that matter), and haven’t seen this show – a must watch! http://ow.ly/zYqTF“.
So, you definitely have the idea! You just need to do more of it. Hope that helps!
Jessica,
Thank you! Your comments were very helpful! One additional question for you – in your opinion, how wide do you think I can take topics on a blog platform if the target audience is relatively the same? In other words, can I blend “personal growth topics” into a business strategy site? Or does the platform need to widen to be something around “all things growth”?
I think that if those “personal growth” topics are things that your target audience struggle with, you can definitely write about them. Things like work-life balance, leadership, family, etc. – those same things all CSuite executives and business owners struggle with.
Hey Jess,
My target audience includes entrepreneurs and micro/small business owners.
Hey Neisa, sounds like a pretty broad audience still. I would encourage you to design an ideal client, one specific person who is your PERFECT client, and write toward them. You will still attract others, but the difference between people who classify themselves as entrepreneurs and small business owners is pretty vast. So, I would choose one, and build your ideal client from there. Otherwise, if you leave it this broad, you will be marketing to everyone, and selling to no one.