On a recent trip to Chicago we ate at a tasty tapas restaurant Café Ba Ba Reeba and when we were leaving I grabbed a flyer.

The headline read, “WE WON’T STALK YOU. (WE PROMISE.)”. It went on to say, “We’d just like to keep you updated on all of our amazing events…” with examples of what they offer.

As a business owner you want to be able to stay in touch with your clients and prospective clients. You want the opportunity to share relevant information with them and let them know about products and services you offer that could benefit them.

You’re interested in creating trust and staying on their radar so that when the time is right, they will choose to do business with you. But how do you do stay in touch without coming across as a stalker?

The answer is simple; you get permission to stay in touch. The most effective way to do this is by building your e-mail list. This is exactly what Café Ba Ba Reeba did with their flyer.

They leave it up to you, the customer, to write down your name and e-mail address and give it to them. If you don’t want to hear from them, you won’t. You have the choice to opt in.

Which demonstrates that even if you have a brick and mortar business, you can still build your e-mail list. And of course they also offer their newsletter on their website.

The concept is straightforward, you invite people to share their name and e-mail with you in exchange for juicy information and they decide if they will accept.

To make it the most effective, offer information they want and can easily use. This could be a free report, an ecourse, an audio series, or information about upcoming events like the cafe. For more details about your free give away, check out this article http://bit.ly/9jggZY.

And if they ever decide they no longer want to be in touch, they have the choice to automatically unsubscribe.

What’s really cool is that you can promote your free give away and/or newsletter on-line as well as off-line in order to build your list. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Promote On-line

* On your website (put it on every page and make sure it is visible)

* In your e-mail signature

* Using social media

* In your videos

Promote Off-line

* On printed flyers or postcards

* On your voice mail message

* On the back of your business card

Be sure that you are using every possible opportunity to invite people to join your list and become a part of your community.

That way you can stay in touch, provide valuable information, and build a relationship over time. Remember, people do business with people they know, like, and trust.

I hope you’re starting to see how building your list is critical to growing your business. Make some changes today so that you can grow your list and create a more profitable business.

© Stephanie Ward, 2010

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER, BLOG OR WEBSITE?

You can, as long as you include this information with it: Stephanie Ward is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to set their profits on fire!  Grab your FREE copy of the special report ’7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus business building tips, at: http://www.fireflycoaching.com.

Stay in Touch Without Stalking is a post from: Firefly Coaching

Everyone loves getting referrals so why not make a few simple changes and get even more?

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How to Get Even More Referrals is a post from: Firefly Coaching

Every summer I get an unexpected phone call that I’m actually delighted to receive. It’s usually on a warm and sunny day when the last thing on my mind is the impending winter and how cold it will be in a few months.

The call I get is from the fireplace cleaning company. They call to schedule the appointment to clean the fireplace so that it’s safe and ready when it comes time for it to be used.

I happily make the appointment which is within a defined one hour time frame (so I don’t have to wait around all day).

I love it that I don’t have to ever think about it. I don’t have to remember the name of the company or try to find their phone number. They proactively reach out to me and make me an offer.

If they didn’t call me every year I can only guess at how many times the fireplace would have been cleaned.

Another variation of this is that when I visit my dentist for my six month check-up they always ask if I’d like to schedule my next appointment while I’m there.

Of course I would, and I do. If it were up to me to remember to make an appointment six months later I’m sure I’d forget about it.

It’s pure genius! And the benefits are obviously not only for me. The fireplace company is able to spread out the appointments and they’re getting a ton of business they would NOT be getting if they waited for their clients to call them.

Same goes for the dentist, he ensures that I’ll be back sooner than later by asking me to schedule while I’m there.

So how can you apply this concept to your business? Think about which products or services you could offer in connection with a celebration, special event, specific time of year, or time frame.

Here are some ideas to get the wheels turning:

- Celebrations: birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s Day, Christmas (decorations, special dinners, gift ideas)

- Special events: Earth Day, Entrepreneurs week, industry specific trade shows, Oscars, Mardi Gras, Mother’s Day, Secretary’s Day

- Time of year: summer (vacation, get in shape), start of a new year (diet, business plan), winter (ski vacation), spring (garden, cleaning)

- Time frame: monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual check up (medical, car, business, taxes, house painting, computer maintenance)

What’s really cool is that you can use this idea for inactive clients as well. Go through your list of inactive clients and contact them to see if they’d be interested in your special offer.

I hope you’re starting to see that it’s helpful to remind your clients about a product or service they need and may have forgotten about.

Create a structured plan to proactively connect with your clients (and inactive clients) and make them an offer that will make them happy to hear from you.

© Stephanie Ward, 2010

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER, BLOG OR WEBSITE?
You can, as long as you include this information with it: Stephanie Ward is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to set their profits on fire! Grab your FREE copy of the special report ’7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus business building tips, at: http://www.fireflycoaching.com.

Why Your Clients Will Be Eager to Say Yes is a post from: Firefly Coaching

Would you keep spending time creating, and posting, fabulous content on your blog if you knew no one was reading it?  Well, if you don’t have a way for visitors to get new posts then I’m afraid that’s exactly what’s happening.

So if your blog is like a cactus isolated out in the middle of the desert where no one can get to it, it’s time to make some changes.

Here are some of the things you need to have on your blog if you want it to get read (in order of importance):

1. Option for visitors to receive updates

When people visit your blog if they don’t have a way to request future updates they’ll probably never read another post because they won’t be returning.  Not because they’re not interested, but they’re busy and they’ll forget.

I recommend offering both an RSS feed and adding an e-mail sign up (one option for this is http://www.feedburner.com).  This needs to be in a prominent place on your blog.

2. Add a ReTweet button

If you don’t do #1 above, no one will even know there is information to ReTweet.  And even if you’re not on Twitter, add the button anyway.  Why pass up the opportunity to let other people share you content?

3. Add a Facebook ‘like’ button

4. Have a link on your blog to your website and vice versa

Take action now to make sure your valuable posts are getting read! And if you like this post, and want to get more like it be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed or get e-mail updates by signing up here on the left side of this page.

Is Anyone Reading Your Blog? is a post from: Firefly Coaching

Is your business card really helping you connect with prospective clients?  This short video (less than 2 minutes) will explain how to change your business card so it works harder for you!

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Are You Making This Mistake with Your Business Card? is a post from: Firefly Coaching

There are important things you need to do before, during, and after a networking event in order to make it successful.  

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What to Do Before, During, and After a Networking Event is a post from: Firefly Coaching

One night a few weeks ago we ordered pizza for dinner.  We ordered from the same place we always do but this time something different happened. 

After about thirty minutes the doorbell rang and there was the young pizza delivery guy with our dinner.

He handed us our pizzas, we paid for them.  And then he pulled out something else from his warming container.

It was wrapped in a sack and as he held it he explained that they had a promotion going on.  He had a kid’s pizza and wanted to know if there were any neighbors that we would like to give that pizza to.   

Immediately we thought of our neighbors across the street who have three little boys.  With that, the pizza delivery guy went next door with the surprise pizza present and gave it to our neighbors.

Now why is this so cool?  First off, it’s a unique idea that gets people talking about it.  Creating buzz is a great way to grow your business. And second, everyone benefits – here’s how:

1) The pizza company gets to interact with a new customer and they are welcomed as they do it.  Think about it, if someone knocked on your door out of the blue (even if it looked like a real pizza delivery guy) and said he wanted to give you pizza, would you take it? 

Maybe, maybe not.  You might be a bit suspicious.  But because the pizza was sent by us, neighbors they know, they probably didn’t think twice about accepting it.

I don’t know about you, but I would be delighted to get a free pizza from my neighbor.

2) We felt great because we got to give our neighbors a free surprise without having to do anything.

3) The neighbors got a free pizza from us (via the pizza company).  That builds good will between us as neighbors.

So what does this story have to do with your business and how you market your products and services?  You can take this idea and creatively apply it to your business to create the same kind of ripple effect.

If you can, take fifteen minutes right now and think about how you could implement this concept into your business.  If you don’t have time now, schedule time in the coming days and outline a plan to implement.

WHAT TO GIVE?

So what could you give to people in your network (clients, partners, and friends) that they could give to someone in their network?  It needs to be something valuable that people want, a sample or taste of one of your products or services.

HOW TO PRESENT THE GIFT?

Although the pizza example is a product the same concept applies to services.  You can share tasty information by creating a physical representation of your services (printed report, CD, or DVD).

Creating something that can be consumed immediately (like the pizza) will have a strong impact. 

WHEN & HOW OFTEN TO GIVE?

It can be a quarterly, semi-annual, annual, or a one time action.  Depending on your business you can tie it to a holiday or season (or both).  You can also make it a permanent action if it works well for you.

If you do something original and buzz worthy your business will stand out and get noticed.  I hope you’re starting to see that you can design a surprise give away (like the kid’s pizza) that will increase your visibility, expand your reach, and build new connections.

© Stephanie Ward 2010

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this information with it: Stephanie Ward is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to set their profits on fire!  Grab your FREE copy of the special report ‘7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus business building tips, at: http://www.fireflycoaching.com.

What I Learned from the Pizza Delivery Guy about Marketing is a post from: Firefly Coaching

Having a niche can transform your business!  Watch this interview to find out how.  

What a Niche Can Do for Your Business is a post from: Firefly Coaching

You’ve prepared for a networking event and attended it, now what?

What’s the best way to follow up so you that you make the most of your networking efforts? In this video I share practical tips you can use to follow up and build relationships over time.

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Are You Doing These Things to Follow Up After a Networking Event? is a post from: Firefly Coaching

The key to making marketing work for your business is to pick a few marketing strategies that fit for you and then do them consistently.

Are you using any of these eight marketing strategies?  Choosing your marketing strategies is the 5th step to attract more clients.  You can get the full report with all seven steps, 7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time, for free at http://www.fireflycoaching.com.

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Which of These Marketing Strategies Do You Use? is a post from: Firefly Coaching