Tag : prospects

  • 10 Ways to Piss Off Your Readers So They Never Become a Customer

    Posted Feb 10th, 2011 By in Article Marketing, Content Marketing, Internet Marketing With | 1 Comment

    Are you unknowingly writing articles that simply annoy your readers? If you are making the 10 article writing mistakes below, then I’m sorry to tell you – but “YES!” you are.

    10 Ways to Make Sure Your Article Readers Do NOT Become Prospects and Customers…

    1. Over-promising and under-delivering in terms of content.

    If you make an outrageous proposition or a huge promise like (Lose 30 pounds in 30 days) in your article title, then you better make sure you back up your claims. For example, when I wrote the article, “How to Promote Your Book to the Top of the New York Times Best Sellers List,” I showed the exact steps we took to help Dr Mark Hyman achieve that status.  Within our article, we shared our case study and provided valuable information for authors.

    2. Too many errors.

    Whenever I make an occasional grammar mistake (or when I pronounce a word wrong) my GetLinkedInHelp.com business partner Kristina Jaramillo has to correct me. She’ll do it in a lovingly way (as she is my partner in business and in life) – but she has to point it out every time because to her it’s like taking your fingers and making the screeching sound on the blackboard. Do you want your readers to have that kind of response because you simply did not take the time to proofread your articles?

    3. Not enough beef.

    You really expect me to trust you and buy from you when you are giving me bits and pieces of information. Yes, 200-250 word articles are perfect for your blog as long as you produce highly-valuable, highly-informative content all the time. But if I’m reading your articles on someone else’s blog, website or ezine I need to see that you are the expert and I need you to give me a real reason to go to your website to grab even more information.

    4. Hard selling.

    If you are hard selling within your articles, you instantly lose credibility. Instead of being seen as an expert who truly wants to help others success, you’ll be seen as an advertiser.

    Also, trying to sell me within your article is like asking me to marry you on a first date. You have to build and nourish your relationship with me first. Provide rare gems that no one else is offering, then invite me in your bio box to grab a free resource such as a special report, ebook, templates, video etc. And, make sure this free offering provides real value – otherwise you are wasting your time.

    5. Writing in gigantic blocks of text.

    Big blocks of text are easy to get lost in. They also strain eyes and make reading difficult because it’s hard to scan, let alone read. In fact, a study shows that only 16% of your readers will actually read your article word-by-word. The rest mostly scan. (more…)

  • How to Write Re-tweetable Tweets in 5 Minutes or Less

    Posted Nov 1st, 2010 By in Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter With | 4 Comments

    Twitter can be an amazing way to reach your ideal clients and build a relationship that makes them want to do business with you.  Twitter sends 13x more traffic with fewer followers than Facebook…If you do it right.

    But how do you know what to tweet?

    You DON’T want to end up with a Twitter account full of meaningless twatter no one cares about.  You know the tweets I’m talking about…

    “Meeting my girlfriends for a grilled cheese sandwich and fries.”  “Can this day get any worse?  I hate the rain.”

    Do your clients really want to read that stuff?  Probably not.

    What kind of tweets do you want to write?  The kind that make people click through to your website.  The kind that transition them from Twitter follower to paying client.  You want to write re-tweetable tweets.

    71% of tweets produce NO RESPONSE.  Only 23% get replies and a mere 6% get retweeted.

    But some Twitter superstars get re-tweeted all the time.  What’s their secret?

    The easiest way to write re-tweetable tweets if by letting other people do the hard work for you.

    Here’s what I mean…

    Thousands of people in your industry are blogging about topics your followers would love to know about.  All you have to do is locate those blogs and share them with your followers. (more…)

  • 5 Effective Tips for Avoiding the Email Spam Can

    Posted Sep 6th, 2010 By in Business, Content Marketing, Email Marketing With | 2 Comments

    Email marketing is an incredibly popular marketing strategy–and for good reason. It works! Unfortunately, tougher SPAM filters mean more and more valid messages are winding up in SPAM folders.

    Would you like to guarantee YOUR email campaigns are delivered to the in-box where they belong? Then you absolutely MUST implement these best practices. Because an email in the spam-can is a waste of your precious time and money.

    1. Provide Valuable Content

    Make sure all of your emails are relevant to your contacts. Send you customer and prospects an invitation, a tip or trick of the trade, a coupon, a friendly note, or an offer. Just make sure it’s something they’ll want to receive from you.

    2. DON’T Buy or Rent Lists

    Doing so almost guarantees you’ll be spamming people. Did you collect the names? Did the people ask you for information? Nope? Then it’s SPAM!

    “But where do I get names from?” you might ask. Well, start with what you’ve got, ask for referrals, put banners on sites, use pay-per-click-ads, get people to post about you, use lead generation tools, and use social networking. May sound like a slow start…buy boy does it beat paying fines for breaking SPAM rules.

    3. Double Opt-in Your Contacts

    That basically guarantees you have permission to market to them. Double opting-in requires your contacts to confirm their contact information BEFORE you start you email marketing campaigns. It’s an extra step, and yes, you will lose some of your potential leads. But the odds of being considered a “spammer” go way down!

    4. Clean Your Contact List Every 6-12 Months

    This means you take every contact that you haven’t engaged with somehow – no downloads, no requests, no new opt-ins – and do one of two things. Either delete them from the list or send an email that asks them to confirm their continued interest.

    5. Know the CAN-SPAM Guidelines

    The rules about SPAM regulate your header content, your subject line information, your opt-out requirements, and how you identify yourself. Know the rules so you can keep your money in your pocket.

    For more information about improving your email marketing practices, download a free guide about Email Marketing 2.0.

  • 5 Incredible Lead Generation Ideas

    Posted Aug 23rd, 2010 By in Business, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Internet Marketing With | 6 Comments

    As an expert in your field, you’ve got a ton of really important information in your head. But you’ve got to get it out of your head and into some useful format for lead generation. Information is the heart and soul of marketing, so you’ve got to have some idea about the products you want to develop as part of your overall strategy. Let’s talk about the top five.

    1. White Papers

    “White paper” is the corporate, fancy-pants term for an online article. A white paper usually ranges from two to three pages and stands alone as an item customers or prospects can download. White papers work great as a lead generation tool when you ask prospects to provide their email address in exchange for your valuable”"yet free”"information.

    2. Free Reports

    A free report is like a white paper, just a bit bigger. From a lead generation standpoint, it holds more value than a white paper and is usually several pages long. Free reports are great products to use as an add-on to online purchases. “Buy Product X and receive three Free Reports!” You can also use them like white papers and offer them as free downloads in exchange for contact information.

    3. E-Books

    E-books are the killer product that can create a lead generation bonanza! Like a real book, an e-book is going to be long…at least 50 pages. The fact that it’s a real book makes the perceived value huge. If the copy inviting prospects to download your e-book is well-written and compelling, you can generate several thousand new leads from this one lead generation tool alone.

    4. Audio Reports

    An audio report helps prospects get a feel for what you and your company are all about. It’s a way for prospects to talk to you about doing business without really taking to you. Using audio reports as part of your campaign can boost brand loyalty and help you prospects commit to a sale. If you are well known in your industry – or if you can hire someone who is – you have the power to generate a LOT of leads using audio reports.

    5. Webinars

    No joke. Webinars can drive an endless stream of customers to your business. Like audio reports, they give customers a feed for your company. But webinars go way beyond teaser information. The power-punch of the webinar is that it lets you cover the entire sales pitch AND close the deal. Another bonus is that webinars can be recorded. That lets you leverage your time by making the pitch once and then playing the presentation again and again for new groups of prospects. Talk about a time saver!

    How Does It Work?

    Here’s the way it works, in a nutshell.

    • Develop information products.
    • Make the available on your site in exchange for contact information.
    • Send out an announcement to your email list that also creates a sense of urgency.
    • Put tools in place to track downloads and capture new leads.
    • Follow-up with leads to convert them into customers.

    To check out some real lead generation products, download a free report about Email Marketing 2.0.

  • How Do I find Ideal Clients in This Economy?

    Posted Aug 16th, 2010 By in Branding, Business With | 4 Comments

    It’s easy to find out who your Ideal Clients are, no matter what the economy is like. Here’s how.

    How do I find ideal clients in this economy? That was a question one attendee asked in a recent panel I hosted, and it’s not the only time I’ve heard such a question. How can I survive in this economy? How can I convince people to buy in this economy? How can I make this work in this economy? The heartache and discouragement rise like a damp mist over the moors.

    The answer comes in two parts:

    1. Stop thinking about the economy. Now, I know that sounds over simplified because everyone these days is stewing over the economy, right? And it is true that some industries naturally falter in tough times. The fine dining business, for example, has been struggling. So, go ahead and take a look at what you’re doing. Is it valid when wallets are tight? Do people still need your coaching? Your advice? Your expertise? Fact is, people need more help in tough times than ever before. So, stop thinking about the economy and start thinking about your perfect prospect. Does he or she still need you? If yes, then move on to #2.
    2. Are you clear on who your Ideal Clients are? That’s Square One in marketing. You need to know your Perfect Prospect no matter what economy you are in. Then you can focus on reaching them and only them. It will add so much power to your marketing that finding them won’t be a problem because they’ll find YOU.

    Finding out who your ideal clients is is easier than you think. If you’re still stumped, think about the one person you love to work with and who gets tremendous value from your services. Start with them.

    Guest Author: Still puzzled about who your perfect prospects are? Pick up your free assessment at http://LetsGetRealmarketing.com.  Award-winning author Rosey Dow is a casting director. She casts the missing clients who will take your business to the next level. That’s why she’s called The Prospect Profiler.

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