MarketingMoment

Picture by ‘irum” via stock.xchng

If you read copy written by someone other than a copywriter, chances are it will scream Features! Features! Features! OK, features are a very good thing indeed and, yes, readers do need to know about them. But not all of them. And NOT right up front.

Instead, you need to do what every good copywriter 
MUST do in order to educate or make the sale: turn features into benefits, and put those benefits at the beginning of your copy.

These benefits must be tied into your readers’ desires, needs and wants. So, when you solve your readers’ problems, they’ll go looking for the features — meaning they WILL bother to read the rest of your marketing message.

================================
Add my RSS feed to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.
================================

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

Picture by Clix via stock.xchng

According to internet marketing master Marlon Sanders, the top six ways to drive traffic to your websites are:

1. Getting affiliates to promote your products to their lists.
2. Article marketing — see http://bit.ly/9eMN3j and http://bit.ly/9KpIfn for more information.
3. Buying ads in other people’s ezines.
4. Search engine optimisation (SEO) — to generate more organic traffic.
5. Google Ad Words — and other pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
6. Banner advertising — once dismissed, now making a comeback.

Here are a few others you might want to try: joint ventures (JVs) … co-registration … social media/networking … PR … postcard marketing … blogging.

Source: Bob Bly email, 1/7/09

================================
Add my RSS feed to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.
================================

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

Picture by ’svilen001′ via stock.xchng

I received the following question recently, which sums up a lot of the queries I receive from both clients and prospects alike:

”I’m having trouble attracting people to my website, more specifically opt-in members for my list. Can you help?“

I’d like to share a recent post I wrote in response, but will add another tip in the wake of the social-media craze…

>>>

Answer: There are a myriad ways of achieving your goals. Here are a some to get you going:

1.  Make sure your website is targeted for your ideal customer, using language and ‘triggers’ that will appeal accordingly.
2. Optimise your web pages, especially your home page, using SEO (search engine optimisation) techniques to drive more search engines to your site, and help your visibility among the search results.
3. Start a blog, and link back to your website. Search engines love fresh content, and writing regular blog posts is an excellent way of keeping them happy.
4. Make sure your newsletter sign-up box appears not only on your web pages, but also your blog.
5. Make it worthwhile subscribing to your ezine –– just because it’s free is no longer a valid reason.
6. Write articles and submit them to online article directories. Make sure your ‘author bio’ or resource box features a live hyperlink to your newsletter, and offer a gift to subscribe.
7. Use Google Adwords to get qualified traffic. Make sure the landing page is suitably targeted.

Hopefully, this little lot should be enough to get you started and keep you busy for a while! Good luck, and let us know how you get on…

<<<

Another relatively quick and easy way to grow your database is to make full use of social media. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn seem to be the top three social networks. But if you don’t know where to start or are unsure whether social media is ‘right’ for your business, then you need to read one of the most popular feature articles ever seen in my newsletter, Communiqué for Success. You’ll need to sign up first. (You can unsubscribe at any time, and I NEVER abuse my subscriber’s email address. Your details are safe with me.)

Subscribe here: http://twitpwr.com/44Q/

================================
Add my RSS feed to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.
================================

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

One of the most common complaints I hear from solopreneurs (self-employed professionals) is that they don’t have time to market their business, to which I relpy, “Then you need to make time!”

Of course, the easiest and most obvious solution would be to hire outside help. A marketing professional can help you on an ad-hoc or a permanent basis, and so ease the pressure of ‘finding’ time to carry out this important business function.

However, when budgets don’t allow for outsourcing, then your  primary concern should ALWAYS be to make sure you never stop marketing . . .  whether you’re a service provider with too much work, or a retailer experiencing a boom in orders.

It doesn’t matter how good (or bad) business is, you absolutely MUST make time to promote and market your products and services.

The worst position to be in is when you don’t have any clients, or projects or sales because you didn’t make time for marketing or, worse, didn’t think marketing was necessary. It IS. And no one is too busy to not market.

Look, regardless of where we are in our lives or business, we always make time to schedule doctor appointments and the like. Perhaps you have a system on your computer that helps you keep track of these and other details. All I’m saying is that in order to run a successful business you need to add marketing activities.

Don’t know where to start?

Start right now – TODAY!

Block out a few hours, minutes even (at least 20, though) in your daily schedule to complete one or more marketing tasks. And while you’re at it, why not put together a marketing plan – a mini one will do? Come spring time, you’ll be far ahead of where you thought you’d be.<

Remember, success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. A daily marketing system is your roadmap to success. So make time for it!

***Need to be accountable to someone, or need help with your marketing goals? My mentoring programme can help you start off – and keep – on the right track.

================================
Add my RSS feed to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.
================================

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

There you are sitting at your desk sneaking in a quick game of WordTwist on FaceBook / cleaning your keyboard for the 15th time today / reading blogs, Tweets, websites, anything but tend to the actual task in hand. You know you SHOULD be writing content for your first email newsletter. But somehow you just can’t get motivated. That blank screen beckons. Another game? Help!

Don’t panic!

There are a number of ways – ranging from the ridiculously easy and quick solutions, to the more involved.

One of the first options is to start with what you have to hand.

Have you kept any interesting emails – either from customers, quizzes, quotes, competitions or even junk mail? How about questions from clients, prospects, colleagues, friends, etc?

Think about what came through the door today – is there anything you can share with your readers? What about industry news, statistics or trends? Perhaps you have new products or services to offer. You can write about those. How about a ‘subscriber only’ special? An interview with your marketing director or an industry leader?

All these nuggets – and more like them – will form great fodder for your newsletter. They could take the form of articles, news, events, competitions, ads, interviews, tips, and so on. I’ve written pieces on how social media impacts on business, the secret to turning a postage stamp into a stampede of customers, the significance of proofreading a business document, how to write good headlines and so on.

Excerpt from ’Newsletters that Build Customer Relations AND Fill Your Inbox with Orders‘ – my step-by-step  MasterClass home-study system shows you just how easy-peasy it can be to create or polish a so-so newsletter that reflects your business in the best light. Chock-full with useful tools and specific examples on how to set-up, write and send out your business-building newsletter, it really does remove the pain from newsletter publishing. Get the full scoop here.  

================================
Add my RSS feed to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.
================================

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

[Brighton, UK, 3 June 2010] ––– MediaMinister.co.uk today launched a new service aimed at small business-owners, business executives, entrepreneurs and independent service professionals who recognise the commercial traction of social media but have neither the time, skills nor inclination to exploit it for themselves.

“Social-media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook can really put a business in the spotlight … WHEN leveraged properly,” says Tracey Dooley, owner of the boutique-style communications site MediaMinister.co.uk. “The problem for most business owners and solopreneurs is having the time or the know-how to make it work for them. That is where I come in.

“My ‘ready-made’ social-media marketing packages take the hassle and mystery out of social media and can put a business or brand firmly on the online map.”

Essentially, Tracey becomes your virtual marketing director and ghost-writer in one, learning everything she can about you or your company and, as your ‘brand ambassador’, spending her time on social networks on your behalf. It’s about helping people improve their online business visibility or simply get more out of it…

“Social media can enhance a company’s image and create favourable relationships with its target market and potential joint-venture partners. My goal is to help people create a social-media presence that is painless, engaging and defines their position within their field. Once I’m briefed, clients can simply relax and trust me to do a professional job on their behalf.”

For more information or to buy a social-media marketing package, visit:
http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/socialmedia.htm

About MediaMinister
MediaMinister specialises in providing copywriting, editorial, marketing and creative-management services to clients worldwide. Services include: writing (journalism, creative and business), marketing, editing, proofreading and consulting. For more information or to set up a free communications evaluation, visit: www.mediaminister.co.uk

About Tracey Dooley
Tracey, a Brighton & Hove-based copywriter, marketing strategist, and editorial and creative consultant, has more than 15 years’ experience providing communications and public relations counsel to local and worldwide clients. She also helps entrepreneurs, authors, publishers and FTSE 100/250 companies boost response rates and attract new customers.

================================
Add my RSS feed to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.
================================

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

The Best Service is No Service: How to Liberate Your Customers from Customer Service, Keep Them Happy, and Control Costs, by Bill Price and David Jaffe has been described as “probably the single best ‘how to’ book on earning customer trust” — and we all know what I think about that topic. Essentially, if you are in business and want to stay in business, ahead of the competition, then good customer service is crucial.

The authors begin by citing a gap between unparalleled innovation and customer service among companies. The latter has been left behind, they say. Which is not just a pity, but also almost a sin in today’s ‘the customer is king’ landscape. Not least because, as everyone should know by now, people won’t buy from you if they don’t trust you or have confidence in you. Both are dependent on providing a good customer experience.

Together, Price and Jaffe take you through theory, tips, checklists and case studies (including what NOT to do as well as what to do right) on how to empower your customers and serve them well.

Why The Best Service is No Service? Because the message is that businesses will be most successful if they only provide customer service that is essential to doing business. Too much is, say the authors, not a wise tactic and neither is too little. Just ensure that people find it as easy as possible to buy from you. In other words, don’t give them any excuses NOT to buy from you.

================================
Add my RSS feed to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.
================================

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

Do you have an in-house newsletter/ezine that goes out to your marketing or writing staff?

Perhaps you belong to a professional organisation that is actively looking for fresh newsletter articles. Ones that are relevant and useful for your members…

Then again you might publish a great website, blog or Facebook page and need more quality content…

I have written many articles and ‘filler pieces’ on a variety of business, marketing and writing-related topics – and they are now available at no charge for inclusion in your newsletter, ezine, website’s article archive, or blog.

You can access some of these articles (be sure to read the usage rules) at: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=T_Dooley

Otherwise, feel free to browse through the rest of this blog, or sign up to my newsletter here. 

================================
Add my RSS feed to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.
================================

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

Just made my first ever video. It’s called “The BIG Question…” and you can watch it: http://bit.ly/do6wUg

Or here on this blog:

Would love to know what you think. (Be gentle!) 

================================
Add my RSS feed to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.
================================

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

I recently advised one of my marketing clients to offer his prospective customers a free white paper. This is because although he has a great product, it is fairly complex and its use (extremely widespread, as it happens) seems at first fairly limited.

The argument for the white paper was that it would a) provide helpful information about the product and its many uses, b) show how it can overcome a problem shared by my client’s prospects, and c) serve as a ‘bait piece’.

At first he objected. Quite vehemently, it has to be said. The reason? “People have had enough of ‘free’. Besides, they already have too much to read. So they won’t even look at my white paper.”

I can understand where he was coming from. A study by the Columbia Business School concluded that, even in an age of information overload, educational marketing still work. And very well, too.

The study, which focused on politics, found that getting a lot of information out to the public, especially in the arly stages of a campaign when many voters are ambivalent, is an effective campaign strategy.

Quantity is more important than quality, the study found, because ambivalent individuals are open to persuasion from a variety of sources, and accept messages regardless of the source’s perceived reliability.

This can easily be applied to the business arena. Which my client now happily appreciates.

Source: Columbia Ideas at Work

================================
Add my RSS feed to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.
================================

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.