Business Marketing Article
Are You Missing The Obvious?
Blindspots In Self Marketing
by Silvia Hartmann
I'm currently assembling a hypnotherapy directory and this involves looking
at a great many hypnotist's websites in rapid progression.
There are a number of basic mistakes, or should I say omissions, that people
make over and over again, so much so that we must say to ourselves, "This is a
structure, this is natural to people who are doing their own marketing to be
doing this."
You have heard of the blindingly obvious?
Which cannot be seen because it blinded you?
This is a version of that.
Let's say, you're a hypnotherapist who sees physical, live clients in
Cambridge, UK.
That's what you're making your money from, that's what's paying the bills.
So you make a lovely website, stuff it full of articles and learned faqs about
hypnosis, really bang on about the various keywords - but it doesn't actually
mention the fact that you are located in CAMBRIDGE, UK, well not until a
visitor digs around in the bowels of the site.
If I've seen this a thousand times now, that's probably just the tip of the
iceberg.
Sure, if you're selling hypnosis CDs or such, it doesn't matter that you are
in CAMBRIDGE, UK but it is all important to the quest for having real living
people come through your door in actuality.
HOW is it possible that such a basic, centrally important thing as LOCATION is
being completely overlooked?
It's because they know where they live, right?
And so, everyone else surely must know that too ...
LOL!
Another version of this is people who make their own websites but they pretend
SOMEONE ELSE made it by going 3rd party on it:
"Peter A Munchkin is a Clinical Hypnotherapist who studied with the greats of
the profession ...."
What happens here is that the same "I know who I am" movement kicks in and
what you'll find is that the NAME isn't mentioned anywhere near often enough,
or in the right places.
See, if I was not Peter, and I was writing ABOUT Peter, I would use the word
Peter all the time - quite naturally. If I *was* Peter myself, on the other
hand, I wouldn't, because it's weird talking about yourself in the third
person!
Also you get these strange omissions where it doesn't say that "Peter is well
known for his gentle and supportive style; his delighted clients swear by him
and hold him to be one of the nicest persons you would ever meet."
The reason this is omitted is that people just don't think to say that about
THEMSELVES - it's like the location where they live, it's just too obvious
when it isn't obvious at all.
Out of a couple of hundred LADY hypnotherapists, only two or three per cent
think to mention that VERY IMPORTANT fact - that's a crucial factor in
choosing your hypnotherapist for a prospective client and way, WAY beyond what letters they have after their
name, at that.
Specialities is the next thing.
I've seen God knows how many sites now where people have a real speciality,
like past life regression, or child abuse wound healing, or sports hypnosis,
medical hypnosis, child hypnosis, gay hypnosis, black hypnosis, Jewish
hypnosis - but do they say that in the title? Or in the sub title? Or on the
first page? It goes
under and if it gets a sideways mention at all somewhere on page 25, you're
lucky ...
Then you get combinations of omissions and the lady hypnotist who lives in
Surrey and specialises in rape victims who are very grateful to her has a 45
page web WHERE IT DOESN'T SAY ANY OF THAT OUTRIGHT ANYWHERE.
That's incredible but absolutely true.
Now look upon this as an example and a metaphor and a warning.
I GUARANTEE YOU that if you are doing your own brochures, websites, business
cards this is going to be in action to some degree, somewhere - you're missing
the blindingly obvious which would immediately explain to folk what you're
about and having them come to you.
What do you want to bet that in the example the business card ALSO does NOT say:
Linda Hill
Surrey, UK
Lady Hypnotherapist
Healing The Scars Of Rape
http://linda-hill-lady-hypnotherapist.com
?
Or her entries in directories, classified ads, hypnotherapist registers, and,
and, and .... ?
This is all pervasive and a thorough understanding of what YOU AND YOUR
BUSINESS are really all about when the chips are down, not from YOUR
perspective but from a true 3rd party perspective is in many ways the key to
all advertising, all marketing, and even the identity of the business itself.
That's the difference between what YOU are proud of or think of as an
achievement, and what OTHER PEOPLE think are your strengths and unique
contributions.
And that is a world of difference in every way.
So here's a task or adventure.
Ask the next 20 people what is good about you/your product/service and what is
unique about these, what is uniquely attractive, what sets you apart.
LISTEN and write it down on a pad.
Look at this until this OTHER emerges - not the you you think you are for
whatever reasons, but the you you are when you're not thinking that you know
who you are, if you know what I mean - LOL!
Advertise THAT new creature instead of avoiding talking about what you thought
you were, and you have the basis for a really cohesive, wonderful business
that is easy to explain, easy to advertise, and where prospective clients will
finally find a real integrity and congruency in what is promised, and what is
delivered.
Silvia Hartmann Author, MindMillion Wealth Creator System
- Now with FREE HypnoActivator!
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