The Kiss Business too (2)

Seth's Blog: Can't top this = incentive to read: Collapse of Distinction

2009-11-12T12:32:13+00:00

For weeks now I'm trying to find time to write another book review, but other - more pressing - business tasks keep coming up (good ones though, don't take me wrong).

But today Seth Godin made this task a little easier by posting this:

Can't top this

Getting someone to switch is really difficult.

Getting someone to switch because you offer more of what they were looking for when they choose the one they have now is essentially impossible. For starters, they're probably not looking for more. And beyond that, they'd need to admit that they were wrong for not choosing you in the first place.

So, you don't get someone to switch because you're cheaper than Walmart. You don't get someone to switch because you serve bigger portions than the big-portion steakhouse down the street. You don't get someone to switch because your hospital is more famous than the Mayo Clinic.

The chances that you can top a trusted provider on the very thing the provider is trusted for are slim indeed.

Instead, you gain converts by winning at something the existing provider didn't think was so important.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

And that is exactly what "The Collapse of Distinction: Overcoming the Stifling Sameness of Today's Marketplace " is all about: don't try to add incremental differences between you and your competitor - it is a waste of money, effort and time.

Scott McKain starts his excellent book by remembering his childhood in a little town in the US where two local diners suddenly experienced the "fast-food" chains. One business didn't take long to fold, the other survived as if the fast-food giants weren't even there.

Collapse of Distinction contains many more examples and steps to take yourself to "Stand out from the crowd" - beginning with the three dangers every business faces when competing:

incremental differences,
new competition and
familiarity does not bread contempt it breads complacency

Scott answers these dangers with 4 pieces of advice you should implement in that order:

Clarity,
Creativity,
Communication and
Customer Service

It is a great read - the only thing I did not like is Scott's dislike of the IMHO greatest book of all: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't by Jim Collins and co, but then I'm biased on this subject. I can't see the difference between Scot's "Clarity" advice and Jim's "Hedge Hog Concept" advice. But I leave that for you to decide for yourselves.

Thanks again to my personal librarian Drew McLellan for recommending this book to me.

ScreenSteps for instant personalised leaflets

2009-11-04T12:28:30+00:00

Saturday we had the pleasure of welcoming returning clients in our showroom - we, like every business no doubt, love returning clients - specially when you sell high value goods like wooden flooring.

We installed a natural wooden floor for them 6 years ago - they were one of our first Wood You Like clients so we remembered many details - but one year later they had sold-up and moved to another town in Kent. They were kept in the picture of our business through our monthly newsletter and when the time came to finally get rid of the existing carpet in their "new" home they didn't go anywhere else but back to Charing.

In our showroom we display many large sample boards because wood comes in plenty of options in species, finishes, colours and floor-types (from veneer to design parquet). It happens frequently the floor area is covered with 3 to even 7 large sample boards so all can show off their own characteristics perfectly. Our main manufacturer/supplier provides us with product information leaflets, but a printed sample doesn't always give the right impression in regards of the true colour. So seeing a "live" large sample works best, specially when our prospect/client is in dubio of what would suit his/her design style best.

In our cupboard we keep a stack of small off-cuts from floors installed, but there is a small problem with this: it only shows part of all the characteristics a floor can have. It is in fact almost an "art" to make a correct sample board - it should really display most of the things you will find in the whole floor, warts and all! (Or in this case: knots, filler and variation in colours).

Our returning clients couldn't really make up their minds on the three most preferred floors. Did we have samples of all three so they could compare the colours etc with their existing furniture and design. I came up with a better idea, or so I hoped.
Why didn't I take high resolution pictures of the sample boards and email them together with our written specified quote on all three floor types? That idea was appreciated and after they took their farewells I took to work - only to discover the battery of our camera was empty! Waiting for the re-charge to complete I pondered on the format I would email the images - I had to make sure the images were named correctly and all of a sudden I realised the best way to do this - including adding important information - was to create a document using ScreenSteps.

So I took the overview picture and all individual close-ups of the sample boards, downloaded them into my pc and viewed them in the standard viewer (large). Normally I would crop and reduce seize of the "raw" images to make the file smaller - especially when you do not know if the prospect can receive large files without problems or might have problems opening the format in which I turn the images. But almost everyone can open a PDF file without any problems!

Using the CapturePalette of ScreenSteps Desktop very quickly all four images were automagically transferred into one document where I only needed to write the extra information and could now also use the annotation option to number the boards to correspond with the specific information.

Floor Options

When this was done I exported the document as PDF file, attached it to my email and away it was! (If you're interested you can download/view it here to see exactly how effective it shows the sample boards in their full glory.)

In 5 minutes time I had created an instant, personal and relevant product information leaflet, showing our clients exactly what they had seen in our showroom to assist in their decision making.

Their reply after receiving the quotations and the personal leaflet:

"Thank you that is really helpful as we could put them against the floor boards in the hall, and our decor in the room to get some idea what they will look like."

Our next follow up is an on-site survey to check measurements and discuss further installation matters.

This must be the 7th possibility I can use ScreenSteps Desktop for (one of the other possibilities is writing this article in it and uploading it automagically into my blog), such a multifunctional simple program. It makes effective and relevant communication with our prospects and clients so much easier and quicker without compromising on quality.

Despicable Social Media Practices: Cheesers and Cheaters

2009-11-02T16:49:37+00:00

Using Twitter-search (with RSS feed to my "blog" reader) I can follow, read and interact on questions/news about some software programs I use myself and of which I'm a big fan: Typepad, ScreenSteps and of course AWeber.
So once a day I go to my reader and read all the relevant tweets.

Strange and weird things can appear - or so I thought the first time when I kept reading the same tweets over and over again but by different "people":

Cheesers

You notice something?

And this one comes up frequently too:

You notice something?

Besides the exact same tweeted text they all seem to have numbers in their twitter profile name. When you check their profile 9 times out of 10 you will see something likes this:

I've started to call them "Cheesers" - because what they do IMHO is rather cheesy:
"Trying too hard, unsubtle, and inauthentic.
Specifically that which is unsubtle or inauthentic in its way of trying to elicit a certain response from a viewer, listener, audience, etc."

What's the use of this? Why would you 'hackle' a excellent software program which has an excellent customer support this way? I "smell" a competitor, do you?

Then there is a whole different group of twitters:

Cheaters

Again the twitter profile name is a combination of name and numbers (and none of them follow anyone - only have a number of no doubt automated followers).
These tweets seem to direct you to a tutorial on how to build/utilise an AWeber web form to grow your email list.

Only, when you follow the link you always end up on the same website which promotes completely the opposite practice of permission marketing AWeber is so well known for: Blasting - in this case not email blasting but blasting links and content on twitter, facebook and many more social media platforms.

SocialBlaster

If this company is so successful, why do they need to "piggyback" on the fame of another company that promotes exactly the opposite?

Shame on them. We can do without cheesers and cheaters - what on earth is Social about them?

(Rant over)

Email Marketing Dynamite!

2009-10-18T12:36:50+01:00

Email marketing has become a 'set-piece' for businesses small and large. Still many small businesses and trades think "it's not for our type of business/trade". Believe me - and others - they are wrong: email marketing benefits any type of business.

If you belong to the group of 'doubters' and/or don't know where to start with email marketing the right way to prevent being branded a 'spammer', a great book is about to be launched.

Ed Rivis' second book "Email Marketing Dynamite" not only contains practical advice and tips on how to start this profitable and cost-effective type of marketing, it also contains 10 interviews with business owners/marketing managers from a range of industries and trades on how they use email marketing to grow their business in sometimes spectacular ways.

Read how a plumber generated 13 solid sales in the first few weeks of his new email marketing tactics
how a business selling clothing and textiles made from Bambo (ideal for those with a sensitive skin) created 20 sales with an average order value of £ 100.00 with one email which only took 1 hour to write
how a specialised retailer (we, Wood You Like!) has one specific simple email marketing tactic that continues to generate 11% of their total turnover
how an independent printing company only has to send one specific email to a specific segment of his list to get a repeat sale
and more more "live" examples

The book starts off with a rather poignant and witty "In Memoriam" from "The Company Who Didn't Appear to Care".

"We failed to embrace modern methods of customer communication that would have prevented you from forgetting about us and buying from our competitors instead."

Make sure your business doesn't end up with a sort-like memoriam. If you hurry you still might be able to pre-register your interest in Ed's book and get the opportunity to buy it for just the P&P cost and receive special bonusses (I've seen/read/used them, they are more than worthwhile!) on the day it launches (TBA, but coming very soon!).

Trust Agents - Do you or Are you?

2009-10-06T12:27:29+01:00

Social Media is a strange beast - a nice, intriguing strange beast that is.

Take my "personal Librarian" Drew McLellan. How and when we 'met' I can't remember (90% chance is was through Liz Strauss, who I've 'met' years ago when I just started this Kiss2 blog around the same time the Z-list discussion happened).
When Drew reviews a book on his blog I've come to trust his recommendations and if I think if will suit our business practise there is a 95% chance I purchase the book. So too when I read this:

Are you a trust agent? Do you need to be?

by Drew McLellan

Chris Brogan (one of social media's Godfathers) and Julien Smith, a trend analyst and expert on building communities have released a new book, Trust Agents.

The subtitle pretty much tells you what to expect....using the web to build influence, improve reputation and earn trust. And that's exactly what the book focuses on. Sort of.

The book defines 6 characteristics of trust agents:

via www.drewsmarketingminute.com

And I wasn't disappointed.

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust is a novelty IMHO, the way it is written is 'peculiar' - not your standard list or steps to take to become the object of the title. It's that gut-feeling so hard to describe Chris and Julien manage to explain with great examples and which reveals own experiences:

"Givers Gain" - or as they put it:

"That is what evolves naturally. If you act like a good citizen, and you feel like One of Us, the benefits arise without much thoughts - good things happen to good people."

Always my own first and foremost important tip on who to become a trust agent too:

Be passionate about giving!

My experience is this comes indeed natural to most popular trust agents. No hidden objectives.
Forums - mostly a forgotten subject in Social Media reports, discussions, books - are a great place to become known as a trust agent. It's done and doing wonders for our business, including multiple incoming links to our main website and FAQ blog (and even webshop). The links we place ourselves and because the forum owners trust us not to abuse the forum we are allowed this, although they have a strict non-advertising rule.

No hidden objectives: the forum members know we run a business; my twitter, blog and facebook, LinkedIn contacts/friends know I have a 'second career' in webmarketing.

Give unrelenting - don't expect gain. Now that's a strange mindset but the only one that works!
Give value and you will always gain.

In Chris and Julien's Trust Agents there is also a perfect question (page 200) that illustrates one of my pet-hates on no replies to emails or comments:

"You don't give blank stares to people who ask you questions, so why its digital equivalent?"

Thanks for another great recommendation Drew, you were - as always - spot on: Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith is a novel must read for anyone using Social Media to enhance his/her business - the right way.

Facilitating "spur of the moment" decisions

2009-09-23T09:25:09+01:00

As business owner you frequently encounter fellow business people and no matter what the subject at hand is, in the end the conversation turns to comparing "notes".

The costs of being in business

If it is not the state of the economy, the effect or lack of effect of the big "recession" the conversation is about business practices, marketing experiences, number of prospects/clients and the likes.

And about costs of course. What are your ads costing, what is your overall marketing costing you, how about the utility bills and what new ventures/activities are you contemplating? Eventually the talk ends in "value for money" when we turn to web marketing/web presence.

Like the discussion I had recently about our secure webshop. My conversation partner - a home-based retailer - had looked into launching a webshop too, but didn't appreciate the so-called "fixed costs" attached to an online shop. Paypal didn't appear professional enough - we use it with no effort at all for our "digital products" and don't think any of our clients regard us less professional for using it - all other online card processing companies set a minimum cost per month. We know, we pay a minimum per month for the pleasure - two minimum amounts per month to be honest (online card processing plus a hardware terminal in our showroom for 'real life' and phone/email card processing). She prefers to be sent a cheque through the post, even the fixed minimum cost for hardware equipment she couldn't see as necessary.

Cost or opportunity?

The home-based retailer couldn't see the "profit" in a monthly minimum cost for her type of products to launch an online shop. I begged to differ, we are in fact more than happy to pay this "cost".

The fact is, we don't see it as a cost - like we don't see our accountant as a "cost" but as an asset, but that is a completely different story ;-) - we see offering the facility to our prospects/clients to securely purchase our products online (or over the phone) as an opportunity.

Her prospects now need to wait to purchase what they fancy until my fellow business owner is awake and answering her emails/phone calls. Contrary to The Internet, she's not working 24/7 - unlike our secure webshop and online card processing facility.

It happens frequently when we "open for business" - i.e. answer the phone, respond to emails during normal working hours - my inbox shows a purchase made online. Made during the late afternoon - after "opening hours", during the evening, even during the night or very early in the morning.
Our clients don't have to wait for us!

Facilitating "spur of the moment" decisions

The last time I've checked our online sales through our secure webshop, it counts for 5% of our total turnover. And it is rare those online purchases occur during working hours. Not world shocking, but for us more than enough to happily pay the minimum costs for our online card processing facility.

Because it also facilitates those "spur of the moment" decision we all make one time or another: you see something in a shop or online and decide there and then to buy it. Click a few buttons and voilà, purchase made. No regrets, no wavering waiting time: shall I or shan't I.

We also know that during working hours, having browsed our online shop, new clients call us to place their orders - most people want to talk to a real person and getting some extra advice. So we are also very happy to pay a minimum cost per month for our "in shop" card processing facility. The phone/email purchases from clients whom never ever set a foot into our showroom counts at the moment for 17.5% of our turnover.

22.5% turnover generated because accepting these minimum costs per month!

What do you see?

Do you, like my conversation partner, see costs or do you see extra opportunities? Opportunities for your business because you offer your prospects the simple facility to make that "spur of the moment" decision. Shorting the decision cycle.

The Internet "works" 24/7, does you business or do you limit your sales opportunities to your opening hours and old-fashion payment methods? Just to reduce your fixed costs?

You tell me - in the comment box, if you like.

It's not the (Social) medium, it's the method - be consistent!

2009-09-12T14:00:58+01:00

Ever since Martin Malden (re)converted me back to use Twitter as part of our webmarketing strategy my personal Twitter account sees an almost daily increase of 'followers'. If I wanted I could have had a tremendous number of followers, but since I'm not into "the number game" I tend to check out the latest new followers own profile page. If I like what I see/read I sometimes "follow back".

(Must say, most of my new followers I simply block. Just by looking at the difference between the number of "following" - very high - and "followers" - very low - you can count on it the account holder has some kind of automagically "follow everyone who tweets a specific keyword" set up. I always wonder if they ever read any tweets of all those persons they follow or just hope on the principle: someone follows me, so I follow back, to increase their number of followers with the single goal to sell to them.)

Automated welcome messages

Last week memsitebuilding decided to follow me. Checking out his profile page I saw Bo Nebbett is heavy into building membership sites, an area that does have my interest too, so I decided to follow back.

As many other Twitters memsitebuilding sends an automated welcome DM (Direct Message) to new followers:

I don't know about you, but I read a question in the above DM - let me know if? And since I'm not one to leave a question unanswered I clicked the envelop icon to reply to this DM.

To my astonishment I received the following (again automated) DM back:

consistency in methods?

How about that? Using automated systems is one thing, not even being bothered to read replies to your own automated messages is another. Reminds me of the article Justin Premick wrote and which started a very interesting discussion over at the AWeber's blog: "Do Not Reply " Address? Don't Bother.

IMHO another very bad example of 'netiquete' (online etiquette) - so Jason, if your reading this, another one to add to your list.

No matter which medium you select to contact prospects, clients and even friends, be it modern Facebook, Twitter, email marketing or old fashion phone calls and 'snail mail' letters: be consistent in the medium itself.

If you send out emails, accept email replies; if you send out Direct Messages on Twitter, accept - and read! - DM replies. If you make a phone call, don't hide your phone number and accept return calls etc etc.

How else are you going to build trust? You use one method for your own convenience but you don't allow your 'contact's to use the same convenient method. Marketing nowadays - or should that be always? - should be focused on the convenience of your prospect to contact you, not your own convenience.

Side note: I am still waiting for a reply when I did use @memsitebuilding

E-Book on Simplifying Social Media Marketing Based on Collective Wisdom

2009-09-04T13:44:09+01:00

In March this year Christine B Whittemore (known to many as CB the Chief Simplifier) "interviewed" me on how we as small retailer in the floorcovering business use (and profit) from the new modern web marketing tools and strategies. If you have been reading/following my blog you know how much we have integrated web marketing into our business and how - sometimes amazingly - successful that has been.

CB interviewed many more (retail) bloggers about their experiences and what tips/advice they have for others. This has now cumulated into the following.....(straight from CB's own blog "Flooring the Consumer")

"Back in early December 2008, I decided - with inspiration from Mack Collier - to launch a weekly social media series about Bridging New & Old. I've been so impressed with the wisdom that these prominent and talented social media practitioners share that I decided - with inspiration from CK - to feature their responses to one question in an e-Book. Hence "Social Media's Collective Wisdom: Simplifying Marketing With Social Media - Book I."

The e-Book focuses on the question: "what suggestions do you have for companies to implement so they can more effectively bridge old media with new media and connect with end users?"

It takes the responses from the first 26 participants in the series. Since, as of this week, 34 interviews have taken place, there will be a Book II. I promise!

Social Media's Collective Wisdom Book I is available for free download from Simple Marketing Now.

I invite you to read it. I encourage you to share it with others. I think you will find the wisdom within compelling and thought-provoking.

And, then, will you let me know how you applied what's within?

The following very wonderful and wise friends participated in Book I. If you haven't yet explored what they do, definitely do so.

Susan Abbott from Customer Experience Crossroads

Toby Bloomberg from Diva Marketing Blog

Laurence Borel from Blog Till You Drop

Jeanne Byington from The Importance of Earnest Service

Mack Collier from MackCollier.com

Yvonne DiVita from LipSticking

Jay Ehret from The Marketing Spot

Kristin Golliher from Otterbox

Kristin Gorski from Write Now Is Good

Lewis Green from BizSolutionsPlus

Ann Handley from Annarchy

Karin Hermans from Wood You Like

Chris Kieff from 1 Good Reason

Andrea Learned from Learned On Women

Lori Magno from Moda Di Magno Blog For Stylish Living

Valeria Maltoni from Conversation Agent

Doug Meacham from NextUp

Peg Mulligan from Peg Mulligan’s Blog

Rich Nadworny from Digital Strategy Blog

Amber Naslund from Altitude Branding

David Polinchock from Experience Manifesto

Arun Rajagopal from Arun Rajagopal’s Blog

Dan Schawbel from Personal Branding Blog

Mario Vellandi from Melodies in Marketing

Steve Woodruff from StickyFigure

Alan Woody from Carpets By Otto

via flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com

Why I use Typepad for business "blogging"

2009-08-21T12:35:11+01:00

I've lost count of how often it is asked (anywhere: forums, twitter, off line) which blog platform a small business can best use. Plenty of choices out there: from paid for online software, self-hosted 'free' software, free and hosted by software creator, to small and rather unknown WYSIWYG software.
Typepad, Blogger, WordPress.com (free and hosted by WP) and WordPress.org (self hosted 'free' software) are the four most well know and most used platforms. I always discard Blogger and WordPress.com because of the limits they have - when used as web presence for small businesses - which leaves Typepad and WordPress.org.

As with everything online: you have raving fans for the one and equally raving fans for the other option. This review will focus on my own personal experiences with both platforms and why I recommend Typepad for business owners who want/need an easy to use, SEO ready and quick to edit/add platform.

Why would any business use a blog?

So far I've come up with 7 key reasons, see here for the long version

You're in control - always (not your web designer or IT department)
Better Listings On Google (BLOG)
It works in real simple syndication with online directories (RSS)
Notify your prospects/clients of new content instantly (email marketing)
Interact with your website visitors (throught the comment box)
Combine static website and "blog" on one platform (fixed page as 'front page')
Become known as "The Expert" (build trust by publishing good content in abundance)

No matter what type of business you are in, service or products, using a blog (or as I prefer to call it: a dynamic and interactive webpresence) is one of the fastest ways to grow your presence online in a sustainable and none-time consuming way. It depends on the amount of time you want to spend and your knowledge of IT, CSS and HTML which of the two most used blog platforms will suit you and your business best: "paid for" Typepad or self-hosted "free" WordPress.org.

Why Typepad?

Let's face it: ....... Read on here (redirects to "1 Plus 1 Makes 3")

MyDish: Social Media + E-commerce = Dragons Den

2009-08-13T11:45:50+01:00

We like Dragons Den so much we even passed on the second half of the friendly between The Netherlands and England yesterday evening (which ended 2 all).

BBC always seems to leave the best for last - not saying the best investment or idea, just the best "entertainment" or another "first in the Den".

Carol Savage of MyDish needed an investment of £100,000 to take her sharing website (sharing of recipes in more than one way) to the next level: improved ordering facilities to online supermarkets. Ocado is already in the frame, Asda might be next.

Although the total amount brought in by other angels is already £600,000 and the business "burns" £22,000 a month, the pitch for more - very appropriate when talking about food - did seem to go down well.

But three of the Dragons saw the "next dot.com" upstart which could be copied any day at much lower costs. Deborah Meaden saw something else and focussed on the other functionalities the website would need to become as profitable as the pitch promised.

Shopping online for the groceries of the recipes (advertising and affiliate revenue) which are then delivered home (Ocado) and in the near future planning your whole weekly shopping for groceries online and being delivered to your doorstep (more advertising and affiliate revenue).

Deborah agreed with the potential and offered the money for 15%. Theo then offered an additional £100,000 for the same percentage because he's adement is will take double the money first to get where the MyDish Social Media Site wants to be.

30% was too much for Carol to accept in relation to her other shareholders (who brought in the £600,000) and shook hands with Deborah.

So another first in the Den, another Social Media site in the offering. (Read and/or watch the whole pitch here)

It made me wonder the following:

Whatever happened to "shop local for local food" and Deborah's "green credentials"?

When shipping oversea begins to feel like a voyage around the world in 30 days - we hope

2009-08-13T09:17:52+01:00

To travel to the UK from mainland Europe you'll have to cross the Strait of Dover (English Channel) or the North Sea, depending of your starting point. To travel from the UK to the neighbouring island you have to cross the Irish Sea.

This neighbouring island is divided in two: Northern Ireland and Ireland (Republic) but no matter which one you want to go to, you'll have to cross the Irish Sea.

Beginning August we received a phone order for maintenance product from Belfast area: two bottles of polish and a polish applicator please. No problem for us when the village we live and work in has its own Post Office. Standard parcel delivered within 48 hours, even over the Irish Sea.

In the last week of August we received a phone order from the Dublin area: two bottles of polish and a polish applicator please. I went to the Post Office again where James told me the astonish news it had to go "Overseas". The Irish Sea I said, I know my geography.

That was not what he meant. "Overseas" = International standard parcels

A) that costs 160% more!
B) takes between 3 - 5 delivery days to Ireland (Republic) according to Parcel Force's website

However, yesterday my Dublin area client called: where was the parcel? Trying to check the parcel online with the tracking number gave the following message: not available for this service (International Standard Parcel).
On the phone then to Customer Service (select 1 for.. 2 for... 6 for all other enquires = 6. Select 1 for.... 2 for.... 6 for all other enquires = 6. Select 1 for... 2 for.... 4 for all other enquires = 4) where I finally managed to explain the situation to a real person: shipped on 27th of August, 1.5 week later still no sign of the parcel - where it should "only" take 3 - 5 working days to cross the Irish Sea.

A very bored sounding customer service employee then told me it can take up to 30 days (that is a whole month!). When I asked why their own website stated 3 - 5 working days for Ireland (Republic) with International Standard Parcel I was told that was "only" an indication and should not be taken face-value!

Don't take me wrong, but does the Irish Sea stretch to enormous proportions when you ship something with the International Standard Parcel service?

(The best part of Parcel Force webpage on Ireland was the first sentence:
"We are in the process of rolling out our new improved international products to all customers."
About time too!)

Let's just hope this parcel is not on its way to turn into a Phileas Fogg adventure.

Update 18.08.09: received a phone call from our Dublin area client yesterday early evening - yes, our clients can even call us after normal working hours: parcel had arrived! (Turned out it was delivered 4 doors further down the road but no notification card was left behind at clients address.)
So, all's well that ends well, it seems.

Are you using Email Marketing? Then read this!

2009-08-08T14:09:24+01:00

In June Ed Rivis announced his soon to be launched new book: "Email Marketing Dynamite".

"E-Mail marketing is the #1 most critical tactic any business can perform online. Pound for pound it’s also reported to be the most effective tactics any company can perform in terms of ROI (Return on Investment).

All the biggest companies use it to generate extra sales, revenues and profits - so if I have a ‘mission’ at the moment, it’s to get a lot more small business owners using e-mail effectively."

If there is anything I can totally agree with, it is his mission. Our own retail businesses thrives on web marketing which includes - of course - email marketing.

Ed has asked (through his own email marketing campaigns in combination with his blog) if he could interview various small businesses about their experiences with email marketing: what effect it has had on their business success or even survival. I had the pleasure of talking to Ed for almost 1 hour as one of the interviewees.

You can subscribe to the pre-launch news of his new book - which, and I'm sure of it, if it is anything like any of Ed's other products and publications, will show/teach you how you too can effectively implement email marketing to grow/sustain your business in any economical circumstance.

First step: preregister your interest and profit from the opportunity to buy his book for only P&P the minute it is released.

Pass it on: 25 Words of Wisdom x 37

2009-08-06T13:04:01+01:00

Last week I joined in to the 25 Words group writing project Liz Strauss had launched.

Liz has now - as she always does after a project like this - compiled a wonderful painting of words presentation (see below).

25 Words Of Social Media Wisdom Project

View more presentations from Liz Strauss.
Pass it on: click embed on the presentation

Contributors:
Courtney Chowning
Liz Strauss
Claire Druga
Karin H
Christa Miller
Suzanna Stinnett
MaryS (one of my favourite 25 Words)
Liz Hover
Writer-Mommy
Tim Tracey
bobjones.nl
AppFail
Regina Lark
Summer Huggins
ANDI
Anna
Karen Putz (another of my favourite 25 Words)
that damn redhead
Tim Bursch
Niro
Tracy Fox
Joseph Crockett
Jen
Lorraine Ball
Ike
Dave Haber
Tre~
Jim Storer
Rebecca E. Parsons
Sheila Scarborough
Jim McGee
Francie
nerdmuffin
Julie (can relate to these 25 Words too)
Avil Beckford
Glenda

Pass it on.

Liz Strauss' The 25 Words of Social Media Wisdom Project

2009-07-29T12:13:33+01:00

On the Successful & Outstanding Blog(gers) blog Liz has started a new 25 words writing project: share your thoughts and wisdom in 25 words with the world.

The 25 Words of Social Media Wisdom Project

(follow the link to the invitation)

My contribution:

In this brave new world
of follow and followers,

follow the question

and provide the needed answer

That truly puts the "Social" in the "Medium".

Does your business have a website or a webpresence?

2009-07-26T14:19:37+01:00

During the last week I have had various very interesting discussions (online and off-line) about businesses and their use of the World Wide Web (offically E-commerce). In the early days "all you needed" was a web site and an email address. It's like placing an advert in a weekly paper and never changing the content because having an ad in the paper is all you need to get "exposure". As long as someone keeps seeing the ad, eventually they will decide to buy from you.

Nowadays, even with the increase of all types of Social Media platforms, that's still the only item most businesses have: one web site and I've lost count of small businesses' websites I've seen which are still the same as the moment they were built years ago.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that anymore - and it stopped working a while ago. Not just because of the Social Media 'craze' but more due to the advances in search technology. If your website is not found on the first two or three result pages you can forget any traffic, it is said. Getting ranked high in the generic search results especially on Google takes either a lot of time or a lot of money and there are plenty of SEO wizards out there claiming they can get your website on the first page, guaranteed. A lot of money is wasted this way, because even if they succeed in getting your site "up there", what is all that extra traffic going to find? Last year's special offer? (Like the banner ad I saw this week on one of the forums we frequent as part of our web presence)

One of the offline discussion I had - which continued "online" per email - was just about that: in this day and age of multiple electronic platforms: websites, facebook pages, YouTube, Squido lenses, blogs, twitter accounts, autoresponders, LinkedIn profiles, forums - have I left something out? - what is a business to do? Choose only one platform or opt-in for all, because you never know what platform one of your prospect is using and you don't want to miss out on any opportunity to be found (or to be regarded as "old-fashioned" because you haven't jumped on the latest internet craze where loads of others are making the big bucks).

But again, what is your prospect going to find when he/she follows you, becomes a fan, watches your video, reads your blog article, lands on your website, connects on LinkedIn, submits a name and email address in the box of your autoresponder? Do they find a consistent presence? A representation of you business that encourages trusting the presence your business portraits?

Because IMHO that should be the focus of any "WebPresence" your business is establishing, trying to establish: building trust with your prospects. No matter which platform you select or how many: all should work as "an invitation" to start a conversation, an invitation for arranging that next cup of coffee to keep the interest and relationship alive.

Every business should have a web presence, not just a website. The choices are plentiful indeed, but be wary of those choices that does not help you built trust. Ever left a comment on a business blog, tweeted a question to a business and never received a reply? Submitted your name and email address in the box only to receive a sales letter - every other day?

Social Media platforms are not "number games": look at how many followers, fans, subscribers, readers I have.
It's what quality you are able to give to those numbers. Focus on quality relationships instead of quantities in short term "profit", quality is what pays your bills in the end - it always has and always will.

(Maybe I should change the name of my E-training, from The WebMarketing ToolBox to The Web Presence ToolBox - something to ponder about this coming week.)

Why your documentation is useless and how to make it Useful

2009-07-18T15:34:59+01:00

Documentation. Done. Right!

There are three software programs our business has come to learn, love and can't do without any more: Typepad blog platform, AWeber the autoresponder and email marketing and ScreenSteps The multiple media publishing machine. All three involve turning content into (marketing) documentation, are mainly so-called 'online' software programs and are a great tool/help for us to interact with our prospects/clients.

Funnily enough one of those three can be used in combination with the two others. ScreenSteps (Desktop) publishes some of our documentation without any problems into Typepad (this post for instance) and in AWeber.

On this Kiss Business 2 and on the 1 Plus 1 Makes 3 blog I've praised this software program since the moment we started using it. I've tried to explain many times why it is such a great, versatile, simple and multifunctional program any business creating documentation should use.

In their latest webinar "Why your documentation is useless" Greg and Trevor DeVore, founders of Blue Mango Learning Systems and the creators of ScreenSteps have done a much better job - of course! - of explaining why creating your documentation, manuals and even training instructions should be considered a process instead of a project.

Even the stills from the Webinar already tells you the essence of the story:

Is your documentation a:

Is your documentation connected with:

Do you plan a documentation project or:

The video recording of the Webinar tells you much more about the principle of seeing your documentation as a progress instead of a project. Due to the time the webinar was planned I couldn't attend, but I watched the recording this morning and thought: yes, this is exactly what I've been trying to explain to others why ScreenSteps Desktop (and Live) is such a great and IMHO essential tool in these modern days where prospects and clients expect adequate and easy accessible information from many businesses - even from a specialised retailer like we are.

Watch the Webinar recording here and all the slides here.

The whole pricing structure of ScreenSteps Live (now in combination with ScreenSteps Desktop licenses) has made it even more worthwhile to start using both programs and for every business - customer service department, technical support, to function as tour guide for their clients by creating, publishing and distributing all your documentation the right way.
Very quickly you will see that the number of follow-up questions asked by prospects/clients to your customer service or technical support will drastically reduce (and the number of "Thank You!" emails will increase).

A true calling for the Dragons Den?

2009-07-16T16:17:55+01:00

Yesterday saw the return of one of my favourite programs on BBC 2: Dragons Den.

And boy, were we in for a treat! The program makers left the best for last: Steve Smith with his "True Call" a 'cold-call' blocking system with a difference. Most phone companies have 'services' you can use to block certain numbers but these will block callers indifferently and will cost you between £ 3.50 - £ 4.00 per month.

The "True Call" is a device which is (at the moment) plugged in between the phone socket and your phone and screens every incoming call. Meaning you as user have multiple options when the phone rings. If the caller is on your 'friends list' the call is let straight through to your phone, if the caller is 'unknown' the True Call will ask him/her to identify themselves and then gives you, the user, 4 options:

accept the call
accept the call and add number to the 'friend list'
direct the call to an answer machine
Zap the caller

During the demonstration Steve Smith did just that and the cold-caller hears a 'standard' message we are all eager to be able to tell one of those callers:

"We're not interested in your call. Please hang up and don't call again"

in the most cold voice you can imagine. It had the Dragons in stitches too.

It was a great pitch, straight forward and to the point. And then it became even more interesting due to the almost eager reactions of the Dragons to get a 'piece of the action'.

It does not happen often in the Den what happened yesterday - or at least was broadcasted yesterday, today saw plenty of very surprised tweets about how quickly the product seemed to be available in the shops.

There in front of 5 of the most renowned Entrepreneurs UK has come to know (and appreciate) stood an entrepreneur with a proven track-record, a proven product, an almost perfect pitch and a believable financial forecast asking for an investment of £100.000 for 7.5% equity.
They almost tripped over each other to get in.

James Caan set the benchmark by offering 1/2 for 12.5% - Deborah Meaden went straight over him by offering the full amount for 12.5%.
Duncan Bannatyne was really clever IMHO to simply state he would underwrite every offer made by Peter Jones (who as we all know is THE man to have as Dragon for any product even just slightly related to tele-communication).
Peter did indeed make it known that he could add the most value most quickly and offered the full amount for 15% or would share 3 ways with Duncan and James.
Then Theo Pathitis threw in his retail acumen: he could have UK distribution in seconds and matched Deborah's offer.

I'm not going to spoil it any further for those who haven't seen it yet, just watch the 13 minute video of the broadcast here. I must confess I was sitting on the edge of my seat at the end - which offer would this proven entrepreneur go for?

In all the years I've been watching Dragons Den it is rare to see a fight like this and offers in so quick (and so low!).

One thing that did cross my mind at the end was: which cold call business will find a 'cure' for the True Call blocker?
And that my friends, is what keeps the economical world turn round and round and round:

act and counteract

Dear AWeber

2009-07-11T12:24:51+01:00

Dear AWeber

Greetings from a big fan of your autorespond and email marketing software. Your functionality enables our business to start an ethical and long-term conversation with those prospects who opt-in to receive information about many of our ranges. It even enables prospects to request personalised advice on any subject of our trade they can't find quickly enough on our site or anywhere else online. We can even use you as instant delivery vehicle of "how-to wood-guides" in combination with Paypal secure payments. And everyone on our many retails business lists receive our monthly newsletter when we broadcast it every first Monday of the month.

Because of its functionality and ease to use I'm also using your software for my second career business 1 Plus 1 Makes 3, where combined expertise gives you triple value. There you are, amongst other usages, also the instant delivery vehicle of the E-training I created on "The Best AWeber Strategies and Tactics for Small Businesses".

For this Kiss2, the 1plus1makes3 and our retail FAQ & News blogs you alert subscribers when a new article (post) has been published so no one misses out on news, be it on new ranges in our retail business, on business and marketing books I've been reading or software programs that can make small business life simpler and effective.

And recently we're sponsoring our village community by hosting and managing the CharingKent website and use your software to inform every local business and villager of all the activities that take place in our lovely Kent village.

All in all we are very happy with your software, your first class deliverability and your excellent support team. Since recently I and others can even tweet with you in 140 characters at a time and receive a relevant tweet back.
There is however one thing that would make my life - and I'm sure many other AWeber account holders who use your software for more than one purpose (various departments, locations, targeted groups and/or volunteer work) - even more simple. Explaining this in 140 characters won't do in this case I'm afraid, hence this 'old-fashion' format of a blog post.

The last time I counted our AWeber account contains 23 lists for our retail business, 7 for 1 Plus 1 Makes 3 and 2 for other purposes. No doubt this will continue to grow - a new division in our retail business is about to be launched. For every single list I have to fill in the From/Reply email address and name, the Company branding details and global fields with specific signature per purpose. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I would be very grateful if you could make this task more simpler.

Can't you give us 'department defaults' options where the above details are filled in only once per department (business, organisation, purpose)? And then in the List Settings you give us the option to select either

Use "Department defaults" - with a drop down menu to select which department the new list belongs to and which then fills in the From/Reply address and name, the Company branding details and the Global Fields automagically
Or create list specific details and manually fill in the above settings.

I've come to know AWeber as very tuned in to its clients and always willing to improve the software. So could you do me and I still believe many others this favour?

Yours truly

Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

In the world of free, everyone can play.

2009-07-05T12:57:03+01:00

Perhaps you too read (about) Malcolm Galdwell's disagreeing review on Chris Anderson's new book: “Free: The Future of a Radical Price” and perhaps you agree with Seth Godin's opinion of the review: "Malcolm is wrong".

I've been thinking of the concept 'free' even more since I've read Seth's post and Glaswell's review. According to Anderson's new book (not free ;-)) because of enhanced and advanced technology, IT infra-structure more and more products/services can be offered for free. Gladwell states that's rather utopian thinking: IT infra-structures aren't free (he points towards YouTube), nor is the infra-structure to deliver cheaper and cheaper power.

Seth on the other hand points towards the unlimited advancement of 'free' information: "In the world of free, everyone can play".

I've read Gladwell's Tipping Point, Anderson's The Long Tail and plenty of Seth's books. I also read Dan Ariely's "Predictable Irrational" (great read, really recommend it to everyone). This book is mentioned too in Galdwell's review of Anderson and in Anderson's new book. What Ariely's experiment shows IMHO that even free has a perceived value, depending to what the free item is compared.

And it is that perceived value I think will always be "top of the bill" - not "Free":

perceived value of free advice: if it's free there is hardly any commitment to implement the free advice, no matter who gives it out
perceived value of that one single precious item that will never be infinite: time.

Seth states:

People will pay for content if it is so unique they can't get it anywhere else, so fast they benefit from getting it before anyone else, or so related to their tribe that paying for it brings them closer to other people.

In my humble opinion and experience as retailer of physical products who sees a tremendous increase in the sale of our 'digital products' (digital delivered PDF guides on various aspects of our trade, how to... etc) it is and always will be:

People will pay for content if it is perceived coming from an expert and saving them time to find and implement quickly what they are after (advice or training).

In the world of free, everyone can play is correct: where 'everyone' are those who are able to turn free information into knowledge and they can now play and profit in the world too, where before only those with expensive publication channels could play (and profit).

When working "on" your business feels like working "in" your business

2009-06-26T10:48:02+01:00

There's something wrong with the title, not? I'm sure you, like me, have been told many times that the only way to grow your business is by working "on" your business; where working "in" the business only means you're working for a wage, nothing more.
Some state you should dedicate at least 3 hours a week on working "on" your business and preferably more than that. Working "on" your business to improve sales rates, conversion rates, customer care, worth of mouth and overall performances. To increase profit.

So what is working "in" your business really?

Welcoming visitors in your showroom? Delivering ordered materials to your client? Calculating and writing a quotation for a prospect? Carrying out a survey to determine what and how many materials and labour are needed? Doing the actual work of - in our case - installing or maintaining a wooden floor? Following up on prospects? Sending out snail mail letters to existing clients to remind them of the need of maintenance? Writing another follow-up message or newsletter broadcast for your email campaigns? Washing our van to make sure it always looks presentable? Counting stock so no job is delayed because of shortness in materials? Replying quickly and adequate to emails coming in from prospects/clients? Keeping your website up to date with the latest news on products, procedures and prices? Keeping the books up to date so suppliers are paid in time to continue a good relationship with them?

But......
Isn't every single one of those tasks dedicated to provide your prospects/clients with the best available products/services your business can provide?
So isn't working "in" your business also working "on" your business?

Or do I see this wrong?

I got confused this week - sitting in our sunny garden one evening after work - pondering about all the things I'd done that day and the days before. It felt I only had been doing 'regular' tasks, taking care of our prospects and clients any which way. Shouldn't I make more time available for working "on" the business instead? But where would my and my partner's tasks be different then?

I mean, if my dear partner - who does the surveys, fitting, most of the deliveries and maintenance services - doesn't have the right materials at the right time, drives in a dirty van and doesn't pay respect to the prospect/client with his manners, that wouldn't do our "worth of mouth" and therefore existing and future profits no good at all. Same with all our marketing and systems/procedures I take care off. All are in fact targeted to provide our prospects/clients with the best possible service (be it physical products or simple advice) we can give them.

So perhaps the title is wrong and should it say: when working "in" your business feels like working "on" your business?
'Cos when is "in" actually only "in" and "on" actually only "on"?

Or perhaps we need a completely different phrase all together? How about:
Working "with" your business?

What do you think?

Off line business activities online, recap of last week

2009-06-13T11:11:15+01:00

Have you ever realised how many 'standard' business tasks can now be done online?

We have been using Internet banking the moment it came available: constant instant overview of your going in's and out's. On the road? Access your bank's website anywhere you are and take care of your finances.

More and more service providers notify us we can find our latest invoice online. And then I'm not even talking about all the standard essential office products you can buy online nowadays, from stationery to coffee pods, study books etc - all delivered to your front door without you having to go out. Our own business has its own secure webshop and we dispatch products all over the UK (some through drop-shipping, some through our local post-office).

Marketing is more and more done on-line:

using blog platform software for your business website (again, accessible everywhere you are to add, edit and comment/answer questions left by your website visitors).

email-marketing: how often I access AWeber you don't want to know, queueing 'blog-alerts' to subscribers interested in wooden flooring, writing and sending out our monthly newsletter, checking how well all the marketing messages are performing and which headline in which webform works best (split-testing). Instant access to statistics: what you can measure you can improve.

If you need an internet ad campaign: Google Adwords is your tool. Easy to set up and to control your spending. Another great on-line tool.
(Although.... yesterday I received a discount voucher - valid till the end of this month - for Adwords from a friend as thank you for some SEO I'd done for his latest website. When I entered the code into my billing page of my long term Google Adwords account I got the following message: my account was too old to redeem this voucher! As if Google isn't making enough money already!! Too old to be treated as a respected client? End of rant.)

Customer care can be done online too these days with one of my favourite programs: ScreenSteps Desktop and ScreenSteps Live. Publish the answers to your frequently asked questions online (written in Desktop so you can publish and combine in multiple ways) and direct your prospects/clients to the appropriate page in the manual using ScreenSteps latest innovation: Live Support System.

(Blue Mango Learning System announced last week the price for ScreenSteps Desktop Pro is - IMHO finally! - going to be increased with $ 20.00. Since the release of the latest version 2.6 the value of the program is tripled if not quadrupled and rightly so should the price reflect this. If you hurry you can still get this excellent and multifunctional program for the old price of $ 59.95. Offer end Wednesday 17 June)

Another online software I used this week is perhaps also the latest 'innovation' of off-line business tasks now available online: bookkeeping! Liberty Accounting comes complete with Payroll and is one - if not the - first to include filling your VAT return through their program.
(Side-note: the program was recommended by our business adviser for my neighbour who had asked both him and me for advice on accounting. All three of us can access the program: the owner of the business, the 'bookkeeper' of the business and the accountant of the business - how's that for multi-functionality?)

All the above programs I've used this last week - a short week for us after our well deserved break last weekend - and makes you wonder/ponder if the 'virtual office' or 'virtual business' is about to truly become a fact?

How many online tools are you using for standard 'off line' business activities yourself? And what other tasks can you see being turned online in the near future?

We're off Jazzing again.

2009-06-05T15:42:38+01:00

It's that time of the year again, our home town in The Netherlands is organising its annual Jazz Weekend this weekend. We've made it a habit of travelling down there for a few days as annual (according to some a "well-deserved") short break.

It's a time to meet up with friends we haven't seen for almost a year, to visit family we haven't seen for almost 6 months and of course to enjoy various styles of Jazz.

Eventually we always end up visiting one or two suppliers in our home town too - you can take the directors out of the business, but not the business out of the directors!

This year I promised myself and my partner I wouldn't touch any Internet related equipment, so no email, twitter, facebook, AWeber or any other browsing activity. Not even checking the three DIY-forums we regularly contribute to for problems we might be able to help out on.
I think I'll survive ;-)

One item I always take with me I definitely refuse to leave behind: a notebook and pen. You'll never known when inspiration for a new or better marketing or business-concept idea hits.

Wishing you all a very pleasant weekend and 'see' you Tuesday.

Two combined principles that'll make your business (life) more efficient

2009-05-31T14:52:05+01:00

Subtitle: and if you combine two software programs with the two principles it can triple the effect!

Half a year ago I never thought I would hear myself say this, after I decide then to untweet myself. But others convinced me - rightly so - that if you use twitter strategically and tactically it can do 'wonders'.

Therefore this statement: Twitter is a great tool to discover not only people but also principles that can make your business (life) more effective, efficient, profitable etc. Like bloggers can shows you, teach you; only tweeters tell you (redirect you more often) in a very short and effective way (140 characters). As with everything in business (life) it is what you do with it that counts.

Last week a twitter 'discussion' about the use of AWeber with @adriarichards made me aware of a principle I hadn't actually heard of being named this way: Inbox zero (as part of GTD: Getting Things Done). Adria pointed me to a video where Merlin Man explains the principle (I do recommened you watch it but be aware the video is almost 1 hour long!) in, I think - never have seen him before - his normal straightforward, no-nonsense, sometime hilarious way.

Inbox Zero does not mean reducing the amount of emails coming in, as business in these modern Internet times almost impossible. (If you don't want any email coming in, don't get an email address - again for a business almost impossible.)

Inbox Zero means: taking decisive actions on the emails coming in. Either:

Delete (or archive)
Delegate
Respond with one effective answer
Defer - when you need time to make sure the answer you do give is as effective as possible
Do - immediate action such as buy the product, schedule the meeting, phone the sender etc

And nobody orders you you should check your email every other minute. My email program only connects with the email server every hour to collect new emails from prospects, clients, suppliers, friends and of course the spam and phishing emails that somehow get past the spam filter.

After watching the video I had a proper look in my 'inbox' - I'm a kind of a horder apparently, I even found emails in there 1 year old! Decisive actions followed: a handfull got archived and 3 were responded to. None of the remaining needed a deferred or an immediate action any longer - had already happened - but still hovered in the inbox. They got deleted. (Now I have to tackle the 'outbox' the same way.)

Your inbox might look like mine did: still filled with emails you have already tackled. It is not just that a clean and uncluttered inbox gives you a feeling of accomplishment, following the Inbox Zero principle will spur you on to be more effective/efficient with responding to incoming messages.

And that's were the subtitle comes in: combining the principles of GTD and Inbox Zero with two software programs.

To help you increase the numbers of email you can respond to immediately and reduce the numbers of 'defered' emails you - as many businesses have found - will notice that many will contain the same questions/answers many times over. Using ScreenSteps in combination with ScreenSteps Live gives you an instant database filled with Q&A's. Now with the new widget of ScreenSteps Live Support Client (desktop application for listing, searching and quickly getting urls for your lessons on your ScreenSteps Live account) your respons is almost automated.

You can create a complete 'instruations of use' or training manual, step by step guides using multiple ScreenStep's options. The only response your prospect/client needs is the link to the right page of your Live manual/lesson. And he/she will be grateful too.

And what if your prospect/client has also implemented the Inbox Zero principle in his/her life? Can you, as business, still market them effectively without running the risk being deleted? You can, when you use email marketing strategies and tactics that makes your message anticipated in such a way your prospect/client can only take the 'Do' action.

Get Things Done and help your prospect/client Getting Things Done, be it buying your product or receiving the most effective answer to his/her question about your product/service.
And it starts in the inbox, yours and theirs.

Marketing: The Devil's in the simple Details

2009-05-28T15:21:28+01:00

Marketing, from ads to email marketing, needs: focus, strategies, tactics and a keen eye for all the details. Without any of these you might as well stop before you even start.

No matter how small, large, known or unknown you and your business/products/services are, the Devil is truly in the Details. If you spend time to create the best worded advertisement with the best placed images in the best read magazine or paper it all has to be right. Your call for action should be hitting the right spot and the "tools" you provide your prospect to take that action should be securely in place, tried and tested.

If that call to action is for the reader to request free reports, free materials up to the value of £ 1,200.00 and you've got the targeting of your prospect absolutely spot on, you better make sure that tool works absolutely problem free. Because your irresistible offer will be seen by over 200.000 specially targeted readers and a handful of your existing private list members. Those are big numbers!

The details of the ad are spot on, what else do you expect from someone labelled marketing wizard who's private clients pay a 4 figure amount for an hour advice. I've read books, reports from this wizard, listened to plenty of recordings by him and know that if he launches a new program you better pay attention and try not to miss out.

The let down here was in the details of the email marketing tool. Not so much in using AWeber's default Thank You Page (now with added narration!) - many here know that is one of my pet-hates - after submitting my name and email address in the web form on the special landing page, but in the fact I almost didn't even reach that default Thank You Page:

For a moment I started to doubt myself - had I already received all these new free reports? and so checked the ad again. No, definitely an offer of new materials and a new program.

If you are promoting a new product, want prospects, clients to opt-in to a new program you are launching DO Create a NEW AWeber list/campaign for it!

(I have various email addresses I use to subscribe to various lists and used a different one to end up on the default AWeber Thank You Page, received the confirm opt-in email and even ended up on a custom 2nd Thank You Page. The first follow-up message contained a link to the download page - unprotected - where I indeed found all kinds of new material from the marketing wizard.)

Now it could be that I'm a nit-picker in this regard, possible because I know how easy and simple these details can be improved. But the fact remains, no matter if you are just starting out with email marketing or if you are regarded as marketing wizard: your email marketing is a part of your total marketing strategy - not just an after thought to be used as 'delivery vehicle' of your no doubt splendid and correct in every detail marketing messages.

You need to have Strategies and Tactics for the delivery vehicle too. If you are using AWeber as this vehicle, you will find practical, tried and tested strategies and tactics in this guide, created by 1 Plus 1 Makes 3 - or pop in your name and email address below to receive inside information about this guide first - to seamlessly integrate the delivery of your marketing messages into your marketing strategy.

(Post origins: 1 Plus 1 Makes 3 blog)

THE Multiple Media Publishing Machine - ScreenSteps Desktop Pro

2009-05-19T12:21:53+01:00

A month ago I reported on the "at least 5 methods" you can publish your content with ScreenSteps Desktop Pro.

Make that: at least 6!

ScreenSteps (by Blue Mango Learning Systems) has now added a new export facility to their Pro program (beta version): as docx document.

Let me list all the 'standard export methods again:

PDF - per lesson, per a handful of selected lessons and per manual (= collection of lessons)
HTML - per lesson, per handful of selected lessons and per manual
ScreenSteps Live (when added to your account, for a monthly low fee, to create an instant and growing FAQ or Users Manual online - see the preview of The AWeber Strategies and Tactics for Small Businesses as example)
Blog/web - per lesson into WordPress, Movable Types and Typepad blogs
Word 2007 - per lesson, per handful of selected lessons and per manual (including, like with all the manual export options, a TOC)

All this - mind the note about ScreenSteps Live - for only $59.95 (that's around £ 39 - £40 at today's rate) That's all, not a monthly or annual price, that's what you pay, once! A steal!

Is this a blatant promotion for the program? Yes it is.

And with reason. Since I bought ScreenSteps Desktop Pro end of last year for this IMHO ridiculous low amount I've

written 7 wood-guides (4 as digital products),
plenty of product leaflets
and instructions of use for our Wood You Like prospects and clients
I've combined leaflets and guides in complete E-books with a simple drag and drop of existing lessons
for all the blogs I manage I've used the blog export method
Over at 1 Plus 1 Makes 3 I've used it to write lessons for my blog workshop students,
created a complete E-training on AWeber and more E-trainings in the pipeline.
Even without the ScreenSteps Live addition I can turn these trainings into E-books or password protected blogs/websites

And I've discovered a 6th method to publish my content (over and over, as stand-alone, in combination with other lessons) with one click of a button. I now also use new or existing content to publish follow-up messages and/or broadcasts in AWeber. If you want to know more about the how and the what, it's part of the Best AWeber Strategies and Tactics for small Businesses E-training on ScreenSteps Live (or select the PDF version, comes without updates though).

I'm a big fan of Typepad blog platform, I'm an even bigger fan of AWeber the ultimate Permission Marketing Machine and I'm an absolute big fan of ScreenSteps:

DOCUMENTATION, DONE, RIGHT.

And that's exactly what this program does. Create documentation quickly and very, extremely even, efficiently. Or in other words: create content once, publish it in multiple ways over and over again.

Blue Mango holds weekly webinars on all the possibilities ScreenSteps Pro will give you, you can register here - and for interested business in the UK/Europe they've arranged 'early' webinars too (early for the US, around noon here)

Weather or not?

2009-05-18T16:34:23+01:00

The weather forecast of last week didn't promise many sunny days. Heavy rain, blustery showers and overcast skies was the daily recipe.

But when I look back at last week, we did manage to spend some late afternoons enjoying the sunshine in our garden. It wasn't as nice at it has been two/three weeks ago, but the heavy downpours didn't arrive. We did have some rain, more a drizzle, too some days. Much needed rain for the garden.

What we did see in the distance were dark, angry clouds coming our way often, to take a left turn at the last moments.

Charing is located at the foot of the North Downs and not very far from the rolling hills of The Weald. Apparently in the most perfect location to avoid most of the downpours and worst of the weather forecast for the Eastern Regions. Located there where the weather fertilises the land/gardens best.

As business, in these stormy economical climates, it is the same. Find the location where you grow best, where you can take full advantage of fertilising circumstance.
Now I don't mean you have to physically pick up your business and (re)locate to a different location.

Sitting in our sunny garden last week, watching dark clouds being side-tracked in their path towards us again, made me aware of this metaphor. These thoughts could haven been triggered by another rather good month in turnover of course (and it's not even the end of May).

Location in the market, are you placed in the best possible location you can?
Do you make it as easy as possible for your prospects to reach you? Not just physical - easy to access and find,
but do you have multiple ways they can contact you?
Do you attract the right type of prospects/clients or are you wasting both your and their time?
Have you created a fertile climate for yourself or are you at the mercy of those dark clouds heading your way?
Have you located your business in the right way to 'weather' the economical storm?

Like our garden and our village, you can't avoid a drizzle. But a drizzle might just be the right fertilising circumstance you need to brace yourself. Our garden is protected against the worst of the winds with high trees and a big robust building. And we protect ourselves against the colder days by wearing sweaters.

We still catch the most of the sunshine, even when a few clouds overcast the sun, because we are out there. We want to be out there too.

(Just some sunny ponderings)

The Best AWeber Strategies & Tactics for Small Businesses - maximise Permission Marketing!

2009-05-15T13:46:21+01:00

The first tool in The WebMarketing ToolBox for Small Businesses is available!

The Best AWeber Strategies and Tactics for Small Businesses - maximise Permission Marketing.

The E-training/E-book is based on our own experiences and successful implementation of AWeber's auto repsonder for our ethical email marketing. As independent specialised (rural) retailer we now reach prospects and clients in the whole of the UK and even beyond. Our success rate?

90% confirm their subscription, only a hand full ever unsubscribe and we convert many subscribers into clients.

The Strategies we use (trial and error discoveries) and which are now available to you too:

READ MORE HERE....... (1 Plus 1 Makes 3 dynamic and interactive webiste - aka blog - my 'home' of The Webmarketing ToolBox for Small Businesses)

Or buy now: £ 27.00 E-training - never out of date!

Economics?

2009-05-10T13:03:34+01:00

As you might know, Sunday mornings are for reading the Saturday Times in our home. In the business section my eye caught two little articles underneath the recap news headline: Economics.

1) Factory Gate Prices UP - 0.6 % in April, rose more sharply than expected. (Factory gate prices = goods going out of a factory.)

2) Manufacturers Costs Down - 1% in April to 5% lower than a year ago, in the steepest annual decline for 7 years. (Manufacturers Costs = goods going in a factory.)

Now that's what I call proper economics: increase your profit at both ends.

(Side-note: also in the Times this morning I read an article about poor customer care, big retailer blames manufacturer for poor serivce. Because it concerned flooring I turned it into a promotion post on Wood You Like's FAQ & News blog, see here. We're proud to be a small and independent retailer who takes customer care very serious!)

Permission Marketing with no-reply?

2009-05-07T11:17:03+01:00

Yesterday Seth Godin kind of celebrated the fact his excellent book

"Permission Marketing - Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers"

saw the daylight exactly 10 years ago. With "kind of celebrating" I mean he wrote a short but interesting blog post about this fact. Between the lines you can read he is, rightly so, proud of the effect this principle has brought to the Internet:

"The biggest impact of Permission Marketing isn't that there is less spam. In fact, there's more, because it's so cheap. No, the biggest measurable impact is the growth of truly opt in marketing, from close to zero to a number big enough that we've all seen it and are part of it. Not just email lists, of course, but RSS feeds and yes, Google AdWords."

Our own business thrives on Permission Marketing, we utilise AWeber double opt-in autoresponder to grow our business in a sustainable way (and we are proud of the results of the conversations and the conversions we establish this way). The about to be launched The Best AWeber Strategies and Tactics for Small Businesses is absolute based on this principle.

Imagine my big surprise today to read a post by Justin Premick on AWeber's own blog: "Do Not Reply" Address? Don't Bother!

In his extraordinary article Justin mentions the fact that some of AWeber's account holders have the audacity (my word, to keep it nice - have other words in my head to describe the arrogance and complete ignorance on proper and sustainable marketing methods of some) to use a "Do-not-reply@" email address as sender.

How can you combine the two together: asking permission and as Angela Wills, one of the commenters on Justin's post rightly asks:

"I don’t like it. If I’ve subscribed to someone’s list and made MYSELF freely available to them whenever they feel like emailing me I think it’s common courtesy not to make me jump through hoops when I have a question to ask or a comment in reply to an email."

I left my own little rant in the comment box: using AWeber as marketing tool should be a two-way-traffic, otherwise why bother indeed to ask permission? Even if you have so many subscribers (leads, prospects all eager to hear from you, to buy from you) and you are 'afraid' you will be snowed under by emails filled with questions - or heaven forbid, enquiries to buy - why not delegate???
How can someone be so arrogant - no, make that stupid - not to understand how marketing works?

How can anyone, through your remarkable marketing messages, interested in buying your product be bothered to go the whole hog when you email from a "Do-not-reply" address? In my book that's like a: "Do-not-buy" address!

Fortunately I've never encountered such an email myself, but I guarantee you that if I ever do, the link to unsubscribe will be found and used very quickly!

(Rant over.)

Q&A's on The Best AWeber Strategies & Tactics for Small Businesses E-training

2009-04-26T12:31:15+01:00

Time to publicly answer some questions I've been receiving over the last few weeks:

What is AWeber Autoresponder?

AWeber is an online software program you can use for your email marketing. From sending out your email newsletter weekly, monthly or even daily to - sometimes even more effective - automating your sales messages through the autoresponder (follow-up) feature. It is a great marketing tool that delivers automatic e-mail responses, updates, offers, and instant messages.
AWeber's autoresponder puts an online OR offline business on Auto-Pilot. The Autoresponder works tirelessly, 24 hours a day / 7 days a week/ 365 days a year.

With the AWeber online software, you will be able to:

set up unlimited campaigns
unlimited messages
spam checker
text or html-based messages
create blog-alerts every time you publish a new post
manage your subscribers
accessible from every where you have access to the Internet.

Why AWeber is so powerful:
Ensuring requested opt-in email is delivered to subscriber inboxes is an increasingly difficult battle in the age of spam filtering. Open and click through response rates can be dramatically affected by as much as 20-30% due to incorrect spam filter classification.

Confirming that the people who ask for your information have actually requested to be on your list is the number one step in the battle for deliverability. AWeber is using a process called confirmed opt-in or verified opt-in to send a unique link to the attempted subscriber when they request information. Before adding the person to your list they must click that unique link verifying that they are indeed the same person that owns the email address and requested to subscribe. Plus AWeber itself (their email server that sends out all your messages in your name) is White-listed - ensuring an almost 99.9% deliverability.

I'm very interested in Best AWeber Strategies and Tactics for Small Businesses Send me more inside information
Name:
Email:

Your details will never be divulged to anyone else - I hate spam as much as you do!

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The Best AWeber Strategies & Tactics for Small Businesses - maximise Permission Marketing!

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Permission Marketing with no-reply?

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What is AWeber Autoresponder?

I'm thinking about using AWeber, is this E-training for me?