Content and Software Marketing
The authors believe that creating content should be at the center of our marketing efforts. And while Handley and Chapman don't specifically address software marketing, their content rules apply to our industry.
The authors agree with Seth Godin's concept that Interruption Marketing doesn't work. We can no longer expect to sell products and services by delivering advertising to people who don't want to learn about what we're offering. Rather, we have to build something of value - content - and draw prospects to it.
Search Engines, Publishers, and Software Marketing
Regardless of what type of software you're marketing, search engines have become consumers' and business buyers' chief means of finding the things that they want to buy. So getting good search engine results must be a major tool that we use to attract prospects.
Today, the authors tell us, we're all publishers. Each of us has to figure out how to create a website that will attract our target audience and close the sale.
Content is no longer limited to text. In addition to text, content includes images, videos, music, and interactive tools that we create and place on our websites. We create content to market our software products and services.
Content, Trust, Credibility, and Authority
The authors tell us that content creates trust. Content establishes our credibility and authority. Content turns visitors into customers.
And if we create really great content, we can turn customers into salespeople for our products and services.
Why microISVs Need Content for Software Marketing
The authors list eight functions that a strong library of content can deliver for business people such as microISVs -
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Content can attract website visitors and turn them into customers.
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Content educates consumers. It lets them know what the selection criteria should be for the things that they wish to own.
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To various degrees, content can close the sale and replace the role of a human salesperson. For example, an FAQ can anticipate objections and answer them.
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Content can establish you as an expert, and make people trust you. This requires a lot of work. But it has a very large payoff if done properly.
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Content lets you tell your story to your target audience. Throughout the book, the authors urge us to use the storytelling tools of fiction writers on our websites, along with the journalism tools of news reporters.
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Content that is used in conjunction with social networks can create and spread word-of-mouth advertising for our products and services.
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Content lets us build a team of people - our customers - who love what we're selling, and who help us sell it to other prospects.
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Content creates impulse sales. I'm not so sure about this. I've written about creating impulse sales in my new Software Marketing Glossary - http://www.dpdirectory.com/glossary-impulse-sale.htm
Good Content and Good Marketing
Good content gives you a significant edge over your competitors. If you take the time to create a great web site with lots of content, the search engines will be sending you the "long tail" searches - the low-volume searches for phrases that consist of three or more words. These longer inquiry strings are used by people who have completed their research, and who are ready to buy.
The authors urge us to write meaningfully for our human visitors. It's a real mistake to keyword-stuff our web pages in the hope of getting the search engines to send us more traffic. Real content entices real people to visit our sites.
People trust websites that deliver usable, practical content. And with trust comes sales.
Software Marketing Glossary
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