The Most Important Weapon to Market Your Business

A man from outside Thurles came to my office in November. 

He didn’t drive. 

He got the train to Heuston station, the Luas down to Busaras, and a Bus Eireann bus to Enfield. 

All because of what I had written on the home page of my website.

I will explain later about what I wrote and why it connected so well with my visitor from Tipperary that he wanted me to represent him in a family law case he was involved in.

But first I want to tell you what the most important thing is to promote your business online. Before I do that, a little historical background...

Cicero was a Roman orator, philosopher, lawyer, and politician. He introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and he was a huge influence on languages-Latin and European.

Cicero the Orator

When Cicero made a speech he impressed his listeners no end; they proclaimed “what a marvelous orator! What an excellent speech!”

However when Demosthenes denounced Philip of Macedon in his speech people jumped up filled with anger and rage and cried: “Let us march against Philip”.

Demosthenes is the guy you’ll want to copy.

The ability to persuade and influence your readers with words  is the single most important weapon you can use in your marketing, regardless of whether it is online or offline.

It’s called copywriting. But it’s just words chosen and arranged by someone to persuade or influence someone else.

Let me give you an example of something I see every day of the week: if you head over to LinkedIn you will see a stream of headlines competing for your attention. Many of these headlines will be along the lines of:

·        “I have just written a blog post”
·        “read my latest blog”

The content/subject matter of these blog posts could be of the Pulitzer prize winning variety. But nobody will ever know.

Because nobody will click on a headline like those.

Why should they? What’s in it for them? And come to think of it, who are you?

Compare these boring, insipid headlines with one like this:

“7 Tips You Can Implement on Your Website in 45 Minutes Which Will Almost Certainly Increase Your Traffic By 57% in 3 Days”

One of the biggest problems you face online is getting your voice heard-actually getting attention. And the most important factor in doing this is your headline. 

The sole purpose of your headline is to get people to read the rest of what you have to say. And your headline needs to flag down the reader and persuade the reader to read on past the headline.

People are busy. Don’t waste their time with boring headlines. And don’t try to bore them into doing business with you.

The Famous 6 Word Story from Ernest Hemingway

ErnestHemingway was allegedly challenged by friends to write the shortest story he could.

He did it in 6 words: “For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn”. 

These 6 words immediately spark the interest of the reader who is probably saying: “what the hell happened? Why is he/she selling the baby shoes? Did she miscarry? Maybe there is an innocent explanation”

The point is that words used correctly can be incredibly powerful. Words like “read my latest blog post” are ignored and sink without trace.

And don’t think you need to be able to write like Hemingway to persuade. Hemingway was accused of being an ignorant bastard:

“I used the oldest words in the English language. People think I’m an ignorant bastard who doesn’t know the ten dollar words. I know the ten dollar words. There are older and better words which if you arrange them in the proper combination you make it stick”.

My Friend from Thurles

So, what persuaded my friend from Thurles to undertake his public transport trek to visit me in Enfield?

The 1^st two lines he read on the home page were:

“Choosing the right solicitor isn’t easy. There are plenty of good solicitors in Ireland”

Why did this resonate with him?

Simple: it wasn't about me. It was about him, the reader.

I immediately empathised with his problem in choosing a solicitor. I made a “damaging admission” that there were many good solicitors in Ireland and there was no particular reason why he should choose me.

However this man had already been to Court with a solicitor and felt he was very badly served. And now he encounters someone who recognises his real problem in choosing a solicitor.

Most other solicitors’ websites he would have visited would have had plenty of “guff” about their specialities, their qualifications, and their “passion”. Maybe even their charitable and/or philanthropic endeavours.

But shag all about him, the reader.

I have plenty of stuff about me too; I have to because the reader needs to know that I can help him, that I actually have the technical qualifications, expertise, and experience.

But first he must see that I recognise his problem. And that he can like me.

Your web content should be all about your reader. Not about you.

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This is all about you.