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•What to Twitter About
? Twitter is a great marketing tool if you want to keep in touch with people on a quick, in-and-out basis. It allows you to build connection with your prospects and clients, as well as direct them to your website and blog for more detailed information - as Twitter only allows for a couple sentences each post.
Twitter is a great way to do research on your target audience. Pay attention to what people are tweeting about - what is important to them or causing them problems. You can get educated...
•What the heck should I write an article about
? Coming up with ideas for your articles doesn't have to be difficult. It's mainly a matter of keeping your eyes and ears open!
I have both an electronic folder and a hard-copy file where I collect ideas about what to write for my next article. If I read something interesting, or jot down a comment a client makes, or make note of a question that seems to keep popping up - I'll put these bits and bites into my folders. Then when it comes time to sit down and write, I've got some ideas to...
•Marketing Framework for a New Business
Every business needs a marketing framework - but many new small businesses get confused about which steps they need to take first.
I define a marketing framework as the basic structure of your overall marketing action plan that also encompasses the core marketing strategies you need.
It's like when you're building a house (my Dad and brother are carpenters so I've seen a lot of houses being built!) and after you've poured the concrete for the base, you start framing...which means you start...
•Do You Follow Up
? Follow up is all about giving people the valuable information they need and want; showing them you understand their problems and concerns; creating opportunities for them to get to know and trust you; and proving your credibility and the value of your products and services.
Many of us think that a follow-up strategy is to email or call someone a week or two after the initial contact and then maybe touch base occasionally over the next couple of months.
Also, many small business owners think...
•Understand the Value of Your Leads
Many businesses and salespeople concentrate all their energies on the really hot leads - the people who want something right now and are willing to pay for it now.
I've seen it myself working in different sales departments at different companies. People only have so much time and energy to commit to making sales and so they concentrate on the leads that seem to be the most promising. The guy they saw last month who said maybe gets bumped way down the list in terms of importance and...
•Know Your Core Marketing Strength
Many small business owners dislike marketing and do it grudgingly, even though we know it's absolutely key to having any success.
There are many reasons why people seem to procrastinate with their marketing: they don't really understand the tactic or strategy they are using, they don't feel comfortable doing it, or they can't figure out which marketing strategies to use.
What I've found to really work when trying to figure out which tactics to use - especially when you're just starting out...
•Copy Writing Tips
Whenever you sit down to write any kind of marketing copy (email, sales page, flyer, etc.) use the following tips to guide you.
* ensure the copy is focused on your prospect's needs, concerns and problems - not on you or your services.
* you need to answer the questions: What's in it for me? What exactly do I get? Why should I care? for your readers
* make sure to emphasize the specific benefits they'll receive from your product or service
* try to avoid using jargon or industry-specific...
•Niche Market and Why You Need One
A niche market can be thought of as a narrowly defined group of potential customers - usually a portion of a larger target market. For example, a target market is working women, but a niche market is working women with kids at home, or working women in executive positions, or working women in the financial sector.
As a small business owner, you usually do not have the money, resources and time to market to a larger target market. You need to focus your marketing efforts on those people most...
•The 4 No No s of Marketing Plans
We all know that we should have a marketing plan - that having goals and a path to achieve them is critical to our business success....and our mental health!
Most of us will take that next step and create a marketing roadmap...but too many of us fail to put it into action.
Action = results. That's the only way I know (and you know it too!) how to make something a success, is by actually taking some action. Of course, some days I dream about achieving great success without having to...
•Consistency IS Sexy
The main definition of consistency is: steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc.
One of the major reasons that small businesses (and large businesses) do not have success with their marketing is because they don't apply the principle of consistency to their marketing strategies.
Many people have a skewed view of marketing - they associate it with big-time advertising - which often looks sexy, fun, spur of the moment, like the much-anticipated commercials that air during...
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