Give before you get...

How many times have you read about the importance of ‘adding value’ for your audience? How many times have you read about ‘building trust’ with your clients?

Many, many times. You know it well. Every marketing guru has spoken about this topic. But it STILL bears repeating.

What’s the underlying principle for successful online marketing, selling or networking? The art of giving before you try to get. Before you get something from someone, you need to first give them a reason for them to give it to you.
Give them helpful free content. Give them answers to their questions. Point them to tools they need and things they should know. Give them tips they can instantly use in their lives/business. Give them pleasant surprises. Give them interaction and support. Give them promises you can keep. Develop a history of giving.

I’ve started to build relationships by joining an “Etsy Street Team” I hope to give back through support of other artists and their vision. A Street Team is basically a group of artists with a common bond. We as a team have a group blog and a forum to chat about our work, our successes and frustrations. The group promotes each other along with feedback and critiques.

Giving to the group provides exposure and gets my name/avatar out there in a new way. I’m building new relationships in Etsy Land.