Online business consultant, expert and author Biana Babinsky was kind enough to share her thoughts with the New York Etsy Team as to how to boost your blog readership. Etsy always tells us how important it is to tell our "stories" to our customers, right? But how exactly do we do that? Biana here gets specific.

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Are you looking for a way to bring target customers to your business while using your authentic voice?

Many coaches, consultants and other solopreneurs have told me that they feel that the only way to get clients is to adopt the marketing methods of a used car salesman. They feel they have to change themselves and their approach and adopt hard-sell sales techniques to bring in clients.

Fortunately for all of us, this is not true. You can remain true to your authentic self and still have a thriving business with all the clients you can handle.

You can speak in your authentic voice and get clients. One of the best ways to do this is to have your own blog and post new entries consistently. Here is how:

Write your blog posts in a conversational style, rather than the more formal style that the rest of your web site is written in.

When you are blogging, simply imagine that you are talking to your readers and let your authentic self shine through.

When you talk to your blog readers, they feel more connected to you and are more likely to become your clients as a result.

Use your blog to tell stories.

Your blog is the perfect place to tell stories that illustrate what you do. Such stories might not be appropriate for the rest of your web site, but they are perfect to share on your blog.

For example, is there a popular story in the press right now that you can relate to your products and services? Did you hear an interesting anecdote that illustrates a point that you want to share with potential clients?

A great story helps you share with your potential clients and at the same time spotlight your business, products and services.

Offer your blog readers a gift.

What can be more helpful, authentic and professional than helping your potential customers with a problem they are experiencing? Your potential customers need help with problems they are trying to solve. Your blog is an excellent tool for you to help your potential customers do just that.

Create a gift that your potential customers crave. This gift should solve a problem that your potential customers are experiencing and desperately need help with. Package your gift as a special report, e-book or audio recording so that you can create the gift once and give it out to thousands of people.

Once you have the gift ready, offer it to your blog readers in exchange for subscribing to your newsletter. Doing this will help you build a list of potential customers that you can contact and market to on a regular basis.

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About the author: Learn how to get clients, customers and newsletter subscribers with your blog at http://www.avocadoconsulting.com/rlinks/zbt.

Until next time! Mary Ann

"Hatching Ideas," a small wood block print MaryAnnFarley

In scouring the web this week for advice on how to write better Twitter copy, I came across this article by Michele Pariza Wacek, a marketing and copywriting expert. She doesn't talk here specifically about Twitter, but about copywriting in general, and her advice is wonderful! She graciously shares her advice with the New York Etsy Team below...

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Three Tips On Engaging Your Ideal Prospects Using Copy

by Michele Pariza Wacek

You’ve done all this work to get people to visit your website, only to have nothing happen.

No sign ups for your newsletter, no inquiries about your products and services, no sales, no nothing.

So what’s the problem? Chances are it has something to do with your copy not engaging your ideal prospects so they want to become your customers and clients.

What can you do to fix that? Well, the simple answer is your copy needs to connect on a deeper level to what your ideal clients find important. The difficult answer is how exactly do you do that. Below are three tips to get you started:

1. Know EXACTLY who your ideal clients are. Look, you’re not going to be able to connect with them on a deep level if you don’t know who they are, what keeps them up night and what’s important to them. This is why you need more than just the demographic stuff (age, income level, etc.) you need to know WHY they’re struggling, what they most want in the world, what their values are, etc.

The more you actually know your ideal clients on this deep level, the more you’ll be able to use the words and phrases that truly engage them.

So how do you get started finding your ideal client? Ask yourself this — who are your favorite clients? Write down a list of your favorite clients and compare them. (If you’re just starting out and haven’t had any clients, think about the other people in your life you enjoy working with and describe them.)

Why are those clients your favorites? What do they have in common? (Look beyond the external descriptions such as gender and age, and instead think about mindset and values and beliefs.) Start there and see where it takes you.

Then once you have a picture of your ideal clients in your head, it’s time to look at tip 2.

2. Don’t write to a group (even if it’s a group of your ideal clients). Instead, pick one person and write to that person. When you do this, your writing will naturally sound more intimate. In fact, I would take it one step further and imagine yourself writing a letter to a friend. Your friend has a problem, you KNOW what could really help him or her. Wouldn’t you try and write an engaging, persuasive letter because you REALLY want to help your friend? That’s the way you’ll really start to connect with your ideal clients.

3. Use THEIR language, not yours. In other words, don’t spend hours and hours trying to figure out a cute way to describe what you do that means nothing, or worse, requires a great deal of explanation before anyone even understands what you’re talking about. The best (and easiest) way is to use the same words your ideal clients are using.

Now, you may be wondering to yourself, how do you find out what words your ideal clients are using? Ask them.

Do a survey or ask a question on social networking forums or groups. See what language THEY use to describe their problems and what they’re looking for to solve it. Then use their words in your marketing copy. (Yes, honestly, it really CAN be that easy.)

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Thank you, Michele, for this great advice!

Until next time,
Mary Ann

"Into the Woods" medium-sized print
The shop: MaryAnnFarley