Want More Business? Answer a Question.

In your business, do prospects ask you questions?

I bet they do! And I bet that you often turn those prospects into clients. So, why not answer questions on the web to attract more business?

Do you know about Yahoo! Answers? It’s an online community that lets you answer visitors’ questions. What a helpful way to showcase your expertise! And if visitors vote for your answer, you earn points to boost your reputation even more.

I’ll confess…I don’t know Yahoo! Answers. But Manny Hernandez does! He’s an Internet marketer who uses it to raise awareness for www.TuDiabetes.com, his global community for people touched by diabetes. Manny shares these proven tips:

* Find Your Niche
Use the site’s search engine to find highly-targeted topics. It’s easier to show your expertise as a specialist rather than a generalist.

* Answer Questions Often
If you want points, log in every day to answer one question—you’ll get one point a day by doing this. If you can’t do this, try to answer at least one question once a week. Obviously, the more questions you answer, the more you shine. For more info on the point system, visit: http://answers.yahoo.com/info/scoring_system

* Avoid “YES/NO” Answers
Almost any answer at least one paragraph long is an excellent candidate for a “Best Answer” vote (worth 10 points). Because “Yes/No” answers aren’t usually helpful, you won’t likely get “big” points (or business) for giving this kind of answer.

* Vote on Others’ Answers
It’s always a good idea to recognize the good work of others. Yahoo! rewards you for it. By voting for someone else’s answer, you’ll get one point.

* Only Link When Appropriate
Yes, you can link to other resources on the web, including yours, from within your answer. But don’t lace every answer with a link to your site because that’s spam. Never blatantly advertise your products or services—EVER.

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Thanks Manny!

LinkedIn also has a similar service called “LinkedIn Answers.” Check out Manny Hernandez' Internet marketing blog about this topic.

Several of my family members have diabetes. Once while in a store with my dad a few months after his stroke, I mistook his low sugar attack for fatigue. Had an ambulance not been called, I would have driven him home to take a nap; he would have slipped into a diabetic coma and died. After that scary experience, I learned from other diabetics that while in a low or high sugar state diabetics might not remember if or when they last ate or took insulin. I hope communities like TuDiabetes.com can help get life-saving information like this out to the world. Congratulations on reaching almost 600 members!

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