Drip marketing may sound a bit like an obscure strategy, given it’s not a term you hear very often, you’d be surprised to learn that you use it all the time, in all likelihood, without even realizing it. That’s the power of buzzwords, ladies and gentlemen. Causing people to think some new strategy is out there, causing a rush to research it, only to find out you were already using. Man, I hate buzzwords like this. But, it’s alright because I do have some good tips about drip marketing which I never before had the context to bring up. So, in a way, this buzzword has done something constructive after all. For those who haven’t realized before getting this far what drip marketing is, it’s a series of long term strategies that send small, individual messages to potential customers. This takes the form of serial articles in news feeds, email marketing, and other sequential small bursts like this that go “Hey! We’re here!” You already used it, you see. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some good pointers to be had when it comes to this kind of marketing, so let’s take a look at a few of these now. #1 – Preemptive Problem Solving The quickest way to a prospect’s heard, especially with this kind of marketing model, is to do something useful in your message to them. Even if it’s not something directly related to what you’re selling, just doing something positive and beneficial through your outreach goes a long way to engage them, get them interested and make them receptive. Even if it’s just a simple effort to make them smile or laugh, this will outshine the competitors who are doing their best carnival barker impersonation with no substance to what they say! #2 – Be Informative Your prospects are intelligent. Now that you’ve positively engaged them, educate them. Most people value information and knowledge, and a fool is someone who thinks otherwise. Link them to publications such as blog articles, white papers and web documents that explain what you have to offer in very real, non-marketing buzz terms. Show them that you have something they may not have even known they’ve been missing by teaching them, not through shock and awe. #3 – Encourage Comparison Don’t be afraid to enable your prospects to compare you to your competition in all aspects, even ones you feel you’re not the winner in. Include in your outreach messages links or short descriptions that show what makes you and your product or service stand apart, and give them leads to do deeper comparisons on their own. To shy away from this is to show a lack of confidence that won’t edify you in their eyes. #4 – Be Authoritative but Warm You have to maintain a sense of expertise and unquestioning mastery of whatever industry you are marketing in. Customers need to see you as an absolute pro. At the same time, though, you need to maintain an air of warmth and not seem … well … stuck up about it. #5 – Controlled Exposure Head your competition off at the pass by limiting how much general surfing a prospect must do to gain the necessary understanding of your company and product or service. The more wandering they have to do, the more chance competition has to snatch them away from you. Provide links and pure information that gives them the most rich and hearty doses of information about your company, so they don’t have to wander around wolf-infested forests to learn about you.