I’ve just got off the phone from a franchisee of a major Pizza Franchise who contacted me about strategising a new web presence and what other things he could do to create some interest in what his business delivered.

One suggestion I gave him was to offer his “regulars” and new "members" (people who ordered Pizza online) was some information entitled “5 Secrets to Pizza making the others don’t want you to know”

His quick reply was, "I'm not so sure I want my customers to know how to make a great pizza!"

His concern was that by writing that article, he'd reduce the demand for his product.

I said to him, "How many cookbooks by Jamie Oliver are there? Does that stop people visiting his restaurants? How many cook books are there about pizza? Do you really think that the reason people come into your restaurant is because they haven't been able to crack the pizza code to making great pizza?

"They come into your restaurant because they don't want to bother cooking for themselves; or because they don't want to make 500 pizzas before they finally understand all the ins and outs of how to do it right; or for a dozen other reasons that have nothing to do with the food at all."

Make no mistake; this pizza franchisee wasn't stupid. It's natural and logical to think that by giving away useful information to your clients, you will in some way be left with less to sell to them. It's natural and logical thought progression, but it's also completely flawed.

When you give away your expertise each month, you elevate yourself in the eyes of your readers. Rather than viewing you as unnecessary, it has exactly the opposite effect. They come to consider you the expert in the field, and paradoxically are even more likely to hire you and/or refer you to their friends and colleagues.

Help your customers and clients the way you would a friend, by giving them useful, expert advice, and the benefits will come back to you and your business many times over.