Hello My Friend

Congrats on your new business! I know you’ve been open for a little while, but we haven’t talked, and this is the first chance I’ve had to give you kudos for doing this.

Starting a business is a big deal, although I don’t have to tell you that, do I?

Stepping out and standing up to turn your passion into profit is a huge step. So many people choose not to do what you have done. They “die with their music still in them,” as Oliver Wendall Holmes said.

So, I’ll get right to the point. How’s business?

We’ve had many conversations over the years about business-building, and yes, most of them have been disagreements.

You’ve never paid much attention to marketing. I think about it too much. I admit that.

I’m writing because I’m pretty sure we can help each other.

You know that I’ve always loved creating stuff – writing, taking pictures, and making videos and graphics. You also know that am a bit rabid about marketing (which is where many of our disagreements have come from. Well, as it happens, this combo of making creative stuff for marketing purposes is called Content Marketing.

The funny thing is that word “content marketing” has only been around about 30 years but people and businesses have been using it since the 1700s. Some say that Ben Franklin was actually the first one to do it. I don’t know about that I do know it’s exactly what small businesses like yours need to use to be successful.

Of course, I’m not saying you’re NOT successful, but you and I are on the same page when it comes to success – we want it, and we want it BIG.

One thing that creating content does is that it helps connect you with your customer. I call this (wait for it), the Customer Connection, and with new businesses popping up everywhere, especially online, connecting with your customer could possibly be the most cost-effective way to market a business…unless you like paying for ads.

I’ve been ranting for years that creating entertaining and valuable content that engages with customers is the best way to build a business. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but I do know that you can use content to answer questions, develop relationships, build trust, and generate leads and sales. That sounds like a pretty good start to building a business.

Look, you already know I geek out on marketing, and I love making this kind of stuff. That’s me.

You love doing what you do best. Why don’t we keep in touch? I got this project that I’m working on where I meet with a bunch of different kinds of businesses to show them how all this content marketing stuff works. The goal is to teach some new things, help them do somethings better, and ultimately get them on that path to building that local empire they’ve always dreamed of.

You can come along for the ride until we can hook up in person to work on your business.

Sound good?