How many of you have online dated? For the few in the back who haven’t — let me break it down for you as clear, clean, and simple as possible:
- You post the prettiest picture of you that you have. People respond based on how pretty they find you or your Camaro. And if you’re not pretty, you find one of you next to your IROC Z28.
- You write a few words about yourself. They typically range from your love of Amy’s Cream of Tomato Soup to quantum physics. The mass majority only mentions the soup.
- Because of the previous two, your suitors are as invested as I am in marijuana penny stocks – not much.
- You go out; you realize this is not gonna work, you pay because you feel guilty, you go home distraught, and swear off online dating on every social media platform you subscribe to.
Now, for those of you who’ve never been online dating but own a business — does this feel a little familiar?
- Do you feel like you’re just not attracting the right customer? Your customer?
- Does it feel like no matter what you say, it doesn’t really represent who and what you and your company are?
- Does it feel like your prospects aren’t really all that invested?
- And do you feel like too much of your time and resources—both of which are limited in supply—are being spent on someone who would never spend a second of their time, let alone a dime, at your establishment?
Do you feel like you’re missing out on the person you started all of this for? Ya, I thought so. Well, here’s some sobering news — It’s all your fault. And it’s all in your control!
In this piece, I’m going to go through how you can change this and why. I’m going to tell you about the recent experiences (as of March 2021) of the owner of JEG DESIGN INC, Jonathan Gicewicz. And I’m going to tell you how he has seen an alarming increase in web traffic with only one attributable factor — Blogging.
I’m going to break it down into three components for you:
- SEO
- Industry Expert
- Connection
And by the end, you’ll undoubtedly be ahead of where you were if you implement these steps. If not, at least you may be able to find out how to make that lifelong connection via Bumble! (not really)
Okay, since you made it through all the dating crap, we can get busy with business. First up, a statistic meant to scare the hell out of you!
SEO
As of today, there are over 600 million blogs on over 1.7 billion websites. Drink that in for a moment. So, why would you possibly join the fracas with your 1000 words on CBD and a royalty-free photo from Pixabay?
Because there are 600 million blogs on over 1.7 billion websites, it works, and that’s why people are doing it. All you have to do is make sure yours is different. We’ll get to how you do that later, but for now, here is what Jonathan Gicewicz and his 20 years of experience had to say –
“Blogs are a fantastic source of backlinks for sites that have a good SEO rank. Plus, within your own industry, they’re probably the most effective SEO tool you could use.”
Why is that?
Industry Expert
If you’ve read my work before, you know I have a man-crush on Marcus Sheridan. The reason, his approach in 2007.
America was in the middle of a crisis. Also known as the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression. And Marcus was the proud owner of River Pools and Spas. A fiberglass inground pool company not far from the affluent neighborhoods that surround Washington D.C. Now, I don’t know this as fact, but I’m pretty sure business before boom was stupendous. However, afterward — I think it’s safe to assume that owning a fiberglass inground pool company was like owning a company specializing in Kiss-A-Thons during COVID -19.
So, what did he do? He implemented a “they ask, I answer mentality.” He took any and all questions and answered them in blog form on his website. Not only did he supply content that was based on engagement – his credibility within the industry was unmatched.
He was honest, he was forthcoming, he was himself, and you know what? The people appreciated that. And you know what it created?
Connection
How many of you are sick of the statement, “your customer doesn’t know you exist?” Trust me; you can take steps to make sure that is not the case. But, just like online dating, don’t go scorched Earth stalker. Got it? Good.
Here’s the thing, though — just because you know you can connect with your customer doesn’t guarantee they will connect with you. How do you do that? Well, remember earlier when I said there is a way to separate your blog from the 600 million blogs on over 1.7 billion websites? Of course, you do. Well, the answer is so simple that it’s psychotic —
You.
Remember this if you remember anything — your company is the only company on Earth that has you. You can have influences, have similarities, and have identical ones, but you can’t have more of you. Write about that. Or have someone write about that for you. Just make sure they capture who you are, what your company is about, and why you do what you do.
Because, and here’s the secret — it has to be genuine. You have to believe what is being said about you, your company, or your opinion on something. Not for the sake of doing it, but because you want to. Because you can. Think of it this way — if there was no such thing as SEO, would you still want to tell people about why you and your company exist? Ya, I thought so.
Just know it won’t happen overnight. But know this — It won’t happen at all if you don’t at least try.
Conclusion
I have to close on this story — I was at the gym just finishing up a round of burpees when I grabbed my phone to respond to an email from Match.com. Before I went to reply to a gal who filled out her profile like she had a Twitter character limit — another profile caught my eye, more so a smile. A genuine smile.
When I clicked on this beaming profile, I discovered a novel about her and who she was. She answered every question one could answer about her. What made her happy. What made her sad. What she loved. What she thought about the time-space continuum from Back to the Future. Just kidding on the last part. But here is the thing, she wrote from one place – her heart. I was captivated. Despite dripping sweat as I read. Which, if you’ve ever gotten a touch screen wet, you know, sucks. Yet I plowed through.
When I was done, I sat and typed and typed and typed. Responding to every little thing. We chatted every single night for the next two weeks: sharing experiences, writings, and songs. We got to know each other so well that when we finally decided to give it a go…
Two years and two months later, I’m writing this blog for you in our house with a platinum band on my finger.
Put yourself out there. Display your worth, prove you’re worth investing in. Let them see who you truly are…
And you just may find a connection that will last a lifetime.
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Written by Keith Hannigan. Keith is the co-owner and Chief Writer at SBI Content Creation LLC. A content writing company just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
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Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash