No matter what type of business you’re in, the one thing that every artist and entrepreneur always needs is a steady stream of interested prospects and customers. There’s no way to avoid the numbers game if you want to your
business to grow, or even to keep a steady pace. You must have a certain amount of people looking at what you do because only a percentage of them will need what you offer, and only a percentage of those people will actually buy.
So, the first step to getting customers is getting attention. Modern life is tremendously crowded with messages and modern attention spans are notoriously low. The competition, in all fields, is intense and you will often have only a few seconds to make an impression.
You have to be tuned in to who your best customer is and what they need and want. You have to let them know that you can give it to them. And you have to be (or hire someone who is) creative enough to get the message out in a way that’s unique. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Choose and use the right words.
- Start with vocabulary your audience understands. Big words and technical terms don’t usually make you appear more knowledgeable or impressive; they just make you difficult to understand.
- Tell a story. You can be entertaining and informative at the same time. Your business has a personality – often known as your brand. Let it show.
- Use action verbs and descriptive phrases whenever possible. Your words should paint a picture and encourage emotion.
Make it sensual. Sexy doesn’t have to mean naked, nasty or inappropriate. It means creating ways to get the senses involved. It means creating an atmosphere of comfort, affection or adventure. It means making people feel special. Photograph your products being used or against a rich background. Add music and/or video to your website. Find ways to let the customer feel.
Do something unexpected. People love to be surprised and that’s the best way to capture attention and make them take notice. The only limits are in your creativity and imagination!