Archive for 101 marketing strategies
VideoTip 4 How to Get Clients Using Online Marketing Strategies
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s the next video tip in the Top 10 Tips Series on How to Get Clients Using Online Marketing Strategies: Niche Social Media Sites
This is something a lot of people can overlook, instead going to play on the big Social Media sites (which we’ll discuss in an upcoming video)… but there is a whole world of ‘niched’ sites that can help you target your ideal prospect and it’s a HUGE opportunity.
Enjoy!
How To Get Clients Using Online Marketing Strategies – Video Tip #6
Posted by: | CommentsIn the video released today I talk about Tip #6 in the How to Get Clients Using Online Marketing Strategies Top 10 Tips series.
This video goes into a very effective method for building your online expertise, driving more traffic, building your list and, ultimately, getting more clients.
That method is called ‘Article Marketing’. It’s one of the ‘unsung’ heroes of the internet It’s not something that will necessarily be a magic bullet, but if you are consistent, you can build a great foundation of information for your hungry market, serve them and build the know, like and trust factor so essential to building a relationship that leads to a sale.
In the video I mention Jeff Herring, who is sometimes known as ‘The Article Marketing Guy‘… wanted to make sure you had links to his stuff, in case you decide it’s something you want to learn more about. The tips in the video will get you started. And, there is an art form to the process of making articles really work for you. For some, getting into the details of it can make a big difference in the level of success. Jeff is a great guy and shares a ton of great info, so definitely check him out.
This week’s small business marketing strategy is all about making the most of your time with the right social media tools…
There are literally thousands of business tools out there that can help you in every arena of business, but today, I’m just going to talk about two of my favorite tools for Social Media.
Tool #1
This is a brand new tool that was just written up in the Social Media Examiner – I was lucky enough to be asked to participate in their testing and trial process, so really got to dig in and see what the tool was all about. I was also gifted with 50 free trials for 60 days each (and there’s no auto-enroll at the end of the 60 days, so no accidentally paying for it if you aren’t using it… and if you are interested in one of the trial memberships – if there’s one left, you can click here.)
What the Social Buzz Club does is give people who are serious about spreading their content and business through social media, and in particular social media professionals, a place to get some help with buzz for their content and for their client’s content. There are some minimum requirements, which, as small business owners who are using the web, you should be able to fulfill (if not, then please read back through older posts on this blog and on others about online and social media marketing – you need to get busy!).
You earn points by sharing other people’s content through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and 2 social bookmarking sites, StumbleUpon and Digg – once you have 5 points (you’ve shared 5 times), you get to post your own stuff to be shared by others.
This tool has the potential to be HUGE and to really help boost your exposure when you need it, so join in, start sharing and earn the right to get buzz around your stuff when you need to. (This is my personal link for the few remaining spots out of my original 50 free trials – not sure if they’ll be opening up more, so grab them while they’re hot! Click here for the Social Buzz Club.)
Tool #2
I’ve talked about this tool before… and last week I went through it with a client helping her maximize it’s potential and was reminded what an amazing and powerful tool it is. You can find the most targeted people to start building your followers, consistently grow your follower base, help augment your tweets (and even Facebook page updates) with links to your content and much more.
If you aren’t using it as part of your small business marketing strategy, you will definitely want to check it out. Everyone I know who starts to dig into it is blown away by everything it can do and how much time it saves. (Again, this is my personal link to TweetAdder, don’t dilly dally with this one, get it, set it up and watch while it makes building your Twitter account nearly effortless.)
Small Business Marketing Strategy: Systems Will Set You Free
Posted by: | CommentsI know I wrote about systems a few posts ago, but they’re taking over my life… and I’m THRILLED about it!
And, I wanted to share a recent success using a syste’ I put in place recently and encourage you to think about, and possibly do the same.
In the post “Small Business Marketing Strategy: The Dirty Little Secret” I talked a bit about why you need systems and what kinds of systems you can think about creating. I’ve put many into place in my business, and have been working on creating more.
In a funny way, creating systems is a bit like the meditation practice of ‘being the witness’ – even if you’ve never practiced any form of meditation, you will most likely still understand this… there is a moment where we can ‘observe’ what we are doing without becoming completely engaged. We begin to see our behavior and thoughts differently (it’s that moment that can also help us to breakthrough big issues in our lives – if you can’t see it, you have no chance of fixing it, if you can, you are half way to being able to do something about it).
You can put yourself into that mindset around your business, begin to ‘observe’ the actions you take on a daily basis and begin to create your own systems. It’s not really all that challenging, although it can be hard at the beginning, if you keep at it, you’ll start to see your processes more clearly.
And, if you want to create a system for something you aren’t currently doing, take a pen and paper and imagine walking through all the steps you think will be necessary. Once you do that, you can test out your system, see if it has all the pieces it needs and modify it if necessary.
Once you create the system and test it out to make sure it’s working the way you want it will begin to alleviate stress, lesson the likelihood of mistakes and potentially create something that can be partially, or even completely, outsourced.
My Recent Success
In the last few months I’ve instituted several systems and I am continuing to work on more. One of my systems has started to show terrific results – it’s actually this blog. I plugged in a blogging and online promotion system a short time ago, and have seen the traffic to my blog nearly quadruple in just a matter of a few weeks! That’s big news! It’s a ton more eyeballs, a lot more interest and a lot more people who may, at some point, decide they are interested in a program or offer I have out there.
Now that I have a blogging system, I doesn’t require nearly the effort it did to cover all the necessary pieces. I have a checklist I follow, making sure I do each step and nothing gets left out… and it’s working like gangbusters! On top of that, I can already see where about 70-80% of the system can soon be outsourced, freeing up much more of my time to continue building my business, while still covering these very important bases.
Blogging is one of the most valuable online tools we have today, and, when done right, it can really help you grow your business. So, if you’ve been half-assing it, or you’ve been on the fence, sit down, write out a system, then make a decision to follow it for several months. And, don’t forget the promotion system to make sure you get your content out there! And, if this is one of those areas you could use a bit of assistance, you’ll want to be added to be one of the first notified when the Lightning Round Breakthrough Sessions are announced – they’re going to the rapid fire, quick jolt sessions you need to get you on track and make your marketing work.
When Life Hands You Lemons…
Posted by: | CommentsYou Make Lemonade!
Sometimes things don’t go quite as you plan… and how you handle life’s little SNAFU’s translates into a good small business marketing strategy…
On May 20th I headed to Newark Airport, bags packed, super excited to be going to London, then to northern England to visit with my parents who were headed to meet us at a rented cottage in Clitheroe – a tiny, rural area just north of Manchester, England.
Alas, our trip was not to be… as life would have it, a snag interrupted our ‘check-in’ process. As the interruption hit, I framed the only question I knew would get me the ‘cut to the chase’ answer, “What can we do about this?” (This is a great question when you are faced with something you want or need to work on changing… helps get everyone thinking about a solution.)
The answer? Nothing.
Deep breath.
30 minutes with the nicest, sweetest Continental employee ever, and we had information in hand to help us remedy the problem within the next 3 days… which kind of ruins a 10 day excursion. And, must say, I love my smart phone… quick message and email to my parents, sleeping 5 hours ahead, “We didn’t fly to London,” quick call to a close friend who knows everything about travel, “Can you check to see if there are any other options?” And, finally a call to the car service, “Can you pick us up at Departures?… Yes, departures…. I don’t have an arriving flight number – I just arrived in one of your cars.”
A full 4 hours and several hundred dollars later, we were back at home, ordering a late dinner and trying to figure out what to do next.
We woke up the next morning, thinking we would just resume ‘life as usual’, but after some conversation we decided we really did need that vacation. Within minutes I’d found a great website on house rentals in the Outer Banks of North Carolina (OBX for short – I’d never been and thought it would be fun), contacted the rental company and made a low-ball offer (heck, it was already Saturday, not likely they’d get anything for the week, so thought it was worth a shot).
Not even an hour later, with the offer accepted, we were tearing around, yanking fleeces out of our suitcases and shoving in shorts and bathing suits. Not even 24 hours from our original ‘SNAFU’ we were on the road to Rodanthe, NC!
So, what does all this have to do with your small business and your life as an entrepreneur? Sometimes life is going to throw you a curve ball… and when it does, how you respond will have a lot to do with your overall success.
You can have your moment of disappointment and grief over what might have been, but keep it brief. Then, it’s time to take those lemons and make lemonade…
So, while we were supposed to spend 10 days in England, instead we had a blast on a road trip, spent the week hanging out at the beach (incredible Sound front house for less than a bargain-style hotel for the week!), and I got to try Kite Boarding – something I’ve wanted to try for years (there’s a picture below of me and my instructor Sarah from Kitty Hawk Kites). It was relaxing, refreshing and a total blast.
Not at all what we’d planned, but worked out beautifully just the same.
Now, take a look at your business and your life… what lemons have shown up lately? How can you find a way to turn them into lemonade?
Here are a few pics of the view, the house and the kite boarding…
This one is from the back deck, looking north.
The back deck at sunset – you can see the walkway out to the sound.
The view of a couple of the kite boarders from the houses nearby.
View of the house from the Sound.
It’s hard to tell, but that’s me holding the kite. Didn’t quite get up on the board during the lesson, but will definitely be trying again – it was so much fun!
