How to Figure Out What People Want To Buy From You
Last Updated February 23rd, 2012

One of the easiest ways to make money from a blog is to sell stuff.

However, you’ve got to sell the RIGHT stuff.

What’s the right stuff?

That’s easy. The right stuff is whatever your readers want to buy :-).

Question is how do you know what your readers want to buy? Keep reading.

How to Discover What To Sell Your Blog Readers

There’s one simple tactic I developed last year, and I since proved that it’s one of the best ways to figure out what people buy.

Here’s the deal:

When people sign up to my mailing list, they receive a “Welcome” email.

(For those of you unfamiliar with that email marketing jargon, a welcome email is the first email people get “after” they confirm their subscription to your newsletter)

In that email, after telling people exactly what to expect from their email subscription, I tell them to reply to the email and tell me what they’re struggling with right now.

And that’s the tactic.

The “What are you struggling with” question.

The Power of the “What Are You Struggling With?”

Most bloggers who want to figure out what their readers will buy may run a survey… or worse… they’ll GUESS.

But people lie on surveys, and guessing can be costly.

The “What are you struggling with” question, on the other hand, is the PERFECT tactic for figuring out what people buy.

Why?

Because it’s conversational!

Most people who sign up to email newsletters are accustomed to the broadcast mentality—the blogger broadcasts emails without ever inviting conversation.

However, this question positions you as a friend AND expert. That’s why people respond.

And when people respond, they tell you their problems.

And when you know their problems, you can either create content OR products and services to solve those problems.

Win.

4 Steps to Implementing the “What Are You Struggling With?”

By now you’ve got a broad understanding of how the “what are you struggling with” question works.

However, how can you implement it in your business the RIGHT way? And by the right way, I mean how can it help you build your list and increase sales?

I’ll walk you through it right now.

Step 1: Craft An Email That Invites Conversation

Before I tell you how to craft your email, let me show you the exact email I use.

What’s up {!firstname}?

Thank you for signing up. Every week, you’ll receive valuable advice that shows you how to turn web traffic into leads and sales.

And if you’re not getting traffic, I have advice for that too.

Right now, I want you to do two things.

Thing #1:

Reply to this email and tell me what you’re struggling with right now. Even if it’s something really small, don’t hesitate. While I can’t reply to everyone, I read every single one of these emails.

Thing #2:

Prepare yourself. I whipped together some great stuff for you, and you’ll receive it soon, so keep an eye out.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Talk soon,
Derek Halpern

Now that you’ve seen that, let me break it down for you.

Do you notice how conversational the email is?

I don’t sound like some boring corporation… I write as if I’m talking to a new friend.

And that’s key!

When you craft your “what are you struggling with” email, you want to write it as if you’re writing to a brand-new friend.

That’s how you ensure that people respond to you.

Note: I don’t recommend you copy my email word for word. I suggest you read it, analyze it, and adapt it for your readers.

Step 2: Include The Email In Your Lead Generation Sequence

Here’s the deal:

If you’re using an email service provider like AWeber, I like to make this welcome email the first email people receive from me.

However, if you’re not using an email service provider that allows you to set a welcome email, like Feedburner, I suggest you get one.

Building an email list is the MOST important thing you can do for your online business. It’s more important than RSS, SEO, and heck, I’d even say it’s more important than your blog itself.

But let’s say you don’t want to sign up for a mailing list provider, what can you do?

Instead of automating this, you can simply write a blog post that invites your readers to share what they’re struggling with in the comment section.

While this works it’s not preferable because people don’t like to air their problems in public.

Step 3: Interact With People Who Respond To You

This part is VITAL.

This is your opportunity to get your readers to dig deep inside themselves and tell you exactly what their problem is.

It’s also your opportunity to WIN a loyal reader for life, thus increasing the loyalty of your readers..

When people respond to you, it’s your goal to try and help them out. How can you do that?

Well, first, you can share an article that you may have written in the past that answers their question.

Or if they have a quick question, you can simply answer them in email.

What you SHOULDN’T do is try to sell something to them right off the bat. That turns people off.

Note: As your readership grows, it often becomes impossible to answer every single question. So, as a rule of thumb, try to answer the people that really took the time to respond to you.

Step 4: Find The Common Thread Amongst Your Subscribers

Finally!

Here’s how you figure out what you can sell your readers.

As people start responding to your “What are you struggling with” question, it’s your job to keep track of the problems.

Eventually you’ll notice a trend.

You’ll start seeing that people struggle with the same things… over and over again.

Different people, and the same problems.

When you find that thread of similarity, that’s your chance to create a product to solve that broad problem that most people have.

And you can have a best-seller on your hands.

Here’s What You Need To Do Next

Now you have a decision to make. Are you going to take action and test this quality advice right now or will you procrastinate? Ball is in your court.

However, if you’re an action taker—and I’m sure you are, you’re reading Social Triggers—here’s what I want you to do next:

1. I want you to brainstorm how you can implement the “what are you struggling with?” question in your business. Remember, don’t just copy what I do. Adapt it to your business.
2. Then, if you plan to use this tactic (or already have used it), leave a comment and tell me about it.
3. Finally, if you haven’t subscribed to Social Triggers Insider on iTunes, go do that now. I’ve got a new episode coming soon, and if you’re not subscribed you may miss it. And trust me, you don’t want to miss this one. It may be the best one yet.