If launching a product makes you a monk, then early adopters of the product provide you the salvation. In these times of entrepreneurial spirit, several new and unique products get launched within a short span of time. Regardless of the niche, nature, function and form of the product, the primary indicator of a product’s success is marked by how many people know about it and how well is it received.
Short story – this all boils down to marketing your product right. In addition to having a kick-ass product, strategic marketing is the key to ensure that your product attracts the eyeball it deserves. This is easier said than done though as almost 10% of all startups never live up to expectations.
Since making a substantial number of users aware of your product and its offerings is a vital cog in the wheel of a product launch, you might want to think about leveraging a channel that is not inherently marketing but boasts of a large reservoir of users – blogging.
If you don’t have a huge marketing budget, a blog can be a good way to create a pool of early adopters for your adopters. In addition to that, you can employ your blog for a variety of purposes like gathering funds for the development of your product, creating email lists, getting beta feedback on your product’s features among other things. Below are some hacks that will help you leverage the art of blogging to get some traction for your new product.
1) Create A Distinct Brand On Your Blog
Irrespective of the current situation of your blog, whether you don’t have one yet or if it’s not very popular, make sure that your blog has a distinct identity that goes well with your product’s image. Every element of your blog, ranging from its visual identity to the kind of content you post on it, should project an image that helps your audience identify with your product’s core offerings.
It is also recommended to get a good blog site designed and developed so that you have finer controls over it. You can either choose self-hosted platforms like Wix or get in touch with IT development experts to get yourself a shiny new blog.
This approach should also make its way to the kind of content you post on the blog. If your product claims to bring about significant changes in the tech world, then the content you post should also revolve around the tech industry. The last thing you can expect from an audience that comes on your blog for fashion advice is to be going ga-ga over your new on-demand service app.
Choose your niche carefully and then stick to it. Make sure every aspect of your blog is aligned with each other.
2) Quality Over Quantity
The internet is teeming with all kinds of blog that publish all kinds of content. Your goal should be to consistently publish high quality content on your blog. Moreover, an even more important goal should be to never post content that is poor in quality, is erroneous and has information cannot be verified, supported or proved, if ever needed.
If you want a remarkable following on your blog, you need to produce content that is good enough to be remarked. Now, it is understandable that publishing 2000-word articles every week can be a daunting task. To overcome this hurdle, try serving your audience a mix of content formats. This blend might include interactive content like quizzes or polls; curated content in the form of lists; or featured content like guest posts among other things.
Always keep in mind that the end product of your blog is helping your product get the much-needed attention at its launch. So, keep your audience engaged with quality content delivered right on their screens at a consistent pace.
3) Give So That You Can Receive – Guest Blogging
Blogging isn’t restricted to just posting content on your blog. In fact, guest blogging is one of the most creative ways of letting more people know about your upcoming product.
There are countless instances where a product has gained substantial attention eve before its launch because of a successful guest blogging campaign. One such example is Buffer, the social networking service that gained 100,000 early adopters by guest posting 150 times in 9 months.
When a popular publication hosts your content, their audience can reach your blog via links. This results in referral traffic which has the capacity of turning into the regular followers of your blog if they like what they see at your end. This is not only a good way to get some potent SEO juice but also get some early adopters for your upcoming product.
4) Give Your Content A Fresh Take
Recycling your content might not seem a bright idea at first but when done correctly, it provides you with some breathing space as a blogger. There are only so many “new” things you can write about your new product. Repackaging your old content in a new cover means that you’re keeping your audience hooked without spending precious time creating something new and expansive.
Beware of simply pasting the old content and publishing it. Instead, try coming up with interesting throwbacks like updating an old blog, creating a top 10 list of your blogs, or by executing the rare but highly effective “how I changed my opinion about…” tactic.
5) Value Your Audience’s Feedback
So, you followed all the tips mentioned above and were able to successfully launch your product to a good number of early adopters most of which were also followers of your blog, now what? Well, now is the time to face the music. Great products grow from feedback. Make sure you heed to what your audience says about your product. Send as many replies as possible and keep your audience updated. If your product isn’t too good or performs below par, admit it and keep the early adopters in the loop of the steps you’re taking to improve your product.
“Nothing kills a bad company faster than good marketing”
So, to summarize everything:
- Make sure your product is well developed and bug-free
- Tailor your blog to have distinct brand identity
- Grow your audience by posting high quality content
- Utilize guest posting to get referral traffic
- Take in the feedback and keep improving your product
While there are several other channels of marketing your own product, blogging offers you an unprecedented amount of control and pocket-friendliness that you should not turn a blind eye to.
If you’ve have a product to launch and a blog you’re currently working on, let us know what kind of response you get for your product!