What not to put on your blog?

You may already know that when I'm not playing trumpet, I'm often writing blog posts for other people. Businesses and entrepreneurs pay good money to have me write blog posts... so obviously it brings them business. Otherwise they wouldn't bother. But why is it that some people can put up a blog that will bring in lots of business, students and gigs while other people waste their time churning out post after post and nothing happens? Here are a few reasons your blog isn't working. 1) You're not talking to your customers. Who do you want to have reading your blog? The answer is simple. Your potential customer. So before you start writing, take a moment to decide what kind of business you want. If you want to get gigs, don't spend your entire time teaching other people to play the trumpet. You're only helping your competitors! Instead, write information that will interest people who will hire you, like venue managers, event planners, wedding planners and other professionals. 2) You're giving away what you sell. If you have information that you sell... don't give it away on your blog. Let's say that you're trying to get more students. Don't give the entire lesson away for free in your blog posts. If you do, there will no longer be a reason to pay you. Instead, show them that there is a problem that they need to fix, and tease them by drawing a picture of how wonderful life will be like when they solve that problem. You need to withhold some of the information and make an offer. Want to know how? See my special offer at the end of this email. (See how I did that?) 3) You're letting people leave without giving you their email address. How often do people meet you and immediately decide to pay you? Never? … same here. For me, it takes a few weeks or months of follow up before people decide to become my client or customer. People need to get to know you and sometimes it takes people a little bit of time to decide. That's why you need to get their email address when they visit your website. The best way to do that is to use a bait piece. It's a piece of content or a special offer that people get in exchange for their email address. Once you have their email address you can begin to send them offers. Here is that special offer I was telling you about. I can help you get all three of these areas ready to go so you can start to use your blog to get more business as a trumpet player. I'm offering consultations where we will decide on your best and most profitable customer, create a list of topics that will interest them and make them ready to buy, and form a plan for how you can get their email address and move forward. This consultation is $49, and we can do it over the phone. I will follow up with a content plan that you can use as a guide to set up your blog. To set it up, send me an email with the subject line "Trumpet blog consult." email@mandymarksteiner.com. Keep practicing! Mandy Join our mailing list today!