Archive for Marketing
Energize Your Business in the New Year
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It’s now 2012 and I’m sure that creating a plan for energizing sales in your business is in the forefront of your mind. Energizing your sales isn’t a one-step solution; instead it’s a full scale approach. Each area of your sales and marketing strategy can be used to energize your sales.
Your Email List. Create energy with your email list. Offer a free online learning series. Give away free downloads that offer value. Integrate promos, offers, and discount coupons in your email series.
Launch a New Product. One truly spectacular way to energize your sales is to launch a new product. Information products are often the easiest to create and they can offer the most value. If you’re “not a writer” and don’t want to write an eBook, consider recording a series of expert interviews or create a workbook. Announce the new product to your email list. Advertise it. Share the good news on your social networking pages.
Affiliates and Referrals. If you don’t already have an affiliate program or a referral program, create one. Put others to work making sales for you. If you do have an affiliate program, reinvigorate interest by creating a competition. Offer your affiliates additional content and promotional materials so they can make more sales.
Build Your List. Create a new promotion or update your existing promotion to boost your email subscribers. Consider partnering with others and promote each other’s giveaways.
Tweak Your Sales Copy. Make small changes, or big ones, to your existing sales copy and track the results. Often a small change can make a big difference in conversions. Tweak your ad copy too.
Upsells and Back End Offers. If you don’t currently have a process to upsell or make back end offers to your customers, create one. Often the best time to make a sale is right after someone has made the decision to buy. For example, have you ever been in the store and ready to go to the register with your purchases when a sales person identifies a product that compliments the product you’ve already decided to buy? You’ve already committed to spending money and it’s easier to spend a little more for a complimentary product. Embrace that buying trigger and motivate more sales.
Content Commitment. Take a look at your content strategy. How can you amplify it for the next thirty to sixty days? What about a blog series? Can you go big and publish a case study or short report? What about article marketing or press releases? There are many ways you can go big with your content. Consider using guest writers to create excitement.
Inexpensive Ways to Promote the Solopreneur
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Getting new clients doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor. The old axiom of “it takes money to make money” just doesn’t have to be the case when it comes to small business marketing.
If you want to give your business an infusion of clients without over spending, read these ideas carefully. Here are several different ways you can promote your small business – all with little to no cash investment.
Networking
Networking is one of the most effective strategies to both build and grow a business. Meeting the right people can practically ensure long term success. Additionally, networking helps you learn and grow personally too. However, finding business networking groups online or off can sometimes be a challenge. Here’s how to go about it.
Search online. This probably seems like an apparent step and perhaps it’s one you’ve already taken. Simply type your industry and the words “organization” or “association” into your search bar and see what comes up. Often, you’ll hit the jackpot with dozens of top level organizations to research.
Look at business networking directories. Yes, there are directories for just about everything under the sun and there are business networking directories you can search through too. For example, the Chamber of Commerce has a directory of other Chambers you can join (www.chamberofcommerce.com/).
Social media. Connect with other people in your industry and ask about networking groups they belong to or recommend. You can find great, like-minded people, this way.
Offer to Write for Publications
If you’re an expert on internet marketing, why not start writing a column for your local newspaper’s business section?
Or perhaps you might want to see if you can get a recurring writing assignment in a small internet business related magazine.
Being invited to write a column isn’t as hard as you might imagine. If you have the qualifications, editors are always on the lookout for more content. Because the better the content, the better their publication.
Finally, try also approaching bloggers to do guest blog posts. Make sure you state your qualifications upfront so they know you know your stuff, and make sure to suggest a few potential post topics in your introductory email.
Speak in Public
Public speaking is one of the most powerful and least competitive marketing methods around. Why? Because almost everyone is terrified of speaking in public.
Speaking in public requires honing your presentation skills. It involves mastering your fear of looking bad. It involves quite a bit of personal and professional development.
It’s a lot of hard work to become a great speaker. However, once you do become a great speaker, marketing will likely become a non-issue for your business.
Speaking in front of groups generates so much curiosity and credibility that if you do it on a regular basis, your business is more or less set up for success.
Promoting a small business doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. If money is your main reason for not promoting your business, let it stop you no more. Instead of using your money to promote your business, use your smarts, wit and determination to do the job.
Using the Cloud for Business
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Today everyone is saying, “Take me to the cloud.” But what does that mean? And, is it a good thing for your business to get involved in?
What and Where Is the Cloud?
We are talking about cyberspace. You know it exists and you can see the results of it, but touching it is as elusive as putting your hands on a real cloud. Nevertheless, it is a revolutionary idea in network sharing and storage.
So, what is the cloud exactly? Well, if you are using the internet right now to read this article, you are a part of the cloud network. Companies used to set up IT networks on their own, installing, running and testing software applications. Whenever there was a problem, everyone turned to the IT expert to fix it. This took money and time which could cost the business money in man hours and lost productivity.
Cloud computing offers a break to companies both large and small with an easier way to store information. Instead of each company managing their own applications, third-party vendors offer access to a virtual network that they manage. Each company only pays for the amount of usage that they need.
This one area houses hundreds of apps that each company can customize for its own uses. It’s like having one central location for housing all business but with the ability to function according to the specific needs of each.
How Can Your Business Benefit?
Because the cloud is in cyberspace, you are not limited to one area when using it. In fact, the cloud was made for mobility. No matter where you or any of your associates are, you can upload information to the cloud that can then be viewed by others who also have access to the network. They can make changes to the document and then send it back to you in a flash.
Want to hold a meeting? You can do that too. Sharing ideas across the miles but within the same company has never been more accessible. What may have taken precious time through emails, faxes or phone calls can now be handled all at once via cloud computing.
And, your business can lower the cost of overheads by utilizing the cloud. With a third-party vendor managing the operation, they handle upgrades to software, technical questions and support for you. If there are problems, you will be up and running again as quickly as they can help. That also means that anyone accessing your applications is also back on the grid.
But, do your homework first. Make sure that the cloud is what your business needs and that it can meet your specific criteria for security and ease of operation. You decide if the cloud can move you forward.
The Business Plan: Statement of Purpose
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You probably already know that there are different steps involved in writing and creating a good business plan. A proper business plan is a valuable tool for your business or company and can help lead you on a path to great success. The more you know about the different components that go into creating one, the better your business plan will be.
One important part of the business plan is your Statement of Purpose. The statement of purpose shows you know what you want and you are willing to do what it takes to get it. These are qualities that are important to a successful business and it shows you are serious about your company and its success.
What is the statement of purpose?
Your statement of purpose is how you communicate with potential lenders or investors, business partners or even future employees. This is an important part of the business plan and should be taken seriously. You need to be direct, concise and to the point. Don’t waste words or will it up with “fluff” here.
The statement of purpose should include exactly what you want without “beating around the bush” or taking a long time to get there. You should be able to get your complete statement of purpose into about a page of your business plan. If your original is longer, keep revising and cutting until you can get it down to about one full page that describes what you want.
What should be included in the statement of purpose?
So what exactly do you say in your statement of purpose? Your statement of purpose should include a brief description of your company or business, your objectives, your company mission and your keys to success. You should describe the primary service or goods provided and your plan to provide those to the consumer as well as the rate at which you will provide it.
You should then include the current local market for your goods or services and where you predict the majority of your profit to come from. You will also include major achievements of the company or details that show why your business has the ability to thrive in the market and be successful.
Do you want to spruce up your business plan or create a simple, easy to use plan for your business in 2012? Join me for the Business Planning Work Day on Monday, January 2nd. Find out more information by going to:
7 Twitter Tips
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Twitter is a really great way to socialize and keep in touch, but it can be more than that. You can use Twitter as a tool for various things, from business to advertising. It provides a personal link with your customers and clients that may be lacking in the usual online business relationship. Here are some tips for using Twitter effectively.
1. Keep it short
Regardless of what you are tweeting, you’ll want to keep the message short and to the point. Twitter is not like email; it’s more like text messaging to a group.
2. Make a decision
Regardless of how you plan to use Twitter, go ahead and make that decision before setting up an account. If you want to use it for business purposes, determine who your potential customers would be. If you plan to use Twitter for personal reasons, make that decision ahead of time, too. It can get confusing and problematic if you try to toggle back and forth between business and personal messages on your Twitter account.
3. Avatar
Choose an avatar that reflects your purpose in using Twitter. A fun picture of your dog in a Santa hat may be great for your personal account, but not for your business (unless you sell dog Santa hats!). You may even want to find a professional to take a picture of you specifically for your Twitter avatar.
4. Username
The same things apply to a username as to the avatar – make sure it fits your Twitter intentions. Also, make sure it coincides with your avatar so that the two become synonymous.
5. Advertise
Twitter offers advertising programs that you can use to boost your business. You can sign up with one of these on the Twitter site. They work by connecting Twitter users with advertisers.
6. Share links
The brief nature of Twitter makes it a great vehicle for sharing links to websites, videos, and so forth. This can be a quick and effective way to share the newest and latest products or information with your customers. Sharing links for others can also be a way to generate income. You can share your own links, too.
7. Get a mobile device
Giving your Twitter followers up-to-the minute tweets is what makes Twitter unique. You’ll want to embrace this aspect of the medium, and invest in some kind of mobile device that you can have handy at all times to read and send tweets.
