#2 - Finding Word Of Mouth Marketing Success
In this article we begin to look at specific examples that illustrate the concept "word of mouth begins within".
In the first article in this series, we started an exploration of the concept "word of mouth begins within."
Now that the general principle has been stated, let's dive in to the details with a specific example, using ourselves as the test subject.
What's the most effective thing that we, Will and Phil the owners of this domain, can do to build word of mouth advertising for this site?
The Answer Lies Within
The answer is so simple. So obvious.
In fact, the answer is so simple and obvious, that it's really easy to get caught up in being clever, savvy, advanced and sophisticated, and rush right on by....
And miss it completely.
The most effective thing we can do to build word of mouth for this site is...
The point of greatest marketing leverage is....
The way we can get the most bang for our time investment buck is...
Develop our sincere interest in the topic of word of mouth marketing.
Let's Be Clear About Our Site
In order to understand why such an obvious prescription merits discussion, we have to examine ourselves with clear minded honesty.
In the spirit of looking within, we'll go first.
- We're programmers, and the impetus for this site arose from our addiction to the creative satisfaction that we derive from inventing new software.
- Our main goal in offering the Word Of Mouth Tool, and creating this site, is to promote our other projects.
- We hope to build enough traffic to this domain so that advertising on this site will become a new income stream for us.
These are pretty normal motivations for webmasters.
My satisfaction, my income, me.
Let's Be Clear About Your Site
Ok, now your turn. Here's a tough question you can chew on if you wish.
Are you truly interested in the topic of your own site?
Are you?
Here's a way to find out.
Would you still be interested in building your website, if there was no way to make money from it?
What is the real engine of motivation driving your site forward?
An interest in the topic?
Or an interest in the income?
While you're considering your answer, let's meet our readers.
Let's Be Clear About Our Readers
Let's take a typical visitor to this site, who got here by searching for "word of mouth advertising" on Google.
What do they want? Why are they here?
Are they interested in our creative satisfaction?
Nope.
Are they interested in our other projects?
Probably not.
Do they care about our income?
No way.
They care about their income!
Why are they here? What are they interested in?
Again, it's very simple.
They typed "word of mouth advertising" in to Google.
Let's Be Clear About Our Goals
Let's stay clear and focused and recall, our goal is building word of mouth advertising for this site.
Our goal is not just that Net users visit this site.
Our goal is not just that visitors read these pages.
Our goal is not just that readers find these articles useful.
Our goal is more ambitious.
Our goal is that readers will take action.
Our goal is that readers will give our site positive word of mouth.
Our goal is that readers will be inspired to help us market our site, for free.
How Do We Accomplish Our Goal?
So again we return to the question we started with.
What is the most effective way we can build word of mouth for this site, or any site?
The answer being offered here is...
Align our interests and motivations with those of our readers.
Our readers are not especially interested in us, our plans, our desires, our creative satisfaction, our incomes and all the other personal agendas that tend to drive our site building motivations.
They are interested in the topic.
One of the most effective things we can do to build word of mouth is to look within, and understand our own relationship with the topic we are writing about.
Once inside our own heads, we can nuture and grow that relationship the way we'd carefully and deliberately tend to delicate young plants in the garden.
If we're serious about that process, we may develop a truly passionate interest in our topic, and become the kind of energized writer that inspires readers to word of mouth action.
NOT THIS: We won't get word of mouth because of the information we provide here. Millions of sites, billions of pages, the Net is overflowing with a tidal wave of information. Information is like air. It's vitally important, but so common that nobody gives it word of mouth buzz.
NOT THIS: We won't get word of mouth because of our clever marketing strategies. In our ad saturated culture, most of us are pretty weary of clever marketing strategies. If we have any reaction to them at all, it's probably resentment, not exactly the kind of word of mouth we're hoping for.
THIS: => It's our sincere passion for our topic that will inspire readers to word of mouth for us.
That passion is found in between our ears.
The answer lies within.
The Next Article
In the next article in this series we'll look at another word of mouth example that is much more fun and famous than the one we've offered here.
Get ready to rock!
