Sponsored articles can come in many forms, such as a press release with news about your business, an announcement of new or expanding product lines, consumer education article, product reviews or even an entertaining twist you want to share with the community. Here are some suggestions to get you started but you can feel free to suggest ways you would like to reach out to Nipawin News readers.
- Customer testimonials/ Shop Local – Have your own customers write or video a testimonial about how you made it easier for them to shop local.
- How To Article/Consumer Education – Manufacturers or suppliers can often provide pre-written article of the products you carry. You’ll have an even bigger impact if your article is written by local in staff experts who your customers know
- In-depth, behind the scenes look at a product you carry – Usually sourced from manufacturer/supplier but it could be written in house to give a local market focus
- Highlight A Question(s) – Collect questions from your customers and highlight one or several of those. These could be questions about your product or service, or they could be questions related to your industry. Use your business Facebook page or other social media accounts to draw in questions or use questions you get asked frequently
- Share A List Of Things To Avoid – Help your customers to become smart shoppers, ie. 10 things to avoid when shopping for a used car and why.
- Offer A List Of Benefits – List of the benefits of your product or service. i.e. benefits of a massage, benefits of regular oil changes in a car, benefits of preventive maintenance.
- Show A Step-By-Step Demonstration – Whether you’re a baker icing a cake, or a bookkeeper organizing receipts, think about areas of your business that your customers could learn from. Could they benefit from seeing you show a step-by-step demo in a short video?
- Record A Guided Tour Of Your Business – People love seeing behind the scenes and going places where they aren’t typically allowed to go. If you can’t open your doors for tours (think brewery), why not take time to create a video tour or behind the scenes with the staff your customers would rarely see.
- Write A Product Review – If you own a restaurant, why not review beer and wine. A bakery? You can review cheese and chocolate. A fitness center? Fitness equipment. A CPA? Expense tracking mobile apps. The possibilities are endless.
- Write A “Did You Know” Feature – Don’t take for granted what people do or don’t know. Look for interesting or often unknown facts, events, or people who have made an impact on your industry or your business.
- Clarify Industry Misconceptions – Write about the top myths and misconceptions in your industry. This could easily lead to additional FAQ’s and may even help convert new customers. A quick search for “car care myths” in a search engine gives multiple small businesses’ articles in the top search page results, where those businesses might have never been able to compete for priority. Give your article the chance to reach well beyond the Nipawin News readers.
- Conduct A Case Study – Interview a client or customer that had a great experience and turn that into a case study that you can use to help close the deal with future prospects. You can do this with a written article or in a video.
- Request Videos From Customers – Invite your customers to record themselves using your product and ask them to submit them to you. You could easily turn this into a contest or giveaway.
- Fascinating History – Certainly there is something fascinating about the history of your industry, your business, or your product. People love history. Especially oddities, twists, and turns. Give us all the juicy, random, and weird details.
- Write About Your Charitable Activities – Do you support children with special needs? Orphans and adoption? A local hospital? Animal rescue? Why not write a tasteful post about what your business does and why? In addition to letting your audience know a little bit more about you, you’ll also bring more attention to the things you care about, outside of business.
To join in on the Spotlight on Nipawin; 30 Businesses – 30 Days promotion, simply email Nipawin News using my contact form here, with the name and location of your business and your contact information, indicating your interest in the promotion. You will be contacted with further details. Please allow 48-72 hours for a response, not including weekends, but meanwhile start working on your article!
