Branding for big companies makes a lot of sense. But many small business owners and entrepreneurs don’t think that this essential business strategy applies to them. In part, this is because they don’t understand what it is and what it can do for them. So let me clear it up for you.

Branding in business is much like branding in cattle raising. A brand identifies you, your product or service and makes it stand out from the competition. It can be a name, like “Kleenex”, a term, like “roller blades”, a sign or symbol, like Target’s bull’s eye, or any combination of these.

Big companies spend a lot of time, money and effort developing their brands. Some have done so well that many consumers use brand names as common nouns (”Kleenex” instead of facial tissue, “Hoover” instead of vacuum cleaner, etc.).

A brand is also more than I’ve discussed so far. In fact, it has a much deeper purpose than just to differentiate you in the market. It’s purpose is also to establish an emotional connection with your target market.

When I say, “Oreo,” what do you think of? My initial sensation is that of good times growing up and eating Oreos dunked in milk. That’s an emotional connection.

So what does this all have to do with you, the small business owner or entrepreneur?

Branding can make the difference in your business, as well. It can attract more clients to your practice, get more people to buy your products and services, even cause a viral, word-of-mouth referral system to spring up without you even trying.

What is Branding and Why Should You Care? is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

The Autumn Article Marketing Marathon is now forming. The deadline to sign up is September 20.

What is an Article Marketing Marathon?

For one weekend, you’ll focus on writing 20-50 articles … but you don’t do it alone nor unprepared.

You’ll have all the tools, resources and support you need to do so before you even start!

The week before your Marathon, I’ll do your keyword research for you — find those key words and phrases that will bring you more action-oriented and engaged readers.

Even better, I’ll write a selection of headlines for you that will draw readers in and give you the focus of your articles.

But the support I provide doesn’t stop there … During your Marathon, I’ll be available for both telephone and email consultation.

And, after your Marathon I’ll submit up to 20 of your articles to up to two directories for you!

New Article Marketing Marathon Group Forming is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

As a business owner, whether solopreneur or involved in a larger business, there are many ways a tips booklet works for you, whether it’s a printed copy or a downloadable ebooklet. Here are three to get you started thinking (and creating!):

1. They further educate your client or prospect as a leave-behind or a preview of your services. You can distinguish yourself by providing something they are unlikely to throw away, that will keep you in front of them much longer.

2. They give your colleagues a better idea of your expertise so they can refer you to their contacts. You not only educate your prospects, you also educate your colleagues with the distinctive tool of a tips booklet. Your colleagues may even want to purchase copies of your booklet as a marketing tool for their business.

3. They serve as an income stream unto themselves when you sell them in bulk to companies and associations to help them promote their product, service, or cause by using the booklet as a gift. Imagine your clients paying you to market you. That’s exactly what happens when a company or association invests in your booklet and then gives it away strategically to further their own promotional purposes.

What other uses can you identify that you’ve experienced or are considering? Anytime you see someone handing out something as a promotional tool for any reason, think about whether that would also be an ideal positioning for your booklet. It could be as a gift with purchase, as a thank-you for opening an account, as a leave-behind in a sales call or other interview, or many other ways limited only by your imagination.

3 Ways Tips Booklets Work For You is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

3 Strategies That Work When It Comes to Building Your List

List building is crucial to your success on the Internet. Even though I have been extremely successful with a list of less than five thousand names, increasing the size of that list is one of my top priorities. There are several ways to do this, and my favorite ones are through article marketing, blogging, and SEO (search engine optimization) of all of my sites.

Article marketing is the process of writing short articles, typically three hundred to about five hundred words in length, about the topic you are specializing in. I get the ideas for what to write about from questions I receive from my prospects, comments on my blog, things I may hear about or read about online or offline, and topics that I know will be of interest for the people who want to learn more from me. You build your list from this by sending readers back to your sites through a link in your resource box, as I have done here. Get into the habit of writing an article every day, and your business will grow exponentially.

Your blog is your home on the Internet, so post to it several times each week. You can repurpose the articles you write into blog posts, or do it the other way around for best results with the search engines. I use my blog to share ideas and concepts that they will find helpful, and my readers leave comments to let me know what they think and what else they want to learn.

I continue to learn more about SEO, and find this to be a fascinating topic. Simply by using two or three keyword phrases on my sites, people from around the world are able to find me. I also use keywords in my article and blog posts, and in my comments on social media sites. Get to know your keywords and doing business online will be much, much easier.

All of these strategies will lead to you being able to build your list much faster. It will also bring you prospects that are highly qualified because they found you through the keyword phrases that describe exactly what you do online and what you have to offer.

List Building For Online Profits is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

If you are running an Internet business, you need an email list. Having an email list goes hand in hand with offline businesses having a mailing list! If you aren’t marketing and growing a relationship with your own private list of clientele, you need to do so. Concentrating just on product and forgetting about your clients isn’t a business, you’ve got a hobby if this is you.

There are many important facts about owning your private list of subscribers and your private list of customers if you are running a business online. For those running an Internet business, having your own personal list of clients usually means more income. This is the case if your customers were delighted with their past purchase and you have earned the right to have them trust you.

Having an email list is not only profitable if you have formed a relationship and a long term business friendship, it means that you can live over and over from your current offers as long as many of these offers are of direct interest to your list of subscribers. This is also known as an opt-in-list in the Internet marketing industry.

In the offline world, this is known as a mailing list. Local mailing lists usually come in at least three different forms. The companies who offer them provide you with many options. Among the popular ones are telephone number and name of the person. Another option is the name of the person and the street address of the prospect and the third most frequent and in-demand package usually sold is the targeted offline leads that provide you the combination of street address, name, and phone number.

The importance of owning your own mailing list is consistent with the same principles of an email list from the Internet! These are, offer your customer something that satisfies a need or a desire, have them fill out a simple form with their name and basic personal information for a future follow-up, and then deliver. The secret key here is following-up with the prospect.

The key secret for many of us being, not many marketers follow-up successfully with their acquired leads or actually do something with their leads at all. Most of them own a hobby or plainly don’t care about a hidden asset they already own that they don’t use to the correct degree.

If you own a mailing list or an email list and have used them, you know that upon mailing and requesting something, most often you get a reaction. The reaction for many marketers being, they usually buy or keep visiting your information loyally if you provide good information. However, it is sometimes difficult to acquire a big list of subscribers from scratch, be it a mailing list offline or be it an online list.

One of the best options is renting a list or buying one. There are software programs and systems in place for leasing you a share of their subscriber’s database as long as you help the owner build the system list. Another available method to acquire a subscribers list is to buy them directly from sources that pre-qualify leads for you in advance. You save time and in most cases, you make money when marketing to the purchased list when the time is right. When all else fails, look for a solid lead generation course that offers multiple avenues on how to build your own list.

The Importance of an Email List is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge