Internet Marketers and Two-Year-Olds: Just Toddling Around Asking Lots of Questions


I recently noticed that my friend's two-year-old, Conor, is getting to be quite the big boy. For one thing, he has suddenly morphed from a pudgy baby into a mini version of her husband. For another, he's becoming increasingly curious. The last time I saw him he must have asked me at least 20 times, "What's that?"

To be more accurate, he says it like this: "Whussat?"

He toddles around the yard pointing things out, asking over and over: "Whussat? Whussat?"

When wee little Conor looks up at me with his wondering eyes and asks, "Whussat?" do I answer him? Why, of course I do.

"Whussat?"
"That's a big truck."

"Whussat?"
"That's a flower..."

Turns out that my little buddy and I have more in common than I ever would have guessed. I, too, am toddling around... exploring the ever-evolving world of internet business. Each time I come upon an unfamiliar term, that same question pops into my head.

What's THAT?

If you've been doing the internet marketing thing for a while, you might consider that, like me, your audience of readers has just as many questions as a curious two-year-old.

Affiliate Marketing: what's that?
(It's a way to make a commission on someone else's product.)

SEO: what's that?
(It stands for Search Engine Optimization.)

So when you feel like dazzling your audience with some advanced terminology... don't forget the very basic and necessary questions that, if answered, will garner you a generous crop of loyal fans who can't thank you enough for the much-needed information.

Don't forget the Number One Question:

What's That?

Easy enough, right? As you write your web article, throw out a term. Ask the question, and then explain what it is. The reader always appreciates it when you take a few moments to explain. This is what separates you from all of the other marketers out there. YOU have the answers.

Should you dedicate a whole crop of articles to answering the question, What's That?

Why, of course you should!

By captivating an audience of "toddler" marketers, you can secure yourself as the be-all-end-all of experts. And once they hitch their wagons to your internet marketing star, you can carry them along on your neverending quest for more web knowledge. Now THAT's how to build a following!

Suppose you'd like to teach new marketers about website hosting. Define everything within your article. "Domain name." What's that? "Web hosting package." What's that?

Too often we forget that not everyone knows what we know, and the fact that we know it is by far the strongest indicator of our credibility in the first place!

So: next time you see a newbie marketer toddling around, asking "What's that!" over and over... be extra helpful and answer his questions. Then, think about all of his little marketer friends... and be proactive in answering ten more questions before they're even asked. Write your answers in the form of a very basic and totally informative web article.

After you've primed your crop of new marketing students, will you then be able to kick back and relax?

Heck no! Instead, you can be sure that they'll be ready with the next question:

"But why??"

"Offer the customer some free information."

"But why??"

"Don't forget to optimize your website."

"But why??"

Ahh, don't you just love internet marketing, boys and girls? I sure do.

Now go toddle over to your big-boy bed, read a few more pages of your storybook about Multiple Residual Income Streams, and then take a nice little nappy.



Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Dina Giolitto is the author of ARTICLE POWER: Create Dynamite Web Articles and Watch Your Sales Explode... a 49-page manual covering every aspect of article marketing on the web. Learn about article marketing, copywriting and more at http://www.wordfeeder.com