HELLO, friend, and welcome to the [brand new] Hello Blu Studio blog!
I’m Michelle Urbick. You might know me from my other home over at Rosy Blu, but you might not know I’m also a website wizard with nearly a decade of experience working with hundreds of businesses on web marketing.
In this space I’ll be sharing marketing expertise, website wisdom and tips for getting your own message out to customers using the wondrous world wide web.
Hello Blu Studio got its name because good marketing is a lot like saying “Hello!”—marketing is simply the start of a conversation (with a lot of people). Therefore, the core of your marketing should always be about connecting with other humans, rather than using gimmicks and tricks just to make sales or increase traffic.
By way of illustrating there are as many ways to market yourself as there are ways to start a conversation, I’ve collected the wisdom of a dozen of my favorite business owners—the ones I look up to as influential brands both online and locally—on this question:
What’s your favorite way to say HELLO to people—and potential customers—who you haven’t met (yet)?
As you’ll see from their responses, there’s no wrong answer—their answers range from one-on-one to one-to-many methods, and encompass both online and offline communication. Some of them are a little unconventional…and others are classics that simply work.
Alexandra Franzen
“As a writer, my favorite way to say HELLO to people who I haven’t met yet…
… is to write the best blog posts, articles, advice columns and books that I possibly can.
By building a body of work that shows people who I am, what I love and what I believe in, it’s like waving “hello!” with my words.
If someone likes my particular flavor of “hello,” then they can swing over to my website — or into one of my workshops — to get to know me better, and continue the conversation.”
Find Alexandra at alexandrafranzen.com
Dyana Valentine
“In all of my speaking gigs (from emceeing, to big conferences, to 10 person intensives), I ALWAYS start with these stickers (that deeply informs everyone’s HELLO after that moment!):
and send thank you postcards, the graphic side of which look like this:
NOTE: Dyana shared even MORE wisdom about the ways she says hello—watch for details in a future post! Find Dyana at dyanavalentine.com
Paul Jarvis
“How do I say hi to my audience (my rat people)?
I write for them. Specifically for them, and no one else. As regularly (once a week) as possible, to let them know that I’m here, and that I care about giving them value.”
Find Paul at pjrvs.com
Sarah Von Bargen
“My favorite way to say hello to a potential client or customer? I use a four-part cocktail that goes something like this:
1. Follow them on Twitter
2. Tweet something (hopefully) funny and charming in their direction
3. Link to them in my weekly link roundup to send a bit of good-karma traffic their way
4. Drop them a friendly email!”
Find Sarah at SarahVonBargen.com and YesAndYes.org
Meg Worden
“My favorite way to say hello to people and potential customers I haven’t met yet, is the good old personal email. I still send a personal email to new subscribers saying, “thank you”, and “hi”, and asking a little about them. Because of this, I make great connections, increase conversions, have interesting conversations, and learn more about who I’m writing for.”
Find Meg at megworden.com
Molly Mogren Katt
“My go-to way to say hi is two fold:
1. I think a well-crafted tweet is a great way to get access to a someone, especially a high profile person. 90 percent of the time, they’re the ones monitoring their own Twitter feeds. Tweet at them & who knows? There’s a high likelihood they’ll answer!
2. Sent them a flattering, concise email asking for what you want. Check for typos. Include an action item. Be humble. Most importantly, be funny & real! This has worked for me many, many times. In fact, it’s how I landed my last job.”
Find Molly at heyeleanor.com
Halley Gray
“People love talking about themselves (including me) so I like to ask the what’s on their plate and what their business aspirations are. It’s fun to listen to people talk about what their enthusiastic about and it helps me understand them better.”
Find Halley at evolveandsucceed.com
Jen Vertanen
“My all-time favorite way of saying HELLO is by letting people ‘see’ the real me online – the good, the bad, and yes – even the ugly. I want people to see my picture, come to my sites, read my writing and either say – hey – I want to know more about Jen and her love of Aquaman and possibly her advice on business strategy — or — Meh – no thanks…not for me.
To take it a step further, those who do come in to say ‘hello’ get a personal greeting from me (sometimes in the form of an audio or haiku) with an invitation to tell me more about them so we can start to form a more personal connection.”
Find Jen at jenvertanen.com and almosthalfwaytohappy.com
Kate O’Brien
“I love people, so I say HELLO via human-to-human conversation, mostly in person (at an event) or over the phone. I have a couple clients I have reached out to via email because I love their work, I see that they are struggling in some way, and I offer useful advice (often this is pointing out typos or how their branding/marketing is off), and then we have a call. I give a lot of myself to my clients, so I pre-screen them by having a conversation and my gut lets me know if we are a good fit. If we aren’t a fit, I have a bunch of people I can heartily refer them to which also makes me feel good!”
Find Kate at understorycreative.com
Corey Koehler
“My favorite way of finding customers, for myself and my clients, is via paid media – specifically Facebook Ads and Google Adwords. I love it because paid media gets you and your message in front of your audience fast. And when you combine that speed with the testing and reporting these platforms are capable of, you can make improvements to your marketing messages very quickly. The faster you learn about what works or what doesn’t, the faster you can find more customers.”
Find Corey at coreykoehlermedia.com
José Peláez
“When I say ‘hello’ I go for quality and not quantity. After over 10 years in business as a freelance graphic/logo designer and with now countless advertising platforms and mediums out there to choose from, I know for sure meeting in person is my favorite and most effective way to say ‘hello’.
Meeting and connecting with people face to face gives me a chance to not only learn who they are and what they do, but also I get a glimpse of their personality, which I think is extremely important when deciding if they would be a good client for me, a good fit, someone I would like to get to know more and do business with. The services I offer are business to business, so a great place for me to say ‘hello’ to people would be at business networking clubs and events.”
Find José at pelaezcreative.com
Melissa Black
“I love those notifications from MailChimp that tell me I have new subscribers! I feel like my e-letter is my opportunity to have a conversation with my community in a way that is less formal, and allows them to get to know me on a more personal level, while also letting them know the ways in which we could work together. I also like to reach out to new subscribers personally via email, and visit their website if they have one. If they have a newsletter, I will often subscribe, so that I can get to know them through their own community conversation!”
Find Melissa at blackinkvirtual.com
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I hope the wisdom shared from these twelve wise owls will show you there’s no one right way to market yourself and connect with new customers. There are lots of different methods—and combinations of methods—that result in a successful business and satisfied customers.
If you need help saying “Hello!” through your website or online marketing strategy, feel free to learn more about me, check out my services or get in touch.
Thanks so much for dropping by!
If you’d like more from Hello Blu Studio, including ways to use your marketing to make real human connections, and to use your website more effectively and efficiently, click here to sign up for my email list.