Do you trust me?

Smart business people don't hand out big contracts based on a cold call, a cold email, or a direct mail sales letter. Although these are all excellent ways to contact new prospects, you shouldn't really expect anyone to actually buy from you until they get to know you well enough to trust you.

So how do you build trust?

The first goal of your marketing campaign should be to initiate a dialog. You don't expect a bunch of orders, but you do want a response. A good way to boost your response rate is by not asking for anything up front (except perhaps permission to add their email address to your newsletter list). Instead, offer something of value.

Like what? I'm glad you asked!

A well-written white paper or special report makes a highly effective and low-cost offer to attract new prospects. And since you're already an expert at what you do, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to come up with an idea for sharing a bit of that expertise with your prospects. Maybe there's a particular question you get asked all the time. That's always a good place to start.

Prospects like white papers because they're getting valuable information they can use to make their lives easier and their businesses more profitable. At the same time, you're positioning yourself in their minds as someone who is not only an expert, but helpful and approachable - someone they can call on to assist them with whatever challenge they're facing. It's the proverbial win-win situation.

If you're worried that you're not a good writer - or that you don't have the time to put something like this together - don't be. A professional copywriter can take your idea and background materials and put together a top-quality white paper, article, or e-book in much less time than it would take you or someone on your staff. (And when you consider the value of your time, it's also a very economical way to go.)

Quality content builds relationships with prospects, and keeps them coming back. It also helps ensure that they'll think of you when they're ready to buy. What's not to like about that?