Do You Sell, or Do You Help?

Does your website exist to sell more products? Or does it exist to help your customers?

Do you force the sales message down the throat of your visitors? Or do you guide them to solutions for their problems?

A website that merely sells can help you make money. But a website that helps its users will help you become great.

Amazon doesn’t sell books. Amazon helps people find interesting books.

Google doesn’t sell advertising space. Google helps people find stuff on the internet.

Users instantly recognize a website that merely sells. They might actually buy something from that site. But they’re unlikely to come back. They’ve been sold to. They haven’t been helped.

SEOmoz has become one of the best-known search engine optimization companies in the world. They haven’t done that by selling SEO services. They’ve done it by helping webmasters and competing SEO professionals (!) become better at SEO.

Seth Godin is a very successful author of marketing books. He didn’t become successful by selling books. He’s done so by helping his readers, in his books and through his blog.

Don’t just sell to your customers. Help your customers, and they will reward you with their money and their loyalty.