Clever Thinking

Call me crazy…you won’t be the first. Admittedly, I have been known to rush in where those so-called angels fear to tread.  But virtue and vice aside, there’s nothing like a little risk taking when you’ve got nothing to lose.  Times are tough, but blogs are cheap or even free.  Even before you spend a dime on starting a new business, you can always blog.  Start by reading.  Use services like Technorati, which rates blogs, to find those that are interesting.  Network, or just search using Google or some other search engine.  Find out what people in your field are saying.  Pretend you are a potential customer searching for a product or service like yours.  What types of blogs might you encounter?  What do those bloggers have to say.  Once you’re comfortable with what’s being said and who is saying it, start writing comments.  Get a book like Blogging for Dummies or Word Press for Dummies to find out more about starting your own blog.  Then start to write. Use your own voice.  Tell the story of the passion that drove you to start your business.  Explain technical points that might help customers in their buying decisions.  Talk about the key things to consider when evaluating a product or service like yours.  The idea is not to pitch a product or service, but to demonstrate your knowledge, share your ideas, and overall just get into the conversation–with your colleagues, competitors, and customers.  People will recognize your value without you having to tell them. Eventually, the economy will pick up.  Pent up demands will need to be met, which in turn will create more demand, and you’ll be ready.  Even more important, you’ll be present in your customers’ minds because you gave them things to think about, and gave them an opportunity to get to know you as a provider of a product or service they need.

It is tough waiting for business to come in, but blogging has made it easier than ever to establish your presence in the marketplace and especially to target your market.  Sure, there are lots of blogs out there, but by choosing topics that pinpoint customer concerns you can cut out a whole lot of that competition, and be there when your customers search the Internet.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 12:33 and is filed under Random Thoughts. 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.