You have a wonderful source of information and insight into your audience through your email, social media, and blog post comments. It would truly be a shame not to use them to their fullest potential.
When you send emails to your audience it’s important to encourage and allow them to respond to the email rather than sending replies to a “no reply” address. Likewise, it’s imperative that you open comments on your blog, as well as encourage commenting on social media.
It’s hard to trust someone who is nameless and faceless. People tire quickly of trying to engage with an unresponsive company. As a small business owner, it’s imperative that you rise above the norm and become super responsive so that you can monitor your emails and comments for product ideas.
The best reply email to use is your name. It makes you seem more friendly and open. Using a company name seems less personal and since email works better the more personal it is, be personal.
Some people don’t realize that your blog is a form of social media. It’s a way to be social on your site. If you can get a discussion going on any blog post, you’ll be able to use the responses as fodder for more content including blog posts and information products.
On some of your emails end the email by asking for a reply. Getting people to reply to emails helps with deliverability plus it helps your subscribers feel closer and more trusting of you as a person.
When you post an article or topic on social media, why not ask for a comment below? When you ask for comments below you will be more likely to get a discussion going which can offer a lot of insight into your audience.
When people do email you or comment on anything online it’s a good idea to respond as soon as possible. If you find that you’re getting so many comments that you cannot keep up it’s time to hire a virtual assistant to help.
When you get a comment it’s a good idea to add the comment to your idea file. Keep a file for each category on your blog where you can just cut and paste the information so that you can work on the content when you have time and you won’t forget.
Whenever someone asks you a question if you’ve never blogged about it before, create a blog post. Answer them in person, but also link to your new blog post with the answer and share it on social media and email.
Almost any “how to” question you get that relates to your niche can be turned into an info product. So when you get those questions not only should you blog about it you should use the content you create about that question to form the basis of your new information product.
When you encourage your audience to email and comment you open up a whole new avenue of potential product ideas.
Knowing what they need help with, the questions they ask, and all about their struggles will make product creation simple because you will be giving your audience exactly what they want and need. Remember, the easiest way to sell something is to find out what people want and offer them that.
