On our mastermind group call last week, we started talking about marketing and how best to do it. We all put our heads together sharing tips, with different people talking about marketing courses they are doing that incorporated social media promotion. I’m not quite sure if there is a right way, or simply a way that you feel more comfortable with.
For my part, this week I’ve started listening to a teleseminar series about marketing, called, ‘know, like, trust’ with Bill Baren, (I will put all links I mention in this article in the notes). The purpose of the series is that marketing is changing and it’s more important than ever, particularly if you are an internet business, to build a relationship with your potential customer so they come to know, like and trust you and finally buy from you. The first interview was with duo, Jeffrey Van Dyk and Suzanne Falter-Barns, of Spiritual Marketing Quest, talking about the best way in a service business to connect with your customers is by using language that they can relate to.
I’ve got an eye on this with a view to a second business – photography related yet more practical – and in this arena doing as they suggest, remembering a pain that has brought you to this point and using that same language from the things you experienced at that time to relate to others is easier in the spiritual market, but can it be transferred to a sales site?
Relating that to an ecommerce site, purely for photography is not so easy. Should I even try? In fact, if I’m honest, this is the place where I started messing around with my homepage – trying to be all things to all people and made a complete mess of it.
A tried and tested method by other marketers, and one that I try and follow for writing sales pitches is; what is the problem? What are the feelings around that problem? What is the solution? And what are the feelings around the solution? So, what problems bring people to look for photos? What are the feelings around it? And how do they feel when they’ve found that picture or frame etc? When you have your lists written down and as many permutations as you can think of for each scenario, you start to write your pitch. This is why I started to climb the walls, I had so many different problems and so many different emotions with only a limited space to write in.
However, I am just running an eye over the site now, is it too slick? Is the language over the heads of most people? Have I still got the personal touch? Of course, I know, that I am sitting waiting to answer any queries; quickly, efficiently and in a friendly personable way, but do my customers?
I really have to be careful not over tweak the website here, whilst I’m doing the odd few alterations and adding new features there is that temptation to start removing wording and rewriting it to how I think it might read best. However the features and information that is going in now is to give the best possible experience to my customer. It’s a tricky one though to know which is the best way to go.
This afternoon I came across a fantastic tool for all landscape photographers, that I wanted to share with you; Photographers Ephemeris, I’ve spent most of the afternoon playing with it. It not only gives you times of the sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset, but also the direction in which each is coming from, on any date in any place in the world, no matter how small the place. I hope you have fun with it. http://photoephemeris.com/
Notes
- Know, Like, Trust free marketing teleseminar with Bill Baren. All audio is available for 24 hours after the event if you’re unable to make it live. http://theknowliketrustfactor.com/
- Jeffrey Van Dyk & Suzanne Falter-Barns guests on the Know, Like, Trust seminar. http://www.spiritualmarketingquest.com You can sign up to daily emails for tips and inspiration.
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Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.
However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.
Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.