Archived post. Originally posted 10.23.2009.

I am a new mom to two amazing little creatures: Joseph, 8 months, and my stepdaughter Eve, 7 years. Before them, I had cats, who are incredibly low maintenance in comparison.

In becoming a new mother, I became a new consumer, and by that I mean I consumed everything. I was on the hunt for information about anything (diaper rash! whooping cough! rickets!), and while I had the ‘What to expect’ books, my doctors, and even my mom and mother-in-law, nothing could soothe me better than kicking back with my laptop and surfing mom-to-be sites.

And ice cream. Truckloads of ice cream.

I quickly found Babycenter.com, and signed up for their prenatal newsletter which marked each week of my pregnancy. Now I receive weekly newsletters for each of my children that detail what we might experience this week in milestone achievements (he crawls…backwards), things to watch out for (she repeats everything I say to everyone), and other small items which shed just a little more light into why my children do what they do.

The company is a trusted resource for me because they’ve earned it. Time and time again, they’ve delivered relevant, engaging content that piques my interests and needs. And in turn, I am an active, avid prospect for them, who will willingly reads every piece they send me, and click on advertisements if they interest me.

Want the same experience with your marketing? Here are a few tips to help shape a trusted relationship with your prospects: 

• Remember how you met
  Your first encounter is the most important one, and sets the stage for how your relationship will fare. Keep a record of the search terms they used to find your site, the pages they spent the most time one, and so on. If you met in person (i.e., an event, introduced by a partner, etc.), make sure to transcribe the issues and interests identified in the conversation. Make sure each piece of communication delivered thereafter somehow encapsulates this knowledge. 
• You are only as good as the information you share
  Pretend that you’re a customer, and read all of the materials that you send them in a month. Is it timely, conversational, and customized specifically for them? Does it provide solutions that they can apply in their own efforts? Or is your material one big, generic product pitch, sent in 5 different email designs. Do yourself and favor and forget about your products and services for a bit, and strike up a new kind of conversation with your prospects, which focuses on their needs only.  
  
• Grow with your audience
  The reason that the Babycenter newsletters work so well is that they grow with my interests (the kids!). Each week profiles new content tailored just for their age group. The same strategy should be applied in your marketing efforts. Take some time to identify the stages your leads are in - did you just meet, or have you been speaking for awhile? What are their interests, and how can you tailor your outreach to demonstrate your knowledge of the topic?
  
• The zero-effort effect
  The reason that any marketing works is that it requires minimal time and effort from the prospect.  For example: how many steps do you ask your prospect to take to get to the information that they want? Is it easily found on one click, or are they required to register on your site to download content? And once they find your content, how much time does it take them to read it? Take a load off of your prospects shoulders and decrease the amount of time and effort it takes to learn about you. 
  
• Are you (gasp!) fun?
  Ask yourself: If you’re not saving the world, why the gravitas? Think about the tone and experience you’re setting for your prospect. Do you want them to enjoy the experience they have with your company, or do you want them to be in a constant state of fear? While there are certain issues and topics which require a serious tone, when you can, relax the rhetoric a bit, and you’ll find that your prospect will as well.