I’ve noticed that many of the coaching clients I have been starting out with lately still have an ‘old school’ understanding of marketing.  This means that they still buy into the approach that you should just run typical display ads or throw up a website that says something to the effect of:  ‘I’m great, take my word for it, and call me now to start paying me for what I offer.’

Now, this used to work–mainly because it was the only way to go about marketing.  This traditional marketing style is a big reason why so many service-based business owners HATE marketing; it feels like a hard/cheesy/inauthentic selling approach.  Conscious business owners don’t want to have to convince someone to do business with them.  They don’t want to force people to see the value in what they offer.  In fact, they don’t want to have to sell at all.

With the development of the web 2.0 world, there is indeed very good news for the entrepreneur who hates selling–you no longer have to!  No longer is it acceptable to try and sell before you have conveyed value.  In this day and age, the average consumer is aware of how much buying power they have.  They want you to offer them something first, something that requires no risk or commitment on their part, before they will pay for your product or service.

This is exactly what the web 2.0 world is about and why marketing has undergone a quiet revolution over the past year or two.  In this day and age, it’s all about getting people to interact and engage with you first.  It’s about establishing a connection before you sell anything.

If you’re a reluctant marketer, this should come as very good news.  You see, now you can offer value-based information as your main marketing strategy.  This can be done on your website by offering a free special report, e-course, or audio message to your web viewers.

Now, because so many business owners are stuck in their view of traditional marketing, the majority still don’t have an opt in form on their website to collect contact information in exchange for useful information.  (Hint:  this is critical to a successful website)

This simple feature of your website is oen of the defining factors of the web 2.0 world.  it’s all about the exchange between you and your audience.  Now, what this does is it builds credibilty, trust, and rapport.  People feel like they know you before they ever even speak with you. Your audience will decide that they want to do business with you because your information sells itself.  It’s a natural and effortless process.  Doesn’t that sound nice?

If you’re serious about creating a strong online presence, make sure you have an opt in form on your website and something valuable you can offer people for free.  If you set this up correctly, you’ll find that your marketing just got a whole lot easier.

Kevin Doherty

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 16th, 2009 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Acupuncture Marketing, chiropractic marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.