This document introduces the concept of "Helpful Marketing", which is a strategy for winning customers by proving you can help them solve problems. It argues that businesses should focus on getting customers to find them, rather than trying to find customers. It provides case studies of companies that have succeeded through Helpful Marketing by having their CEOs write helpful content directly addressing customers' problems. The document then outlines steps to implement Helpful Marketing, including creating a target persona to focus on, identifying key problems, writing helpful content tailored to that persona, developing a 1-on-1 help strategy, and using what is learned to develop products that sell.

1. Stop trying to find customers.
Get customers to find YOU.
Intro to Helpful MarketingTM
by Kevin Dewalt

2. Founder
SoHelpful, 3 previous
Angel Investor
Collabspot (JFDI), Power Supply
(500 Startups), Vericant (???)
Mentor/Advisor
1,000s, mostly Lean Startup
Ruby Programmer
Former VC
kevindewalt.com
@kevindewalt
Beijing, China

3. 3rd Major Marketing Shift
Before 1995
Mass Advertising
1995 - 2012
Niche Marketing
Today
Helpful Marketing

4. You ignore 99% of your inbox
and 99.9999% of your ads

5. I hear …
“We can’t FIND customers to DO Customer Development”
“I have paying customers … and they STILL won’t talk to me”
“Nobody reads our blog … or opens our email”
Finding Customers + Winning Trust = EVERYTHING

6. Helpful Marketing
A strategy for winning customers by
proving you help them solve problems.

7. Prove you are helpful and customers will …
• Find you
• Trust you
• Buy from you
• Tell everyone about you

8. About … Help

9. This is what
struggling business do …

11. Case Study # 1 – Customer.io
“The CEO who writes email copy”

14. Case Study # 2 – Klinify
“The CEO who will sort your email”

15. “Do you need help with your email?”

17. Help them through…
Blogging … Speaking … Newsletters …
Face-to-Face … 1-on-1 over Skype or
Hangout … Webinars … Hangouts on
Air … Drip email … ebooks … courses …
workshops … organizing meetups …
hackathons … office hours

18. But … how do I … ?
… identify WHO is my customer?
… know WHAT problems they have?
… know HOW to solve them?
… WRITE something?
… get them to READ it?
… use this trust to SELL to them?
… create EVANGELISTS?
… get customers to CALL ME?

19. Let’s Do Helpful Marketing!
1. Create a Target Persona
2. Identify a key problem
3. Write helpful content
4. Get them to find it
5. Develop your 1-on-1 help strategy
6. Get customers to call you for help
7. Take what you learn to develop products
& content that sells

20. Target Personas bring focus
A fictitious caricature of your customers.

21. My “Dave” Target Persona
Dave is a 35-year-old American who lives
in Wichita, Kansas. He is married, college
educated, and has a daughter. Dave’s life
dream is to become an entrepreneur and
sell web and mobile products online. He
has a full-time job and is willing to work
very hard to make his dream a reality. He
has some technical skills but
unfortunately doesn’t live near a startup
hub - and thus he has a hard time
connecting with entrepreneurs to get
advice when he needs it.

22. Target Persona Tips
• Based on a REAL person
• Have 1 Target – or at most 2
• Don’t sweat details.

23. How to use your target
• Pick “Dave’s” problems
• Offer Dave solutions
• Write/Speak/ TO Dave
Dear Dave …

24. Closing
Why you should be VERY optimistic …

25. I met some of your future customers last week
… in Manila

26. Helpful Marketing Workshop Omaha

27. By the end of the workshop you will …
Write helpful content that sells Build your evangelists by helping 1-on-1
SoHelpful.me/KevinDewalt

29. Sat Apr 19 8:30-5:00
workshop.sohelpful.me/omaha.html
$249
$99 – use code OEN99
by Friday
@kevindewalt
kevindewalt@gmail.com