Sunday, September 28, 2008

You Can Grow Your Reputation With Articles

By Rob Metras

Being an entrepreneur is supposed to be fun! You come up with a unique concept, add capital funds, and strive for success. Of course there is an ingredient you need that you cannot directly control, and that ingredient is customers. Without clients your business will not grow. One way to gain respect from your market and gain clientele is through article writing.

In what ever type of business you do, grow your reputation with articles. Everyone reads the newspaper, and local sales guides. Be the advertisement that everyone sees when they open up the Sunday paper. This will get so much exposure that you can be able to start to service those clients you need and build that reputation you want.

If you want your articles to hit their target, it's best to first meet with folks to determine what kind of image you want to create in the community given your field of expertise and competitive advantage you take pride in as a business owner. Don't merely write about your business offerings include details about yourself. Give thought to where you add value. One bakery is dirt cheap but the workers are rude, another is moderately priced and the workers are kind. The moderately priced shop with great customer service will win every time. The articles you write should help brand your company and highlight where you add value over the competition.

Grow Businesses Using Articles. Design articles with your target market in mind and give your clientele the inside story on what your business is all about what makes you special. Seize the opportunity to tell the world what a great family guy or gal you are. Explain that you pride yourself on treating your customers well, that you believe everyone deserves respect and kindness. Let your clientele get to know you and help them feel more comfortable with you and your company each week make them like family.

By putting in the money and effort into an Internet or local newspaper-based article will provide a ten-fold return on investment acquainting the world with your business. Everyone likes to read about new ideas and successful businesses. Folks like new things and new business ideas. Remember to be creative and don't be afraid to expose your own personality. By being personal in your article you are making it clear that you have nothing to hide and that you are open to everyone and more than happy to be of service.

If you have concerns about where to spend marketing dollars or just want examples of where to being, speak to other business owners. Discover what routes have worked for others and try to duplicate successful strategies. Do formal \"market research\" to determine what articles work best for your target clientele. Not only will you generate ideas for articles doing this sort of research, but you will accumulate statistics regarding costs and market impact of various strategies. You do not have to guess, you can do research to make more certain that the strategies you try are likely to have a positive impact on the clientele you seek research can help ensure you highlight the value your customers seek.

Assume you start out as a small \"mom and pop shop.\" Let's say the community knows who you are or at least knows a little about yout. It is great to be well known and respected in your local community, but let's say you desire to grow your current location or add new locations. In this scenario you have a solid customer base, but you need new customers to make your expansion a success. Of course TV commercials can help given your ability to afford them, but newspaper articles and postings on the Web can also highlight your business, its added value, and make new customers feel they know you. Leverage your customer base to speak for you and lend credibility to your claims of being a full service company.

So grow your reputation with articles. Don't be the only one not seen in the Sunday papers. Don't be left out of the loop where everyone is snatching up new clients every week and no one is left for you. Be the top gun in your business field with people. Let the market know that you are here and by telling them how much you would appreciate their business. Now start your typing!

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