Then 1 BIG thing came along which disrupted the \u2018lead-gen formula\u2019 you thought<\/em> you perfected. It was\u2026<\/p> THE INTERNET<\/strong><\/p> Now fewer people are attending trade shows. Fewer people are calling in from your print ads. You phone room\u2026it was shut down eons ago.<\/p> You don\u2019t need to be Mark Cuban or Marcus Lemonis of The Profit<\/em> to know you need to figure out this \u2018digital marketing thing.\u2019 The question becomes what can you do to be effective? What can you do which won\u2019t break your bank (or have to borrow from your kid\u2019s piggy bank) in the process?<\/p> Sure, there are consultants and service providers galore who tell you once you sign their contract \u2018they\u2019ll get you on the first page of Google.\u2019 Then all your lead-gen problems will go away. You don\u2019t believe this snake oil. You didn\u2019t fall off the construction trailer yesterday (OK \u2013 that did happen\u2026but it was years ago).<\/p> The question is can you find a way to position yourself as THE PERSON TO CALL for what you specialize in (whether it\u2019s kitchen remodeling, aging in place bathrooms or building custom, production or multi-family homes) and fill up the lead pipeline at the same time? THE SECRET BULLET IS BLOGGING <\/strong><\/p> However, I don\u2019t want you to take my word for it. I want you to read 5 clear-cut reasons a blog can be your businesses\u2019 best \u2018fre (that word can be translated into the word \u2018friend\u2019 if you\u2019re not a fan of Tony Montana\u2019s line in the movie Scarface, \u201cSay hello to my little \u2018fre\u201d<\/em>). It can be your best \u2018fre even if you\u2019d rather stick a fork in your eye, get a physical or do the 10-year colonoscopy your spouse has been hounding you about than write articles on a blog. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p> Read these 5 reasons and\/or listen to this podcast on PowerTips Unscripted<\/a><\/em> if \u2018readin\u2019 and writin\u2019 ain\u2019t your thang!\u2019 I recently \u2018thought\u2019 I had a smart idea. I\u2019ve never been known to be one who wants to play the \u2018bidding war\u2019 game in Pay Per Click (PPC), but I thought I had a plan which was finally<\/em> going to work. I wanted more leads for my home organization<\/a> business in Columbus Ohio. We do closets, garage cabinetry, pantries, mudroom storage etc. (OK \u2013 that\u2019s a free plug for me \u2013 ha! ha!).<\/p> Instead of paying for keywords in the most competitive segment of the business (closets), I was going to go after the garage, mudroom and pantry keywords (assuming they would have cheaper costs per click).<\/p> My PPC guy developed the ads. We created our budget. 2 weeks later he called and said, \u201cMike, we\u2019re getting basically nothing for our money. Clicks are costing $4 to $20 per. We either need to dramatically increase the budget or blow this puppy up!\u201d<\/p> I decided to blow it up.<\/p> This was my third failed attempt at a profitable PPC program in Columbus for this product category. One again, I thought to myself\u2026I HATE PPC! There, I said it. It\u2019s a game anyone can play. The goal is to outbid the next guy\/gal. This PPC game (IMHO) is getting harder and harder to get cost-effective results. Blogging (i.e. writing useful articles people choose to read) gets you Costs\/Click which equal the magic price of \u2026.<\/p> ZERO<\/strong><\/p> People choose to read your articles because they provide valuable information. Now, when they read your articles you do need to get something from them also. I would argue the \u2018prize\u2019 you want is their email address. To get this magic prize you\u2019ll need a lead magnet. (Note \u2013 if you don\u2019t know what lead magnets are read 3 Reasons You Shouldn\u2019t Ignore Home-Grown Digital Marketing for Your Remodeling Business<\/a>.) <\/em><\/p> Would you think your success in closing jobs (and generating leads) would increase if you and your company were seen as THE EXPERT in your niche? Wouldn\u2019t it be nice if everyone said, \u201cIf you need an aging in place contractor, kitchen remodeler or custom home builder you\u2019ve got to call INSERT YOUR NAME AND YOUR COMPANIES NAME HERE<\/u>.\u201d \u00a0<\/p> If you think \u2018the experts\u2019 in any field are the smartest people in any industry \u2013 think again. Here\u2019s who the \u2018real experts\u2019 are in the minds of people looking to remodel or build a new home.<\/p> The experts are people who take the time to position (and get known for) their expertise. <\/em><\/strong><\/p> \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Your competitors may sit on their butt and say, \u201cI know so much more than \u2018so and so.\u2019 Why is he\/she seen as the expert? It\u2019s simple. They put in the effort to position their expertise.<\/p> You may be asking, \u201cMike, how can I position my expertise?\u201d Well if you\u2019ve got a big mouth (OK \u2013 that wasn\u2019t nice) \u2013 and love to talk \u2013 one way you can do this is to volunteer to present to groups (at trade shows or other venues). You can talk about how you solve design and construction problems. However, if you\u2019re like most people the idea of public speaking makes you want to invest in the mega-sized package of Depends! <\/em><\/p> A much less frightening way to establish your expertise (without standing in front of a group of total strangers) is to write helpful articles (\u2018er it\u2019s that blogging idea again). Write about problems people deal with when remodeling, buying a new home, deciding between features etc., etc., etc.<\/p> If you HATE to write \u2013 dictate your thoughts into a tape recorder. Then hire an editor (or a college English student) to \u2018ghost\u2019 write for you. After you\u2019ve got the content written, you need to distribute the daylights out of it (that\u2019s a topic for an entire other post). You\u2019ll start to get known without even picking up a pen yourself. Call it whatever funny corporate catch-phrase you want, but digital marketing, blogging or social media is pointless (and lonely) if nobody is following you. If nobody is clicking on your web site or blog post. If no one remembers you when they finally go beyond \u2018digital tire-kicking\u2019 into full-on pricing and buying mode.<\/p> Our challenge in the remodeling and building business is people aren\u2019t buying our stuff every day (or every week, month or year for that matter).<\/p> As Jack Nicholson would say in his infamous Colonel Nathan R. Jessup voice from A Few Good Men<\/em> \u2018you need to be top of mind, you want to be top of mind\u2019 when they\u2019re ready to buy a new home or remodel their bathroom<\/a>. But how?<\/p> From my POV you need to find a way to stick to your prospects like \u2018white (or brown if you\u2019re a vegan) on rice\u2019 without being a pain in their butt. The way to do this is by providing \u2018mo (or for you English majors out there that would be more). Mo, what you may ask?<\/p> \u2018Mo information, \u2018mo information and \u2018mo information beyond that. People will follow you – just like these cute puppies (although I can’t guarantee the people following you will be as cute as these puppies – ha! ha!) There is nothing worse than investing time and effort only to have the rug pulled out from under you.<\/p> How much money have you paid over the years to build your \u2018fans\u2019 on Facebook? You know what you can (largely) do with those fans today? You can wipe your butt with them.<\/p> Sorry to be harsh. But, here\u2019s the deal. Facebook owns the turf of Facebook. They make the rules. Over the last few years they decided \u2018in order to make a better user experience\u2019 (this is corporate-speak for cutting our business out to get us to pay \u2018da man \u2013 Mr. Zuckerberg) to cut down the percentage of time your fans see your business page in their feeds.<\/p> From what I read last, only 2% of your fans see your posts today (and those 2% are likely to include your wife and your best buddies). Sure, they LOVE you, but I\u2019m sad to tell you, they\u2019ve likely already bought from you (or you did their jobs for free). So, if you\u2019ve built \u2018your list\u2019 (which is owned by them \u2013 \u2018er Facebook) to 1,100 people over the years only 22 of these fans will see your post organically. Why put a lot of effort into organic Facebook posting if only 22 people see it?<\/p> In my book, Facebook organic posting is largely a waste of time!<\/p> The heck with Mark Zuckerberg. He\u2019s made his social media network a \u2018pay-to-play\u2019 network which, BTW, I\u2019ve never gotten a good return from anyway. Build on your own turf. Create your own list of fans who want to read your stuff and where you\u2019re not competing with cute pictures of kids and grandkids.<\/p> With blogging you own your blog and subscriber list. I doubt you\u2019re going to cut down your own list to \u2018have a better user experience.\u2019 Anything you do to invest in your blog NO ONE (not even your competitors) can take away from you.\u2019 DON”T BUILD ON ‘RENTED’ ASSETS. BUILD ON ASSETS YOU OWN. Nuff\u2019 said!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p> You and I are mostly in the \u2018big project business.\u2019 You have to face the fact most people aren\u2019t coming to your site to buy now, they\u2019re coming to look and learn.<\/p> Think about big purchases you\u2019ve made in the past. You researched, you researched some more, and you researched even more after that. You weren\u2019t ready to \u2018BUY NOW\u2019 \u2013 no matter how big the CTA (call to action) button on the web site was, if you weren\u2019t ready yet. You need to think broader on how to build a relationship with your prospect while they\u2019re in \u2018research mode.\u2019<\/p> Your site needs to leverage the looker (as well as the \u2018buyer-now-er\u2019).<\/em><\/strong><\/p> OK Mike \u2013 you may be asking, \u201cWhat the heck do you mean by that?\u201d What I mean is you want the looker to be become your learner<\/strong>. Offer up articles like \u2018Free Tips for an Aging in Place Bathroom Your Wife or Mother in Law Won\u2019t think Looks Butt-Ugly\u2019 or \u20185 Tips to Build a Custom Home without Wanting to Kill Your Builder at the End.\u2019<\/p> Offer free content to help people learn where they\u2019re at in the \u2018pre-buying\u2019 process. Give them free stuff. Get their email address. Sorry, I said that before \u2013 but I think once you get this message, you\u2019ll have waaaay better digital marketing success without paying \u2018da man (FB and Google) to lead generate. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p> Distribute your content to your email list religiously. Make your mantra the following:<\/p> When the student is ready (your prospect), you (as the teacher) will appear (in their email in-box). \u00a0 I\u2019m honored you\u2019ve read (or listened to the podcast) 5 reasons you should have a blog \u2013 even if you don\u2019t like to write. I know (from hours and hours of writing over the years) most people WILL NOT take the advice in this article. And you know why\u2026.<\/p> IT\u2019S TOO MUCH DOGGONE WORK AND REQUIRES TOO MUCH DISCIPLINE! <\/strong><\/p> The reality for those people is they would rather \u2018do what everyone else is doing.\u2019 Pay more money for PPC, Facebook and get those fat-cats richer than they are already. Then they\u2019ll complain about spending too much money for leads.<\/p> You can \u2018play\u2019 a smarter game. Start writing (or find someone to do it for you). Stay disciplined to the process.<\/p> Start blogging like your business depends on it. Oh, and one last thought. Don\u2019t share this article. We don\u2019t want anyone else knowing how we\u2019re getting great, exclusive leads without bleeding our pocketbooks dry! Let\u2019s keep this our little secret. \u00a0<\/p> ###<\/p> To \u2018talk shop\u2019 about digital marketing, blogging or bathroom remodeling products or become a shower wall panel dealer<\/a> with labor-saving tub and bathroom wall panels<\/a> (hey- I\u2019ve got to plug my business sometime \u2013 after all my kids\u2019 education bills need to be paid!) call 877-668-5888 and ask for Mike (or that wacky dude who writes those articles). I\u2019m looking forward to getting to know you and helping our businesses grow. \u00a0<\/p> If you\u2019d like to connect on LinkedIn, you\u2019ll find me https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/mikefoti\/<\/a><\/p> If you\u2019re into Twitter follow me @Mike_Foti<\/a> or my companies\u2019 @InnovateBuild<\/a> and @InnovateHomeOrg<\/a>.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I bet you didn\u2019t get into the remodeling or home building business so you could become a writer. For many people it was the passion of seeing a cool finished project or the smell of sawdust (strange as it may sound) which drew you in.You started out doing the work of building. Over time this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[51,49,43,45,44,46,53,50,37,48,47,54,52],"class_list":["post-314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing","tag-blog-to-grow-a-building-business","tag-blog-to-grow-building-business","tag-blogging","tag-blogging-for-builders","tag-blogging-for-remodelers","tag-blogging-success","tag-builders-blog","tag-digital-marketing-for-home-builders","tag-digital-marketing-for-remodelers","tag-email-marketing-for-builders","tag-email-marketing-for-remodelers","tag-home-builders-blog","tag-remodelers-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/innovatebuildingsolutions.com\/dealers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/digital-marketing-ebook.png\")
<\/a>
I\u2019m here to tell you 1 secret bullet of digital marketing few (if any) of your competitors do which will grow traffic and build loyalty with your prospects before they even call you for the first time. Talk about creating a \u2018warm lead\u2019. What\u2019s this secret bullet? (lean in \u2026 I\u2019m going to tell you softly, so your competitors don\u2019t hear).<\/p>![\"Power](\"https:\/\/innovatebuildingsolutions.com\/dealers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Power-Tips-Unscripted-Podcast-for-Remodelers.png\")
<\/a><\/p>Reason #1: Y<\/strong>ou should blog even if you hate to write \u2013 Mark Zuckerberg and Mr.\/Mrs. Google have sucked-up enough of your money already\u2026haven\u2019t they? <\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Pay](\"https:\/\/innovatebuildingsolutions.com\/dealers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Pay-Per-Click-for-your-business-can-be-expensive.png\")
<\/p>Reason #2: You should blog even if you hate to write \u2013 You become known as \u2018da man or \u2018da woman! <\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Develop](\"https:\/\/innovatebuildingsolutions.com\/dealers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Develop-your-expertise-through-a-blog.png\")
<\/p>Reason #3: You should blog even if you hate to write \u2013 You build a following, a tribe, a posse <\/strong><\/h2>
After you get the email address as we talked about in reason #1 \u2013 use it. Don\u2019t email them annoying \u2018specials\u2019 (which they aren\u2019t ready for and will get them to unsubscribe to your list). Your regurgitated \u2018specials\u2019 through your email newsletter will be seen as marketing gimmicks, your prospects see through anyway. Email them informative articles about everything under the sun with your product or service.![\"Develop](\"https:\/\/innovatebuildingsolutions.com\/dealers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Develop-a-following-for-your-blog-cute-dog-and-puppies.png\")
<\/p>
You\u2019re patiently influencing them. You\u2019re teaching them. When they\u2019re ready, they\u2019ll actually want you. You won\u2019t have to beg (or borrow money to feed the PPC machine) to get an appointment.<\/p>Reason #4: You should blog even if you hate to write \u2013 You own your blog. <\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Build](\"https:\/\/innovatebuildingsolutions.com\/dealers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Build-on-your-own-turf-own-assets-with-a-blog.png\")
<\/p>Reason #5: You should blog even if you hate to write \u2013 Consider this sobering stat\u2026 98% of the people visiting your site aren\u2019t ready for a free estimate or design consultation. <\/strong><\/h2>
![\"You](\"https:\/\/innovatebuildingsolutions.com\/dealers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/You-become-the-teacher-to-owners-looking-to-remodel.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>Conclusion <\/strong><\/h2>