Think about the last time you were on a train, looking out the window.
As the landscape flew by, there were likely things in the distance that briefly caught your eye. Try as you might to focus on them, soon they were too far out of view for you to see. Soon you forgot about whatever you saw, and began thinking about something else.
Most of the time, this is exactly what happens with customers and your product or service.
They are on their own train of thought, and your advertising or marketing catches their eye. It might be for a second, or even a few minutes, but it’s never for very long. Soon the interest fades into the background and they begin thinking about something else.
An easier way to get noticed
One of the best-kept secrets of good marketing, and especially content marketing is that if you get on the train of your customers’ thoughts, it is much easier to keep being noticed by them.
Imagine instead of being a part of the landscape that you become a passenger on the train. You align your content (articles, videos, audio, etc.) to exactly what they are interested in or heading towards. This is the equivalent of being inside the train, in direct view of your prospects.
‘Study your prospect first’
In the seminal copywriting book ‘The Robert Collier Letter Book’, the famous marketing expert said ‘study your prospect first, your product second.’
In content marketing terms, this means understanding the interests, desires, habits, and fears of those whom you wish to sell to. Know where they visit online, and make sure you’re visible in those place. When you do this, you are then boarding the train of thought that your prospective customer is on.
When you can speak the same language that she does, clearly express her concerns or frustrations, suddenly you will keep her interest.
This is always one of the first goals of good content: offer something of value that is highly relatable to the person. It helps the person pay more attention to you and forms the first inklings of interest. Rather than just being another random product or service that vanishes into the distance, you are then inside the mind of the person, and they will keep examining what you have to offer.
In all your marketing it is far wiser to get onto the train with your prospect rather than try to be something fleeting and flashy in the distance.