The working definition of spam is information delivered to recipients that have no desire to receive that information. You’re in danger of writing spam if you do the following:
1. Don’t use double opt-in email delivery services (I recommend Aweber.com)
2. Abruptly change the focus of your email newsletter from something your double opt-in audience wants to read to something they have no interest in.
3. Send out bcc or cc’d emails more than once a month to a list of people who have no interest in (and who did not ask you to send anything) what you’re sending.
Guilty?
I’m a bit more lenient on the subject than some people. I don’t mind emails from other b2b (book publicists) or b2c (Nordstrom) providers. I do mind multiple or almost daily emails from anyone that didn’t ask my permission first, and I’ll frequently unsubscribe. The key for you is to remember your recipient’s feelings (even when they double opt-in) and steer clear of pushing anyone over the edge. Think about how you feel when you receive an email that gives you that icky feeling. Really. Think about it.
So, how do you create content that isn’t spam?
You need to do some research first. You don’t just get up one morning and decide you’re going to start writing about something without first testing. And you test by starting a blog about something you know (or even writing a personal blog that quickly morphs into something more niche). And then you figure out which posts get the most attention (and traffic) and which posts feel right to you and which posts come from your heart and which posts feel authentic.
There’s that word again. It’s all about what you know, what your audience wants to know, and your personality (your authenticity) stamped on that information. That’s content that avoids spam.
1. Have you been thinking about what you already know? If you need to learn more to know more, do it now. But start thinking about what you feel the most confident about. Is there some problem that you have found a solution for? Do you know how to help non-profits market better? Do you know how to grow perfect tomatoes? Do you know how to pay off credit card debt quickly? Begin to research your potential audience for that knowledge/problem/solution.
2. Who else is serving that audience? Who are the players already in the game? You figure out what solution others have offered your audience. Is there a consultant that has an ebook or seminar on non-profit marketing? What’s her solution? How does she do what she does? Sometimes you need to buy their product to really understand and sometimes you just need to take an hour at the local bookstore/library to study the competition. How about growing tomatoes and paying off credit card debt quickly? Same thing. Beef up your knowledge fast by studying what your competition is doing. Once you’ve got that covered, you’re 90% done.
3. Determine your USP (unique selling position/proposition). What are you going to do differently or the same? What other angle are you going to offer? What format are you going to offer? Print book, e-book, podcast, video, seminar, workbook, ecourse? Are you going to be more expensive or less? Are you going to drill down farther than others or pan out and cover more than just tomatoes? Are you going to enlist other experts or is it just going to be you?
It sounds like a ton of work. Really though, you’re creating more work (and a dead end) for yourself without this upfront research phase. Why create a product or choose a niche and have no idea how you compare to anyone else? Why do all that work of setting up a blog and trying to convert your readers to paying customers (buyers of your book) unless you know (sorta) where you’re going? That seems like a lot of work. Better to front load than scramble just to earn a dcent hourly wage.
Action Tip: You know what you need to do. Time to do it.
