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If you have a business, then it is a non-negotiable that you have an online presence. And saavy business owners are learning how to attract their customers to them, using attraction marketing techniques.

Attraction Marketer's ManifestoAs a first step, get a free copy of Attraction Marketer’s Manifesto by Ann Sieg. It is designed for internet marketers of all levels and is an absolute must read.

This article will give you a good overview of attraction marketing, with lessons geared to all levels. Because everyone is at different stages of their learning, I’ve broken things down so you can go directly to the right level for you.

I. If you are completely new to attraction marketing.

II. If you are familiar with the term attraction marketing but don’t know how to implement it

III. If you have been implementing attraction marketing but want to ramp up your results

I. If you are completely new to attraction marketing:

Attraction marketing lets you attract high quality leads for free using the power of the Internet, combined with sound marketing principles. If you have a business, whether it be network marketing, coaching, or any other small business, you need to learn what attraction marketing is and how to do it.

Any business owner knows that it is better to communicate your message to people who are interested in what you have to sell, in other words, your target market. Now, take that one step further. What if you could actually attract your target market to you, instead of having to chase after them? That is exactly what attraction marketing does.

Attraction marketing is like using a magnet to attract the people you want, vs. casting a wide net to try to find a needle in a haystack.

One of the greatest things about attraction marketing is that when people find you (vs. you chasing them), not only are they a more qualified contact, they are also going to be more willing to buy from you because they don't feel like you're trying to sell them something. People love to buy but they hate to be sold.

II. If you are familiar with the term attraction marketing but don’t know how to implement it

So how do you do attraction marketing? Above all, keep this in mind. You are attracting people to you. You have to sell yourself before you can even think about selling a product or business.

To sell yourself you have to let people get to know you as a person. People want a live person to talk to, to be able to ask questions. They want someone who is genuinely interested in them.

Most importantly, they want someone who can help them find a solution to their needs. That means you also have to sell your ability to help them get what they want. This means positioning yourself as an expert who has enough valuable insights to offer that you are worth seeking out.

How do you do this? You do it by providing free information that is of value to your prospects. Educate them, don't sell them. And in doing so, you're building trust and attracting them to you.

This is one of the main tenets of Attraction Marketer’s Manifesto: Teaching Sells

Once people have consumed your educational message and you’ve earned their trust, they will be much more open to buying from you. No sale ever takes place without trust. And the best way to build trust is to genuinely invest in your customer first.

Teaching proves you have their best interests at heart. It positions you as a trustworthy expert.

And the Internet is the perfect medium for connecting with people to teach them. That is because the Internet is now the standard way of researching anything. Think of the Internet as the yellow pages or library. And search engines or directory-type websites (e.g. Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Digg) are the index of the book – they are how people find the information they are looking for.

Now even the most inexperienced newbie on a shoestring budget can implement a large-scale marketing program using the Internet. Having a blog is like having your own column in a newspaper or magazine. And producing your own videos (with YouTube or Metacafe) is like having your own television show. You can help people sort through the information and find you thanks to social bookmarking sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Mister-wong, Furl). You can even do social networking without having to leave your home thanks to social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace). And all of these methods are free!

This is just a sample of the online marketing tools available to you.

And the purpose of this whole process is to get people to opt in to receive further information from you. They do this by going to your blog or website or landing page, and providing you with their name and email address. You then use an autoresponder system to stay in touch with them (it is like having your own physical newsletter).

With attraction marketing, your job is to become a producer and distributor of information – of valuable content.

Why?

Because people are attracted to content (value), not sales pitches.

And the beautiful part is that every piece of content you produce, exponentially increases the power of all your other content pieces.

When you control the content, you become a valuable resource for your customers. Think about it this way -- sales reps are a dime a dozen, but people who go above and beyond and teach their customers, are a rare thing. And when you teach people, they will not only buy from you, they will refer people to you.

You might be asking yourself how you can teach people when you yourself are relatively new at attraction marketing.

Here are three points to show you how you can position yourself as an expert.

1    1. You don’t have to be an expert to share valuable information. You just have to stay one step ahead of the curve. For instance, if you read a copy of Attraction Marketer’s Manifesto, you will be more knowledgeable about internet marketing than 95% of network marketers or traditional business owners.

2. You can improve your knowledge by deciding to learn about a particular subject and investing the time to learn about that subject. Again, you don’t have to be a full-blown expert. Just know enough to be able to add value for people and stay one step ahead of the curve.

3. I am willing to bet there is at least one area in which you are already have some expertise. It might be in writing, video production, SEO, coaching, or leadership. Or perhaps it is something related to your industry such as health, nutrition, travel, etc. Find something about which you have some knowledge and a passion for learning, and then position yourself as an expert in that area.

III. If you have been implementing attraction marketing but want to ramp up your results

If you have already been producing content and attracting prospects to you online, then you are ready to ramp up your results and take your business to a new level.

How do you take your business to the next level? By doing two things:

1. Improving your credibility ranking.
2. Differentiating yourself

Credibility has always been an important challenge for network marketers in particular, because the industry is often viewed as lacking in credibility. So enhancing your credibility is especially important for network marketers, but the same principle applies to any industry.

If you are already producing content and attracting leads to you, then your next major breakthrough is not far off. You can reach the next level by creating more “advanced” levels of content.

People equate different types of content with different levels of expertise. The more effort it takes to put something together – or the more effort people think it takes – the higher your credibility ranking.

There are many different content pieces you can create, such as your own articles, videos, blog, lead capture page (or landing page), website, special report, emails. You can even create your own information product, such as an ebook, training program, webinar, tips sheet, special report, or podcast. There is virtually no end to the type of content you can create.

In addition to creating more “advanced” levels of content, you want to use this content to differentiate yourself. You want to make your message stand out by making it different from everyone else’s.

Lack of uniqueness has always been one of the biggest problems for network marketers. And it isn’t their fault. It is the way companies have taught their representatives how to sell. My belief is that network marketing companies have so little control over how their thousands of representatives communicate about the company. This is completely different from other companies (think about the logo for Coca-Cola for instance and how it has to be exactly the same in all communications material) or franchises (think how McDonalds’ stores all have to look the same). So the network marketing companies restrict the amount and nature of communications their distributors can use about the company and its products. The problem is that people join people, not companies. So if you want someone to join your business, above all, you have to sell yourself. And that is what attraction marketing is all about.

So differentiate yourself by creating your own unique angle. You can do this by specializing in a specific business method or marketing strategy. Maybe you want to brand yourself as the “article marketing expert” or the “blogging guru”. There are endless possibilities to which niche you might choose. Ann Sieg lists some great examples to help you brainstorm in Attraction Marketer’s Manifesto (p. 60). Just pick one or two subjects and specialize in them. Remember to educate yourself on the subjects on which you want to become an expert. Then differentiate yourself by presenting your information with a different spin or format than other people.

You can also choose to focus on a specific target market.  Think about who could most benefit from your product or service. Please don't say everybody. While everybody might benefit, targeting "everyone" means you end up targeting no one. You have to select a sepcific group of people whose problems your product/service can solve.

When you combine your specialty with your target market, you have a niche. And having a niche is THE most important step you can take for your business.

You might think that being very targeted will narrow your appeal, but in fact the opposite is true. When you have a targeted, laser-focused message, you differentiate yourself among the sea of more generic offers.

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU

Learn how to attract qualified prospects to you using attraction marketing, with step-by-step training and support.