MarketingMoment

Many of my clients and newsletter readers have taken advantage of my ‘heads up’ on the price increase of MediaMinister’s Using Online Marketing to Your Advantage home-study system. Some also wrote in asking for an extension on the ‘old’ price, before I revamp it into the fully ’supped up’ version. You’re still sorting out post-Christmas debt, you said, and would like a little longer.

No problem! I mean we all need the help we can get, especially with the news that we’re not that far out of the recession as we’d been led to believe AND inflation is set to go up — again.

So you’ve got until March to buy the original at the original price before it goes from £50 to £85 for the CD or downloadable transcript and from £60 to £97 for the whole package. If you’ve been meaning to get it, *here’s where you can read more about it, and get yours at the ‘old’ price.*

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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.

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Fellow blogger and marketer Karen Purves has published a fantastic post on 2010 predictions.

You can read it here.

I’d like to add just one (to keep the list short and simple): transparency. Marketing has been moving away from hype to authenticity, and I think being more transparent in business is key. By being as upfront and as genuine as you can be, you’re more likely to attract higher-caliber clients and customers.

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The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, takes a look at ten of the major lessons learned in marketing, and how they can help ANY entrepreneur or business-owner when the calendar turns to the next decade. To read, please sign up first. (You can unsubscribe at any time, and I NEVER abuse my subscriber’s email address. Your details are safe with me.)

There are also TWO reader giveaways to help sort out both your personal and your business life. Oh, it all makes me feel like Mrs Santa Claus right now!

Subscribe here.

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Do you struggle with your marketing? Or perhaps you need to increase the response of your advertising or your website?

Well, take a leaf from Socrates’ book (or clay tablet, as it was centuries ago)…

Socrates was perhaps the greatest master of persuasion. His tactic was to get people to agree with him, or concede their side of the argument, belief, or debate, by getting them to say “yes”. He would do this by asking questions that people would simply have to answer in the affirmative. And he’d do this over and over until they agreed with him!

How does this help you?

By getting your prospects to agree with your statements or questions, then each time they do they are one step closer to becoming a buyer.

Why not try this ‘Socrates Method’ in your advertising and marketing, and see what happens? Oh, and feel free to report any findings here.

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The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, shows you how to get the ‘X factor’ for your business and ensure that YOUR products or services stay in demand. To read, please 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.

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The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, is entitled, “The Most Crucial Business Skill of Them All”. To read, please sign up first.

Subscribe here.

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According to an interview with Kelly Goto, author of Web ReDesign 2.0: Workflow that Works, the three most common website re-design mistakes are:

1. Failing to hire someone specifically to write the content.
2. Not having a clearly defined brand ‘vision’.
3. Having no, or inefficient, specific measurable goals.

It never ceases to amaze me how a company can spend a fortune on flash design, but will bear little regard for the actual content.

The thing is, while a flash intro page is often pretty to look at, the search-engine spiders usually just pass it by. Yet if that page was full of relevant, quality copy, they would no doubt pick up key words and phrases and rank them in the engines.

You really can’t put a high enough monetary value on good writing. And to get that, you have to either have or bring in someone who has the necessary experience and skills. This applies whether you are creating a website from scratch or vamping up an existing one.

One essential tip for creating effective content is to imagine your ideal customer saying, “So what?” and “What’s in it for me?” As you write, be sure to answer both.

Whatever you do, don’t get so engrossed in describing your business, products and features that you fail to appeal to the visitor specifically.

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No matter how much doom and gloom greets us on a daily basis, the fact of the matter is that businesses and consumers are STILL BUYING. But what if you don’t have a steady flow of potential buyers in the first place?

The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, can help turn any solopreneur practice or small business into a systematic lead-generating workhorse.

To read the full article and gain *hidden links* to recent CfS newsletter editions, you’ll have to become a subscriber. (That’s a good thing, by the way, or so CfS readers tell me!) As well as being FREE, you’ll receive a business-building report and audio CD that can dramatically improve sales simply for signing up and trying it out.

Subscribe here.

Recent CfS newsletter issues cover:

Subscribe here.

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I’m often asked if my blog works on a business level, and whether it’s “worth it” in the short and long term.

I say yes! For me, keeping a blog works on several different levels. As well as being good for business (some clients have found me via my blog), it helps to keep up the traffic on my main website . There’s also the all-important creative element – as a writer, it’s important to find some creativity in everyday writings. Well, you could sometimes call my writing more of a rambling, but I do try.

With MarketingMoment, my aim is to combine revealing the core of who I am with good, solid content that is useful for those times when one thinks, “Help! I need new business – and fast!”

To make it worthwhile, I’d say you really need to be posting to your blog at least once per week. Ideally more. (I initially aimed for 2-4 posts per week, but soon found that running two businesses and wearing all hats for each meant that I had to settle for a more realistic 1-3 posts per week.) And for ideas for your blog, keep in mind your target market at all times.

Remember: there is no business with customers. And a blog helps you attract and keep in touch with current and potential customers.

What about you? Do you have a blog? If so, why, and how is it for you?

Possibly related posts:

• Does More Equal Less?
• Blogging IS Big Business
• English Corner: Which Is It?

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