The one word that will help you towards greater success in marketing and sales

[Kezz]

Over time, I've come to the realization that for every direction I decide to take in my business, there is just one word that I need to think about to determine if I am taking the right path. It lets me figure out if I'm targeting the right people, doing the right marketing, and choosing the right products to sell or promote. What is that one word?

INTERESTING

That's it. That's the only word I need to know. I don't need any terminology or lingo, I just need that one word. Let me explain.


It all starts with what I think of as the main "3 kinds of interesting". They are:

• A group of people that find the same thing interesting (target market)

• Something I can do that will be interesting to the group (marketing)

• Things for sale that this group finds interesting (products and services)

I begin by identifying something that will line up with one of those "3 kinds of interesting". It doesn't really matter which one comes first. Then, I come up with something to fill in the other 2 kinds of interesting, with each matching the first. Let me give you an example, using one of my real world sites to demonstrate.

• A group of people that find the same thing interesting (target market)
  >> Fans of science fiction

• Something I can do that will be interesting to the group (marketing)
  >> Write regular news on science fiction

• Things for sale that this group finds interesting (products and services)
  >> Collectibles, DVDs, CDs, Posters, Apparel

If I can come up with something solid for each of the "3 kinds of interesting", I know I'm onto a winner. By solid, I mean the level of "interesting" against each point. I'm looking for:

1. A group of people that find a certain thing extremely interesting
2. Something I can do for them that is extremely interesting
3. Products that the group finds extremely interesting.

If I can't find a high level of "interesting" against any of those three, I know that there's not point moving forward, and I look for something different.




Once I've filled in the "3 kinds of interesting" all I have to do is link them together. By this I mean:

1: A group of people that find the same thing interesting (target market) > link > come and pay attention to > link > 2: Something I can do that will be interesting to the group (marketing) > link > which leads them to buy > link > 3: Things for sale that this group finds interesting (products and services)


I create these links by building more layers of "interesting" on top of the main 3. Again, let me expand on my working example.

• A group of people that find the same thing interesting (target market)
  >> Fans of science fiction and fantasy
  >> Fans of specific movies, television shows and franchises

link: Publish news about specific movies, television shows and franchises via a wordpress platform, using all available methods to distribute and publicize my news, and optimizing for search engines. This gets people that find science fiction interesting to >> come and pay attention to >>

• Something I can do that will be interesting to the group (marketing)
  >> Write regular news on science fiction and fantasy
  >> Write regular news on specific movies, television shows and franchises
  >> Write regular news on the latest release collectibles, focusing on the most visually attractive products

link: Keep tabs on the latest release, most visually attractive collectibles, eg. 6 foot life sized cylon, R2D2 home projector, life sized bronze Gollum statue. Publish news on those collectibles with big shiny pictures that will spur readers to click through to the vendor site, where they will browse further, read the vendor's sales material >> which leads them to buy >>

• Things for sale that this group finds interesting (products and services)
  >> Collectibles, DVDs, CDs, Posters, Apparel
  >> Latest release, visually attractive collectibles

So to simplify, I've linked the group of people with my site by giving them news on what they're interested in. From my site, I've then linked those people to things for sale, by publishing articles and images on the products I know they will find the most interesting. Throughout the whole process, all I've had to think about is that one word: INTERESTING




Focusing on this one word is the perfect litmus test for everything you have to do. It leads to all the right questions, for example:

• Do enough people find this topic extremely interesting?
• Is this headline interesting?
• Is this article interesting?
• Are these products interesting?
• Is this picture interesting?
• Is my website layout interesting?
• Is my choice of content interesting?
• Is my writing style interesting?
• Is the way I'm describing this product interesting?

...and so on.



This approach gets to the core of why people tell you to start internet marketing with something you love. Why start with something you love? Because it gives you more insight into what is INTERESTING.


It also gives you your SEO strategy. Remember, the term is Search Engine OPTIMISATION, not Search Engine TARGETING. Yes, we do our keyword research, but that's not to find out what Google wants, it is to find out what people find interesting. We need to be interesting first, and then optimise so that the search engines know we are interesting. The goal of a search engine company is the same as yours. They want to link people with the things they find interesting. The best most valuable thing you can do to get ranked highly by the search engines and stay ranked highly, is BE INTERESTING.


By starting with a plan for how to link the "3 kinds of interesting", you will also bring quality traffic that are buyers not just browsers. Link people with the things they find interesting, including products and services, and they will love you for it, and you will reap the rewards.


Just start with my "3 kinds of interesting" formula, and you have the recipe for success.


- Kezz

[Matt Fulger]

Great post Kezz,

I found the post itself to be quite interesting.

I think you may have just simplified marketing for a ton of people
still trying to find that "secret" ingredient to success.

Thanks for sharing.

Matt