This is part of a series on the marketing hourglass that I learned from John Jantsch.

KNOW, LIKE TRUST, TRY, BUY, REPEAT and REFER

Try Content

TRY content deserves special attention because this is where many of us STOP. We do KNOW LIKE and TRUST so well we stay in that mode without moving forward.

TRY content is the bridge to making the sale, gaining a new subscriber, getting the vote or enrolling a new volunteer.

Specifically, content that is intended to get potential new clients to TRY you/your product and/or service and BUY whatever it is that you are selling.

Even if you’re fund-raising or asking for votes the TRY and BUY content will help you.

Before we jump into this, I feel it’s necessary to say this directly in a no-fluff, complete declarative sentence.

You must ask people to take the next step with you.

That includes everthing from asking them to buy, hire, donate, sign up, show up, attend, support, register, subscribe, and anything else you want your audience to do.

What is the next step after I know, like and trust you? What do you want me to do NEXT?

Dancing around it in clever subtle and not-so-subtle ways might get a few people to break down and ask, “how can I support you?” or “what’s the best way to work with you?”

But not nearly as many as you want, need, and deserve.

In my sales days I wanted to distill selling into the simplest concept possible and here’s what I came up with:

Selling is making an offer and giving someone the chance to say yes.

TRY content is a low-risk way to make an offer.

Join my membership for $1. for the first month.

Make a $5. donation each month. (Lots of substack writers are making good money with this one!)

Let’s look at some examples of TRY content.

Zapier gives you 14 days free with all the premium features. Guess what? When the trial is over, most of us don’t want to go back to the free version. We can now appreciate the bells and whistles since we’ve had the chance to TRY them.

Warby Parker disrupted a 158 BILLION dollar industry with the smart use of TRY content and an offer that was then unheard of.

Let’s make this simple.

Most of us skip right over TRY because we never leave KNOW LIKE TRUST land. TRY content is the easiest way to encourage people to buy especially in competitive or high priced and high commitment situations.

What’s KEY is providing content that shows your reader, listener, potential new customer their desired end result.

That’s why things like a webinar or eBook can be so helpful. You get a bit more time to tell the story. The before and after. The transformation.

Think of TRY content as an audition. If you wanted a part in a Broadway show you’d go in and do your absolute best in an audition for the part, right?

That’s what TRY content should be.

Your BEST stuff so people can see what it would truly be like to work with you.

For high-touch services, access to YOU via a zoom call or webinar, is a great TRY content strategy.

I did volunteer work a few years ago for Nationwide Children’s Hospital, specifically raising funds for the NICU. It was a year long commitment.

The first month, we met at the hospital where the head of the NICU gave us a tour and personally explained the impact our efforts had at the hopsital and for the children and their parents who came through the NICU.

Amazing TRY content! We had already committed to do the work, but that tour deepened my dedication. Now there was a personal understanding of the impact because he took the time to make it real for us.

When you wow people with your TRY content you are going to stand out compared to what others charge for. This is how you create raving fans.

Create TRY videos or workbooks or mini-courses that some of your competitors might charge for and lead them right to the BUY part of your plan.

It can be tempting to complicate this step because it’s not familiar and we aren’t sure what to do. Think about 4 or 5 ways you can show people what it’s like to work with you or join your cause or buy your product.

Can you give them a sneak peek or special access?

Is there a key part of your industry that’s hard to understand? Can you break it down so even if they don’t work with you, (and that would be their loss) they end up smarter for connecting with you?

TRY content or a TRY offer doesn’t have to be free. Can you use the Warby Parker method in your biz? Is there a way to let me pay a small amount for a “taste” of what it would be like to work with you?

TRY content can lead right to sales and often (ala Zapier) when I see the benefits of paying more, I’ve sold myself! It’s worth the effort to add this type of content into your marketing process.

Next time you sit down to create, focus on TRY content. Give your prospective clients the chance to truly understand the value you bring, the transformation you create and the problems you solve.

The road to BUYING will be so much easier when you do!

If podcasting is on your radar, you can set up a no-pressure, no-hard sell call right here.