Tag Archives | marketing
Create a Facebook Ad

Using Facebook Ads for Added Exposure

By on August 31, 2012 in Affiliate Marketing, Business Success, Internet Marketing, marketing, Sales Skills, Social Media

Things have changed – I’m doing Facebook Ads! I am in the processing of embracing a new marketing strategy that I have to admit, I had never been interested before.  I’d seen all the ad’s down my Facebook page but hadn’t yet considered the concept of Facebook Ads for my own business.  After reading IM Revolution by Matt Lloyd, I knew that I just had to step outside of my comfort zone and embrace this new advertising opportunity.  I believe Facebook advertising is still in its early days and those who master it now, will be leaps and bounds ahead of their competition.

I’ve committed to a very intense mentoring structure and paid some big $ to learn this process and I want to take you along the journey with me so you can too can learn to generate leads into any business.

Why Do Facebook Ads?

Did you know that more than 1/3 of Facebook users earn more than $100k per year?? And 30% earn $60-100k! That means more than 60% of Facebook users earn more than $ 60,000 per year?? So… did you THINK you might want to consider doing some Facebook Ads?

Facebook offers an advertising service that has a price attached to it but could be worthwhile to test in an effort to increase fans to your  Facebook Ads, Facebook page, promote an event, your product or service.

You can create Facebook ads using your own text and images, and you can target who will see your ads based on location, occupation, and a variety of other demographic criteria.  Ads are displayed to users who meet your criteria.

That’s why you will have noticed that all the ads that appear on your page are relevant to your interests, likes, location etc and will be completely different from another user who has different interests, likes and location.

What Do Facebook Ads Cost?

When you create Facebook ads, you determine how high you’d like to bid for space to display your ad.  Facebook uses your ad-targeting criteria and your maximum bid price to serve ads to Facebook users.  You can set up your ad so you either pay whenever someone clicks on your ad (pay per click) or whenever your ad is served (pay per impression.)  You can control your budget, so the risk is limited.  I recommend starting out at $1.00 per bid, and then adjusting this down as you get good results.  To start off with you need to keep your bid price around the $1.00 mark so that you are able to compete against others for the advertising space.  As your Facebook ads start to get show and gets clicks, then Facebook will reward you by still showing your ad, even if you reduce your bid price.

To create Facebook ads, simply click on the Advertising link at the bottom right side of any Facebook page.

Create a Facebook Ad

The Facebook Advertising page opens up.  Next, click on the Create an Ad button near the top right of your screen to open the Advertise on Facebook page when you can enter the text for your an and upload your ad image.  Once your ad is set up, you can set your budget and configure your targeting criteria.  Facebook offers a variety of reports to help you track the performance of your ads, and you can make changes at any time in order to maximize the return on your investment.

My Results With Facebook Ads So Far..

I have been promoting two different products using Facebook Ads.  The first has had 24 new opt-ins that will be lead into a sales funnel for a $997 product.  The second lead capture page has had 22 new opt-ins and will be lead into a $297 product.    Would you like to have had 46 people join your list in the last two weeks?

My Fanpage ‘likes’ has gone from 357 to 680 and my audience reach on this page has skyrocketed from 178 people to 48,874 people.

Facebook ads results

It’s important to track your statistics and I’ll be looking forward to getting an even better conversion rate for my dollar spent, but for the moment I’m happy with my first results.

Would you like to learn to generate your own leads for ANY business?

Would you also like to learn how to do Facebook Ads, as a beginner, learning step by step strategies that not only work but save you A TON of money along the way? I’ve put together everything I’ve learned so far in this video series The Secrets to Success With Facebook Marketing as part of Ellen Britt’s special event (that finishes this Sunday!)

Feel free to share this post with a ‘like’, ‘tweet’ or ‘google+’ so that your friends can start to understand and embrace this new opportunity too!

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David Wood David Sharpe

Instant Blogging System with Empower Network

By on November 14, 2011 in Blog, Business Opportunities, marketing

3 Step Instant Blogging System, Empower Network, Depositing Money Into Your Bank Reviewed:

Empower Network Review

So, what is  Empower Network? Some would say it’s a full blown attraction marketing system. Others might say it’s an MLM. I’ve heard some top marketers call Empower Network a lead generation system, and some just call it a “Super-Sexy” affiliate program.

The question is… what are your goals with Empower Network if you decide to utilize its power to help grow your business? Or, if you decide to, you can simply learn from the system and resell it for 100% of the profits. Let’s do a complete Empower Review and get into the facts, so we can ensure you’re making a really informed decision.

But 1st, Let’s Get The Insider Scoop on Empower Network’s Conception.

David Wood David Sharpe

 

 

Empower Network was officially launched on October 31st, 2011 by  Internet marketing legend David Wood along with his partner David Sharpe. It’s actually quite a funny story. Empower Network’s conception was a combination of an idea David Wood had, to remove all the technical challenges people face in the industry, and what it would be like to if he could remove them. Just the thought of how much technical work would need to be done on the front end to remove all the technicalities on the back end for marketers like you and I. All skepticism aside, David Wood partners with Dave Sharpe and Empower Network is born.

And so the final piece of the puzzle fits into place for the Empower Network.

Compensation Plan Review for Empower Network

You see, David had a vision, and that was to totally eliminate all the technical aspects of marketing your business online, while enabling those who choose to work with his program, that ability to earn…

100% commissions.

Let me say that again…

He does all the work, you keep all the money.

So, what’s in it for him?

Well, David get’s a bigger brand, more exposure and a bigger list of followers. He also gets the opportunity to work his own program on a level playing field. This means that you and I could actually out-earn the founders. Not too shabby if you ask me : )

The best part…

You are literally putting the best marketers online… to work for YOU.

You see, you can get started with Empower Network for only $25, but on the back end, have the opportunity to earn an additional $600. We’ll cover this more on the Compensation Plan page, but essentially, you have David Wood working for you, up-selling your prospects into higher levels of the program. But don’t think this is just some ploy to get people to buy more stuff. YOU keep 100% of the commissions on products that David has previously sold for $2,997.00 and their worth every penny.

The Empower Network Product / System:

So, what do you get when you join Empower Network?

Empower Network Blog System

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A  Complete Website/Blog, just like the one you are reading right now… totally and instantaneously installed and fully functional the moment you join.  What takes up to 3 months to go from scratch to fully functional now takes seconds. Boy, you’ve got to love technology! Even the tech-challenged entrepreneur can now have a personal web site online, completely eliminating that pain and struggles that come along with trying to get your message out on the net… and you can start marketing it, the moment you join.

A                                 Complete                                   Marketing                                                              System:

Empower Network also provides you with capture page systems, sales funnels and a fully functional back office to manage your downline and leads. You see, there’s a couple HUGE issues marketers face online today. I’ll go back to what I stated on the Empower Network Home Page and reiterate:

Empower Network Traffic

 

 

Traffic EN conversion Conversion

Learning the 2 above skill sets can take some time. And most people who stick with it long enough will eventually get at least one of them down pat. However, without both…

I’ll be the first to tell you – you will fail.

Many people will learn how to drive tons of traffic but when that traffic gets to their site or offer, their offer does not convert into sales. Others will earn how to sell very well, but never get the traffic or visitors to sell to.

Empower Network Traffic Matrix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Empower Network, you’re learning from the best in the industry how to drive high quality, targeted traffic to your personal Empower Network Blog (this is the easy part). Once the traffic gets there, you have to convert it (the hard part). Now, imagine letting 7 figure (possibly 8 figure) earners take over for you at this point. You get the people to your blog by following the easy 3 step training in the Empower Network Back Office, and David Wood, and David Sharpe do all the selling (Conversion) for you once your traffic lands on your page. Your prospects click the banner advertising to the right or on the top of the page. These banners lead to capture pages that are coded to you. The empower network capture pages and sales funnels have proven to convert at over 48%. In further testing – My friend Jon Mroz report was seeing 79% conversions personally. Never before have I seen something convert so well.

They do all the selling – you keep all the commissions.

Take it from someone who has dozens of sites online, and has built several systems… they’re not fun, or easy to create. With Empower Network, you have the highest converting website, blog, sales funnel and system literally at your fingertips the moment you get started. Add to that, if you choose to, you can integrate your own autoresponder such as Aweber, or Getresponse right into the capture pages within seconds, and with no technical knowhow, so that you have 100% control over your own leads.

Core Marketing Training complete with easy to follow, entertaining quick start video lessons to test your knowledge on the Empower network. In Addition, you’ll also gain access to the Monday Night “Power Hour” where you’ll learn invaluable marketing skills from the industries top earners.

 

Three Membership Levels:

Empower Network Basic – $25 Monthly

Here, you’ll gain access to the blogging system, capture page systems, sales funnels, back office, tools, Monday night Power hour, and quick start training. You must purchase this to access any of the higher levels, and is valued at nearly $2,488.00. You can pick it up now for less than the cost of filling your petrol tank, or cheap night out to dinner. And by just referring 1 person to the system, you’re membership is free at this level.

Empower Network ‘Inner Circle’ – $100 Monthly

The ‘Inner Circle Membership’ enables you to earn an additional $100 per month, per sale, and provides way more in terms of advanced marketing training from the industries top producers, and earners.  Valued at nearly $3k, you can pick this up for an additional $100 and by just referring 1 person to the ‘Inner Circle’, you’re membership is free at this level as well.

The Costa Rica Mastermind Intensive – 1 Time $500

David Wood originally sold this retreat (not including flights to Costa Rica) for $2,997.00. Here you’ll learn the most cutting edge, advanced marketing strategies in existence today. You get insider access HD footage from the retreat and you will learn everything you need to know to build a 7 figure business. This is NOT for the casual marketer.

Why would you want to join Empower Network at the Costa Rica Mastermind Intensive Level?

For the same reason I did.

If you are serious about building a lasting long term residual income that you can rely on for years to come, this has the potential to get you there.

But don’t let this scare you. If you are not quite about this level of training and development, you need to ask yourself the following:

  • Does it fit with what you are doing now in your business? If so, buy it, just like I did. If not, you can always upgrade later. We just can’t guarantee that you’ll get it for the same discounted price of $500.
  • Do  you want to create massive results and duplication in your team? If yes, then buy it and recommend it to everyone that joins you, just like I am. Lead by example.

Again, if you can only start at the $25. level… I totally understand, because I was there myself and you can always upgrade to any level in the future.

Who Is Joining Empower Network?

When it comes to leadership in the industry, you can’t get much bigger than David Wood. Just his name alone has attracted industry leaders worldwide. Within the first weeks of launch we saw some of the industry’s top marketers jump on board without question on day 1. If  you are not familiar with David Wood, this should tell  you something right there. I expect Empower Network to be a part of any major players arsenal.

Paid $647,974.20 in commissions in first 13 days

Which would be a major highlight about Empower Network in action (:

Instant 100% commissions direct to YOU, paid instantly!!

Are you ready to get YOUR piece of this pie?…

Only 13 days since we went live an the site ranks as the 9,242th most popular web site in America… and climbing! (Alexa Ratings).

Alexa for EN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the details now, Click Here

In my next Empower Network Review blog post, I will cover the pros and cons of The Empower Network.

To Your Success,

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Procrastination

Write Blog Posts Without Getting ‘Writer’s Block’

By on May 23, 2011 in Blog, Branding, marketing

Procrastination

When people come to me as a small business coach, the thing they want most is to get more clients. It makes sense; without a flow of clients you can’t make the money you need for your lifestyle.  One of the tools for business that most folks get in place pretty quickly is their blog. And from that point on your business can sometimes feel like really hard work.

It might sound crazy coming from a room full of high achieving entrepreneurs, but one of the conversations we had over dinner with our Mastermind group recently was that over half of these solopreneurs still found themselves staring at a blank screen when it comes time to write their blog posts!  I bet that makes you feel a bit better doesn’t it now?  Don’t worry – it hits all of us at one stage or another – what I’m talking about is ‘Writer’s Block”.

Why is this one client attraction tool so difficult when there is no doubt about the depth of knowledge you have on your area of expertise? I’m going to recommend some ways to help you create a list as long as your arm. So long that you will never wonder what to write about again!

It’s easy for you as a small business owner to dismiss the power of your blog.  Instead you should understand that you can actually blog your way to the bank. Your blog is a key driver for traffic to your website.  Google loves fresh and relevant content. So by writing several new blog posts each week, you can easily see an improvement in your organic search rankings. You can check this out by tracking your site with www.Alexa.com . Your blog is the ‘hub’ of your small business. In fact, to get more clients and make more money, as my mentor says,  “all roads should lead to your blog”.  By this I mean that any published posts, links, articles etc should all include a link to your blog where you also have the ability to capture visitors’ details.

To help you to attract more readers your blog posts can be informative, inspirational or humourous.  If you include a little of each of these, you will touch all of the different personality types. Places to draw inspiration on what to write about is easier than you think. Here’s three of the best:

  • Listen to your clients!! This is so obvious that most business owners overlook it.  Read the comments your clients leave you on Facebook, read the emails they send in with questions, read carefully what they are saying in any comments they leave on your current blog posts. What questions do you always get asked when you are at networking events?  All of these places offer an opportunity for you to expand or clarify topics in your niche.
  • Check out sites such as www.yahoo.answers.com and industry forums to see what questions are being asked by your target audience and then write a blog post to answer them from your perspective.  Search www.ezinearticles.com for articles in your niche and look for those with the highest searches. This shows that the topic is popular, so you can write your own post about it.
  • Personal experiences provide you with a perfect opportunity to attract clients through your own compelling message. Write about the things that you are passionate about and relate that to your topic and your readers will devour your posts like irresistible hot bread.

After your content is decided, the next thing is to make sure you maximize it for the search engines.

Be sure to include several of your keywords or phrases throughout your blog post. ‘Stacking’ keywords will get you in trouble so be sure the keywords you use are relevant and used in context.

There is ONE more simple strategy I want to tell you about that will boost your organic rankings by effectively using your blog post. Rather than tell you about it, I want to show you an example…..

I want you to scan up through this blog post and notice there are at least four keywords that have been hyperlinked to other blog posts on my site. This is often referred to as internal linking. This strategy encourages readers to click on these hyperlinks and browse further into your site. By readers staying on your site for longer, Google will give you a ‘thumbs up’ for relevancy and this will boost your organic rankings.

Client Building Action Steps:

  • Set aside a regular time that you commit to writing at least 2 blog posts per week
  • Follow the blogs of leaders in your field and contribute to the comments
  • Research using the strategies above to make a list of 30 new blog post titles to have ready to go

You can now easily add your comment below and tell me if you found any of these tips helpful…

 What Did You Think?

Let us know your thoughts on today’s issue.
Post your comments below.

Remember – sharing is caring…

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Social Media – 3 Tips How to Manage Your Time

By on May 9, 2011 in Business Success, marketing

18 months ago, if you had told me I would be attracting new clients to my business from Facebook I would have said you were crazy!  Back then I was not a prolific user of Facebook. In fact, I rarely used it at all. So you can understand how dismayed and annoyed I was when I logged onto Facebook one day and discovered that there in my message box was an invitation from my nephew to his daughters first birthday.  “Who on earth sends an invitation to anyone through Facebook!” I blurted to Murray.  Well, haven’t times changed!

Now, of course, like so many, it’s one of my favourite and most effective ways of staying in touch with family, friends, my clients, business colleagues and people interested in what I do.

I’m now at the point where I can sometimes assume everyone else has a handle on Facebook and the other major social media streams. But as I speak with my clients, it seems that there is still a long way to go in helping everyone to be educated on the benefits and the ease of using Social Media to create credibility, visibility which will attract more clients and grow your business.

I have had months where I can directly attribute over $10 000 of income to Facebook alone. Like it or not, it is here to stay for the time being. Yes, there may be something else around the corner (there always is), but for now it’s important to embrace the fact that there are over half a billion users, and it MUST be seriously and strategically used as a potential way to get more clients to your business.

I read a great book recently “30 Minute Social Media Marketing” by Susan Gunelius.  I want to share some of the steps to getting started ‘right’.

1. Determine Your WHY and be disciplined

What do you want to get out of your social Web participation? Why are you doing it? Are you trying to generate direct sales? Are you trying to offer a form of customer service? Do you want to build relationships with customers and clients and boost loyalty? Which media is the most appropriate for the audience you are trying to target?   Your answers to these questions greatly affect the type of content you publish and the activities you participate in on the social Web.

I’m not sure if you’ve experienced something similar, but many people find themselves running all over the place…. You click on a link that catches your attention, then you find yourself on a new page and something else interests you here and before you know it; several hours have passed!  This is the reason you need discipline. It helps if you schedule a certain amount of time in your day, even set a timer if you need to.  In that limited time you want to check in, do what you need, and then get the heck out.

The time you need to spend will be determined by your focus and goals, but the important thing is to maintain the discipline and not get distracted.

2.  Know your audience:

Where does your target audience spend time online?  It can be overwhelming to try to create a presence on all social media platforms. Determine which is going to be the most effective for your audience and focus on building your presence deep here first.

What kind of content and conversations do the audience members get most vocal about? What kind of information do they want from you?  What do they dislike? Remember, you’re not just publishing marketing messages on the social Web. You need to find out what your audience wants and needs, so you can provide the kind of content they find useful and interesting. However, you also need to be personable, so they actually want to interact with you. Building relationships is one of the most valuable results you can get from effectively using Social Media.

3. Use the Tools Wisely!

I’ve mentioned how important it is to be disciplined and limit your time on social media; so when people see my presence they will often ask “Do you sit on there all day??” – The answer is simply no.  As well as interacting personally regularly throughout the day, I make great use of some tools that will leverage your time in this department.

I really love using Hootsuite but I will share others here with you as well. Hootsuite allows me to manage my personal Facebook profile, my business Fanpage, my Twitter account and my LinkedIn account from one central location. When I say central location, Hootsuite is a web-based application and you do not physically have to login to each individual social media site to “see” what is happening with your account. Hootsuite also has a app for smart phones that you can install on your phone. This allows you to literally manage your social media from anywhere!

Other social media management platforms include TweetDeck, Ping.fm, and a relative newcomer; Social Sprout.

You can never stop listening and learning. For success in social media marketing, you need to be flexible and accept that change is good.

Client Building Action Steps:

  • Identify what you desire from your marketing efforts
  • Use the 80/20 rule – 80% of the time posting non self promotional information and no more than 20% of your time on self promotional activities
  • Create a schedule – allocate specific times of your day to devote to social media marketing – and then stick to it!

Social media should be fun!  If you would still like to learn more about this incredibly simple way to market and grow your business, I’d like to invite you to get a copy of a special FR*EE report I’ve got especially for you. “Learn how to unleash the power of Facebook in your online business.”

Grab your copy:    ==<Click Here>==

 

 

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Work Through The 5 Most Common Objections and You’ll Sign On More Clients

By on April 10, 2011 in marketing, Sales Skills

Objections will always be there!. There is no way around that fact. It doesn’t matter if you have the world’s best service, your product is the best available in your category or industry, regardless of what you do, you can be the best of the best, you will always get objections to deal with.

Why is it people always come up with objections? In most instances, people are simply holding onto limiting beliefs of some kind; thought patterns they have been conditioned with that prevent them from succeeding. You know, those words that you hear in your own head from time to time!  Perhaps it’s fear of overwhelm, worried about being ripped off, fear of success, or perhaps failure. The problem is that these little voices will keep your ideal clients from discovering the very answers to their most pressing needs. These thoughts of self-doubt are like huge boulders on the road to success.

A straight out ‘NO’ would actually be better.  If you are speaking with a prospective client who objects, you are in fact close to a sale.  I know this seems hard to understand at first, but here is the reason why.  If you receive a straight out ‘NO”, then your prospect is completely NOT interested in what you are offering. Actually, they wouldn’t even be spending the time to speak with you, or visit your website.  It would be an obvious waste of time.

If they’re actually coming up with objections or asking you questions, then there’s a part of them that’s interested. So what you have to do is dig deeper into the questions, provide answers and reassurance and you will be well on your way to a new client.  Even more exciting, is that by making the commitment to hire you, the prospect can AT LAST be on their way to a solution that’s most likey been worrying them for a long time.

Objections are actually a great way for a prospective client to recognize the limiting beliefs or self-doubt that halt them in their tracks. It’s actually YOUR responsibility to work with them to break down the objections so that they can get out of their own way and experience success.

Check out the 5 most common objections people have.  Be prepared for when they come up. There will certainly be loads more, but these key ones pop up most often.  You can predictably expect them.

  1. I can’t afford it.
  2. I don’t know that it will work.
  3. My business is different; it won’t work for me.
  4. I can wait; my situation’s not that bad.
  5. I need to think about it.


There’s a high chance you’ve also said these too at a point where someone tried to offer you a product or service.  But think a little longer…..each time you  DID purchase the product or service and then got brilliant results, you kick yourself for not taking the opportunity sooner!

If you are truly driven by the desire to help people solve their problem, your actually being selfish by not helping your prospect to break down their objections so they can begin working with you. You allow them to remain stuck in their problem or alternatively, they move on and work with someone else who doesn’t serve them as well as you.

If you want to make a bigger difference, it’s your most important task. Makes sense?

Your Client Building Action Steps:

  1. Work back through notes you’ve taken during sales conversations and list the objections people have given you in the past. Short list the ones that have come up most often.
  2. Create a short response as to why each objection is not valid or other ways to rise above these objections.
  3. Repeat your responses over and over out load so you sound really confident next time you talk to a prospect with objections. (It’s a good idea to even keep a script near your phone as a prompt.)
  4. Sprinkle your answers to these same objections through your marketing materials.

Do this and I guarantee you will attract more clients and make a lot more this year.

 

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Money in the Bank

Turn On The Money Tap In Your Small Business

By on March 30, 2011 in Business Success, marketing, productivity

Money in the Bank

Turn On The Money Tap

I’m in such a giving mood today so I’ve got something special for you.

It’s one of those days where I just feel good.

You know, the sun is shining, I can hear birds at the windows, I can hear the crashing of the waves from the beach from my front door, and I’m feeling like a child looking forward to holidays.

So this got me thinking of you; and I came up with something special if cash flow is a bit of a problem right now….

I know how amazing it feels when you have a rush of business that puts some cold hard cash in your bank account and I want you to have that feeling too!

Here are 7 ways to get the cash flowing your way.

1: Create an irresistible offer for your top 10% of your clients.

2: Reactive your lost or inactive customers – there is gold here.

3: Go back a few years and find a promotion that worked.

Recycle it.

4: Make a hit list of your ideal prospects. Go after them with an irresistible offer.

5: Actively search for those who have your ideal customers before you and after you. Do a deal.

6: Focus on the money. When you wake, ask yourself:   Where’s the money? On going to bed, do the same.

7: Take massive action. Don’t take a month to do this.

Do one a day. Create urgency in everything you do.

If you do the above 7 steps, there’s no way you are not going to make more money.

So ask your self:

How much do you want this?

How much do you want to bring a flood of cash into your business?

If you’re committed to the process, you’ll be surprised at just how much money you’ll bring in.

Even as heart-based entrepreneurs there is nothing wrong with focusing on the money. It’s just a formal way of calculating how much difference you are making by sharing your gift and expertise with more people.

Leave me you comments and let me know which of these 7 steps you are going to put into action first….

 

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Customer Loyalty: How To Get A Head Start

By on March 21, 2011 in Business Success, marketing, Sales Skills

Had you ever thought getting more clients is much like buying coffee from your favourite café?

One of my favourite things to do in my spare time is go out and enjoy a great cup of coffee while catching up with friends or chilling out with Murray. So it was no surprise the other day when I was at a little coffee shop and I was handed a ‘Loyalty Card’. I grinned as I thought to myself that at least they had some kind of simple marketing strategy in place. I’m sure you’ve all got your purses (or wallets) bulging with these loyalty cards too!

The difference between this card the other day and many others that fill my purse was that although I needed to have 10 stamps in place to get a free coffee, there were already two squares pre-stamped.  Their marketing plan was starting to take effect! The two pre-stamped squares gave me an immediate sense that I was already well on the way to my longer term outcome – the free coffee – I knew I would be back soon!

This is the same concept that you want to embrace with your clients.  While you may not operate with a loyalty or rewards card, the first step people take with you should be something that gives them an immediate sense of achievement.

Your first opportunity to do this is on your website where you should have your AFO (Awesome Free Offer).   Your AFO is what you give you prospects in exchange for their name and email.  It needs to be something that is so valuable that you could sell it as a stand alone product or service. It must give your prospects great results or be of great value.  This commitment from you to invest in your prospects results will repay you in their trust and loyalty.

Beyond your AFO, once you start working with a new client, any first step they take should be one where they can get great results. This will give you leverage to motivate them to continue with you because of what they feel the same as I did with the two pre-stamped squares – “I may as well continue, because I have already come this far/already done this much..…”.

This concept will work no matter what service you are in. I don’t want you to think your business is any different. It doesn’t matter whether you are cleaning your client’s house, washing their windows, creating web design, coaching them to a better life or building their online list.

Heck, this strategy works everywhere! Even as a parent, imagine if you want a child to do their homework each night in return for getting sticker. When they get 10 stickers they get to go to the movies. You’ll most likely find they are extra motivated if you start them off with two stickers even before your program begins.

No matter what your line of service is, your new clients will be more likely to stay loyal to you, stick to programs or tasks if you first offer them something that allows them to make progress right from the start.

If you use this simple marketing strategy, your influence will shine!

 

Design Your Profits Action Plan:

 

Define what the first step is for your clients

Decide how you can use their results to encourage them to continue with you

Conscientiously promote your ‘first step’ results to attract more clients

I’d love you to share with me your comments and thoughts below on some of the customer loyalty ideas you’ve had!

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Blog Traffic

Create A Blog That Others Visit

By on March 8, 2011 in Blog, Business Success, marketing, Uncategorized

Blog Traffic

Create A Blog That Others Visit!

If you’ve ever created a blog before, then you know that the saying, “build it and they will come” just isn’t true. However, you can get more clients interested in visiting your blog by following these five tips…

1. Offer good content.

By “good” content, I mean you should blog about topics that your audience wants to know about. To find out what they want, just follow these steps:

  • Find out what types of information products they’re already buying – then write blog posts on the same topic.
  • Use a keyword tool (like WordTracker) to find out what topics prospects in your niche are looking for.
  • Drop by busy niche forums and other blogs to see which topics are generating the most views and discussion.
  • Survey your readers to find out what they want.

In addition to great content you should use your blog as an opportunity to build relationships with more clients.  Let them see more of the ‘real’ you.

2. Update frequently.

Sometimes  solopreneurs and small business owners start a blog, post a flurry of articles and then abandon the blog for months at a time. If you allow dated posts, then your ideal clients aren’t likely to come back again if they notice that you don’t update regularly.  I’ve noticed myself that I always take note of the dates of the blogs and if there is no new content, I assume the person is not actively servicing their clients or growing their business.

What you need to do is dedicate a set time each week to posting to your blog at least twice a week. If you don’t want to be chained to your blog like this, then create the content ahead of time and automatically “drip” it to your audience using the pre-schedule option  on your website. You can hire a ghostwriter to write articles for you. I do give caution to this option though because it is important that all of your posts are in ‘your’ voice. It will take an excellent writer to be able to sound just like you.  You can hire a Virtual Assistant to help with the actual uploading of the blog posts to your website while you focus on more money making activities.

Point is, you need to post often to keep your blog from looking like a deserted island.

3. Create regular features.

Here’s a great way to turn a one-time visitor into a repeat visitor. Specifically, by creating “regular features” and multi-part blog posts that your visitors can look forward to.

Example: Maybe you create a seven-part article about how to make money with pay per click marketing. And maybe you space it out so that you’re posting one or two articles per week. You can bet that your readers will return at least once a week just to finish reading the series.

Another way to get more visitors is by creating a regular feature, such as a “tip of the week” feature or even a “questions from our readers” feature.

4. Write about hot topics.

One way to get a surge of traffic and increase in your blog is by writing about hot or even controversial topics. You can include relevant keywords and “ping” the blog directories (like technorati.com) to make sure that those who are searching for the hot topic see your post.

Another way to leverage a hot topic is by joining in on the blogosphere conversation. Simply find a popular blog discussing a hot topic, and use a trackback to add your response.

5. Get someone influential to endorse your blog.

Finally, you can get others to visit your blog by first getting someone influential in your niche to endorse you (and your blog). You can do this indirectly, such as by offering to be a guest author on the other person’s blog. Or you can ask your joint venture partners to directly endorse you on their blogs and in their newsletters (and you’ll return the favor).

It’s also a great idea to get a group of like minded friends to agree to all support each others blogs and use the T-L-C method.  That is, Tweet, Like and Comment on each others blogs.  This will make an amazing difference to your Alexa ranking and organic search rankings with Google.

This T-L-C approach is like free advertising. But it’s also extremely powerful, because you’re using social proof to increase your readership.

You just discovered five proven ways to get others to visit your blog – and to visit it again! Your next step is to take action.

Starting today, apply these tips… and then keep an eye on your traffic statistics!

Design Your Profits Action Plan:

  • Commit time to your calendar to produce at least two new blog posts every week.
  • Research topics your target market are already reading and interested in
  • Make up a group of at least three people to regularly T-L-C each other’s blogs

Start right now if you like by giving this blog post some T-L-C.  Tweet and Like are at the top of the post, and the Comment box is here below!

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Client Testimonials

Did you know people are talking about you….?

By on February 28, 2011 in Branding, Business Success, marketing

Client Testimonials

Did you know people are talking about you……?

A big key to getting more clients is to have everyone talking about you.

I’m sure there has been a time in your life when you would not have wanted to be the hot topic of conversation for everyone you met. To hear someone say “Oh, I know all about you…..” would have left you wishing a hole would open up in the floor and swallow you in.  Going back to school days, I was not what you would call a ‘centre of influence” and was more than happy to go about quietly and simply being me, and flying a little under the radar.

That was then…and this is now.  I still go about being ‘me’.  The difference now is that it is music to my ears when people say “Oh, I know all about you!”.

The more people are talking about you, the more your business will grow and grow. Of course I am assuming here that you provide a product or service that is well delivered and gets great results.

Testimonials from past clients are one of the powerful strategies that will increase your credibility.  It is amazing how often I find that small business owners and solepreneurs are afraid to ask for a testimonial from their clients.  You must overcome this fear because it’s an important step in your marketing strategies for getting more clients. Once you reach the point of having many clients who have experienced the brilliant results you can get for them, it’s very easy to find clients who will happily give you a great testimonial.

The biggest problem you might have is the ‘chicken or the egg’ syndrome.  It’s hard for you to get more clients without the testimonials, and yet you can’t get great testimonials until you get some more clients.

Here are some tips to get you off the ground and get great testimonials even if you are just starting up in business.

  • Ask someone that you know well, either personally or professionally, to give a testimonial based on your character, values and knowledge base. This means your prospects can decide if your area of expertise and values align with theirs.  These are often the core reasons why someone will want to work with you.

Let me give you an example.  There was one time when I invested high 5 figures into a mentoring program only to discover    that the core values of the Company didn’t match mine at all.  It was the biggest and most expensive learning curve I have ever had.  But needless to say, values and alignment are the things I check out right at the start when I’m thinking about working with someone either as a client, coach or mentor.

  • Carefully select a couple of ideal clients to experience your service on a scholarship arrangement (you don’t charge them) with the agreement that all you ask in return is for them to provide a testimonial. This is a win-win situation for everyone.
  • Capture comments that get left on your Facebook wall or emails sent to you and use them in your marketing material.  These comments are great because they are completely unrehearsed and truly come from the heart with no ‘staging’ at all.

This form of social proof will be far more valuable to you than the $000’s of dollars you might spend trying to attract new business through paid advertising.  Your testimonials should become a prominent feature on your website, sales pages, You Tube, brochures, flyers, and even on your business cards.   As you implement your strategic marketing plan and this material continues to be circulated, before you know it you will be the hot topic in town!

People will talk about you, so why not capture it and use it to increase your credibility and grow your business?

What should a great testimonial include?

  • What was your clients’ biggest challenge before working with you?
  • How do they see their future now that they have worked with you?
  • What were the three things they most liked about working with you?
  • Do they have any advice for others looking at solving the same problem?

Design Your Profits Action Plan:

  1. Capture some testimonials on video and load them up to You Tube for increased visibility
  2. Save all the emails you get from satisfied clients and use them in your marketing
  3. Check that you have testimonials on every piece of marketing material you have


What Did You Think?

Let us know your thoughts on today’s issue.
Post your comments below.

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Business Cards

Is Your Business Card Anything More Than Dead Wood?

By on February 21, 2011 in Branding, Business Planning, Business Success, marketing

Business Cards

Is Your Business Card Anything More Than Dead Wood?

This week has been a busy week on the networking scene for me so there has been business cards all over the place. Your business card is one of the least expensive forms of advertising you can use and yet it is nothing more than dead wood for many biz owners.

A business card is often one of the first things you rush out and get yourself when you are thinking about getting more customers. This is not a bad thing, it’s just that often, you might not have thought a lot about how to make it into an EFFECTIVE tool that will get you more clients, rather than it being one of the first things that people put into the bin when they clear out their jacket pockets.

Bringing all the elements of a great business card together is something that can be taken for granted.  Just this week, there was someone in my mastermind asking for feedback (great idea) on how to create a great business card.  Then the real eye opener was when I was at a networking function.  Here I am in a room full of esteemed business owners and there was a ‘business card draw’.  You know the kind – all put your cards in and they get drawn out for a variety of yummy prizes. (Unfortunately I didn’t get to be a winner!).  But here are the things I noticed.  Often the organizer had to take several moments and really search around on the card for the persons name or who they represented; and, a majority of the business cards were blank on the back.  This really upsets me!  So much so, that I felt compelled to share with you the key elements of a GREAT business card to you can send yours out there to work FOR your business, rather than being bin fillers.

Are you getting the most out of your cards? Ask yourself:

  • Is my business card easy to read? – When a potential client looks at your card can they find your name and phone number without squinting?
  • If your business name is not self explanatory about what you do, then use a ‘tag line’ or description of the results you can get for your prospects.
  • Does your card include a picture of yourself?  People buy from people they know, like and trust.  By having a picture of yourself of your card means that it is much easier for someone to remember who they were actually talking to instead of giving your business name or business logo the majority valuable space on your card.
  • Can a potential client find your main phone number on the card? Do you really need all those phone numbers? If you get 1 fax a month, dump the fax number off the card. If you don’t have a storefront, consider dropping the street address.
  • Is the information correct? – Don’t cross out and write over on your cards, spend the money and have them reprinted. It makes you look unprofessional.
  • Should I print on the back of the card? ABSOLUTELY!  This is the perfect spot for you to include some ‘pull’ marketing questions like:

“Are you serious about putting more money in the bank?”

“Would you like to take years off your age?”

“How great would it be to find an extra 2 hours in every day?”

Other things to include on the back if space is available:

Testimonials

The back of your card is also a great spot to direct prospects to you FREE offer on your website.

  • Is the text readable? If you vary from a white background make sure the text color is still legible. Black letters on blue backgrounds don’t make for easy to use cards. And don’t use scrolled fonts or italics, both of which can make text difficult to decipher.
  • Avoid scribbling information all over a business card in front of its owner.  This can be seen as a lack of respect.  If you need to write a short note on the card, do it after you have both parted.

Make it your plan to collect more cards than what you give out.  You’ll get much better results by being interested in how you can help others rather than selling yourself and shoving a business card into every hand that is open.  Collecting cards will mean you can be in control of the follow up.

I like to think of business cards as ‘little soldiers’ that are working on your behalf to get your more clients even long after you have given them out.  People can pass them on to others and you have no control over how far they can go. So it only makes sense that they are well designed, accurate and informative.  After all, how exciting is it when the phone rings and someone says “I got given your card by a friend and would like to talk about what you can do”!

Your Client Building Task For The Week:

  • Check every piece of information on your business card to make sure it is accurate
  • Does your card tell people what you do for them or is it all about you?
  • Do you have a ‘call to action’, Eg:  Call NOW to… ,  Go to www…. To collect your…

What Did You Think?

Let us know your thoughts on today’s issue.
Post your comments below.

Remember – sharing is caring…

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