5 Content Types That Don’t Overtly Sell

According to Neilsen, less than 50% of customers trust any form of advertising.

That confirms what I’ve long believed – the best content marketing doesn’t push or overtly promote your products, services or brand.

Yes, you really can produce content that doesn’t shove selling in your customer’s face. You see, great content is all about offering advice, information and tips and here’s how you do it.

1. Facts

Before anyone will buy from you they want to be in full possession of all the facts.

That means providing detailed product information offering them everything they need to know, because if you don’t tell them, they’ll wander off to another company that does.

This information can also include ‘how to’ guides to add extra value by telling them the best way to use your product so they can see for themselves the benefits it will bring.

2. Questions

You have loads of customers and, believe it or not, they probably don’t speak to each other (because they don’t know each other) and so are likely to come up with the same questions time and time again.

That’s why it is important for all your departments (customer service, sales team etc.) to make a note of the questions to provide a comprehensive FAQ section on your website, or create ideas for blog posts and ‘how to’ guides.

This will help improve the service you offer your customers and reduce the number of calls you get.

3. Showing

Your content doesn’t always have to be written.

How about using Instagram and Pinterest to show your products in action, or videos to offer ‘how to’ guides and useful or unusual ways your products can be used?

4. Tips

I’ve already mentioned ‘how to’ guides, but why not think a bit bigger than that? Your customers will love you if you provide ideas around your products. You’re not selling them directly, merely planting a seed as to how they could be used.

You could provide recipes, checklists, and information about styling tips or even research around your area of expertise in reports.

Each of these won’t be a sales tool per se, but they are food for thought about how your product can be used.

5. Reviews

Customer reviews and case studies are fantastic below the radar marketing tools. They give your customers real life stories about how a product can be used and the benefits it offered.

There’s no hard sell, just simple facts outlining how someone benefited from what you offer.

How else can you produce content that doesn’t sell?

Well, how about simple things like linking your content back to your product page under the guise of ‘to learn more’ rather than ‘buy now’. It’s also a good idea to enable social sharing and printing of your web page and offering a regular email or newsletter to capture email addresses from potential customers to grow your own marketing list.

It really is possible to produce content that isn’t all about sales. It’s what your customers want, so isn’t it about time you gave it to them?

Author: Sally Ormond, freelance copywriter at Briar Copywriting Ltd and cyclist who is very nervous about attempting her first time trial this week.