Netalot

Every business depends on its regular customers. This could be the pub down the road or the housewife who always buys the same washing powder. In fact some pubs even have a table reserved for their regulars. That’s to ensure that they come back often.

In business it has long been common knowledge that a regular customer is worth ten times more than a new customer. Or in other words, it costs you a lot to get new customers.

Business practice then spends a lot of money and effort to ensure that your customers stay around for a while. They are induced into this by a good product or service, or at least sometimes. They might also be enticed to stay by being offered subscriptions and loyalty cards.

Whatever way it is done the point is that business wants to keep as many of their customers around for as long as possible. The health gym industry has taken the keeping hold of the customer one step further and actually sells membership for life.

It is so much easier to sell a further product to a customer who is a regular. This could be somebody who pops into the pub for a pint on the way home. Grab him for a pub meal as well and you have just doubled your turnover.

What about the customer who always comes back for his car maintenance at your garage. Sell him some car accessory that he didn’t even consider before he walked into the workshop.

It is so much easier to sell something to a person who is already coming into the shop. The difficult part, the hard work is if you have to constantly entice new customers into the shop. That’s where the huge advertising budgets come up. Getting traffic through the door or to your blog.

How can you get around that? As with offline businesses you have to make sure that your customers become regulars. Your visitors want to see what you are doing, everytime you do it. That means you want them on your list.

Your list in the online world is your RSS feed or the emails that your regulars are prepared to accept from you.

You want a whole bunch of people who want to follow every word you write about, every tip you offer them, every word of wisdom you spout forth. You need those people and you need them to sign up for the feed.

Because the list is where the money is. This is where you have a market that you can tap into. All other efforts are far too much work and if you need to pay for advertising then it can start to cost a lot of money.

Those regular readers are not easy to come by. You certainly can’t buy them because they will opt out at the drop of a hat. What you need are regular readers who are now fans and become part of your tribe.

They want to follow your leadership and be advised by your expertise. And if that means being told what to buy, then so be it. Work on that list from the moment you start your blog. You will never regret that effort.