Creating Content for Blog Excellence: Goal #4
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
We’re now on part 5 and goal #4 of my “Creating Content for Blog Excellence” series, which is all about creating content that serves a purpose. As a home business owner, the series is focusing on 5 content creation goals that will help you build your business. If you missed any of the other goals, I recommend you start with the intro, and then go to #1, #2, and #3. Ready for goal #4? Let’s get it then 
#4 – Pre-Selling a Product or Opportunity
Did you notice that I said PRE-selling? If you’re wondering, it’s because I firmly believe you should leave the hard selling for the sales pages. So, when I say pre-sell, I mean that you want to be more subtle in your selling efforts. Your to pre-sell your blog reader on whatever product or opportunity you’re promoting by building rapport and giving them the information they’re looking for.
A pre-sell blog post should start with an introduction that builds rapport. In order to do that, you’ll need to think about what the blog reader is looking for and what they want. If they’re like most people, they’re probably searching for honest, reliable information on the product. So, you may say something like, “You may have found it challenging to find honest, reliable information on [product name/opportunity name].” This acknowledges what they’re going through and kind of puts you on their level.
Then you want to tell them what they’ll find in the article, so that they stay on that page and continue reading. Something like, “In this blog post, I’m going to tell you the pros and cons of [product name/opportunity name].” You may even say you words like “the good, the bad, and the ugly” because most people trying to sell something do not give the cons and they certainly don’t reveal the ugly!
From there, you’ll want to break down the article up into sections with headings that focus on the things your reader will want to know. Such as what it is, the cost, what makes it different, etc. Throughout the article, be sure and use words like apparently, according to reviewers, and the company claims because it appears more neutral. Be sure you include a section that explains the cons or the negative side as well, so the content still remains honest. After the negative reveal, you can always counter it with something you offer as a bonus to make up for the shortcoming or how the product or opportunity is working to correct the issue.
Then, if you can, put in some authentic testimonials or reviews that you’ve found on the web (or gathered personally). Social proof is very powerful and always makes people feel better about deciding to buy. Finally, you need to tell your reader where they can purchase the product safely and affordably. If you’re trying to get them to join an opportunity, you can tell them what they get that is unique when joining your team (i.e. added support, training, etc.). Then simply provide a call to action like “Click Here” or “Order Now” Or “Join My Team Here” and use your link to direct them to the sales page or order page. At this point, they should be ready to pull out their credit card!