Oct19

Let Reader Evangelists Influence Others for You

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Creating Customer Evangelists

Last year, I read Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell’s book, Creating Customer Evangelists–a business bestseller. The concept, touted as a breakthrough, was really common sense. It seemed like a breakthrough because most businesses weren’t doing what it said–taking advantage of the fact that some customers are plain crazy about them. What Huba and McConnell explained was how to capture that enthusiasm and channel it for the company’s benefit.

Any well-written targeted blog has it’s die-hard fans, daily readers who think the blogger hung the moon. They are influencers–people who can change minds and influence others to see that blog the same way they do. Influencers are a natural bridge to other readers. How can we tap into the way they feel about us? How can we make it easy for them to share their excitement with others?

At his site, Micro Persuasion, Steve Rubel has taken Huba and McConnell’s thinking and translated it for use in the blogging world. Here’s a taste.

Steve offers six blogging points to echo the six points in the book. I’ve edited his words and added my comments in italics after each.

    1. Use your blog to solicit feedback from your readers and then act on it. It makes total sense. If you want to engage your evangelists you have to be engaged yourself.

    2. Blog your best ideas. The thought here is not to hoard your best ideas. Get them out there. Let your evangelists use them too. They’ll come back to you ten-fold.

    3. Find, listen, engage, and empower your blogging influencers. Everyone wants to feel a part of something bigger than they are. Let your influencers be a part of what you do in every way that you can. Encourage participation. The more they feel they belong, the more they will bring friends along.

    4. Blog with a higher, holy calling. If you have a passion about what you’re doing, other’s will at least pay attention. Many will become passionate too.

    5. Blog away trinkets, credit, and links. Be generous of mind and of spirit. People remember and respect generosity. It’s a statement of character. It also gets their attention.

    6. Show your readers that you’re their greatest fan. Anything I add would be redundant.

Steve also provides additional links with his article, “Creating Customer Evangelists.”

Read it. Print it. Keep it. But before you go . . . leave me a comment too.

Liz Strauss

 

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