The result?

You stop opening emails you know will require a response.

You may even dread opening your email client at all.

Soon, your inbox is littered with unread, un-acted-upon emails, many with deadlines which have already passed. You kid yourself into thinking this is some kind of “to-do” list, but in reality, you’re just avoiding having to deal with it, because you simply don’t know where to start.

Talk about stressful!

And what about legitimate emails that need a response? Clients, potential clients, JV partners, and dozens of others contact you through email, and if you don’t keep a clean inbox, sooner or later something is going to slip through the cracks, and you’ll lose a valuable opportunity.

A Big Sigh of Relief

Ask anyone who’s suffered from inbox overload and gone on to embrace “inbox zero,” and they’ll tell you how freeing it can be. Suddenly, you’re no longer a slave to your email. You don’t waste time every day searching for that one email you know you need to answer but can’t find. You don’t have to ask clients to re-send information. Best of all, you stop dreading that first onslaught of emails in the morning.

You are in control.

Your Plan of Action

Before you can get your out-of-control emails into some kind of manageable system, you have to map out a plan.

• Will you declare an email D-Day and simply delete everything so you can start fresh? Some call this declaring email bankruptcy
• Will you block off a few hours (or days) to carefully scan and sort your current emails?
• Or will you use your email client’s filters to automatically file what you have?

All three methods work – but if you have thousands of emails in your inbox, you might just want to decide that anything before, say, last month is going in the trash. Let’s face it, if you haven’t answered that email by now, it’s probably no longer relevant.

If you only have a few hundred emails to get through, then using filters or a manual sort method will probably work for you.

1. Start with the obvious dead weight: Advertisements, junk, marketing emails you don’t care about, and email from your mailing list subscriptions can be deleted on the spot. The same can (generally) be said about email from friends and family, notifications of comments to moderate, Facebook messages, and LinkedIn connection requests. Highlight them all, and click the delete button.
2. Look for emails from current and prospective customers. Move them to a folder called “Respond To” or something similar, so they’re out of your way but still close at hand. You’ll deal with those later.
3. Take a look at what’s left. Chances are there’s not much, and you can deal with them on an individual basis.
4. Once your inbox is clean (or at least greatly reduced) you can go back to that “Respond To” folder and begin answering, starting either with the most urgent messages or with the oldest. The important thing is not where you begin, but that you work through the entire folder. Do not let emails collect in this folder indefinitely. That will only move your problem from the inbox to another folder, when what you’re trying to do is resolve your stress, not hide it.

It’s easy to see why an overflowing inbox can be stressful. If you take some time to map out your plan for dealing with the current backlog, then develop a solid system moving forward, though, you’ll be much better able to cope with it.

A person can achieve great results with their marketing materials, while sticking to a budget.  Here are some examples:

If you are creative and a do-it-yourself type person, creating your own marketing materials is a no brainer.  You can easily purchase business card stock at your local office supplier and create an interesting design at home.

You can also create other marketing materials by yourself at home, including your website, customer newsletter, and more.

When creating things at home, remember to factor in the cost of the ink.  You don’t want to unwillingly spend more on printer ink than it would cost to simply buy the marketing materials elsewhere. It may simply be cheaper print at office supply store such as Staples or OfficeMax.

If you aren’t a graphics pro, don’t worry.  You still have budget-friendly options.  Do you have any creative friends who might give you a nice discount?  Friends scratch each others backs, so if your friend offers you a discount, make sure you return the favor by sending referrals their way or putting their link or ad on your site. You may also want to consider 99designs or fiverr.

Bartering your own product or service can help you secure a designer, too.  There are probably plenty of people out there who are in need of what you have, but like you, they are on low on cash and cannot spend the extra money.

Why not team up with them and trade your services with another?  You’ll both be getting what you want or need, and you won’t have to put up any money.

One bit of caution with this, though.  Even though money is not being traded, it is still wise to write everything down and make sure everyone involved has a copy.  That way, each person will understand what they are giving and what they are receiving.

There are affordable options online for business cards, magnets, brochures, and other things.  One website that comes to mind is vistaprint.com or 123print.  These website offers great products at great prices.

Great looking marketing materials don’t have to cost a fortune, but they can help your business start earning a (small) fortune.

When creating these material make sure that it’s all tied into your brand versus purchasing items because you are getting them for a great price.

The primary reason for one to respond to a sales letter is the product itself.  If the product will solve the customer’s problem then its benefits are clear. If it is proven to be a great value then the product could stand alone as a reason for a response.  There is much more you can do to trigger the response you want from your readers.

Bonuses
Everyone loves getting something for free.  Adding a bonus or package of bonuses to your product will encourage readers to respond favorably to your offer.  There are numerous things you can offer as bonus some of which do not cost you a dime.  Here are some ideas:

• Special reports and short Ebooks make great bonuses.  You could write these on your own and your only investment would be your time.  You could solicit permission from a fellow marketer to use a special report he or she wrote as a bonus.  This gives him or her added exposure while providing you with a valuable bonus for your customers.

Another option would be to pay someone else to write a special report for your use.  A ghostwriter will write a report for you and allow you to put your name on it.  Prices vary, but the cost should be easily recoverable with a few sales.

• Free trials are valuable bonuses.  They allow customers to try out subscriptions or memberships without paying.  Again, the program or publication could be your own or someone else’s.
• Checklists and other supplementary tools complement your product and add value.  These work especially well with information products but you can find something to go with just about anything.

Discounts
A limited-time discount gives your readers a reason to respond and a reason to do so quickly.  Deadlines are the key here because an immediate response is what you are looking for.  Sticking with the deadline is an absolute must if you want to keep the trust of your customer.
A package discount could encourage customers to purchase multiple items if you have them to offer.  If selling tangibles, you might offer a discount if buying two or more.  This increases your sales and gives customers a bargain.

Free E-Courses
A free E-course is a great way to get the reader to join your mailing list.  This could be offered on its own without a purchase to encourage the reader to return and purchase at a later date.  It could be offered as a bonus to keep other offerings in your reader’s inbox.

In order to get a response, you need to give readers a reason to respond.  Laying out your product’s benefits clearly might be enough.  Adding something extra will make your offer even more palatable.

The colors you use on your sales page are an important part of getting your audience’s attention and getting them excited.  Tranquil, peaceful colors are great for a spa because they are soothing.  They are not good for a sales page because of the exact same reason.  Using high contrast, complimentary colors will put your audience in the right mood to read your message and act on it.

Action Words — Using action words in your copy is an important part of marketing.  Writing in a passive voice slows down the pace of your writing and does little to entice your readers to act now.  The various forms of the verb “to be” should be avoided as much as possible.  In some cases you will have to use them but if you can find another way to state the same thing in a more active way it will be to your advantage.

For example, take this sentence  “Jane Doe is the best wedding planner in America.”  It lacks punch and action.  Try this instead  “Jane Doe will organize every aspect of your wedding to produce the ceremony of your dreams.”  This replaces the inactive “is” with two action words and adds greater detail.

Build Value — One of the primary concerns of consumers is value.  Is the product they are considering buying a good buy for the money?  Are there other products available that will provide more bang for their buck?

This provides you with another opportunity to get readers of your sales copy excited.  Telling them all of the problems that your product will solve will show them how great your product is.  Comparing it with other products on the market and giving evidence of how much better your product is will have them clamoring for it.

Charts are great ways to compare products.  Your product’s benefits can make up most of the comparison items.  Prices should be listed at the beginning or end.

Deadlines create added value as well as a sense of urgency.  You could make your product available for a limited time only especially if it is an intensely hands-on service.  You might choose to offer a discount for a short time.  Whatever you decide to put a deadline on, stick to it.  Not doing so will cause you to lose trust and losing trust means losing future sales.

Getting readers excited is a step in copywriting that should not be overlooked.  The ambivalent are not likely to buy your product right away and with the Internet’s notoriously short attention span they will usually not return.  Excited readers will be enticed to purchase right away, or at least sign up for your mailing list.  So if you don’t get the sale right away, you can keep yourself fresh in their minds until you do.

Need help achieving any of this?? Contact me and my team we are here to help.

When looking to increase your SEO organically try article marketing

The most obvious way to do this is through the headline.  It is (or should be) the first thing on the page and hence the first thing a visitor will see.  Obviously you need to make it large enough and bright enough to attract attention.  But what you write there should also get attention and make the reader want to read more.

The Headline

With all of the information available on the Internet, users are accustomed to finding what they need quickly.  Studies show that you only have about 4 seconds to get a reader’s attention.  While short, your headline needs to be nothing less than stellar.  Here are some ideas for an attention-grabbing headline.

• Solve a problem for the reader. You will definitely need to do this within your copy but using this technique in your headline can work as well.  Just be careful not to give too much away.  The idea is to make the reader want to continue reading.
• Ask a question. The answer should be your product or service or something that it does.
• Make people mad. Not at you but at a situation that your product or service can solve.  If you sell a product that helps people start a home business, for example, use a headline that discusses the negative aspects of working a regular job.
• Use exciting words.  Adjectives such as “astonishing,” “fascinating,” “exclusive,” and “phenomenal” get the reader fired up about your product or service.
• If possible your headline should include a keyword to help increase your organic SEO.

Other Opportunities to Grab Their Attention

While the headline is vitally important, it is not the only place you can get attention. Interested readers will often skim over your page instead of reading it word for word.  That means that you can also use subheads and billeted lists to get their attention.

• Subheadings break up the text and divide it into convenient sections making it easier to read. They do not have to be as short as the main headline but should be to the point.  You can also use sub-subheadings but be sure to make each level of heading progressively smaller to avoid confusion.
• Bulleted lists present information in an easy to read format.  They are ideal for lists of product benefits or problems that your product can solve.  Lists should not run together however.  Each one needs to be clearly identified.
• Bold, highlighted and italic text and capitalization can provide variety and call attention to important words or points.  But they should be used sparingly especially in the case of capitalization.  All caps are considered yelling online so it’s best to capitalize only one word every so often.
• Underlining should be reserved for linking text in online sales letters.  When people see something underlined on a web page they expect it to be a link.  Underlining words other than links or failing to underline those that are links can be confusing and frustrating.

Getting the attention of your reader is essential to the success of your copy writing particularly when it is online.  Using powerful headlines and calling attention to major points within the copy can draw your reader in and make him want to learn more.  That is an essential first step to getting an order.

Last week we started talking about WHAT is article marketing and this week I want to give you the HOW to get started.

The Internet is awash with content.  Content of all types can be found on websites and posted on forums.  Just about any subject you are looking to learn about can be accessed on the Internet.  Using articles to market your business is a free promotion that is highly effective.

What have you spent?  You may have spent a few hours doing research on your topic and then you sat down to write some interesting content.  The content was posted on your own site or sold to other sites that deal in buying articles.

The best way to use article marketing is to write about something that you know.  A topic that is familiar offers a host of different spins on one subject that can be marketed in a variety of places.  You can submit articles to online sites, e-zines, print magazines, and newsletters.  Any one of these places will give your work more exposure.

Come up with several ideas for article content.  Keep a notebook with you so that you can jot down article subjects and titles.  If you are putting together several how to articles, keep a list of what to include in the articles.  The more information that you have on hand, the quicker you will be able to produce an article.

Surf the Web to see what types of articles are out there.  If the subject that you have chosen is pretty much done to distraction, choose something else to focus on.  Most of us have more than one area of interest or expertise so we can use that to find another marketing avenue.

What about rewrites?  If you are the owner of the content, exercise your right to use it again and rewrite it from another angle to get more use out of the subject.  Tailor your articles to the specific guidelines of the site or publication where you will be submitting them for consideration.

Above all, don’t forget to plug your website or product at the end of the article.  Most sites will let you have a small bio at the end.  If they do, use it to the hilt.  Always, always include a hyperlink to your website so that people can find you easily.  They will want to read more on the subject and this can’t be done if they can’t locate your site.

A hyperlink will take them directly to the website.  If you forget to use the http:// at the beginning, they will have to copy and paste into the browser.  People want things to be as easy as possible and so do you if you want their traffic.

Article marketing is free and fun.  Use the knowledge that you have gained on a particular subject to enhance your business and make you some money.  People are always looking for good sources of information.

If this is something that you would like to start doing, let me know. My team and I can help you get started. Contact me and I’ll help you get started.

Long before the internet rose to its position of importance in marketing, the use of article marketing was considered a useful promotion tool in print media.  Today, the availability of online venues such as websites, ezines and newsletters via email have created an even greater need for well-written articles on a variety of topics.  As a result, article marketing has become a more powerful tool than ever before.

Article marketing is the practice of providing well-written content for distribution to websites and epublishers in exchange for a blurb about the author’s business and contact information.  These articles usually include a link to the business owner’s website.

When a business owner offers content for publication, it is equivalent to getting free ad space on countless websites worldwide.  The opportunity for exposure to the right market is significant, while the cost is virtually nil, making it a highly efficient means of business communication.

Unlike using email campaigns for lead generation, which net about a one percent response rate, article marketing targets a willing audience.  Readers either voluntarily visited the website on which the article is published, or have opted in to receive the newsletter or ezine.  This audience is inherently more open to the information contained in the article, and therefore more likely to follow the link to the author’s website to learn more.

Publishers who pick up the articles already have an audience of potential buyers in place.  Readers are interested in the content of the articles, suggesting they may be in the market to purchase products or services related to that content.  By comparison, the cost to purchase a list of such well-qualified leads would be formidable.  Providing an article costs no more than the investment of the time required to write it.

Business owners can further increase the conversion rate by including a link to a particular piece of information in the author’s bio.  Rather than linking to the home page, authors can include a link to an article on their own site that elaborates on the article topic.  Readers will be more likely to seek out additional specific information.

Conversion rates can be improved further by publishing an email address that readers can use to subscribe to the author’s newsletter or website.  Making the desired action as easy as possible increases the reader’s likelihood of doing so.  An auto-response can then be sent to links directing readers to specific features of the author’s website.

Providing content to publishers in related fields can be a highly cost-effective means of increasing website traffic, generating qualified leads, and improving both brand awareness and ultimately, sales.

First, keep in mind that in order to teach someone else something – you just need to know something that he or she does not know.  And when it comes to your business, you probably know a great deal more than anyone who might attend your class or seminar anyway.

Remember that the average business owner is, well busy… managing their own lives and businesses.  That means he or she has little time or inclination to acquire new skills, the very skills you yourself may possess already.

Things to Remember:

1. The classes or seminars don’t have to be some spectacular “show”.  Obviously you want the experience to be enjoyable and informative but it doesn’t have to be complicated or hard.  It’s as simple as sharing your knowledge with those who need it.  As an expert in your field (when compared to the rest of the crowd) you will be able to speak with authority and credibility, knowing full well what works and what does not.
2. The classes or seminars don’t have to be incredibly long or last a whole day.  It could even be as short as 30 minutes.  It should be long enough, to convey the possibilities of what your services could do for them, and how it could help their own business exponentially, as well as provide a few nuggets of value they can use right away.
3. The real power in any event lies in how you market it. Your choice of words when writing your ads and how well you distribute them will determine how many people turn up on your big day.
4. Be sure to include not only the date, but the time as well, and exactly where it will be held in all of your advertising. If it is in an easily accessible, well known location, and at a sensible time, you will definitely seduce more folks into showing up than if you hold it in some obscure location no one can find.  When you market an event with a lack of specifics it simply causes many potential visitors to dismiss the ad, and move on.
5. Always, always present yourself professionally. While most of the audience might accept that you are a “geek”, they are also professional people themselves, who expect to be treated as such. Remember that they have to buy into you as a person before they will buy into anything else you offer them, so you need to look like you know what the heck you’re doing!
6. No event can be found without spreading the word about it.  You can advertise on community boards, at your local business forum, in the local newspaper, and in Facebook groups created around your area.  Depending on the area, you might even find groups for local business owners already created on Facebook that you can tap into.  Additionally, you can take the time to send personal invitations to specific business owners – snail mail, email, telephone and social media.
7. And finally- speak human!  Do not try to baffle them with words and expressions they are unfamiliar with.  Business owners respond to fact and figures, not fancy lingo.  If you lose them because they don’t understand what you’re talking about, you’ve now become someone they are unable to relate to.  Therefore why should they bother doing business with you?

This method is great for landing new clients and can be relatively easily implemented with a bit of elbow grease on your part.  All you need is a bit of motivation. I can help to create a blueprint of how to hold a successful teleseminar, webinar or live event. Shoot me an email or give me a call.

So my question to you. What have you done lately that make customers feel surprised and delighted.

It doesn’t have to be and over the top it’s the little touches.

1. Going in with a Sales Mentality — Social media is about building relationships and building trust. Sales is about closing deals. When you start your social media campaign, you must separate the two.  Once you’ve  built a relationship you can begin to sell, but you can’t rush the relationship until your network trusts you.
2. Going into social media without a plan — You set up your accounts across a number of different social media platforms and then get overwhelmed when you can’t keep up with them all. Would you go on a road trip without a map a GPS unit? It could be a long trip.  To participate in social media without stress and struggle you’ll want to build an action plan.  Take a step back and map out what you really looking to achieve by using social media and the best social media tools to help you achieve your goals.
3.  It’s not about the numbers — Yes, Ashton Kucher has over 1 million followers on Twitter but does he have a relationship with them?  Yes, it may be cool to brag about how many followers you have and how quickly you got them, but in the social media game it’s not about HOW many but the QUALITY.  Again, I go back to rule number 1 you need to build a relationship with your followers.
4. Leaving your profile incomplete
 — If you went to a retail store and all they had was a sign in the window and there were no clothes on the shelves what would you think?  That is the message you are sending when you set up a profile and leave it half set up.  Incomplete profiles makes your company look unprofessional and leaves little chance they’ll come back and check you out when you are really up and running.  Remember you only get one chance to make a first impression.
5. Mixing business with personal — Your daughter/son may be the world’s greatest soccer player, but not I’m not sure if your business contacts want to hear the blow by blow of the ladybugs soccer team.  They may be more interested in hearing about a promotion you’re having or a great article that you want to share.  Don’t get me wrong yes, social media is about building relationships and creating human face, but sometimes it’s possible to over share our personal lives.  Facebook allows you to have a business page as well as a personal page, so as Nike says Just Do It.  It’s best to separate church and state.
6. Producing boring content — We are all guilty of it; we put a blog or a Facebook page and then just start filling it with stuff, stuff for the sake of saying your blogging and/or posting on your Facebook/Twitter. Now take a step back and ask yourself would you read that, would you comment on that? Yes content it king, but you want to be producing content that people want to read and comment about.  Your content can provide information, be controversial and/or funny, but for the love of St. Pete it shouldn’t be BORING!
7. Not monitoring your social profiles — Yes, this can be a time consuming  endeavor, but if you don’t go in see what’s happening in the social media space, this past July a Burger King employee took a picture of himself standing with his sneakers on in a 2 tubs of lettuce.  Within moments of the pic being posted folks were able to figure out where the image came from and started bombarding the local media outlets within a few hours Burger King took action and those employees where fired.  Imagine what would have happened if they weren’t monitoring? They would have found out via David Letterman’s Top 10 list. This way they were able to get in front of this bad publicity and show that they take these cases very seriously.   Not saying you need to be on your social accounts like a teenage girl, but you do need to check in regularly.

By avoiding these mistakes your business can leverage social media networks to connect with your customers and potentials customers and then you can promote your products and/or services.