One of my favorite forums for providing expert advice is on question and answer sites. I’ve contributed thousands of answers which have been read by nearly one million entrepreneurs.
I’ve recommended this same approach to clients I coach because Q&A sites offer such a unique connection to prospective customers.
A few reasons I enjoy and recommend Q&A Sites for lead generation:
- It is an easy place to stand out. I’ve found there is not a lot of competition because it takes time and does not scale well. Your competitors are likely looking for the silver-bullet or shortcuts. Taking the time to answer questions is effective because it is not quick. It is not easily scalable.
- It gives you insider insights. One of the most challenging parts of creating content that appeals to your ideal audience is understanding their language and pain points. Q&A sites provide both. Prospective customers literally describe – in their own words – what their challenge is. This is an excellent place to hone the language and verbiage for your own outreach or content creation efforts.
- It creates goodwill. As I’ve said before, we give before we get. We don’t give to get. But receiving is a byproduct of giving. By contributing to open forums, we are adding to the community. It is nearly impossible to calculate how much goodwill this generates by helping those who are seeking solutions.
- It builds your credibility. Think of the power of your blog for inbound traffic. When you publish helpful content, you attract visitors and readers who are seeking your knowledge. When you share your experience and expertise on question and answer platforms, you are reaching a far broader audience and establishing credibility in their mind. Not only are you providing free advice (as I mentioned above), but you are showing your knowledge and ability to solve their problem.
- It provides direction for your paid products. When I talk about launching paid products (courses, lessons, mastermind programs, etc), the most challenging step is finding the right niche or topic for the program. The open community of the Q&A site is excellent research grounds to vet your content ideas. Look at how many people are asking the questions your course could answer. This is a great sampling of your ideal audience.
- It’s fun. Blogging and creating content on your website can feel one-sided. Nearly 80% of my readers are “lurkers” – meaning they read the content, but rarely engage in comments or social media. Question and Answer forums have a casual feel, lending themselves to back-and-forth conversation, quick feedback, and dialog not found in blog comments. Contributing is fun!
What about you? Have you followed my recommendations and shared your insights on Q&A sites? Have you sought information on one? What has your experience been?