At its most basic, traffic analysis involves collecting and interpreting information visitors to your website. At the more advanced level, tracking systems can provide an array of key data about the journey your visitors make once on your site, what your most cost-effective traffic sources are, which pay-per-click (PPC) or search-engine-optimisation (SEO) keywords and key phrases to concentrate on, and a whole host of other sales and ROI information.

A really fantastic resource that is FREE from Google is their Analytics program – http://www.google.com/analytics/. As well as being able to track your web visitors, page views, and more, you can also track your email campaigns, referrals, and even offline campaigns. This is definitely one to bookmark . . .  and USE! 

Your website’s statistics provide a LOT of clues as to what visitors make of your site.  Don’t ignore them!

Adapted from: “Using Online Marketing to Your Advantage“

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As well as helping you identify what’s sabotaging the ideal balance in your life, Parashar leads you through a series of intelligent, practical steps to redress the imbalance. It’s like having your own personal coach in a way.

What I like most about this book are the seven-day action plan, the inspirational case studies showing how people from all walks of life have managed to regain balance in their lives, and the fact that it is solutions driven.

Read this if you want to identify and understand the WHAT, WHY and HOW of getting more control of your life. 

Now, let’s see if I can at last make a significant dent in my ‘TO DO’ list!

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An economic downturn can provide a smaller company to capitalise on that optimism by gaining market share and moving into a position of strength for the future. Just be sure you:

• Focus on the details. 
• Make sure that you are charging for each and every part of the business. Increase prices if you are undercharging — difficult but certainly doable.
• Reassess the profitability of your customers.
• Go for the low-hanging fruit — your existing customer base; it’s less expensive and unpredictable than going after new customers.

For more ideas on how to be profitable in a slow economy, sign up to my free newsletterCommuniqué for Success. 

Source: Business XL, October 2008, pg38  

Shameless Plug: My proven marketing campaign focuses on maximising your relationships with your current clients or customers AND make immediate changes in your business that will unearth a ‘hidden’ untapped source of newfound profits. Find out how much money YOU are losing right now due to neglecting this one crucial area — simply ask for your free, no-obligation consultation: www.mediaminister.co.uk/contact2.htm  

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Any ideas to save my blue fingers most welcome! Do please share how you cope with the cold by clicking on the comments link below. 

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And you’d be forgiven for thinking that we were ALREADY in the red, thanks to the doomsayers, the negativity and even panic that has been spread by the mainstream media (and, boy, do they LOVE the fear induced by the dreaded R word; it means they fill and sell their papers more), kind of like an infectious disease.

But, before you turn yourself over to an inky-fingered bank clerk cementing your future in his ‘big debt’ book, remember you’ve got to have a little faith…

…Faith in the fact that just as a lack of confidence in the markets has caused this economic downturn (OK, with a large dose of greed thrown in), confidence will get us out of this precarious situation — sooner or later. Faith in the fact that history has shown that it is those businesses who march full speed ahead, actually increasing their advertising and marketing spend, who come out the other end fighting strong. And faith in the speculators who say we’re in a good position to ride any recession wave — no matter how big — with ease. Indeed, I heard one financial expert this morning say that any looming recession will be a short if sharp one, and NOT a long, drawn-out one. He also predicted that we’d be well out of the worst by this time next year.

Of course, there will be difficult times for those companies who need credit, and, yes, people STILL need to have a roof over their heads and eat well. They will still need advice, and services and products, too.

However, to flourish in business right now, you need to  have confidence in your own ability to rise to the challenge . . . and confidence knowing that consumers will always buy. If they didn’t, things would have ground to an almighty and irrevocable halt quite some time ago. 

So to recession-proof your business:

• Ignore the doomsayers
• Have confidence 
• Build value in all that you do and sell 
• Nurture your ‘house’ list
• Aim for excellence in customer service
• Actively seek out the positive in everything you see and hear (there is ALWAYS a silver lining to every dark cloud, if you look hard enough)
• And, above all, market more and panic less.

Feel the fear and do it anyway. Marketing, that is. If you cut back on this one vital element to running a business, you WILL feel a hit. These times call for the bold and the brave… 

What about YOU? Are you doing anything differently because of the slowdown? If you have any tips, let’s hear it!

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You see, a news release should NEVER be used as an opportunity to toot your own horn or blatantly sell products. Rather, it should be about the reporter. Her audience and their needs, to be precise. And it should read like news, not an ad.

Your release should provide newsworthy fodder that is important or valuable in some way, so that it makes the publication’s editor think, “This looks exactly the sort of thing my readers should know about.”

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1. Direct marketing is trackable. And, of course, by being able to account for every pound or dollar spent, there will never be a question mark over what works – and what doesn’t.
2. It has publicity value. It lets your prospective customers and clients know that you exist in the first place. While they might not act immediately on your offer, there is no telling when a prospect might pull your direct-mail piece out and get in touch.
3. It’s perfect for small businesses and entrepreneurs because of its simplicity. It doesn’t take much –  in terms of time, cost and effort – to product an effective direct-mail package.

So whether business is slow right now, or you need to test a new product, you owe it to yourself to at least give direct marketing a go. 

If you want help with your direct mail, join my FREE VIP newsletter for practical tips and strategies on ALL aspects of marketing: http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/marketing_cfs_newsletters.htm

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So here’s my first sharing of inspiration. Enjoy!  

“No matter how small and unimportant what we are doing may seem, if we do it well, it may soon become the step that will lead us to better things.”

Channing Pollock

Actor, Writer and Composer

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Alliance and Leciester Commercial Bank’s study shows that 60% of business owners are the first born, while 80% have one or or siblings, where they put to good use qualities such as leadership and teamwork learned at a young age.

Big egos, super confidence and an almost blasé attitude towards risk, as often displayed in business programmes on television, are NOT necessarily what it takes to be a winner. Rather, being dependable, considerate and a good listener are what counts, says the study.

And you don’t have to necessarily have benefited from a private education to make it in business: nearly three-quarters of survey respondents come from a state school background. However, further education does seem to have a positive role.

I think tenacity ought to be added to the list, and maybe time-management skills (still haven’t quite worked out the latter, though). Having all the desirable ‘winner’ qualities, as outlined above, is one thing, but when the economy is on a downward spiral, business is slow and almost three in ten small businesses fail before they pass the three-year mark, having faith in oneself and being prudent with your time are paramount . . . if you want to stick around for much longer.  ;-)  

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Apart from hyperventilating at the mere thought of cold-calling a relative stranger (hey, I’m a writer!), it has been shown time and time again that marketing or ’selling’ to those you already know or have some kind of connection with will give you a much better outcome. 

That affiliation may be that you’re both members of the local chamber of commerce or an online networking group. You may have passed email messages. You may have both contributed to a post. Your prospect may have signed up to receive your ezine… 

The point is they will have some connection with you and it should be easier to do business with them. And when you do pick up the phone, you’ll be making a ‘warm’ call that is more likely to end in an appointment or whatever the next step in your marketing strategy is.

Ultimately, getting new business is about building relationships first — not making a quick cold call that usually results in an even colder reception.  ;-)

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