Signs They’ve Found the Right Place

“How can you be assured your hundreds – or thousands – of dollars have been well spent?” James R. Healy asks, writing in the AARP Bulletin about finding the right auto repair shop. Reading through those 9 “signposts” Healy suggests shoppers use as guidelines to quality assurance, it occurred to me how very relevant those are to blog marketing.

Just as consumers would not be searching for the right auto shop unless they already felt the need for one, online searchers who land on your blog are already interested in and have a need for the type of products or services you offer. Several of the signs attesting to the competence of the auto repair shop are those you can stress in your blog content that will serve as “signs” to those readers that “they’ve found the right place”…

People you trust say good things.
Testimonials from clients and customers are a powerful form of social proof; we are more likely to follow actions others have already taken,

The shop has the right stickers in the window.
What needs to come across loud and clear in business blog writing is what preparation, training, and effort it takes – on your part and on the part of your employees – to be able to deliver the expert advice, service, and products customers can expect from you.

The shop shows pride in its appearance.
The main message of a blog is delivered in words, of course. Where visuals come in, whether they’re in the form of “clip art”, photos, graphs, charts, or even videos, is to add interest and evoke emotion. You should take pride in your blog’s appearance, ease of navigation, and correct grammar.

Management will stand by its work.
Blog content writers need to need to keep up on what others are saying on the topic, what’s in the news, what problems and questions have been surfacing that relate to that industry, and use the blog content to show how this practitioner or business owner has stood by his/her work.

Not all these things can be accomplished in any one blog post. But, if you’re consistently creating content that’s helpful for your target customer, it’ll help establish you as an authority in their eyes, and prospects who have reading your blog posts will typically enter the sales process more educated about what you have to offer.

Welcome blog visitors by offering signs they’ve found the right place!