How Getting Known Offline Drives Business Online
Film star Kevin Costner may have been right following the advice. “If you build it, they will come,” but in order for your online business to succeed, you’ve got to first concentrate on your offline presence.
Offline? I know, we all want the online side of our business to be our own personal Field of Dreams. But strange as it may seem, your online business will come from offline activity. In this article, I’ll tell how to get started with offline activities that drive online traffic.
Why offline activity drives online business When you think about it, people you do business with have two things in common with you:
- They know you
- They like you
People do business with people they know and trust Think about the last website you visited and bought from all on the same day. Can you remember one? Most likely you can’t.
Unless it was a sales page that really pushed your internal “Buy Now!” button, you probably didn’t make a purchase on the same visit.
Why is that? Because you wanted to know a little about the person, the business, the product or service before plunking down your credit card and bagging up the goodies.
People visiting your website are no different; they also want some time to get to know the you behind the firewall.
Offline activities help you do this Simple activities that you probably already do to some degree help you drive traffic to your online site.
Activities like…
- responding with your Business Mantra with a new contact asks what you do for a living?
- giving a brief talk to a neighborhood or civic group about a problem your business solves
- networking with your BNI or other lead generating groups
- providing your best level of service to your existing clients
All of these offline activities help create interest and drive curiosity about your business. They allow your clients and prospects to see the offline side of you first. That drives their curiosity and helps build needed trust.
Once they feel they know you, they’re much more likely to visit your business website. If you’ve set a subscription or some other permission marketing device, you’ll now be able to regularly build on that initial level of trust.
Should offline activity always be the priority? In the beginning stages of your online presence, offline will help create more opportunity and more sales. Once you become established online, your readers will expect more from your online side than offline.
An example…
Sean D’Souza of Psychotactics.com started with a tiny website. But it wasn’t until he started giving talks around town that interest in his business began to grow. Even with a primitive website back in 2002, he was able sell $50,000 worth of his tiny (at the time) eBook, The Brain Audit. When his reputation grew, his offline activity decreased and the expectations of his online audience demanded more and more time online. Interestingly, Sean still does quite a bit of offline marketing activities in New Zealand and generates more and more interest…and trust.
Another example…
When I started BarryMorris.com, I gave talks where I lived. If there was a table with two people sitting around it, I was there talking to them. Pretty soon, my fledgling newsletter began to attract subscribers and the online portion my business became established. That led to a book, training courses, and other online products and services.
Some suggestions for getting started offline It isn’t really hard to get started offline; it’s where we live, right? Begin by asking yourself some questions.
- What am you comfortable doing? Maybe you’re not ready to begin speaking to groups. Maybe you’re a natural networker. Begin with an activity that you can ease into. Brainstorm a list of offline activities that could get you started.
- What do I like doing? If you begin with an activity you like, you’ll be more successful. People will notice. When I started speaking, my audiences could tell I loved it. It lowered the barriers because they could tell I was enjoying myself. Enthusiasm is infectious.
- What’s the best offline activity for my business? If you’re a coach, consultant and send most of your time in face-to-face encounters with your clients, consider an activity -like networking-that lets you demonstrate your empathy, and listening skills. If you’re a writer, is there a free workshop you can give at your local library to meet new writers or business owners who need to write more effectively? Match the activity to one that compliments your business.
Join the discussion What are you doing offline these days? Are you engaged in giving talks, networking with other solo business owners, or some thing else? What works for you? Consider posting a comment and getting feedback from me and others.
Thanks for reading,
Barry
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