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	<title>MarketingMoment</title>
	<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk</link>
	<description>For When You Need New Business –– And Fast!</description>
	<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:08:30 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>Avoid These Critical Newsletter Mistakes &#038; Watch Your Sales Soar</title>
		<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2012/01/26/avoid-these-critical-newsletter-mistakes-watch-your-sales-soar/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2012/01/26/avoid-these-critical-newsletter-mistakes-watch-your-sales-soar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:26:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TraceyDooley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Sales &amp; Selling]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
&#160;
Do you ever feel just a little bit jealous  of the &#8216;big names&#8217; such as Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield and Michael Port, all of whom are enjoying &#8216;the rich life&#8217; thanks to all those passive income streams?

What&#8217;s their secret? Well, they all know  their target markets inside out . . . and they [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/n/nk/nkzs/1217806_waste-basket____1.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 10px" align="right" height="155" width="240" /></p>
<p align="right">&nbsp;</p>
<p align="left"><span style="color: black" lang="EN-US">Do you ever feel just a little bit jealous  of the &#8216;big names&#8217; such as <strong>Tony Robbins</strong></span><span style="color: black" lang="EN-US">, Jack Canfield and Michael Port, all of whom are enjoying &#8216;the rich life&#8217; thanks to all those passive income streams?</span></p>
<p align="left"><span style="color: black" lang="EN-US"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black" lang="EN-US"><font color="#000000">What&#8217;s their secret? Well, they all know  their target markets inside out . . . and they all put a huge amount of effort  into building and maintaining strong relationships with their audience.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black" lang="EN-US"><font color="#000000">That&#8217;s what a publishing an effective  e-newsletter is all about&#8230;  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">Most  people agree that producing an email newsletter has been <strong>the single best  thing they have ever done for their business</strong></font></span><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">. One of my clients saw her sales increase by more  than 350% when she started to publish an email newsletter — aka ezine — and  many others have reaped similar rewards.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">But  that doesn&#8217;t mean all newsletters work, of course. In fact, many simply don&#8217;t  deliver . . .<span>  </span>and never will.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">After  rewriting and critiquing a wide variety of customer, business-to-business and  employee newsletters, here are the top five common mistakes that I have come  across over the years, and more importantly, how to correct those problems.</font></span><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><strong><span>1. N</span></strong><span><strong>ot setting — and sticking to — a  schedule.</strong></span><span> A lot of  newsletters fall through the cracks because people underestimate just how much  effort and time can go into producing them. So the promised weekly newsletter  becomes a monthly. Then its delivery gets later and later. Soon, it suddenly  stops, only to be sent another after an unannounced four-month hiatus.  </span></font></p>
<p><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">Ad-hoc  newsletter marketing simply does not work. <strong>You will lose credibility with  your readers if you</strong></font></span><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000"> don&#8217;t stick to your schedule. Most will lose interest in you  altogether.</font></span></p>
<p><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">Needless to say, it&#8217;s imperative that  you keep your commitment to your subscribers. Furthermore, for any ezine  to succeed — that is, if it is to generate leads and ultimately sales  — you have to make it a priority. That includes publishing it on time,  all the time.</font></span></p>
<p><span style="color: black" lang="EN-US"><font color="#000000">  </font></span></p>
<p class="Default"><span lang="EN-US"><font color="#000000"><strong>BIG  TIP:</strong></font></span><span lang="EN-US"><font color="#000000"> There&#8217;s no  point scheduling a weekly ezine if you don&#8217;t have the resources to meet do so,  or if pulling out all the stops means you&#8217;re going to produce a weak or  ineffective newsletter. I&#8217;d suggest working out how long it takes you to write  a couple of issues before you commit to a dedicated schedule.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><font color="#000000"><strong>2. Forgetting  your readers.</strong></font></span><span><font color="#000000"> I&#8217;ve seen  heaps of e-newsletters that are little more than one big pitch fest, or that  keep boring readers with &#8216;we platitudes&#8217; (&#8221;We offer unique, innovative  solutions&#8230;&#8221; or &#8220;We have the biggest range of&#8230;&#8221; and so on) or &#8216;pseudo-news&#8217;  about the new member of the accounting team or the latest office day out. This  is the kind of egocentric prattle we tune out from during face-to-face  conversations. So you can imagine how busy the &#8216;delete&#8217; key is going to be if  you carry on sending out such dribble in your ezines.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><font color="#000000">The stark truth is  that your readers are not really interested in you. Sure, they won&#8217;t mind  hearing some of your news, but they certainly don&#8217;t want to be ignored.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><font color="#000000"><strong>Everything in  your newsletter must answer the questions</strong></font></span><span><font color="#000000">: &#8220;How is this relevant to my readers?&#8221; and &#8220;Why will this  benefit them?&#8221;. Show readers that you DO care about them and that you have  their best interests at heart by providing <em>useful or interesting targeted  content</em></font></span><span><font color="#000000">. Content that they  actually want to read.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><strong><span style="color: black">3.</span></strong><strong><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal"> </span></strong><span style="color: black"><strong>No compelling reason or  incentive to sign up</strong></span><span style="color: black">. When I first started producing newsletters, it was possible to  simply put a &#8220;Sign up to my ezine&#8221; box on a website or post a message in a  forum and have 100 people sign up.  </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">Unfortunately,  that stopped working a few years ago.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">Today,  you have to work harder at getting people interested in what you have to offer.  One idea to try is dedicating an entire web page to actively encourage people  to give you their email address in exchange for some form of incentive. <strong>Don&#8217;t  forget to tell people WHY they should sign up and HOW they will benefit.  </strong></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000"><strong>4.  Ignoring the first rule of all marketing:</strong></font></span><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000"> Keep it simple. Too much waffle, too many  sections, too much advertising, too much complicated content, too many changes  from issue to issue&#8230; these are deadly sins in the world of ezine publishing.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">Some  of the best ezines I&#8217;ve come across are nothing more than singe-topic articles,  around 700-1,000 words in length.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><font color="#000000">I recommend you  start off with 90% valuable content (practical tips, useful resources,  interesting stories) and include just 10% promotional material — where you  toot your own horn — and work up to 25% sales copy, no more.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000"><strong>5.  Ineffective subject lines.</strong></font></span><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000"> In order to get read in the first place, the words you&#8217;ve chosen  for your subject line have to get past the spam filters. So be careful not to  use too many words and symbols that are likely to be caught (including too many  exclamation marks and words such as &#8220;special&#8221;).  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black"><font color="#000000">Once  it has passed the spam test and arrived in the recipient&#8217;s inbox, the job of  your subject line is to get your reader to open your ezine. I</font></span><span><font color="#000000">ncorporate a specific benefit that will  pique your subscribers&#8217; interest and motivate them to read the issue. <strong>Be as  provocative as you can</strong></font></span><span><font color="#000000">.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><font color="#000000">For example, one  of my recent subject lines was &#8220;How The X Factor Can Help Your Business&#8221; — it  proved to be one of the top subject lines I&#8217;ve ever used, garnering an  impressive 72% open rate.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><font color="#000000">That&#8217;s not to say  you can go wild with the subject line, making up fantastical offers if they  don&#8217;t exist! It must accurately reflect the theme of or what&#8217;s inside the  issue.  </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><strong><span lang="EN-US">Put these tips to use in your next newsletter and  you&#8217;ll have one that is friendly, non-intrusive, thought provoking,  informative, capable of building a sustained relationship with your readers  and, above all, leads to more business.</span></strong><span>  </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><em>Adapted from </em><span style="color: black; font-style: normal">&#8220;Newsletters that Build Customer Relations AND Fill Your Inbox  with Orders&#8221; — <a href="http://bit.ly/6NYZGT" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/6NYZGT</a></span><em>  </em></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px"><font color="#74c0fa"><em>By Tracey Dooley, </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>Copywriter </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>| </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>Creative Consultant</em></font></span></p>
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333">================================</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333"></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p>
<p><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#999999" face="Arial" size="2"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; font-size: medium"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><em>Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/contact.htm" target="new" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none">Just let me know</a>. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.</em></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></span></font></p>
<p><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#999999" face="Arial" size="2"> </font></p>
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		<title>New Beginnings&#8230; and the Top 10 Marketing Insights for Business (PART 2 OF 2)</title>
		<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2012/01/05/new-beginnings-and-the-top-10-marketing-insights-for-business-part-2-of-2/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2012/01/05/new-beginnings-and-the-top-10-marketing-insights-for-business-part-2-of-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:32:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TraceyDooley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Sales &amp; Selling]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Website marketing]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Web Copy &amp; Web Content]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[PR &amp; Media Relations]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Promotion]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Online Advertising]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Copywriting]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Creativity]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Get Clients Now]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Advertising]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2012/01/05/new-beginnings-and-the-top-10-marketing-insights-for-business-part-2-of-2/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Picture by &#8216;pedjami&#8217; via stock.xchng 
As this is my first post of 2012, I have to officially say … HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that this year proves to be the happiest and most successful year yet&#8230;
With a new year ahead of us, now is the perfect time to re-evaluate your business and mark out areas for [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/p/pe/pedjami/1360573_2012_gold.jpg" width="236" height="150" align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-right: 5px" /></p>
<p align="left"><font size="1" color="#c0c0c0">Picture by &#8216;pedjami&#8217; via stock.xchng </font></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 13px" class="Apple-style-span">As this is my first post of 2012, I have to officially say … <strong>HAPPY NEW YEAR! </strong>I hope that this year proves to be the happiest and most successful year yet&#8230;</span></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1.05em">With a <strong>new year ahead of us</strong>, now is the perfect time to re-evaluate your business and mark out areas for improvement. In terms of your advertising and marketing copy, that could mean giving it a boost with a re-vamp. Sometimes, the smallest changes can yield the biggest results.</p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 1.05em">As for other areas, this week&#8217;s article may help. It&#8217;s the second part of an old favourite and you can find it <a href="http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2010/12/17/2010-the-top-10-marketing-insights-for-business-part-2-of-2/" title="Top Marketing Insights for Business -- part two" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span">I hope you enjoy reading it, and please do post any questions in the comments box below … or, indeed, any other insights that may help other readers. Thank you.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 1.4em; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px" class="entry"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif" size="3"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px" class="Apple-style-span">================================</span><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif" size="3"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span"><br />
Add my <a href="http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/feed/" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none" target="_blank">RSS feed</a> to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span">================================</span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span"></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 16px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; font-size: medium" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif" size="3"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><em>Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/contact.htm" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none" target="new">Just let me know</a>. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.</em></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></span></p>
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		<title>Top 10 Marketing Insights for Business (PART 1 OF 2)</title>
		<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/12/19/top-10-marketing-insights-for-business-part-1-of-2/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/12/19/top-10-marketing-insights-for-business-part-1-of-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:17:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TraceyDooley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Website marketing]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Publicity]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Sales &amp; Selling]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Online Advertising]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Advertising]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Get Clients Now]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
&#160;
For this week&#8217;s main article, I want to turn back the clock to a feature I originally wrote for MediaMinister’s newsletter, Communiqué for Success. Although a few years have passed since, it is still as relevant now as it was then.
The two-part article takes a look at ten of the major lessons learned in marketing, and how they can help [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/r/ra/raichinger/848055_in_meditation.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 10px" align="right" height="172" width="114" /></p>
<p align="left">&nbsp;</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px">For this week&#8217;s main article, I want to turn back the clock to a feature I originally </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px">wrote </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px">for MediaMinister’s newsletter, <em>Communiqué for Success.</em> Although a few years have passed since, it is still </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px">as relevant now as it was then.</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal">The two-part article 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 year.</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal">You can <a href="http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2010/12/10/2010-the-top-10-marketing-insights-for-business-part-1-of-2/" target="_blank" title="Top 10 Marketing Insights -- part 1">read part one here</a>. </span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal">I hope you enjoy reading it, and please do post any questions in the comments box below &#8230; or, indeed, any other insights that may help other readers. Thank you.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 1.4em" class="entry"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px" class="Apple-style-span">================================</span><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span"><br />
Add my <a href="http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/feed/" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none" target="_blank">RSS feed</a> to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span">================================</span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span"></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 16px"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; font-size: medium" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><em>Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/contact.htm" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none" target="new">Just let me know</a>. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.</em></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></span></p>
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		<title>’Tis The Season To Be Thankful…</title>
		<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/12/06/%e2%80%99tis-the-season-to-be-thankful%e2%80%a6/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/12/06/%e2%80%99tis-the-season-to-be-thankful%e2%80%a6/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:18:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TraceyDooley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Promotion]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Creativity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/12/06/%e2%80%99tis-the-season-to-be-thankful%e2%80%a6/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
&#160;
 Picture by &#8216;woodleywonderworks&#8217; via flickr 
The run-up to the holiday season is a perfect time to say thank you to your business prospects, current and past customers, suppliers and associates for their custom and support.
Seeing as though we all liked to be appreciated (I do!), why not send an email, a letter, an online [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4079/4759535950_7bca6684c8_m.jpg" alt="Thank you" width="260" height="200" align="left" style="margin-bottom: 7px; margin-right: 10px" /><span></span></p>
<p align="left">&nbsp;</p>
<p><font size="1" color="#c0c0c0"> </font><font size="1" color="#c0c0c0">Picture by &#8216;woodleywonderworks&#8217; via flickr </font></p>
<p>The run-up to the holiday season is a perfect time to say thank you to your business prospects, current and past customers, suppliers and associates for their custom and support.</p>
<p>Seeing as though we all liked to be appreciated (I do!), why not send an email, a letter, an online or offline greeting card and acknowledge the people that have made a difference in your life and business?</p>
<p>If you’re feeling particularly flush and want to jump straight into that ‘giving’ mode, up the ante and send a ‘thank you’ note along with a gift.</p>
<p><strong>And, while it may seem a little early, I&#8217;d still like to &#8217;say&#8217; a big thanks to all my clients, blog readers, Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections and Twitter followers –</strong> I really do appreciate your support.</p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span">(C) 2011 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 1.4em" class="entry"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 1.4em" class="entry"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif" size="3"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px" class="Apple-style-span">================================</span><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif" size="3"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span"><br />
Add my <a href="http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/feed/" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none" target="_blank">RSS feed</a> to your reader now so you never have to miss a post.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span">================================</span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span"></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; font-size: medium" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif" size="3"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><em>Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/contact.htm" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none" target="new">Just let me know</a>. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.</em></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></span></p>
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		<title>Socks Are Boring: Give A Flexi Voucher, Instead!</title>
		<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/12/03/socks-are-boring-give-a-flexi-voucher-instead/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/12/03/socks-are-boring-give-a-flexi-voucher-instead/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:27:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TraceyDooley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Creativity]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
The holidays are nigh upon us. Have you done your Christmas shopping yet (smug? Moi? Actually, I haven’t managed to get it all done. Still a few bits and pieces to get yet. Heyelp!)? If not, for last-minute gifts for people anywhere in the world you can’t beat ‘flexi’ vouchers. Click here to read more: http://tinyurl.com/y2cfce. 

================================
Add [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/p/pi/pirshulet/1091085_gift_tags_1.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 11px" align="right" height="190" width="180" /></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px">The holidays are nigh upon us. Have you done your Christmas shopping yet (smug? Moi? Actually, I haven’t managed to get it all done. Still a few bits and pieces to get yet. Heyelp!)? If not, for last-minute gifts for people anywhere in the world you can’t beat ‘flexi’ vouchers. Click here to read more: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/y2cfce" target="_blank" style="color: #675437; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: #f2ebe1">http://tinyurl.com/y2cfce</a>. </span></p>
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<p style="line-height: 16px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; font-size: medium"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><em>Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/contact.htm" target="new" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none">Just let me know</a>. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.</em></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal"></span></p>
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		<title>How &#8220;The X Factor&#8221; Can Help Your Business</title>
		<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/11/21/how-the-x-factor-can-help-your-business/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/11/21/how-the-x-factor-can-help-your-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:37:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TraceyDooley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Publicity]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Website marketing]]></category>

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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2010/11/08/how-the-x-factor-can-help-your-business/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Picture via stock.xchng 
You  own a business. You want it to succeed (hopefully!). Your competitors  (and there are plenty of them, mark my word) are constantly fighting for a share of the  same market niche. And it&#8217;s getting tougher out there . . . So how do you ensure that YOUR products [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/t/tr/trohaa/784394_cut_out_people.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 7px; margin-right: 5px" align="left" height="200" width="186" /></p>
<p align="left"><font color="#c0c0c0" size="1">Picture via stock.xchng </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><em>You  own a business. You want it to succeed (hopefully!). Your competitors  (and there are plenty of them, mark my word) are constantly fighting for a share of the  same market niche. And it&#8217;s getting tougher out there . . . So how do you ensure that YOUR products or  services stay in the limelight? </em></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><em>The following article is one that I first wrote several years ago, but is as  relevant now as it was then. It shows you how to get the &#8216;X factor&#8217;  for your business. Something that&#8217;s increasingly important in an increasingly tough business landscape. I hope you enjoy <font color="#000000">- </font>and benefit from <font color="#000000">- </font>  reading it. </em></font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#000000">* * * * * * * * * *</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">This weekend I  couldn&#8217;t help but turn on the TV set just in time to watch the inaugural  episode of the latest series of <em>The X Factor </em>(I know, I know, but I am sure  there is a hidden alto in me!). When one crushed hopeful stood on the stage and  listened to what Simon Cowell had to say about his performance, I, well cringed  more than usual.</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">This   heartbroken contestant had just been told to jack it in. He&#8217;d tried out   on another popular signing contest about six years prior, where he&#8217;d  met then-fellow contestant and and most recent The X Factor judge Cheryl Cole. He didn&#8217;t make it then, either.</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">She,   on the other hand, went on to join one of the world&#8217;s most successful  girl band ever, Girls Aloud. And now this unfortunate chap was told that   while he can sing OK, he simply does not have the &#8216;X factor&#8217;.</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">So what is that elusive &#8216;X factor&#8217; and how it can help you attract more clients (and sales) to your business?</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000" size="3"><span>A Starring Role For Business?</span></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">On   the hit TV show, it refers to a rare something extra that can&#8217;t be  manufactured or bought. It&#8217;s that elusive, likeability &#8217;star&#8217; quality  possessed by only a few . . . something that draws us to them . . . and  takes them to the very top of their careers.</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">How does this apply to business (and, more importantly, YOUR business)?<br />
</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">Well,   most of us have heard about the mysterious &#8216;X factor&#8217; that will take  our businesses to the next level. We all have one, whether we know it or   not. There is something unique about each and every one of us, and each   and every business. </font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><strong>You just have to discover what it is. </strong></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">And   there&#8217;s the rub. Most marketing managers and business owners do not  know what it is about their business that makes it stand apart. They  never find that elusive &#8216;X factor&#8217;.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"><span><br />
</span></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000" size="3"><span>Who Cares?</span></font></font><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000" size="3"><span></span></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">When   I asked one of my mentoring clients, a life coach, why her business was   different to the plethora of other life-coaching organisations, she  replied: &#8220;I care. That&#8217;s what makes me special.&#8221; </font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">Clearly,   she&#8217;s very passionate about what she does, but like I said: &#8220;All life  coaches care about their clients. That&#8217;s the very nature of what they&#8217;re   about.&#8221;</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">&#8220;No, but you don&#8217;t understand, I REALLY care about my clients!&#8221; she retorted. </font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">In   the end, we worked out her USP (unique selling proposition) and she  went on to attract not only more clients, but also more of the type of  clients she prefers to work with.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"><span></span></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><span>Stand Apart From the Competition</span></font></font><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000" size="3"><span></span></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><strong>Also  known as the &#8216;point of difference&#8217;</strong>, the USP was coined by Rosser Reeves in the 1950s and later made  popular by marketing genius Jay Abraham. It points to what it is about what  your business, product or service that makes you stand out from your  competitors.</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">Like it or not, every business has competition. So it  goes without saying that it is incredibly important to your bottom line to be  able to stand head  and shoulders above them and offer your clients something that they don&#8217;t.</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">Everyone can &#8216;cold-brew&#8217;  beer. But the first company to offer &#8216;ice&#8217; brews stood out - and made a small  fortune, to boot.</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000" size="3"><span>What They Really, Really Want</span></font></font><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000" size="3"><span></span></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><strong><font color="#000000">What about you? Why should people choose YOU over  your competitors? Worse, what if there really is nothing that differentiates  you from everyone else &#8212; what do you do, then?</font></strong></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">To get your USP,  think about what it is about your product or service that <strong>makes your  customers&#8217; lives infinitely better</strong>. And if that&#8217;s too difficult, think about what your customers  really, really want.<br />
</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">For the life coach  I mentioned earlier, the majority of her clients wanted lasting, positive  change. Some of them wanted to change careers. Others wanted to get out of a  relationship rut. And still others wanted to take control of their finances.</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">Once you have  pinpointed your customers&#8217; ultimate wants or needs, you <strong>simply tie that into  your USP</strong>. For  example, if you&#8217;re a search engine-optimisation specialist, your clients would  obviously want to achieve top-ranking results for their businesses or websites  in the search engines. And let&#8217;s say you can not only help them do that, but  can also prove you&#8217;ve helped clients achieve a number one spot on the biggest  search engine, Google, in a few weeks. So your USP could be: &#8220;Getting you the  #1 spot on Google in just 2 weeks.&#8221;</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">When  you have honed your own &#8216;X factor&#8217; &#8212; ideally boiled down to <strong>one short,  compelling sentence</strong> &#8212; be sure to use it in ALL your advertising and marketing  materials, including on your website, and also when you introduce your business  to people. As well as being a powerful marketing tool, your USP will help  create a brand in your prospects eyes - IF it is used often enough.</font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000">One final thought:  Offer that all-important proof whenever possible . . . and ALWAYS deliver on  any promises made with your USP. </font></font></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"><font color="#74c0fa"><em>By Tracey Dooley, </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>Copywriter </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>| </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>Creative Consultant</em></font></span></p>
<p><font color="#000000"> <strong><img src="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/images/bullet_grn_brwn.gif" style="margin-bottom: 1px; margin-right: 3px" align="left" /></strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #707070"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><strong><font color="#000000"> </font></strong></span></span></font></font></span></span></font></font></font></font></font></font><font size="3"><strong><font size="2">Got your USP nailed down but having a difficult time marketing it? </font></strong><font size="2">Then   consider a &#8216;power coaching&#8217; session. I can give you everything you need   to know to create a compelling USP, positioning statement or marketing  message that will appeal to the best customers for you &#8212; plus LOTS of  other crucial techniques to help you fill your sales pipeline. You can  read more about my marketing consulting programmes &#8212; including one-off  sessions &#8212; at:</font><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #707070" lang="EN-US"></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p>
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<strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #707070"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="#000000">(Why  struggle needlessly when you can get expert help and/or affordable  mentoring and have fun accelerating your sales through credibility?)</font></span></span></font></font></span></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></font></p>
<p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span">(C) 2008-11 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved</span></p>
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span">================================</span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333" class="Apple-style-span"></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; font-size: medium" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><em>Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/contact.htm" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none" target="new">Just let me know</a>. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.</em></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></span><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
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		<title>How to Increase Sales &#038; Your Average Customer Spend . . . Virtually Overnight</title>
		<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/11/03/how-to-increase-sales-your-average-customer-spend-virtually-overnight/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/11/03/how-to-increase-sales-your-average-customer-spend-virtually-overnight/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:05:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TraceyDooley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Sales &amp; Selling]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Web Copy &amp; Web Content]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Website marketing]]></category>

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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/11/03/how-to-increase-sales-your-average-customer-spend-virtually-overnight/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Picture by &#8216;ldigital&#8217; via stock.xchng 

Anyone involved in a small business will tell you the truth: boy, it can be tough. As business-owners, we&#8217;re often so busy wearing many different hats and working IN our businesses that it can be nigh on difficult to find the time to work ON our businesses — that is, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/l/ld/ldigital/1116230_a_sales_forecast_vector_chart.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 11px" align="right" height="240" width="180" /></p>
<p align="right"><font color="#c0c0c0" size="1">Picture by &#8216;ldigital&#8217; via stock.xchng </font></p>
<p><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Anyone involved in a small business will tell you the truth: boy, it can be tough. As business-owners, we&#8217;re often so busy wearing many different hats and working IN our businesses that it can be nigh on difficult to find the time to work ON our businesses — that is, strategically add business growth.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">And yet increasing the profitability of your business needn&#8217;t take up much time. What&#8217;s more, it can reward you rather well </font><font color="#000000">. . . IF you know what to concentrate on.</font><strong> </strong></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><strong>There are two areas of profitability that most business professionals overlook </strong>(no matter whether we&#8217;re talking offline or online). As a result, they end up out of pocket. And we&#8217;re talking big money. Money that could have easily been coming in for just a few hours&#8217; work.</font></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="+1">Key Performance Indicators</font></strong></span></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Before we get to the actual KPIs (key performance indicators), let&#8217;s take a quick look at what a KPI is. A key performance indicator is a measure of performance that allows you to monitor the &#8216;health&#8217; and therefore profitability of your business. KPIs can show you how effective your marketing, PR and sales campaigns are at any given time, but especially over the longer term.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">The main value of any KPI is to allow you to <strong>take corrective action before it&#8217;s too late</strong>. So, for example, if your KPIs are indicating a downward trend, then you should make practical changes to your campaign[s] to turn around the situation. If you ignore your KPIs, then you are simply wasting valuable business resources . . . not least your money.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">The KPI that most businesses get wrong is their conversion rate.</font></p>
<p><strong>Many small-business owners think their conversion rates are much higher than they actually are.</strong> So it&#8217;s a good idea to accurately measure (or start measuring) your conversion rates.</p>
<p><font color="#000000">How do you do that?</font></p>
<p>Simple. It&#8217;s just a question of totting up<strong> the number of people who respond to any given marketing or sales message</strong>. It might be the number of website visitors who complete an online survey, for example.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium" class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="+1">What Does Your Conversion Rate REALLY Mean?</font></strong></span><span> </span></span></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Another example is newsletter subscriptions. Suppose you publish a monthly ezine (and I strongly recommend you do, at least once monthly). All you need do is to divide the number of people who have subscribed to your online newsletter/ezine by the number of unique visitors that viewed your ezine registration page. That will give you your conversion rate. To make it really easy, I suggest you use your web host&#8217;s analytics program or try Google Analytics, which won&#8217;t cost you a penny if you install it yourself.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">By the way, don&#8217;t just measure your conversion rates; instead,<strong> you need to ANALYSE what they really mean to you and your business</strong>. For example, consider the following statement:</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">&#8220;The conversion rate for our top 10 key words has increased considerably in the last two months.&#8221;</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">So what? What does that mean, exactly? Nothing, really. It gives facts, but not SPECIFICS. But if we change that statement to:</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">&#8220;Our pay-per-click (PPC) campaign is converting at least three out of every 10 visitors, and we should re-allocate funds to the top seven keywords that show the most promise.&#8221;</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Do you see the difference? The latter statement is helpful; it gives a<strong>recommendation for ACTION</strong>.</font></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="+1">Small Changes, Big Results</font></strong></span></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Here are some other tactics you can try to increase your results:</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">* Change your offer to make it more attractive.</font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm"><font color="#000000">* Create a follow-up system for &#8216;unconverted&#8217; prospects AND communicate with them on a regular basis.</font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm"><font color="#000000">* Improve your sales skills or train up your team.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">* Offer a free trial and/or a solid guarantee.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">What&#8217;s the point? Well, apart from all that I&#8217;ve said so far (you have been listening, haven&#8217;t you?!), you can <strong>significantly increase your revenue and even your average order value</strong>.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Let&#8217;s look at some figures:</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">What&#8217;s 200 unique sales with an average order value of £100? Exactly £20,000.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Sounds like a lot, right? It is.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">But let&#8217;s say that those 200 new customers came from a marketing campaign that attracted 5,000 leads. That means just 200 of those turned into actual customers. With that your conversion rate is just 1 in 25, or 4%.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">So what would happen, then, if you put in place some of the measures above and increased your rate ever so slightly from, say, 4% to 7%?</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Your customer numbers would jump to 300, which would end up bringing in an extra £10,000 in sales, or a total of £30,000 (instead of £20,000).</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">And if you managed to tweak your campaign so it produced a 30% response rate (possible), instead of the original 4%, then you would be seeing 1,500 new customers and a <strong>substantial £130,000 increase in sales. That&#8217;s a total of £150,000</strong>.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Hopefully, you can see just how important this KPI can be to your bottom line<font size="3">.</font></font></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="+1">Increased Sales Transactions</font></strong></span></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Now let&#8217;s take a quick look at another important business metric. By doing making one or more seemingly insignificant changes, I&#8217;m going to show you just how easy it can be to increase your<strong>average order value</strong> from £100 to £120.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">For the purposes of this exercise, I&#8217;m going to assume you have already put in place some measures to increase your conversion rates and while a 30% increase is more than achievable with the right strategy, we&#8217;ll use the more conservative 6% conversion rate. That means your customer numbers are currently sitting at 300 with a total revenue of £30,000.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">When you increase your average transaction value from £100 to £120 your revenue leaps to £36,000 — a healthy 80% increase from the £20,000 starting figure.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><strong>Or, to put it another way, an extra £16,000 in your pocket.</strong></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Please don&#8217;t mistake these kind of results as pure hyperbole. One of my clients has experienced some incredible results by cross-selling other products to their customers. And another business-owner is doing well since I helped implement a &#8217;suggestive (aka soft) selling&#8217; campaign.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">So what can YOU do?</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Here are some ideas to get you started:</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">* Up-sell to a more premium-priced package before the order takes place — for example, you might offer a gold&#8217; and &#8217;silver&#8217; option, where you communicate the value of upgrading to the more expensive gold package.</font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm"><font color="#000000">* Offer a &#8216;bounce-back&#8217; — that is, a follow-up offer, often presented as a time-limited discount or voucher, that is sent to the customer just after the sale.</font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm"><font color="#000000">* Cross-sell other services or products that complement what you&#8217;re selling. These can be your own or those of a joint-venture/alliance partner.</font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm"><font color="#000000">* Increase your prices by a nominal amount. I suggest 10-20%.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">* Create great-value &#8216;bundle&#8217; packages.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">These are just some ideas that will hopefully get those creative juices started. There are others that may be more suited to your business model. <strong>The point is to try at least one of the above initiatives . . . and do it well</strong>. KPIs were developed for a reason. Use them.</font></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"><font color="#74c0fa"><em>By Tracey Dooley, </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>Copywriter </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>| </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>Creative Consultant</em></font></span></span></p>
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<p style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px"><font face="Verdana"><strong><font size="2">Need help implementing some of the above ideas, or want to work with me to discover how your marketing can get better results with minimal effort? </font></strong><font size="2">My mentoring programmes can help you start off &#8212; and keep you &#8212; on the right track:</font></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><font color="#707070" style="color: #0000ff"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal"><a href="http://www.business-marketing-advice.mediaminister.co.uk/" style="color: #0000ff">www.business-marketing-advice.mediaminister.co.uk</a></span></span></font></font></font></p>
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<p style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="null"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #707070"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"></span></span></font></font></span></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="null"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #707070"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="null">(Why struggle needlessly when you can get expert help and/or affordable mentoring and have fun accelerating your sales through credibility?)</font></span></span></font></font></span></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></span><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="null"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #707070"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"></span></span></font></font></span></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16px"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span">(C) 2010-11 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; font-size: medium" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif" size="3"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><em>Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/contact.htm" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none" target="new">Just let me know</a>. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.</em></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></span><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
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		<title>Five Reasons Why People Don&#8217;t Buy From You</title>
		<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/10/17/five-reasons-why-people-dont-buy-from-you/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/10/17/five-reasons-why-people-dont-buy-from-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:28:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TraceyDooley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Website marketing]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Sales &amp; Selling]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Web Copy &amp; Web Content]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Promotion]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Online Advertising]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Copywriting]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Get Clients Now]]></category>

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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/10/17/five-reasons-why-people-dont-buy-from-you/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Picture by &#8216;Dubes Sonego&#8217; via stock.xchng 
You may THINK you have the best product known to man (and woman)kind, but why is it then that you keep losing sales to a competitor with a weaker product that is more expensive?
How about the last time someone said, &#8220;Your client list is really impressive. We&#8217;ll definitely get [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/d/du/dubes/930722_boxing_day_2_4.jpg" width="180" height="240" align="right" style="margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 11px" /></p>
<p align="right"><font size="1" color="#c0c0c0">Picture by &#8216;Dubes Sonego&#8217; via stock.xchng </font></p>
<p><strong>You may THINK you have the best product known to man (and woman)kind</strong>, but why is it then that you keep losing sales to a competitor with a weaker product that is more expensive?</p>
<p>How about the last time someone said, &#8220;Your client list is really impressive. We&#8217;ll definitely get back to you,&#8221; but never did?</p>
<p><strong>Losing what should, by all accounts, be sure-fire, dead-cert sales can make even the most veteran of salespeople a little, well, bewildered. </strong></p>
<p>&#8220;What went wrong?&#8221; they ask, scratching their heads. Often, it&#8217;s the seemingly minor things that make all the difference&#8230;</p>
<p>Here are five ways you may be leaving money on the proverbial table — and what you can do to turn things around:</p>
<p><strong>1. You Fail to Grab Attention<br />
</strong><br />
A poor advertisement will pull in more sales than a great one IF it is better targeted. By that I mean, knowing your buyer well enough to write a headline that calls out directly to her. Writing a headline is easy, but does yours REALLY want to make your prospects take notice and want to know more?</p>
<p>Most people sum up a story or list a feature in their headlines. But a headline that is too general or bland will not stand out or get noticed. To be effective, it should be specific to your audience. Try incorporating a benefit that will entice your readers to read on. Or ask a question, state a startling fact or statistic (backed up in the rest of your copy), or create some kind of intrigue.</p>
<p>Again, it all boils down to knowing what your customers want. An easy way to determine this is to survey your existing customers to see what attracted them to buy from you in the first place.</p>
<p><strong>2. You Merely Inform, Rather than Build Desire<br />
</strong><br />
Desire is one of the most powerful motivators of all. Think about it, we all want to feel loved and accepted. Most of us want to do better, feel better, be better . . .  and will press that &#8216;order now&#8217; button based on pure emotion, later justifying the purchase decision using logic.</p>
<p>The problem is if you don&#8217;t recognise these emotional wants and needs in your buyer profile, then you can hardly use them in your marketing message to connect with and so persuade your prospects to buy.</p>
<p><strong>3. You Don&#8217;t Give People Reason to Trust You</strong></p>
<p>The very act of buying can be risky, especially when done online. So you have to give prospects a reason to trust you. Offer them a money-back guarantee, if possible. Be sure you come across as authentic and professional. And certainly back up any claims you have made about your product, service or business. You can also show you walk your talk by using customer testimonials and case studies.</p>
<p><strong>4. You Don&#8217;t Test Your Promotional Copy<br />
</strong><br />
Many people will go the trouble of writing content for their website, or copy for their sales letter, but not bother to test it. They leave it as it is. That&#8217;s fine . . .  IF it does a handsome job of selling for you. But what if it doesn&#8217;t? And even if it does, how do you know it couldn&#8217;t reap more sales?</p>
<p>The key to any and all advertising and marketing copy is to test, improve, and test it again. By doing so you can be sure of achieving the highest possible response rate.</p>
<p><strong>5. You Fail to Ask For the Sale!</strong></p>
<p style="color: #707070"><font color="#000000">There is no point overcoming every other sales barrier, only to ignore the close. Every piece of copy should have a call to action — and every phone or face-to-face sales presentation should end by attempting to close the deal. So be sure to direct your prospects as to what they need to do next, why they need to this (what&#8217;s in it for them? What&#8217;s the big benefit?), how they need to do it, and by when.</font></p>
<p style="color: #707070"><font color="#000000"><strong>NB: </strong>My blog post &#8220;</font><a href="http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2010/10/05/why-people-will-and-wont-buy-from-you/" style="color: #0000ff">Why People Will &#8212; and Won&#8217;t &#8212; Buy From You</a><font color="#000000">&#8221; lists more reasons why people aren&#8217;t buying your products or services, and gives 14 other reasons why prospects WILL become your customers. If you have any to add, or have any thoughts, please share with others in the blog post&#8217;s comments box.</font></p>
<p><a href="http://" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/ciNKLA</a></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"><font color="#74c0fa"><em>By Tracey Dooley, </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>Copywriter </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>| </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>Creative Consultant</em></font></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
<p style="color: #707070"><strong style="font-size: 11px"><img src="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/images/bullet_grn_brwn.gif" style="margin-bottom: 1px; margin-right: 3px" align="left" /></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="2">Not </font></strong></span><span style="line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px" class="Apple-style-span"><font><strong><font size="2">getting results? </font></strong><font size="2">Let Tracey teach you how to write email copy that impresses the spam filters AND your readers: <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/products.htm#Online" style="color: #0000ff" rel="nofollow">http:tinyurl.com/onlineROI</a></font></font><font> <font size="2">. Having trouble with converting visitors into buyers once they get to your website? Check out <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/products.htm#Webcopy" style="color: #0000ff" rel="nofollow"><em>Website Copywriting Secrets that Convert Web Readers into BUYERS</em></a>.</font></font></span></span></p>
<p style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px"> <strong><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal"></span></span></font></font></font></strong></p>
<p style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="null"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #707070"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"></span></span></font></font></span></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"></span><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="null"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #707070"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="null">(Why struggle needlessly when you can get expert help and/or affordable mentoring and have fun accelerating your sales through credibility?)</font></span></span></font></font></span></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16px"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span">(C) 2008-11 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved</span></p>
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		<title>Beware the Rhetorical Question&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/09/27/beware-the-rhetorical-question/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/09/27/beware-the-rhetorical-question/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:59:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TraceyDooley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Web Copy &amp; Web Content]]></category>

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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/03/11/beware-the-rhetorical-question/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Picture by &#8216;immrchris&#8217; via stock.xchng 
Have you ever heard of a lazy rhetorical question? I think perhaps we all have.
The  primary purpose of rhetorical questioning is to make a certain point,  and then to allow the reader to ponder the thought or reasoning rather  than providing an answer.
But the chances are that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.sxc.hu/pic/l/i/im/immrchris/1238452_46868173.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 7px; margin-right: 10px" align="left" height="155" width="240" /></p>
<p align="left"><font color="#c0c0c0" size="1">Picture by &#8216;immrchris&#8217; via stock.xchng </font></p>
<p align="right" style="text-align: left">Have you ever heard of a lazy rhetorical question? I think perhaps we all have.</p>
<p>The  primary purpose of rhetorical questioning is to make a certain point,  and then to allow the reader to ponder the thought or reasoning rather  than providing an answer.</p>
<p>But the chances are that reader will submit an answer — and it may be considerably different to the one you were hoping to elicit.</p>
<p>People  often ask empty rhetorical questions. They&#8217;re commonly used to hide the  fact that a point hasn&#8217;t been made. This is, to me, lazy prose and  almost forces the audience to do all the hard work.</p>
<p><strong>Do we need more rhetoric?</strong> If you really must use rhetorical questions in your advertising and marketing, it&#8217;s useful to attempt to answer them somewhere in your copy.</p>
<p>If you can&#8217;t, then it makes sense to express the point you&#8217;re trying to make in the indicative.</p>
<p>Now, how does that sound to you? <img src='http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>Clear enough, hopefully. If not, let me know&#8230;</p>
<p class="entry" style="line-height: 1.4em"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal">(C) 2011 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved</span></p>
<p class="entry" style="line-height: 1.4em"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px">================================</span><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: #333333"><br />
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<p style="line-height: 16px"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font size="3" face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif"><font size="3" face="Arial, sans-serif"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><em>Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/contact.htm" target="new" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none">Just let me know</a>. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.</em></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p>
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		<title>Yelling is NOT Selling&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/09/16/yelling-is-not-selling/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/09/16/yelling-is-not-selling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:20:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TraceyDooley</dc:creator>
		
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.mediaminister.co.uk/2011/09/16/yelling-is-not-selling/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Your prospective customers use, in general, two razor-sharp questions to cut through the clutter of advertising and marketing messages out there: (1)"Is this of interest to me?" and (2) "Is it believable . . . or typical advertising hype?" 

Most marketers focus almost all their efforts on the former scenario, overlooking the latter. Most entrepreneurs and businesses ignore both. Which is why ALL of their response falls way short of what it could be.

Today's article is going to give back the second question the attention it deserves. I hope you enjoy — and benefit from — it.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/t/th/theusher/744636_the_scream.jpg" width="250" height="190" align="left" style="margin-bottom: 7px; margin-right: 5px" /></p>
<p align="left"><font size="1" color="#c0c0c0">Picture via stock.xchng</font></p>
<p>Do you believe that Carlsberg is &#8220;probably the best lager in the world&#8221;? I mean REALLY believe it? Probably not. I&#8217;m not sure I do, either. But then, truth be told, my opinion is worthless, considering I don&#8217;t drink lager, or beer for that matter.</p>
<p>OK, I get the joke. The &#8220;probably the best&#8221; line — first used in the 1970s and evolving in many different directions over the years — is saying that Carlsberg drinkers are successful but enjoy having a laugh at themselves. Some would say that the slogan is taking a swipe at the advertising industry as a whole.</p>
<p>But, as refreshing as the original slogan is, it&#8217;s a difficult claim to substantiate.</p>
<p>If you are going to make a bold statement such as Carlsberg&#8217;s, then surely you need to have a product that&#8217;s good enough to back it up. This, however, is a major flaw in Carlsberg&#8217;s slogan. My other, better half — a fairly keen lager drinker — is adamant that Carlsberg is NOT the best lager in the world. He doesn&#8217;t really like it. Plenty others agree, he assures me, preferring the likes of Stella, Becks, Grolsch and, for the flat and malty beer brews, Hoegaarden and Erdinger Hefe.</p>
<p><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p>
<p><font size="2"><strong><font size="+1">Feel the Difference</font></strong></font></p>
<p>Consider another outlandish claim: &#8220;The best a man can get&#8221;; can you tell what it is yet?  ;0)<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Wingdings; color: #333333" lang="EN-US"><span> </span></span></p>
<p>Apart from putting on a blindfold and seeing if you can feel the difference between Gillette&#8217;s twin-blade swivel-head razor and, say, the equivalent from Wilkinson Sword (er, blindfolded? No thanks! Imagine the agony of all those razor cuts!), one has to guess that Gillette is simply using its market dominance to fudge over the fact that it really isn&#8217;t the best a man can get. (Is it?!)</p>
<p>I&#8217;d have thought a new Ferrari might arguably have the edge for most men. But not according to Gillette. Nope, give your nearest and dearest a good shave any day of the week. Even if he does prefer another brand of disposable plastic razor.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>Spread the (Believable) Word</strong></font></p>
<p><strong>So, would YOU get away with such blatant cheek? I&#8217;m willing to bet &#8220;no&#8221;.</strong></p>
<p>For a start, you&#8217;re unlikely to be the market leader in your field. (Yet.) And I&#8217;d wager that you&#8217;d rather stick the razor in your right eye than spend countless millions advertising on an &#8216;airless&#8217; claim.</p>
<p>So you&#8217;re left with only one choice: <strong>Show your target market PROOF of how your product or service will benefit them. </strong>Provide evidence such as facts and figures, awards, testimonials, case studies and so on. You do NOT have to have millions or thousands to do this effectively. Crikey, <strong>you can even get away with a shoestring budget and make an impact</strong> . . . while maintaining your credibility.</p>
<p>In the 21st century, cynicism is running at all-time high. Your prospective customers are not going to believe that you have the &#8220;best&#8221; this or the &#8220;greatest&#8221; that unless you can walk your talk. Really, they are not. Not on face value, in any case.</p>
<p><strong><font size="+1">Show, Don&#8217;t Tell</font></strong></p>
<p>A client recently told me that her company is the &#8220;Number one choice for offering financial advice.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Great!&#8221; I said, with an obvious air of flippancy. &#8220;Now prove it.&#8221; (I&#8217;m a LOT nicer than this makes me sound. Really. See my <a href="http://mediaminister.co.uk/clients.htm#what">client feedback</a>, if you don&#8217;t believe me!)</p>
<p>When I was a journalism student, my tutor used to repeatedly say that the key to a great story was &#8220;show, don&#8217;t tell&#8221;. After all, anyone can promise the best quality, service and reliability day in, day out. But your prospects won&#8217;t believe it until they either experience it firsthand or are shown evidence of some kind.</p>
<p><strong>The best writers are able to get their readers to &#8217;see&#8217; the story</strong>, as if a personal movie was running in the reader&#8217;s mind. Authors don&#8217;t state that the main character was afraid, for example, but instead show through description the sheer terror running through the character. This same principle can be applied to advertising and marketing.</p>
<p><strong>Think carefully about the messages you are sending to your prospects</strong>. And always, always back up your claims with benefit statements, testimonials, pictures of your product in action, quotes or stats from scientific-research studies and more &#8216;proof&#8217; elements.</p>
<p>Be ruthless — push yourself hard: Be a &#8220;yeah, yeah, right&#8221; sceptic when you read every single sentence of your marketing message (and certainly BEFORE you send it out to prospects). What can you change to make your copy almost impossible to refute?</p>
<p>Any business can strengthen its advertising or marketing efforts by improving the credibility of what is being said or implied. And doing so doesn&#8217;t have to cost the equivalent of a fleet of yachts. Simply foster confidence in your prospective customers&#8217; minds and the world is your oyster. Probably. ;0)</p>
<p style="line-height: 1.4em" class="entry"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"><font color="#74c0fa"><em>By Tracey Dooley, </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>Copywriter </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>| </em></font><font color="#74c0fa"><em>Creative Consultant</em></font></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px" class="Apple-style-span"></span><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<strong><img src="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/images/bullet_grn_brwn.gif" style="max-width: 100%; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-right: 3px; padding: 0px" align="left" /></strong></span><span style="color: #707070; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span"><strong>If you&#8217;re not sure how to create your most compelling offer or marketing message in the first place, then now is the time to take action. </strong>As well as offering <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/products.htm"><span style="color: #4b248c">worksheets and home-study tools</span></a>, I can give you profit-multiplying advice and pointers on things you can do straight away to attract new business with my <a href="http://www.business-marketing-advice.mediaminister.co.uk/"><span style="color: #4b248c">Powerfully Effective Marketing</span></a> sessions. </span></p>
<p><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="null"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #707070"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"></span></span></font></font></span></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></p>
<p><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="null"><font color="#000000"><span style="color: #707070"><span style="color: #707070" lang="EN-US"><font color="null">(Why struggle needlessly when you can get expert help from a seasoned copywriter?)</font></span></span></font></font></span></span></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal" class="Apple-style-span">(C) 2008-11 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved</span></p>
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<p style="line-height: 16px"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif" size="3"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><strong><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="'Lucida Grande', sans-serif" size="3"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="3"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font size="1"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><em>Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! <a href="http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/contact.htm" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none" target="new">Just let me know</a>. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.</em></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></strong></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p>
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