Another day, another dollar.
I know just how that feels!
At least it beats another day, which was just… another day.
But so little consolation, and so little hope.
In fact, it’s doing your head in! And it hurts like crazy!
But relief is only just around the corner, isn’t it?
After all, you’ve told countless people that things will soon change for the better.
And, did they?
So, what happened?
And, what are you going to do about it?
You can do nothing, and go broke. Or you can go for broke, and do something better.
Focus On Clarity
What my experience has taught me is this: You’re not alone. I know you’re not the first, and I fear you’re not the last. I also know that today, you can take a HUGE step toward turning your business around.
It was so helpful to take time out recently to focus on my own clarity. And it’s working!
What about you?
Your own clarity helps you focus on how you help specific people solve specific problems.
For example, I’m very clear that I help business people to win better clients with quality targeted content and clean, simple websites. So this objective is at the core of my framework upon which to build.
Are you stuck for ideas when writing new blog posts? What is your framework upon which to build?
In other words, what is the underlying theme or purpose of your whole website or blog?
When you’re clear about that, you can lay a clear foundation for quality targeted content that wins better clients.
Let’s Get Clear
Let’s get clear and see how this works for you by creating a mind map or brainstorm. A mind map is a natural way to organise ideas, reflecting how the mind really works. When we visualise ideas in their context, we can analyse and work with them more efficiently.
For the purpose of this example, we will use this post’s theme, or purpose, to help you “Win Better Clients“.
Take a sheet of plain paper, and preferably some coloured pens or pencils.
In the center, write the phrase that states your blog’s overall purpose, e.g. “win better clients”.
Identify and Locate Your Target Audience
Your next step is to identify and locate your target audience, that is, your potential clients. The fact is, if you want better clients to find you, you need to find them first.
Is that really possible?
Yes! The good news is that you will find them by asking six questions that you learned years ago. In the words of Rudyard Kipling:
“I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.”
I’m sure you know those guys from birth before you knew their names. They helped you grow through all that mirth, and laughter, fun, and games.
Anyway, before I get too carried away… I think you get the point! Consider your target audience, and always put those people first.
Why?
Because this will help you to write or outsource the writing of quality targeted content. This will help you to use the right words, in the right way, at the right time, etc. This will help you reach the hearts of your target audience and win better clients.
Tip: It is often recommended that we create a named persona to really focus on our target audience. So we’ll call her “Sarah”.
As we’ll soon see, your answers to those questions will identify exactly what Sarah really cares about.
So add those questions to your mind map, like this:
Now, we’ll answer these questions one-by-one.
What?
What are Sarah’s potential better clients like?
Sarah’s potential better clients are:
- Loyal
- Repeat Business
- Referrals
- Friendship
- Appreciative
- Values Products
- Values Services
- Testimonials
- Reasonable
- Pays Promptly
- Lets you Decide
- Patient
Write these down, so your mind map looks like this:
For the purpose of this illustration, I have used patterns of 3 points. However, your own example may require more. Note them all down.
There’s more we can do with this section, but that’s for you to do later. For now, we’ll move to the next question.
Why?
Why does Sarah want better clients?
The best clients help Sarah to improve in so many ways. Here are some ideas for you.
- Progress
- Experience
- Knowledge
- Wisdom
- Income
- Amount
- Regularity
- Return on Investment
- Relationships
- Stability
- Interaction
- Networking
Make a note of these on your mind map. It should now look something like this.
Now, we’ll answer the next question:
When?
When can Sarah get these new clients?
- Now
- Out of Money
- Rising Debts
- Need to Save
- New Year
- Fresh Start
- New Start-ups
- Contracts End
- Summer
- Exams Over
- Inspiration
- Energy
This is how the mind map should look now. Looking good!
How?
How will Sarah attract those better clients?
- Content
- Blog Posts
- Video
- Audio
- Advertising
- Printed Press
- Adwords / Adsense
- Radio / TV
- Word of Mouth
- Friends
- Family
- Clients
Not long to go!
Where?
Where will Sarah find those better clients?
She will find them via:
- Social Media
- Business Networks
- Forums
- Events
- Referrals
- Clients
- Friends
- Family
Almost there!
Who?
Who are Sarah’s potential better clients?
- Start-Ups
- Young Entrepreneurs
- Retirees
- Home Businesses
- Job Hunters
- School Leavers
- Post-Graduates
- Lay-Offs
- Coaches
- Business
- Life
- Sports
Your mind map should now look something like this:
Note: depending on the niche of your blog some questions may be more relevant than others. And some may not be relevant at all.
Quality Targeted Content
Did you begin to think of new ideas for your strategy as you saw your mind map develop?
I hope so. You can now see several issues that affect Sarah’s quest to win better clients.
With that information available in the right context, she is now in a better position to reach her desired audience with quality targeted content.
What does that involve?
For example, Sarah now knows:
- What her better clients are like
- Why she needs better clients
- When she can win better clients
- How she can reach better clients
- Where she can find better clients
- Who her better clients are
Now that Sarah has a strong foundation upon which to build, she can focus her content marketing strategy accordingly. As her knowledge and experience will grow, so will her mind map. In turn, so will her fresh ideas for quality targeted content.
What Do You Think?
Have you done something like this before? If so, how did it go?
How will the model that I provided for Sarah work for your business?
Please leave a comment below to let us know. And if you think others can benefit from this, please share this post with them and to your networks.
And as always, thank you!
