If you notice, sites like Mashable and Lifehacker are using brackets to communicate meta-data quickly right in the post headlines.

Headlines

As an example here are two recent Mashable articles:

• Kanye West Raps at Twitter HQ, Tweets a Whole Lot [VIDEO]
• How Women Use the Web [REPORT]

So let’s say you are getting good at writing clear headlines. By adding in some meta-data you can make them even more understandable to your audience.

Simply put a label in all caps and surround it in brackets. This will clue your audience into what you have in store for them.

These bracket labels can be used for a lot more than just blog headlines.

Email

When sending an email to my team I use two versions of this. I try to help them know the priority I place on emails by labeling them with two distinct labels.

“[ACTION NEEDED] subject line”
“[REFERENCE] subject line”

I’ve been getting 400% better response from the action items since I started doing this.

Twitter

Here are some recent Twitter posts I’ve made using this technique. My notes are in brackets.

• [Are you publishing online yet?] Amazon: E-books Will Overtake Paperbacks by the End of 2011
• [Finally!!] YouTube Increases Video Time Limit to 15 Minutes

Today’s Action Steps

First, if you found this article helpful please share it on your favorite social network below.

Second, try using the bracket technique in your next blog post, email or tweet and then leave me some feedback in the comments below. Are there ways you think you could use this that I didn’t mention?

Now go take action.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

Referral marketing comes down to getting other people to tell their online networks about your business. You can let that happen organically (the slow way) or you can be strategic and partner with people that can help you build a solid referral marketing engine. I have a secret that has worked for me and I’m confident it will work for your business too. But first…

Referral marketing

In the modern economy you need to partner up. Going alone sets you up for failure. The Internet is the perfect space to quickly build and develop business connections.

Trust is obviously a very important aspect of all this. You need to fully trust the people you partner up with. If you can’t refer your mother to them, then they are not worth referring your customers and clients.

Let’s assume you already have an idea of who you’d like to partner with online. What’s the secret to connecting with them so that referral marketing can happen?

SECRET: Start doing referral marketing for other people first

Other people are the major reason you will have business in the new economy. Your ability to connect and build relationships will be one of the biggest factors in how financially successful you are in the future.

It’s important that you find people in your industry or other complimentary businesses to partner with. These people are going to be your power team. You are going to invest heavily in helping them grow their businesses and they will do the same for you. Engaging with these people takes some time and effort.

I have created something I call the “target 10.” These are ten people that I target for a period of time (about 90 days) and behave as if I’m on their marketing staff. I don’t ever ask for anything in return, but I make comments on their blog posts, tweet about them, share their Facebook content and look for any way I can to promote new products and services that they release. I become their biggest fan and advocate.

The key is to genuinely become a referral marketing engine for others…

A few ideas to make this system work for your business:

• Don’t keep score. I learned this from Keith Ferrazzi’s book Never Eat Alone. If you keep score you won’t be freely able to help other people without expecting anything in return.
• Target people who have influence. Even though we aren’t keeping score, when you are starting out it’s important to think about the potential reach your actions can bring. So don’t target someone with 100 Twitter followers. Spend the time researching folks who have larger audiences. (Side Note: Don’t ignore people with small numbers – they are still people and you still need to be nice. I’m simply suggesting you spend a lot of time with people with large audiences when you’re starting out).
• Put yourself on their marketing team I (virtually). Mentally place yourself in the position of responsibility for their online sales and success. If they have an affiliate program feel free to sign up for that – but don’t do it for your own sake. Look to genuinely make them successful.

If you will do this for the next 90 days, I promise you will see some amazing results. You really can’t go wrong by promoting others.

How to partner up for referral marketing success

As you begin to develop relationships with others, here are a few ideas on how you can partner online to build your power team or referrals.

• Create a united front. The best example of this is the Mexican drug cartel. The top dogs always work together to stamp out competition and help each other sell more. A rising tide raises all ships.
• Fan swap and follower swap. Be willing to follow each other on Twitter and “like” each other on Facebook.
• Offer to email your list if they’ll email theirs. This is a great way to help each other out and build both of your lists.

Today’s Action Steps

First, find ten connectors and begin to target them for a relationship. Follow them on Twitter, like their page on Facebook, subscribe to their blog, connect with them on LinkedIn, etc. After you’ve followed – liked – and connected… start retweeting their tweets, sharing their blog post and looking for any way to publicly promote them. After a while they will take notice.

Second, comment below and sketch out your target 10 plan immediately.

Finally, if you found this post useful, please share it via your social media of choice.

Now go take action.

This article is part of the Internet Marketing Basics series where we cover the fundamentals of internet marketing and social media.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

*Photo by bigoteetoe

Ford breaks the mold and debuts its new Explorer via Facebook, not an auto show.

Do you think that Twitter will be around forever? After reading about its flaws, you may not be so sure of its stability.

Some would say that social media addiction is a disease. Well, some stats will help you prove that.

If you’re looking for a social media expert, you might want to make sure that they meet a few qualifications before you commit to them.

Checking your social media strategy is something that companies often neglect to do. Make sure that you don’t fall off the self check-up wagon.

Twitter could be stepping up their game by including photos and videos directly in the Twitter stream.

Interested in sending some voice text via Twitter? Check out Mashable’s article on sending voice tweets to satisfy your need to tweet speak.

YouTube Viral Video Alert: Guy Walks Across America

Tip: If you have an iPhone and you have Bump, now you can connect with others on Facebook and Twitter just by fist pounding.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by CDJensen

Personal branding does not mean that you should act like a company. Personal branding also doesn’t mean that a company should act like a person. It means being yourself – being conscience of who you are – and knowing what you stand for. It’s also important to become a person of value.

Personal branding

The goal of personal branding is to be seen as a person who adds something to others. Sounds simple but let me tell you a story.

I was in Best Buy ready to buy a hard drive a few months ago. I was out of storage space and because I shoot a lot of video I needed extra space for my files. The sales guy was showing me a few models on the shelves. As I asked him some questions he realized that I needed a drive that could write video files more quickly. He made a recommendation of the type of drive I should get. I agreed and asked where I could purchase.

“We don’t sell them here,” was the response. I was confused. Why would he tell me about a drive they didn’t carry. He went on to explain where I could find the product online and even wrote down the web address for me. He was hurting his own business by recommending a drive they didn’t carry. But he became someone of value to me.

Contrast this example with the slimy salesperson who doesn’t have your best interest in mind. You can tell from the outset that they only want to “sell” you. How does that make you feel?

Pretty awful. But when someone offers legitimate value – you feel grateful.

Your personal brand should set you apart and get people talking

When you are a person of value, you set yourself apart from your competition. We already talked about knowing your stuff. Now become the person who gives freely.

There is no limit to how much you can give. Seth Godin writes about becoming a person of value in his book Linchpin. It’s a great book about making yourself indispensable. Of course I think it’s a book that cuts to the heart of personal branding.

When you become a person of value you get people talking. Word of mouth referrals can be a huge indicator of your future success in business. People that know you have value to offer will freely recommend you to friends and colleagues.

So how does this all apply to Internet marketing and social media?

Business is tough these days. You have to find ways to leverage your resources and make them go further than ever before. Here’s a few tips when growing the value of your personal brand:

• Give away helpful advice – Literally give away some of your best stuff. Seek out people to help and give, give, give. The internet makes this easy to do
• Connect people – regardless if it will directly benefit you or not. Be the connection point between people. When someone mentions that they are looking for a product or service, offer to connect them with someone you know who provides it. Use your social networks to scale this.
• Increase your own value – by reading, studying, learning and experimenting. Look to better yourself and become a person who has so much value that you’re in demand.

Think about the person who adds the most value to your life. What is it about them that’s valuable? Do they make you feel empowered and confident? What can you learn from them and apply to your own business?

Today’s action step

Practice giving of yourself. Seek out ways to help three clients or prospects this week. Even small gestures of value can make a huge impact on your personal brand.

Here are a few ideas…

• Clip a magazine article that pertains to a prospect’s business and send it to them with a written note.
• Make a connection between two of your clients or customers. Introduce them and suggest they do business together.
• Offer to write a recommendation for a few of your customers or clients. You could even do this on LinkedIn.

This article is part of the Internet Marketing Basics series where we cover the fundamentals of internet marketing and social media.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

*Photo by masochismtango

Personal branding starts with trust. You need to become a trusted adviser for your prospects and customers. Trust comes from having integrity, but also from knowing how to get results.

Becoming a VCR programmer

A trusted adviser is someone people can lean on when they need advice. Let me tell you a story…

When I was a kid I was a huge photo/video nerd. I knew way more than the average teenager about cameras, lenses and video editing. As a result, family members were always bugging asking me to help them with this or that when it came to video or photography.

I helped and it got worse. More people would come and “ask” me to do random stuff that I wasn’t even that good at (program a VCR, hook up a new radio, or try to fix their computer).

The point I’m making here is that by having some knowledge in one area made me a trusted adviser. I created a little internal family “brand” that projected itself onto other areas.

The same can be said for your personal brand. If you become a trusted adviser in one area, people will associate your business with getting results.

“Trusted adviser” is the baseline of personal brand

When you spend the time building up trust:

• You become the go-to person and in turn the go-to business.
• Your income will go up because you are now the top of your game.
• Once you have some trust from a small group of people it’s easy to leverage them to help you gain more trust with a wider audience. This is referred to as social proof.

How to become a trusted adviser

When gaining trust from prospects and customers it really boils down to two things

1) Know your stuff
If you read about your business, industry and customers for two hours per day you’ll become an expert. It’s that simple. But I will caution you that experts aren’t all that important. Colleges and Universities are full of experts who make measly salaries. Knowing a lot is good, but you need more. One idea is to use Netvibes to read all the major blogs and articles in your industry.

2) Practice your stuff
Take what you learn from reading two hours a day and implement them as fast as possible. Get some feedback and then adjust accordingly. You need to gain experience. Without implementation there is no real learning. But if you actually put into practice what you learn – your trust level in your own abilities will skyrocket and in turn your prospects will trust you even more.

What if you were the go-to person?

Do this simple exercise with me. Close your eyes and imagine yourself as the go-to person in your industry. Feel the power you have when you really know your stuff (from actual experience). Spend time feeling good about how you are turning yourself into an expert.

A word of caution: becoming a trusted adviser expert should not create a false sense of pride or arrogance. Stay humble. Realize that there is much you don’t know and always be willing to learn more.

Today’s Action Step

Put something into practice in the next three hours. Because you are reading this, your already building up your knowledge and value. So spend time putting one thing into use that you’ve learned this week. Make it specific to your business and brand that will help you become an experienced adviser people trust.

For example, let’s say you’re a personal fitness coach and have been reading about the health benefits of training with kettlebells. Go get yourself some kettlebells and test out what you’ve learned. Only then can you speak with the authority of a trusted adviser.

Now go take action.

This article is part of the Internet Marketing Basics series where we cover the fundamentals of internet marketing and social media.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

*Photo by bschmove

Last week, the drama/thriller movie Inception was released across the United States. I had an opportunity to catch the midnight showing and I’m glad I did. Without blabbering too much, the movie was excellent and it leaves you thinking when you walk out of the theater. I recommend seeing it if you can.

The premise of the movie is that within your dreams, your subconscious releases information, often which is secret or personal. This process if called extraction. However, it’s a two way street; information can also be planted, or incepted, into your subconscious, causing you to make decisions which you might not normally make.

I’ve been thinking about this idea for the past week and I’ve come to realize that we should all be “incepting” ideas into the minds of our readers, followers, and friends. Why?

Wanted: Leaders

It’s pretty easy to go with the flow; it’s not hard to get up each morning, head to work, and get into a habit of just coasting through life. But this isn’t how it was supposed to be.

Every person is good at something. Whether its knitting, computer hacking, or finding great bargins, everyone has a talent that shouldn’t go to waste. For some reason, however, a lot of people don’t use their talents. They think coasting through life is easier, and more rewarding, then sharing information with those who want to hear it.

The world needs you to incept others. You need to plant ideas and knowledge in the lives of your followers in order to change the world. We need you to be a leader and to show that the ideas you plant can be brought to life and used to better society.

Yeah, whatever.

Sure, I might sound like I’m a little off my rocker, but I’m not. I promise. Think of it this way:

You are good at SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
You know a handful of people who would like to know more about SEO but you don’t share your knowledge.
Those four people, who could be paying you close to $70-$80 an hour, take their business elsewhere.
You’re broke and can’t take your significant other on a date.

Or, maybe you’d prefer this outcome…

You are good at SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
You know a handful of people who would like to know more about SEO and you arrange to meet them about their needs.
Those four people, who could be paying you close to $70-$80 an hour, pay you $90-$100 an hour because you do good work and are willing to share ideas and strategies.
Your significant other loves you because you have a well paying job and can pay for dates.

Which would you rather have? Unless you’re out of your mind, you’d probably pick the second scenario.

Everyone needs to learn something at one point or another in their life and you might be the person who can teach them.

Your ideas are powerful and can help shape the cores of many businesses and lives. Not only are you getting paid but you’re also forming partnerships and bonds with individuals who might help you out later down the line.

Don’t sit around hogging the information; share it and incept it.

Do you know what the fastest spreading virus is? An idea.

Go out and make it happen.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by raja4u

Personal branding seems to be the hot topic these days. If you are a small business owner or a sole entrepreneur, personal branding can be very powerful for you.

Personal Branding

This concept of personal branding started with a guy by the name of Tom Peters who wrote about “Brand You.” He argued that employees need to see the new economy in terms of developing themselves as a brand just like Donald Trump, Tiger Woods and Oprah.

The goal is not to become as big as Oprah with your own media empire (although that would be nice). Instead, you want to become a rockstar in your industry or business sector. You literally create a persona that attracts people by becoming a “personality” rather than just another product or service provider.

I’m not talking about branding your business. I don’t have much use for branding when it comes to small businesses. Unless you have millions of dollars to spend on Superbowl ads and expensive icons (think Geico), you should avoid general branding like the plague. For your business focus on direct response marketing instead.

Although I’m down on small business branding I do recommend personal branding. It is something that you can do little by little each day. In my mind branding yourself comes down to consistency. Consistency in what you stand for AND consistency in doing the activities that will morph you into a brand.

Why personal branding is so powerful

For those who slave away at a desk job, personal branding is important because NO ONE that you work for or with is looking out for your best interest. When you leave your job (or get laid off) having a strong personal brand will be the bridge that helps you land your next gig.

If you are working in your own small business, you have to differentiate yourself from your competition. You may not have more money, a bigger ad campaign or even better sales people working for you. But you can develop and cultivate a personal brand that will “rub off” on your small business and employees causing you to rise above your competition.

If you are still not convinced, consider this… you are being Googled. Potential cusotmers, potential employers, even potential lovers are entering your name in Google and finding out about you in advance. So your online personal brand is your first impression.

My question is …what kind of first impression are you making?

How To Take Control Of Your Personal Brand

Become a trusted adviser and expert by knowing your subject matter. You must know your industry. A simple Google search can yield thousands of news articles, websites and resources that will allow you to stay in the know.

I recommend setting up a free Netvibes account to keep on top of it all. You need substance more than style. But more importantly, after you are in the know, you should become a curator of content and the go to source for others.

Become a person of value by giving away value to prospects and customers. By freely giving away value, you are building up goodwill with those people who are starting to see you as a rockstar. Learn to influence others by giving of yourself.

Become a rockstar and command the attention of your industry and your customers. This comes from other people giving you social proof. By cultivating even a small following you are laying the framework for a larger following. In order to do this you need to be visible.

Imagine your brand

What would your business look like if you actually worked on developing your personal brand? Imagine being able to walk into a room and command the attention of people in your industry. Imagine your online article or blog posts being read by potential customers making them hungry to do business with you. Building your personal brand can be the difference between struggling in business and achieving amazing success.

Today’s Action Step

As you begin to develop your personal brand – take out a piece of paper and spend the next 10-20 minutes answering these questions.

• What makes you different from other people who might have a similar background?
• What is it that makes people what to work with you? (What attitudes, knowledge, skills and abilities do you already have or are developing)
• List out the value that you can create and give away to others. Be specific and list three things.
• At the end of the day – what gets you excited and fulfils you? What type of person do you imagine yourself being?

This article is part of the Internet Marketing Basics series where we cover the fundamentals of internet marketing and social media.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

*Photo by stefano principato

It’s a new week and it’s time for a new set of social media one-liners.

As always, these one-liners are created to give you the scoop on what is happening and tending in social media this week.

Here goes…

Are you a Facebook junkie? If so, you should learn how to do some pretty sweet things with your profile.

If you have a social media plan for your business, it may be time to evaluate your status and progress.

With Facebook approaching 500 million users this week, it will be celebrating by allowing users to share their own Facebook stories.

Some businesses see angry customers as a sign of weakness or flaws but they can actually be quite valuable.

It’s no secret that a social media catch-22 exists in many companies. How can you avoid it and deal with it if it happens?

Gearing up to begin a social media campaign? Check out one approach to creating a social media press release.

Giving props and saying thanks via social media is still very underrated. How can you show love for your fellow online users?

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by sue_r_b

Inbound marketing can make a big difference in your business and sales. It’s the difference between having to pick up the phone and make sales calls and having your prospects and customers CALL YOU.

The goal when marketing your business is not to get your business name “out there,” it’s to get your customer’s name “in here.” This is called inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing vs. outbound marketing

Traditional marketing is sometimes referred to as “interruption marketing.” You literally interrupt people with your message.

Imagine this scenario…

You’re at a cookout talking with some friends, flipping burgers and chatting away. A new neighbor comes up to you and starts pitching you on a spatula his business sells. He demonstrates how superior his product when grilling burgers. And it’s true.

But he just jumps right into the middle of the conversation and begins to INTERRUPT you with his message.

You’re peeved right? How dare he start in like that.

Now consider this scenario…

You’re tasked with grilling for your cookout. You head to the local grocery store looking for charcoal, matches and hamburgers. On your way down the charcoal isle you strike up a conversation with the exact same neighbor. He finds out that you are grilling today and recommends his spatula. You get excited at all the benefits and order one from his website later that night.

The first scenario is an example of interruption marketing. You already know this style very well. Every TV show, radio channel and freeway billboard uses this method of advertising. They literally interrupt to force feed you advertisements.

Inbound marketing turns traditional interruption advertising on it’s head

In the new economy, smart marketers and small business owners need to find better ways to reach people. Inbound marketing offers an excellent solution. Interruption marketing is like hunting, while inbound marketing is more like fishing.

“Fishing” with a wide content net

If we continue with the fishing metaphor, you need to find a “hook” to get your audience to bite. We saw the hook approach in the second scenario above. You were already buying related products for grilling and along came your neighbor with some INFORMATION that showed you a better way to cook burgers. You got excited and ordered the product that night.

But to push the metaphor even further, he was only using a hook. It was a on-to-one marketing process and would not scale well for your business. Instead we should really be fishing with a large net. We will snag more prospects this way.

What is the marketing equivalent of a large net?

Online content.

Inbound marketing relies on an Internet content net to draw in prospects and customers. Content is what makes the Internet tick. The major online sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google use content to fuel their sites.

We also see the need for content on portable devices. With the recent uptick in sales of the iPhone and iPad – there is a vacuum for mass amounts of quality video, audio, text and photos to share on these devices.

As a small business owner, you already have the tools to reach people who are already actively searching for content online. For the cost of a laptop you can begin creating a publishing operation for your small business that rivals your local newspaper.

How to use inbound marketing to get customers to call you

First, start publishing now. Become a consistent publishing source of value and information. There are thousands of opportunities for you to add value to your prospects via video, audio or text. Start using the tools available and start now.

Second, give away massive value. Look for ways to improve the lives of your prospects and customers. Use your publishing platform to INVEST in them. This is critical to attracting prospects to your business.

Finally, speak to people’s emotions. Don’t think, write or act logically. Instead focus on the emotions of your prospects. It’s important to stir up their emotional brain and get them excited about doing business with you.

Think about how powerful inbound marketing can be

What if you could turn your marketing on it’s head and get customers and prospects to call you? How would that impact your bottom line? Would you sleep better at night?

That’s exactly what you can do when you start using inbound marketing. You cast a wide content net and begin attracting customers without picking up the phone to make a sales call.

Today’s Action Step

Set up a blog for your business. You need a place to publish … a home base. Your blog is the first step to turning your business into a publishing force. I recommend you use Wordpress as a platform. Stay tuned for more…

Now go take action.

This article is part of the Internet Marketing Basics series where we cover the fundamentals of internet marketing and social media.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

]]> http://folkmedia.org/inbound-marketing-getting-your-customers-to-call-you/feed/ 0 http://folkmedia.org/how-to-get-your-prospects-to-take-the-plunge-and-commit/ http://folkmedia.org/how-to-get-your-prospects-to-take-the-plunge-and-commit/#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:30:44 +0000 Joel Mark Witt http://folkmedia.org/?p=5715

Okay gentlemen – most of the women reading this will nod their heads in agreement when I say…

Commitment is good

Now before all the guys out there panic and start running – let me clarify what I’m talking about. In the world of marketing and business it is a good thing to get your prospects to commit.

The goal is to entice prospects to give you their contact information. One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask for an email address.

Getting a visitor’s email is the single most important goal for your website

I keep talking about email capture again and again because it is THAT important to your social media and online marketing. When you get a prospect’s email, you get control and permission.

An email address gives you control of the marketing relationship. If you are relying on prospects to return to your website later on their own – you’re delusional.

In defense of prospects world-wide, it’s not their fault. They simply can’t keep up with the fire hose of information coming at them every day. Most people will welcome relevant and helpful emails targeted to meet their needs. Deep down, prospects want you to have control of the marketing relationship so they don’t have to think.

An email address also gives you permission to follow up. Each time a prospect subscribes to your email list – image them standing in a crowd raising their hand and saying… “I’m interested in your products and services.” They are giving you permission to market to them.

A few tips on getting emails from your prospects

• Be sure to have an email capture form on your website. The solution we use is Aweber. I’ve written a lot about using email opt in forms here and here.
• When using an email capture form – be clear on the value that you will provide in return for a prospect email address. Offer to give them a free report, video, download, coupon, etc.
• Many smart marketing professionals create print ads that send prospects to landing pages with email opt in forms on them. This is a great idea. The problem is – when prospects visit the web page many won’t enter their name into your email list. A better option is to provide an email address that prospects respond to that will automatically subscribe them to your list. This will result in 100% opt ins.

Imagine your business as a lead capture machine

Imagine the cycle of success you will create by inviting prospects to commit by giving you their email address – which in turn gives you permission and control in the marketing process.

With a solid email list you can alert people (who have already committed to you that they are interested) with new products and services.

Just think of the cost savings! By building an email list you are building a future database of potential customers.

Don’t forget that people value their emails. You can’t abuse the relationship with your prospect. Continually offer value in your emails. Look to improve the lives and businesses of your potential customers.

Today’s Action Step

Get signed up for an email service provider and place an email capture form on your website or blog. Make it enticing for prospects to give you their email address by giving away something free in return for the address.

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. He is a producer, author, speaker and social media marketing coach who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter or Google Buzz.

*Photo By Pacopus