Content marketing: Turning strangers into clients

On a phone call last week, I heard: "Would someone really hire a stranger that they just found on a website? I provide a service - don't people need to be referred to me by someone they trust?"

An excellent two-part question, to which I'll write a two-part answer:

Turning strangers into clients

When a stranger lands on your website and they're greeted with information that will help solve their problem, they can very quickly turn from a stranger to a fan. If they really like what you've written, they may share it with someone they know or bookmark your page to come back to later.

But it gets even better if you're employing pink spoon marketing techniques (and hopefully you are!). Now, that stranger has now downloaded your free resource and given you permission to follow up with more useful information and ways to get to know you.

As you stay in touch over time, you won't feel like a stranger to that visitor anymore. You will feel like a trusted source of useful information, a valuable resource and the first person to consider when it's time to look for solutions.

Making referrals easier

When you take good care of a client, you make the person who referred that client look really good! With an impressive collection of informative content on your website, blog or social network profile, you can give your referral sources even more clout.

Imagine them being able to say, "Sorry to hear you're having trouble with X, Jen. I just read a fantastic article with some great tips - here's the link."

Just as your articles build trust with prospective clients, they also build credibility with potential referral sources, and give you an easy, no-pressure way to stay in touch with your network of colleagues.

So while it may not happen immediately (and sometimes it does!), I say YES, strangers will hire you just from seeing your website. IF your website includes some great content.

And for those who need a little social proof, your content can solidify your standing as the go-to expert in your specialty and guarantee a steady stream of referrals coming your way.

Comments

[Linda Dessau]

Thanks for the comment and question, Dan. I'll give you a personal example (and no, I don't mean my own site ;)

A few months ago, I hired my new coach because of the great information on his blog about improving productivity (which is what I was looking for help with).

While I did get to his site initially via a link from a colleague, I knew very little about him before I landed on his page:
http://www.productiveflourishing.com

I'll also present my colleague Karri Flatla as another example of rock solid website content that shows exactly who she is and how much she knows:
http://karriflatla.com/

[Dan Craft]

Linda, thanks for the article! You say:

"When a stranger lands on your website and they're greeted with information that will help solve their problem, they can very quickly turn from a stranger to a fan."

What are some sites you believe do this very effectively?