I've learned there are no "magic bullets" (or quick fixes) when it comes to anything in life. Whether it's athletics, relationships, or business... the answer can almost always be found by making sure your fundamentals are sound; said an easier way, getting back to basics.
If your website or offline marketing isn't doing as well as you think it should, go back to these business basics:
1) Know exactly who you're marketing to. It may sound like an odd question, however, it's the foundation for your business marketing. If you aren't crystal clear on this point, it's about impossible to market effectively. Maybe the demographics of your market has shifted, and they want different products and services than they used to. If you aren't sure, then ASK them! Make a quick, free survey at www.SurveyMonkey.com, and send it out - be sure to offer something in return if they complete the survey.
2) Communicate with folks on your list frequently. It doesn't mean pitching them every time - you must provide valuable, usable information in addition to the occasional (and also valuable) offer. Outlook is OK to use for your e-mail list, however, I'd recommend you use a good e-mail management system like aWeber. It allows you to send out e-mails at different times of the day (or night), and provides tools that can track your e-mail marketing, and make it more effective.
3) Make sure your website captures a visitor's attention, provides value, and gives a clear call to action. A lot of websites nowadays are well-designed, and look professional. However, what they don't do is give people a reason to stay at that site. The average website visitor takes between 3-10 seconds to decide if they'll stay or go. You should provide "opt-in bait" to make sure you capture a new visitor's name and e-mail address. This is very important to building your e-mail list, which is THE most valuable asset your business has.
4) Make sure your offers are what your customers really want. Go back to point #1 - if you aren't sure, make a short survey at www.SurveyMonkey.com, and send it out to your list. Offer something valuable in return if they take the survey.
5) Make the focus of your website, marketing and business on your customers - not you. It's an easy trap business owners fall into, because its human nature - everyone loves talking about themselves. Read through your website and marketing... if you see the words "me," "I," "us," or "our company" more than 2 or 3 times - you need to make some changes.
If your website or business is struggling, and you aren't sure why; go back to these business basics, and you should have a pretty good idea.
If you go over these 5 basics, and you still aren't sure - then contact me at: Brian.Ochsner@gmail.com with the phrase "Business Basics" in the subject line, and I'll be glad to conduct a Business Marketing Evaluation (a $297 value) for no charge through October 15th, 2009.
We're almost to the 4th quarter of 2009, and time is flying. Block out time in your schedule to do this; if you don't have time, contact me @: Brian.Ochsner@gmail.com with the phrase "Business Basics" in the subject line, and I can do it for you. Time waits for no man (or woman) - take action today.
Showing posts with label aWeber. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aWeber. Show all posts
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
The 90-Day 'Marketing Sprint' Begins Today!
I can't believe that we're 2/3rds through 2008 already. So I'm looking ahead to the last four months of this year for what I want to get done, and still have time to enjoy life and spend it with family and friends.
And I know the last 4 to 6 weeks of the year can be the most difficult for a business owner. That's because people are busy with holiday parties, get-togethers and travel.
How many times have you talked with a potential customer between Thanksgiving and New Year's, only to hear the dreaded phrase: "What you have looks good, but get back to me after the 1st of the year." This is frustrating, and a momentum-killer for your business and bank account.
That's why you must have a plan of action between now and Thanksgiving, and through the rest of the year.
There's two ways you can deal with the holidays in your business:
1) Have a laser-like focus from now until Thanksgiving to get as much business done as possible. I call it the "90 Day Marketing Sprint."
Plan your marketing promotions, and make sure folks you outsource business to (such as graphic and web designers, copywriters, and event planners) know what you're doing, and are available when you'll need them.
Make sure you have enough lead time to get the design work, copy and other work done without being rushed. This way you'll be more productive, have fewer year-end regrets, and built-in momentum to carry you into the New Year.
The second option is...
2) Promote your own (or become an affiliate for other marketers') products during the holidays, to provide a secondary income stream for your business. You can promote these to your e-mail list easily, when you use an e-mail program like AWeber.
You can use AWeber to send e-mails at a pre-determined time, so you don't have to spend time to manually send each one to your list. If you don't have that big of a list, Joel Christopher and Tellman Knudsen have good advice on how to build a list quickly.
By doing the 90-Day Marketing Sprint, and getting income from affiliate programs, you can better deal with the 'holiday hurricane' of activity from Thanksgiving through New Years Day. You'll have a sense of accomplishment... more peace of mind... not to mention more money in your bank account.
If you haven't done it yet, plan out what you want to get accomplished from now through December 31, 2008. It'll make your business life easier, and give you a head-start on positive momentum for 2009.
And I know the last 4 to 6 weeks of the year can be the most difficult for a business owner. That's because people are busy with holiday parties, get-togethers and travel.
How many times have you talked with a potential customer between Thanksgiving and New Year's, only to hear the dreaded phrase: "What you have looks good, but get back to me after the 1st of the year." This is frustrating, and a momentum-killer for your business and bank account.
That's why you must have a plan of action between now and Thanksgiving, and through the rest of the year.
There's two ways you can deal with the holidays in your business:
1) Have a laser-like focus from now until Thanksgiving to get as much business done as possible. I call it the "90 Day Marketing Sprint."
Plan your marketing promotions, and make sure folks you outsource business to (such as graphic and web designers, copywriters, and event planners) know what you're doing, and are available when you'll need them.
Make sure you have enough lead time to get the design work, copy and other work done without being rushed. This way you'll be more productive, have fewer year-end regrets, and built-in momentum to carry you into the New Year.
The second option is...
2) Promote your own (or become an affiliate for other marketers') products during the holidays, to provide a secondary income stream for your business. You can promote these to your e-mail list easily, when you use an e-mail program like AWeber.
You can use AWeber to send e-mails at a pre-determined time, so you don't have to spend time to manually send each one to your list. If you don't have that big of a list, Joel Christopher and Tellman Knudsen have good advice on how to build a list quickly.
By doing the 90-Day Marketing Sprint, and getting income from affiliate programs, you can better deal with the 'holiday hurricane' of activity from Thanksgiving through New Years Day. You'll have a sense of accomplishment... more peace of mind... not to mention more money in your bank account.
If you haven't done it yet, plan out what you want to get accomplished from now through December 31, 2008. It'll make your business life easier, and give you a head-start on positive momentum for 2009.
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