Even if we love the product, it’s not something we’re going to jump up and down with glee about. 

So it’s no wonder you’re nervous about increasing your prices for your current customers. 

You may think to yourself, ‘what if they complain?’, ‘what if they stop working with me?’ ‘what if they think I’m money-grabbing?’ or worse, ‘what if they head on over to the competition?’ 

So how do you increase your prices without losing customers?

Most People Are Understanding…If You Do It Right 

BUT, most people are reasonable. And we say most because of course you get a few that are entirely unreasonable. But if you attract the right customers to begin with, you should be fine. 

But they are only reasonable IF you do it the right way. 

This blog post will help you do that. Below, I’ve listed the 6 ways you can communicate a price increase that will keep your current customers happy. 

Before we get into it…

There are some people who try to advise you to use clever hacks when communicating your price increase, such as reducing the quantity or quality of your products rather than increasing your prices (anyone else notice that chocolate bars are getting smaller?)

This is not what this blog post is about. This blog post will help you communicate a price increase clearly and effectively, without the need for sneaky bullshit. Yes, we are mad about the chocolate bars, okay? 

So let’s get into it, shall we? 

1. Create public content around your price increase 

This is the biggie when it comes to building trust with your customers. 

If you want to increase your prices without losing customers then create public content around why. 

Imagine you’re raising your prices for your current customers and instead of explaining why in an email, you send them to a public blog post. This lets your customer know that this is a ‘company-wide’ policy and not something personal to them. 

Our favourite phrase is, people don’t care what you say, they care what you publish. You can say anything privately. But unfortunately, the only true way to show transparency is to create public content. 

It also allows you the space to fully explain your price increase and remind your customer of the benefits of working with you. 

An example of how to raise prices for your current clients 

We love this blog post from Sara Bussandri, which she sent to her clients that were receiving a discount for her writing services. We should know, we were that client! 

Sara explains in her post why she no longer offers a discount to her current clients (and any future clients). She makes it personal, by stating that when she started out she ‘fell into the trap of underpricing and underselling my services.’ And she also includes pictures of herself, to remind the reader that this is a person (and not a company). 

And then she goes into detail about why she no longer offers discounts. 

2. Say the actual words ‘my price is increasing’

We’ve seen companies use the words ‘price adjustment’ or ‘changes to our pricing’. Don’t do this. Don’t use fluffy language that tiptoes around the topic. 

Don’t use passive voice either, i.e. the price is being adjusted in 2022. By who, exactly? Fairies? An evil price-adjusting ogre? 

Nope. Own the message. State clearly, ‘We are raising our prices for x. And here’s why.’ This brings clarity to your customers who will appreciate your honesty and transparency. One sure-fire way to lose customers is to use confusing messaging when communicating your price increase. 

An example of a confusing price increase message

We remember receiving this email from a company that sold baby products. We were so confused. Are they raising their prices? Are they not? We get what they’re trying to do here but there’s no real incentive to buy now, and there’s no real communication as to whether the price is or isn’t increasing soon. 

If you’re going to increase your prices, stand firm in your decision and communicate it clearly! 

3. Sell them the benefits of your price increase (and avoid losing customers)

Just because you’re talking about increasing your prices doesn’t mean you have to turn into a negative-nelly. Use this opportunity to explore why you’re raising your prices and remind your customer of the value you deliver. 

Let’s say for example you’re a web designer and you want to increase the prices of your monthly maintenance plan for your current customers. You could explain how you’re investing in better software to keep your customer’s websites safer and more efficient. 

It’s important you flip the message from you to your customer. What do they care about? What do they value? How can you make them the heart of your message? 

An example of selling the benefits of your price increase 

When we increased our web design prices, we wanted to make sure that we communicated the benefits of working with us (and therefore why we were increasing our prices). 

So we created a blog post explaining why our prices were increasing. This wasn’t aimed at our current customers, but the principles remain the same, we moved the message away from us and our price increase and turned into the things that our customers cared about. 

4. Tell the story and make it personal 

When you’re asking someone to pay more money, there’s nothing worse than some impersonal, cold email, written in the third person. 

Just because you’re not ‘face-to-face’ doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a personal approach. 

Remember to tell the story of why you’re raising your prices, use the words ‘I’ and ‘we’, and communicate with your customer like they’re an actual human-being. 

A Good Example of a Price Increase Notice to Customers 

I love this video from Cara MacKay, MD of Gillies and Mackay who make sheds and garden homes in Scotland. 

It feels like Cara is talking directly to you in this video, and she tells the story of the challenges Gillies and Mackay have faced with their timber supply. There’s no formal stuffy language or unclear messaging, Cara remains frank, personal and respectful to her customers. This video could’ve been sent to a thousand people, and yet it would feel personal to you. 

5. Give an actual reason for your price increase

This may seem obvious, but we see quite a lot of emails about a price increase but people don’t actually explain why they’re increasing their prices. It’s just taken as a given. A ‘just because’. This usually happens at the start of the year in January where maybe people expect the price will go up. 

But this is frustrating for your customer who won’t understand why you’re raising your prices and will simply assume that you’re doing it to get more of their money. 

So give an actual reason for your price increase.

6. There’s no need to say sorry for your price increase

It’s tempting to apologise for a price increase. We personally struggle with this because even though we know that raising prices is a must and absolutely justified, we still feel the need to apologise. 

But there’s no need to say sorry.  Remember, sorry is a feeling of regret, and we shouldn’t regret raising our prices. If you deliver a good product and offer value, then there’s zero reason you should be sorry about it. And actually saying sorry communicates that you’re uneasy about your decision. 

Where should you start with it all?

If you want to raise your prices, then grab a piece of paper and a pen (or your keyboard) and start writing down the reasons why your prices are increasing. With every reason, also write down how this benefits your audience. For example, the cost of materials is going up could be the reason you’re increasing your prices. But this benefits your customers because you’ve decided not to cut corners and get cheaper materials.

We’re not saying it’s easy, but trust us, once you start with this kind of content you’ll find it easy-peasy to come up with ideas. And above all else, your customers will appreciate your honesty and transparency. 

Lyndsay Cambridge

Owner at Jammy Digital, Digital Marketing Specialist and Writer of Young-Adult Fiction.

jammydigital.com

The post 6 Ways to Raise Your Prices in 2023 Without Losing Customers appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

In this article, I’m going to break down everything you need to know about the content fortress course. That way, you’ll know if it’s right for you.

But first, you might wonder why I’ve decided to write this article. And that’s because I understand the course is an investment, and I also understand that if you’re going to invest your money you want to know if this is right for you. 

The article is an unbiased view of the course to help you make an informed buying decision. 

And fun fact – this is exactly the kind of content we teach you to create in our course!

What is the Content Fortress Course?

The course will walk you through exactly how to use content marketing to help you attract better, higher-paying clients and customers. 

It isn’t just ‘theory’. It’s practical lessons that tell you exactly what content you should create and how you should create it. 

What problems will the Content Fortress course solve? 

The course is not for everyone, and it’s relatively specific with who it helps. Here are the problems the course solves: 

• You have no control over the leads and sales that come through your business and you’re relentlessly chasing after prospects
• You spend a lot of time with prospects who don’t buy from you
• Your clients don’t value your time or expertise
• You struggle with problem clients 
• You spend a lot of time communicating with clients when you’d rather spend that time actually doing work (or even some time off!)
• You do a lot of work outside of the ‘scope’ of the project and often have to have those ‘awkward’ conversations with clients

Why Have We Created the Content Fortress Course?

In all honesty, we didn’t wake up one day and just decide to create a course. The whole content fortress framework was actually a ‘happy accident’ born out of some pretty unhappy circumstances. 

We used to struggle with prospects who would appear so keen on signing up, only to ghost us. And we’d waste hours and hours on people who weren’t the right fit. 

We also used to struggle with clients who undervalued our time and expertise. We’d have problems with scope creep, clients demanding replies to emails in the evening or at weekends, and clients not wanting our advice – they wanted ‘yes-men’ who would do whatever they said. 

It had got to the point where we’d had enough. It was impacting our mental health (and I experienced some pretty scary physical side-effects of this stress too). 

We had previously used content marketing to generate leads and sales for our business, but then we thought to ourselves if we can use content to grow our business, can we use it to prevent those problems from happening? And can we use it to gain better, higher-paying clients? 

And that’s how the ‘Content Fortress’ came about – the fortress is a metaphor for your business, and using content to protect your business, time and mental health. 

What’s included in the course?

Here is exactly what is included in the course…

• An in-Depth 14 Module Video Course that will go through the 8 pillars that make a content fortress. 
• Fill-in-the-Blanks Written Content Templates – blog posts already bulleted so all you need to do is fill it in
• Copy and Paste Email Templates you can use to communicate your new content with your prospects and clients
• A Private Facebook community – where you can gain new ideas and feedback on your content
• A Content Planning Matrix with over 50 content titles/ideas
• Social Media Prompts to help you promote your content 
• The Content Fortress Course Workbook – fill in the workbook as you follow along with the course to help you create your content
• An SEO Checklist you can use for every piece of content you create 

What do the Video Modules Include? 

There are 14 modules in total. And in each module, there are 4-5 videos. 

We’ve kept each video bitesize (around 10-15 minutes each), because we personally hate videos that go on for hours and hours. 

Having bitesize videos gives people a choice: binge watch or just watch one or two, 15 minute videos a day instead.  

The course modules are as follows…

1. Content Fortress Overview – What the Framework is all about
2. Your Goals – Helping you hone in on exactly what you want to achieve from your content 
3. Repelling Content – How to repel those who aren’t the right fit for your business 
4. Attracting Content – How to attract those who have never considered you before or aren’t aware you exist
5. Sales Content – How to directly sell your products or services without being salesy (FYI, this content is an example of Sales Content)
6. Pricing Content – How to discuss pricing so you can charge more and raise your prices with ease
7. Guiding Content – How to guide your prospects into becoming well-informed, happy clients
8. Process Content – How to use content once you’ve made the sale to make your life much easier
9. Culture Content – How to use your values and beliefs to attract your ‘right-fit’ clients
10. Opinion Content – How to stop those irritating things that happen in your business and attract the right people
11. Tone of Voice (To be added soon) 
12. Storytelling (To be added soon) 
13. Writing for non-writers – how to easily write well (To be added soon) 
14. How to optimise your content (To be added soon) 

How much does it cost? And why is the price going up?

The cost of the Content Fortress Course is currently only $297 (early bird price) the full price will be going up to $497 on the 30th July 2021. Prices may include VAT depending on where you are in the world. 

The price will go up when all modules are added. Essentially, you get it cheaper because you’re buying in early. 

Why is the course so expensive? 

As I said earlier, we didn’t just wake up one day and decide to create a course. This is a culmination of years of practice and experimentation. 

We’ve put everything into this course. And we personally hate anything that’s just ‘theory’ based. So we’ve made it practical – telling you exactly what content to create (i.e. giving you the exact titles and what you should include) and how to create it. 

We’ve also included real-life examples in there – because we know that people learn best when they can see other businesses doing the same thing. 

The whole course took a year to create once we’d decided to do it. The reason it’s so expensive is mainly that…

• The examples we give within the course means we had to spend a lot of time interviewing other businesses successfully doing the same thing
• It took us a year to develop the course, ideas and content 
• The ‘practical’ nature of the course gives you the ‘how’ and not just the theory
• The software we use (we use Thinkific, which is a great platform for user experience but it is pricey) 
• The ROI – if you implement what we suggest in the course, it can lead to higher-paying clients, a lot less stress and a lot more time in your business 

Is there a refund policy?

Because all the elements of the course are downloadable, there are no refunds. 

Who is this for?

The Content Fortress Course is not for everyone and we only want you to buy it if it’s right for you.

This is for IF:

• You’re particularly interested in getting better, higher-paying clients or customers who are eager to buy from you
• You’re open to new ideas when it comes to creating public content – even if they sound a bit scary! 
• You value honesty and want to deliver your customers and potential customers the best service 
• You can invest some time into creating content 

This is NOT for you if:

• You’re a ‘stack em high, sell em cheap’ kind of business that competes solely on price (nothing wrong with that, this just isn’t right for you) 
• The thought of ultra-transparent content marketing (or anything public) turns you off. For example, talking about your prices publicly. 
• You don’t see the value at all in content marketing and would prefer to use ads or other channels instead 
• You’re not willing to invest time in content 

How long will it take to go through the Content Fortress Course? 

The course has 14 modules, and each module has 4-5 videos. Each video is approx 10-15 minutes each. 

We did it this way because when we learn we like to watch maybe 30 minutes of content over our lunch every day. And we hate hours and hours of video! 

So in total, there are around 13 hours (approximately) of content. And then there’s added things like the resources you can use. 

The good thing about this though is you don’t have to watch the entire thing to get content ideas and start creating ‘Content Fortress content’. A lot of customers watch one module (such as Repelling Content) go onto create the content, and then watch the next module. And so on. 

Can I See Behind the Scenes? 

Sure, there’s a video you can watch below that shows you how it’s all laid out…

Who will be delivering the training?

We deliver the training, Martin (me) and Lyndsay. 

A bit about us…

For 10 years, we’ve run a web agency (Jammy Digital) and we worked with clients of all different shapes and sizes.  From big corporate clients to one-man bands. And small, local businesses to online shops that serve people all over the world. 

Over the years, we’ve worked with some good clients that make you love what you do, and some really bad ones that make you want to cry.

Throughout the ups and downs as agency owners, we’ve slowly crafted a business that only attracts the best clients. 

Whenever we look at investing in a course or programme, we look at the providers to see if they ‘walk the walk’ i.e. actually do the thing they’re teaching. And that’s incredibly important to us, which is why we have a very active blog. 

And why we produce content like this (and this is the exact kind of content we’ll encourage you to create as part of the course). 

What ongoing support will I get when I sign up? 

When you sign up for the course, you’ll be added to our VIP Facebook community where all our other students hang out. In this community, you’ll be able to ask questions and get feedback on your content. 

We also critique content in this community too! So we encourage you to share your content and we can tell you how to improve it.  

How do you access the Content Fortress content?

Once you sign up, you will receive an email from us with your login information.

Then you’ll log into a learning platform, Thinkific, using the login instructions in the email.

Once you sign in, you’ll see the dashboard area, which looks a bit like this. And you can access all the videos and resources. 

Is there an upsell once I’ve bought the course? 

I’ve taken enough courses in my time to know they’ll be an upsell, and usually, the upsell is some sort of 1-2-1 programme or consulting/coaching package. 

However, there’s no upsell with this course. The course will give you everything you need without you having to invest 1-2-1 time with us. As I said, we don’t hold anything back here.

What results can I expect?

Since we started creating content following this method we’ve seen some pretty interesting results such as:

• We’ve increased our prices by 500%
• We work with 50% fewer clients
• We have a 90% success rate when we send out proposals
• We’ve increased our website traffic by 10x
• We work fewer hours and get to spend more time as a family.

But for us, the biggest difference is that we are far happier. Our mental health has improved so much since we started prioritising it. Our content helps us to protect ourselves so we only attract the very best clients.

Can anything more be said about content marketing? 

When you go to Amazon and type in Content Marketing, there are over 10,000 results. It’s a topic that is widely talked about and we know of some amazing content marketers who have covered the topic in depth.

And even though we’ve read pretty much every decent content marketing book out there, this course actually doesn’t pull much from the topic of content marketing.

Instead, we did a whole lot of research about ‘communication’ – i.e. communicating with clients, selling, negotiation, and even how we communicate in our personal relationships.

We then applied a lot of this theory to content marketing. I don’t pretend to have invented anything new here. Far from it. There are no (or very few!) new ideas anymore, especially when it comes to marketing.

But I haven’t seen much about taking the strategies and research of good face-to-face communication and applying this to content marketing. It’s the marrying of the two subjects that’s relatively new.

How do I sign up?

If you want to overhaul your current lead generating strategy, and walk away knowing exactly how to attract better, higher-paying clients who you love to work with, check out the course below. 

Sign up now and access all the client attraction tools and step by step video training right away.

See you on the inside.

Martin Huntbach

Web designer & marketer for small businesses. Martin is an experienced search engine and web design specialist, with over a decade of experience working with large corporations to small businesses.

jammydigital.com

The post Everything You Need to Know About our Content Fortress Course appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

But, in this case, what’s inside the fortress is your business. And instead of stone, the fortress is made up of content.

It may sound a little drastic. Having to ‘protect’ your business with a fortress of content. This isn’t life or death, is it? We’re not at war.

Of course not. But you are the most important asset in your business. And you must protect yourself to guarantee the future health and success of your business.

We’ve found that the easiest, simplest and most effective way to protect yourself and your business is through content.

Our Fancy-Pants Definition of a Content Fortress:

A Content Fortress is about using content to protect your business, time and even your mental health.

It’s a proactive prevention strategy, ensuring you only attract and serve the right customers. Each piece of content that you create, using this strategy, is another stone in your content fortress.

Content Fortress: A Happy Accident Born From Unhappy Circumstances

We’d used content marketing to grow our business. And it worked well…

• We ranked on Google
• We 10x our website traffic
• We had a steady flow of leads and sales
• We raised our prices

BUT…

Something was wrong.

None of this stopped us from getting stressed. In fact, when we reached this level of success, we were more stressed than we’d ever been. We were constantly busy, sometimes dealing with difficult or demanding clients, and our work/life balance was pretty much 100% work/ 0% life.

So it got us thinking. If we could use content marketing to grow our business, could we develop a way of using content to protect our business from difficult client situations and, more importantly, protect our time?

That’s when we started to build a Content Fortress (although it didn’t have such a cool name at the time).

Identify Your Gaps – Fill Them With Content

Building a Content Fortress is all about identifying the gaps in your business–in your processes, in your communication, in all those problem areas that cause you stress and hassle–and using content to improve them (or eradicate the issues entirely).

On the flip side, as well as preventing problems, it’s also about working with your dream customers. It’s about how to educate your prospects, and get them to a place where they’re your dream customers, who understand who you are and how you work. The kind of customers that get you out of bed in the morning.

An Example of Content Fortress in Action…

If you want to see an example of this in action, we published a blog post why new business owners shouldn’t thousands invest in a new website.

We did this because…

• New business owners needed a lot of our time and support (not just with their website but with setting up a business)
• The projects took a long time as they didn’t have website-copy, a logo or branding.
• They would want to wait until their site was live until they started selling (and had to get their investment back quickly)
• They would need to change their website shortly after it went live, because a lot changed for their businesses within the first twelve months.

It’s fair to say that new business owners weren’t the right fit for us. And, spending thousands on a website wasn’t the right thing for them either.

By creating content, we prevented new business owners from working with us. But we also educated them on the best route to take.

Instead of saying no in an email, feeling awkward, typing and then deleting the email a thousand times. Or coming across as arrogant–like we didn’t want to work with new business owners. We explained our reasoning through content.

It saved us time, money and stress.

Since then no new business owners have asked us to build them a website. But…people have read that blog post, and come back years later when they were in a better position to invest.

People Don’t Care What You Say. They Care What You Publish.

We could just send an email every time a new business owner asked us to design a website. We could just explain our reasons why we don’t do it.

But when you publish something, it commits you to it. It proves to your prospect that this is true. It shows them you take it seriously. And it shows them that this is not just something that applies to them, it’s how you run your business for all your customers.

You can say all sorts of things to your prospects and customers. But, the sad fact is, people, don’t care what you say. They only care what you publish.

[bctt tweet=”People Don’t Care What You Say. They Care What You Publish. ‘What is a Content Fortress and Why Is It Vital For Your Business?’ ” username=”Jammy_Digital”]

Making A Commitment To Yourself

Building your Content Fortress helps you stick to your own rules. Because we’re all tempted to take on the wrong fit or bend our processes a little. Especially when money is waved in front of us. Even if you have that niggling feeling in your stomach, telling you something isn’t right. You say, oh it’s fine. Yes, there are some red-flags with XYZ. But it’ll be okay.

You’re only human. We all get tempted! But content is a great way to keep ourselves in line. We can’t go back once it’s published.

The Eight Pillars of the Content Fortress

There are eight pillars that make up a content fortress. By producing content around these eight pillars, you will…

1. Attract your dream clients
2. Prevent customer issues
3. Communicate better with your customers
4. Have happier customers who are more likely to recommend you

The Eight Pillars That Make Up Your Content Fortress

During stressful or uncertain times in our business, we turned to content to help us. We wanted to create a business that supported the life we wanted to lead. And we discovered that there are eight different types of content you can create in order to protect your time, and work with your dream customers.

In our book, Content Fortress, we do a deep dive into each of these pillars, with examples from businesses who do it well. But here’s an overview to help…

Repel Content

There’s a lot of talk about attracting your ideal clients. But not so much about repelling those who are the wrong fit. You have to actively repel the ‘wrong fits’ from buying from you. And you have to do this BEFORE they get in touch. Why? Because you don’t want these people taking up any of your time. You don’t want them disrupting your day. That’s why content is the best way to do this.

Attracting Content

In the same way as repelling content, you have to ‘actively’ attract your dream clients. The problem is, our ‘dream’ clients aren’t always paying attention to us. You need to create content that proves to them that your products or services are helpful and relevant–even if they’re unaware of you, your product. Or even if they don’t think you can help.

Sales Content

Sales content is for those lurkers who are ‘on the fence’ about working with you. They know who you are, and they know how you can help. But they’re still a little unsure. This kind of content gives them the push (or shove) that they need. It gives them the confidence that you’re the right company for them. It sells your products and services just like a good salesperson could face-to-face.

Pricing Content

Every single customer who gets in touch with you will ask you about the cost of your products or services. But the kind of ‘pricing content’ we’re talking about goes way beyond talking about the cost of your products or services. It’s about creating specific pieces of pricing content that will attract your ideal customers and keep your current customers happy. It’s not ‘here’s what I charge’. It’s ‘this is why I charge what I charge’.

Guiding Content 

Guiding content is content that helps your prospects become better, more well-informed customers. This means by the time you take them on as a client or customer you spend less time educating them. You get started on the project or deliver the product much quicker, and your customer feels completely at ease.

Process Content

Process content tells your customer exactly what is happening at every stage of the buying journey. From the moment your customer hands over their precious cash, to the moment you deliver your product (and beyond) they should be informed about your process and what happens next. This is a biggie in terms of keeping your customers happy.

Culture Content

Culture Content is a way of using who you are, your values and your story to attract your dream clients. Knowing and promoting who you are and what you stand for isn’t some cringy marketing exercise (well, it doesn’t have to be). It’s vital when it comes to attracting your dream customers. The kind of customers that get you out of bed in the morning.

Opinion Content

We all have opinions about what we do. About our work, our customers and our industry. We form these opinions through experience and knowledge. But often, we don’t share these opinions with our prospective clients, and we definitely don’t do it in our content. But we should, because this is the way you can attract like-minded customers who you’ll love to work with.

Try This Simple Task…

Now all of that can feel a little…scary. It seems like a lot there. But you don’t need to produce content for each pillar straight away. Try this simple task first.

Think of the last time you had an issue in your business – it could be a miscommunication with a customer or taking on the wrong kind of client.

Now, think of how you can prevent this from happening again. Because you’d do things differently, right? Now think of a piece of content you can create to combat this problem from happening again. Just like we did with the blog post, ‘why new businesses shouldn’t spend thousands on a website’.

That’s all you have to do, think about it. Got it?

That’s Content Fortress. It’s learning from all those issues in your business and using content to prevent them happening again.

If you want to delve deeper into what Content Fortress is all about and how it can help your business, pre-order our book. It’s £12+ delivery. And 10% of sales go to the mental health charity, Mind.

Also, those who pre-order will get a place on our Content Fortress live training taking place in October – for free. Click the link below…

Martin & Lyndsay

The post An Introduction to Content Fortress, and Why is’s Vital for Your Business appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.