However, this shouldn’t make you avoid giving away some of your time altogether. You should just to be strategic about it. I like to think of these giveaways as samples. You know how when you go into to a chocolate store and they give you that yummy sample and you think “that was great I’m going to buy some”. There is a reason they give that free sample. Sometimes all people need is a little “taste” to know they are making a good buying decision. That’s how you should think of free content. It’s a yummy sample for potential clients to get a “taste” of who you are, what you offer and why working with you is the right answer for them. But you need to remember that just like the chocolate store you aren’t given away a whole box of chocolate. You’re just giving a “taste”. There’s a big difference.
There are many ways to give those free samples. Let’s look at a few of them. First off… you’re reading one of them right now, a blog.
Start a Blog
Blogs are a great way to highlight your experience, your wisdom, your expertise and to share you who you are and what you offer. You can take your readers on a journey that builds a relationship with them as they get to know you. Blogs don’t have to be every day but they probably should be once a week, so that you show some consistency and people get used to seeing you and hearing your message points. Blogs can cover a variety of topics but should mostly stick to the core of what you offer.
Blogs don’t have to become a daunting task. They don’t have to become all-consuming or keep you locked into being available to post and promote them at a certain time. Here are some blog tips to make the process easier for you.
Blogs allow you to dialogue with a wider group of people. You can reach far more potential clients with one blog post then making phone calls or in-person meetings. And they only take up one chunk of your time to write the post that will be seen by many. So, consider blogging as a way to give more people a “taste” of what you have to offer.
30-minute free consultations
Another great sample idea is to offer 30-minute free consultations via the phone. It is important to do these over the phone so that you aren’t spending time traveling to and from in-person meetings. This will cut into your work day less and allow you to fit more than one of these into a day. During these calls, you should gain a quick understanding of the biggest problem they need help with and offer them a taste of how you can help them with a solution. Here are some key rules that you should follow when doing a 30-minute free consultation.
Public Speaking
The third way to give a “taste” of what you do is through public speaking. Make it known to your network that you are willing to speak at networking meetings, workshops, and other business events. Here are some basic steps for success.
As you can see from these 3 ways, you can give away free content and make it work for you. You can reach more potential clients without spending hours “helping” people for free. Give them a try and see what works for you.
By: Amy Matthews, CEO, AMI LC
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