Archive for February, 2010
Authentic Marketing: How To Set Yourself Apart From Others
A common challenge for coaches, teachers, healers and other helping professionals is differentiating themselves from others in their fields.
The good news is you set yourself apart just by being born. People forget that. The nature of your unique life makes you different and makes you unique. I call this your intuitive intelligence.
You have not lived the same life that I have lived and neither has anyone else. Even if we have the same training and we sat down and decided to teach the exact same model to people, it would be different because we are different people.
Hold your hand up in front of you right now. No one shares those finger prints. Your marketing style, your business style, and your message all reflect that uniqueness.
Get off of the marketing hamster wheel for a while and ask yourself the question: “why did you get into this game to begin with?” There is a reason that you are reading this article. There is a reason that you’re doing the business you’re doing.
Someone reading this lost a significant amount of weight. Someone reading this made it through a serious illness. Someone reading this helped a child through a diagnosis. Someone reading this got divorced and they thrived through it. Someone reading this changed their lifestyle through health and wellness. Someone reading this built a business out of nothing.
Continually telling my story has been the most powerful business building strategies I have ever implemented, and it comes completely naturally because it’s my story. Framing it in a way that underlines my movement and the changes I want to see in the world helps me attract perfect clients.
Everyone has a story and any business must have a movement and a mission driving it. Don’t lose sight of the fact that it is your story that is going to heal people.
When I started my business, I finally got off my butt and decided to do something and change something. I came across coaching. I didn’t have a clue how to market. It was hard and it was painful, and there were some really difficult pieces.
Through that experience I healed a lot in myself, I healed a lot in other people, and I now have this really brilliant gift. I know that my purpose on this earth is to help people heal their shame around money and use marketing and business building as the tools to do that.
Keep it simple. Go back to the reason you got into your business or the field you’re in to begin with, whether you are an energy worker or a life coach or a marketing consultant. Why did you start this to begin with? Because that’s what you’ve lost sight of if you don’t have the energy to share your movement in a way that differentiates yourself from others.
I’d like to invite you to learn how to help more people, make more money and enjoy more freedom with the free 5-day mini course, “Awakening Your Authentic Entrepreneur,” at http://www.HelpMorePeople.com/minicourse.htmSuzanne Evans is best known as the ‘action expert’ and has coached hundreds of solopreneurs to model her multiple six figure business.
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Effective Online Marketing: 3 Super Low-Cost Methods For Loads Of Traffic To Your Site
When you’re running any kind of business, the budget often gets depleted by seemingly important things, sometimes overnight. Suddenly there’s nothing left to market with. Since marketing is everything, how do you consistently get your message to your audience without emptying your bank account?
Here are three very effective and low cost ways to get your name “out there” without breaking the bank.
1) Internet Article Marketing
One of the primary ways you can drive traffic to your Web site is position yourself as an expert on your subject. You can do this by writing articles.
Article marketing simply means creating informational articles about a topic that is relevant to your audience, based on your keyword research. You can then submit or post your articles to:
- online article directories,
- your blog,
- related business blogs
- your web sites.
Now, there are two options here: You can write the articles yourself, or hire someone else to write the articles for you (with you as the author.) The second option is good if you are pressed for time, but it will come with a fee, of course.
The hardest part about writing an article is just getting started. There’s also a misconception that you must be a professional writer to do this; you don’t.
You will want to do a little research on tips to writing great articles, but don’t do too much. Remember, you have something to say, and the best way to start is with a few sentences, on your topic. Then formulate some tips by asking yourself questions. For example: “How to Grow the Best Tasting Tomatoes,” or “5 Tips for Growing the Best Tomatoes.”
Start filling in the blanks, and before you know it, you will have your article.
Then, submit your articles to the major directories, at least three. Once you have submitted several articles, you will be considered an authority, and will begin to attract an audience who is interested in your topic. From that point, there is a very good chance they will become leads for your business.
2) Online SEO Press Releases
Online SEO press releases are different from standard press releases. An online SEO press release is written so that keywords are scattered throughout the copy of the release. These press releases are then distributed online, posted on the business Web site, blog, etc., all with the purpose of driving traffic to your Web site and gaining a high position in the search engines.
Write your press release in third person, and submit it to a paid service such as PRWeb, or to various free distribution sites.
There are many “news worthy” things that happen in small businesses. If you are not sure about what to include or how to do it, read other press releases, or you can out-source it.
3) Blogging
Business blogs are extremely important in your marketing. Why? They are the number one way to drive traffic to your Web site — which is traffic that you then have the opportunity to convert into a sale.
One of the reasons that blogs are so successful is because blogs are constantly updated with fresh content and search engines love fresh content. That means you have a higher ranking on the search engines organic side (the left) which you did not have to pay for. Again, use keywords and build your posts around topics that your audience is interested in.
Post to your blog two or three times per week. Add images, videos, video blogging (also called “vlogs.”) Constantly ask yourself how you can help someone else solve their problem. Then write about it.
This will keep visitors (and the search engines) coming back to visit….your goal.
There are other low cost ways to market, but I have found that these three are highly effective and will get you on your way quickly. You can either use any or all, but the key is to be consistent, and you will drive lots of high quality traffic to your site.
And the best part is that it won’t cost you anything except a little time!
Would you like to be shown more methods for driving massive traffic to your site without draining your bank account?
You’re invited to receive my newsletter, “Marketing Is An Art, Learn to Make It Yours.”
Here you will find user-friendly, creative tips and tricks for running a successful business from home, or anywhere. Learn step by step different methods of marketing, and exactly how to put them in action. You’ll be able to use these methods to market anything, anywhere, on any budget.
To receive your 10 free issues, visit http://www.dianejdavis.com
Written by Diane J. Davis
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The Law Of The Opposite – When You Are Shooting For Second Place, Your Strategy Is Determined By The Leader
There are laws of nature so why shouldn’t there be laws of marketing? You can actually build a great-looking airplane but it is not going to get off the ground unless it adheres to the laws of physics, especially the law of gravity.
So it follows that you can create a brilliant marketing program only to have one of the laws of marketing knock you flat if you don’t know what they are.
One of the laws is the Law of the Opposite.
In strength there exists weakness. Wherever the leader is strong, there is the opportunity for a would-be No 2 to turn the tables.
Much like a wrestler uses his opponent’s strength against him, a company should leverage the leader’s strength into a weakness.
If you want to establish a firm foothold on the second rung of the ladder, study the firm above you. Where is it strong? And how do you turn that strength in to a weakness?
You must uncover the essence of the leader and then present the prospect with the opposite. In other words, don’t try to be better, try to be different. It is often the upstart versus the old reliable.
Coca Cola is a 100 year old product. Only seven people in the history on the planet have known the Coke formula which is kept in a locked safe in Atlanta. Coca Cola is the old, established product. However, using the Law of the Opposite, Pepsi Cola reversed the essence of Coca Cola to become the choice of a new generation, the Pepsi Generation.
In other words, by positioning yourself against the leader, you take business away from all the other alternatives to No 1. If old people drink Coke and the younger generation drink Pepsi, there is nobody left to drink other brands in the cola beverage category.
Sometimes you have to be brutal.
Scope, the good tasting mouthwash, hung the medicine breath label on its Listerine competition. But don’t simply knock the competition. The Law of the Opposite is a two-edge sword. It requires honing in on a weakness that your prospect will quickly acknowledge.
One whiff of Listerine and you know that your mouth would smell like a hospital. Then quickly twist the sword. Scope is the good-tasting mouthwash that kills germs.
Marketing is often a battle for legitimacy. The first brand that captures a concept is often in a position to portray its competitors as illegitimate pretenders. A good No 2 can not afford to be timid!
As an Internet Marketing professional, you need to understand the Law of the Opposite. If you are not the leader in a product category but want to be a strong second, you need to position yourself opposite the leader because every market becomes a two horse race (as described in No 8, the Law of Duality).
Many Internet Marketing entrepreneurs are using techniques and tools like mind-mapping, keyword research, Attraction Marketing Formula, Magnetic Sponsoring, and MindMeister to conduct the market research and plan an effective marketing campaign. They then use the power of MyStory marketing, brand You Inc, and hypnotic writing skills, in their marketing campaigns, to deal realistically with the position of their brand and the strategy they want to pursue in the world that includes the Law of the Opposite.
The goals is to not emphasize why their offering is better, feature and function-wise, over a competitor’s but to develop a message that is recognized, accepted, and agreed to so that it will seduce and persuade a person that what is offered to the target market is real and will work for them.
Marketing is not a battle of products. It is all about the strategy you use to benefit from the Law of the Opposite and if you are not the leader then you must do the opposite of the leader to appeal to the group that does not want to buy from the first choice.
You can find out more about Internet Marketing and home-based businesses by reading updates that will be posted at my blog over the next few weeks.
Early in his career, Mike was an engineer with a large aerospace company. For many years, he was with a “marquee” consulting firm where he worked extensively with clients all around the world and became know as an American globalist. Most recently he has been providing technology, business, and management advisory services as a self-employed entrepreneur.
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What You Should Know About Your Business Cards
For one thing, your business cards are not like your booklets where you can put a lot of information to convince your target clients about you and what you can do. In addition, unlike your cheap booklets, you need to invest more.
This is due to the fact that it is the one thing that represents who you are and what you can do. You would not want to be known as an amateur and unprofessional company just because you did not make an effort to invest in your cards, right?
When someone asks you for your card, you should be ready to hand him or her out as quickly as possible. Do not be caught unprepared when someone asks you for it. Never go to a meeting, as sales call or even in a trade exhibit without a business card to give away. In marketing, a person without a business card is like a person who forgot to put on his pants.
This is actually the most basic thing you need to know when marketing. Never leave home without it. Any time, place and even any person you meet is an opportunity to market yourself and your business. Moreover, every opportunity would be calling for swapping of business cards. Not being able to do so would mean a worse fate to your bottom line.
Next, be sure to have all the essential information that would help your recipients get in touch with you that easily. Get your name, company name, logo, contact numbers, email address and website URL- all the things that would give your recipients the means to contact you. You can also add discounts, coupons and freebies to add value to your marketing tool. The bottom line is to get the holder of your card itch to call you. In addition, when they do have the itch, you had better have all the important details to help them reach you quickly.
Another basic thing you need to do when marketing is to make it more functional. Do not leave your cards with only the information about you. Make it also easy for your target clients to jot down additional information about you. Hence, the need for a paper stock for your business card printing. Jotting down the extra information can help them to make a quick decision to take your offer.
Also, use your logo, graphic images and language to make your marketing tool more effective to generate leads. The right placement of your logo and graphics can make a whole lot of difference in the way your recipients feel.
Finally, do not forget to proofread before you let your printing company produce them. Mistakes can mean a costly expense to your budget. So be sure to check and edit everything before you finally confirm the printing of your marketing tools.
Your business card is one of the marketing tools that can really help you grow your business, along with booklet printing or cheap booklet printing. So learn everything there is to know when creating your cards. The basic things can really help you a great deal in providing a marketing tool than can make you and your business succeed.
Learn about the developments in booklet printing or cheap booklet printing that help businesses in their marketing and advertising campaigns.
Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of the developments in online printing that help businesses in their marketing and advertising campaigns.
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How To Increase Your Conversion Rate In Email Marketing
There is a reason behind each human action, and motivation is an important factor that drives people to make a decision. Learning how to tap motivation to affect online decision-making is the goal of email marketing. When a web visitor buys or fills up a form in your email list, you increase your conversion rate. Conversion rate is the percentage of people ending up performing your desired online activity. The ultimate goal of email marketing is to increase the conversion rates of web visitors.
Most companies have only 0.5% conversion rates. The figure is too small considering the total number of visitors a website has. In order to increase the rate to up to 5%, good email marketing is vital.
Most buyers purchase from a credible website. To gain the trust of costumers, practice adding a physical address to your website. Include a contact number where costumers can reach you. Visitors who value their privacy look for your private policy. Including your policies in obtaining their pertinent information and keeping their data confidential will encourage them to give in to your marketing strategies. Transparent terms and conditions about their activities is also a way to attract conversion rates. In other instances, a third party accreditation is important. This outside agency will vouch to the veracity of your products and services.
Merchandise competitiveness is also a way to increase your conversion rate. Clarify the product description; ensure price competitiveness and product relevancy. Research on the in demand products and price match with the top competitor. If it is not possible to deliver the product for free, make sure that the shipping cost is minimal. Costly shipping causes dismay to many customers.
The visitor’s online experience with your web also matters. Use a page analyzer to determine the speed of your website loading. Check the compatibility of your site with multiple browsers used by your visitors. If you are experiencing error pages, fix them immediately. Ensure that you also include a definite call to action, like “add to cart” or “call us now”, to encourage an action from your visitors.
Lastly, analyze your site’s check out process. Make the process simple as possible. Long and complicated check out processes will draw your visitor’s away. Offer other alternative checkout gateways. Some customers prefer to pay using pay pal or Google check out rather than revealing their own credit card number.
Trying these simple yet realistic email-marketing strategies will increase your conversion rates. Giving your web visitors the best deal on your product or services will definitely make all your marketing techniques worthy.
Kenny Loh is a Singaporean Internet Marketer and he specializes in Email Marketing. He can help you to develop a huge email list, drive tremendous amount of traffic and achieve high sales conversion to achieve your financial freedom. Click Here http://www.im2financialfreedom.com to download your free report before you forget. This report reveals A Surefire Strategy to Outrageously Promote Your Business, Build Rock-solid Credibility with New Customers, And Propel Yourself to Fame!
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