Marketing Tips and Tactics Blog

Small Business Risk Prosecution!!!

As of 1st January 2007 businesses with a website and/or who use email must comply with new E-commerce Regulations. Yet, despite a raft of publicity surrounding this change in the law, many businesses (particularly small ones) have not as yet implemented the new rules, leaving themselves vulnerable.

For further information on the legal implications check out Pinsent Masons' website for e-commerce:

http://www.out-law.com/page-431

Easy Bake Weblogs - Preview Call

Since Blogging is an ideal strategy to drive traffic to your web sits as well as boost your status and an expert in your field (we all like to feel we 'know-like-trust' those we choose to hire), I thought you'd like to know that Andy Wibbels is hosting a Free Preview  Call for his upcoming "Easy Bake Weblogs" course.

Who's Andy?

Very briefly...

Veteran blogger (6 years+).

Author of Blogwild! A Guide for Small Business Blogging (published in N. America, UK and Poland).

Best Marketing Blog of the Year 2005 & 2006 from MarketingSherpa, Inc.

Contributing author to Business: The Ultimate Resource and Success Secrets of the Online Marketing Superstars.

Featured in Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, Wired and other national/int'l media as a recognized expert in blogging and related technologies

Follow the link for full details from the man himself!

Easy Bake Weblogs.

 

Do It Tomorrow!

Well, that's not the usual advice from a Time Management expert... but that's the title of Mark Forster's new book.  "Do It Tomorrow... and Other Secrets of Time Management".  It's his best offering yet and full of valuable advice and suggestions, some surprises too.

The Great News is - I'm going to interviewing Mark, live, during a 1-hour long Teleclass next month.    Oh, and by the way... you're invited.

First though, I have a favor to ask you.  Would you take no more that 2 minutes to answer ONE very specific question for me?  It'll help me grill Mark about the issues that are most important to you. You'll find my question here:

http://www.thereluctantsalespersonscoach.com/timemanagementquestion.htm

I'll collate the answers and post the results for you.

Thanks for your input.

Think Outside The Business Card Rectangle

I've discovered this web site entirely devoted to business cards and how your business card is a marketing tool, not just a way of passing on your contact details.  Diana Ratliff shares lots of tips and advice for makeing your business card WORK for you.   So before you spend another penny on new cards, I suggest you check out Diana's site and make sure take full advantage of that little retangle.

They Simply Don't Get It!

I'm about to host a 4-Part TeleSeminar Intensive - it starts next week.

It's all about being able to inspire your ideal prospects to 'sign on the dotted line' and work with YOU, rather than one of your competitors.

I never planned to run this TeleSeminar series, so let me tell you what inspired me to do so now...

Out of curiosity and to have some fun, I went to a Speed Networking event that was held locally.  You know the kind of thing; you get 2 minutes to tell someone what it is you do for a living and vica versa... you do this 50+ times.

I'm not exaggerating, 80% of the time I wasn't sure what the other person did... and I certainly didn't know 'what was in it for me'.

Just think of all those lost opportunities.

I have to tell you, I was really embarrassed at one point. From what one person said I thought they were a landscape gardener, so I asked if they worked on small gardens too?.... they weren't a landscape gardener at all, they were a life coach.  I was mortified.  I felt soooo bad.

Most Small Business Owners spend a lot of time (and sometimes a lot of money) getting their marketing message out there in front of prospects; but if your message is average... your results will only ever be average.  And I don't think average is enough for you, right?

Let me ask you a question:

When you tell people what you do... are they nodding and asking good, relevant questions... are they obviously listening closely to what you are saying?   Are they saying things like 'yes, I need you to help me with that'?  Or maybe 'I know someone who'll want to talk to you; that's just what they need'.

No?  Then here's my advice:

You need to put in some work - dig deep - and create a clear and compelling marketing message.  One that won't sound confusing or bland.  One that will grab the attention of your ideal prospects AND inspire them to take ACTION.

It's the hardest work you'll ever do on your marketing, but once you've done it... you never need to do it again!
 
What you create will form the basis for all your marketing strategies, both verbal and written.  You'll only ever need to tweak the odd thing as your business grows and changes.

So DON'T WAIT for things to get better... make them better. Take action NOW - make them better by getting this one crucial piece of your marketing puzzle RIGHT.

I guarantee once you've got your compelling message, you won't need to spend so much time, or money, marketing you services.  You'll be booked solid with ideal clients faster than you thought possible.  It really will make that BIG a difference.

Making only this ONE change will boost your business and your profits...  and of course leave more time and more money for YOU... so you can focus on what you do best - providing a top notch service for your clients.

This 4-week intensive 'How To Create And Deliver A Powerful Marketing Message' starts next week

So if you have doubts about how clear and compelling your marketing message is... don't procrastinate. Go now to my information page for the full details:

http://tinyurl.com/pku2c

I hope I'll see you there

Make Your Marketing Materials SIZZLE!

It's all arranged.  If you ever need to write any promotional materials such as brochures, sales letters or some text for your website… then you don't want to miss my upcoming free Teleclass.

I'm going to be interviewing Maggie Dennison, an author and professional copywriter.  Maggie is an expert at writing marketing materials that make money for Small Business owners just like you.

It's happening on Thursday 22nd June 2006

Here's just a taste of what you'll learn:

• How to create Headlines that compel prospects to read on.
• How to structure your content so that you emotionally connect with your prospects. Remember our buying decisions are emotional.
• How to make your prospects want to take action and contact you.

There will be time on the call for questions... so bring along your most burning questions and get an answer form a true expert.

For full details and to register for this free Teleclass go to http://tinyurl.com/nmvjf

There will only be 100 lines available, so sign up now, I don't want you to miss out on this valuable information.

Get Out Of Your Own Way!

I have been asked to give a presentation on ‘positive thinking’ to a group of women who are in the process of starting their own businesses – so I’ve been giving this some thought recently.

I believe that self-awareness is key to the life we lead and the things we achieve. Knowing and accepting who we really are, warts and all, is not only very liberating, but vital in order to have a solid foundation to build our lives on. After all, you wouldn’t build your new home on marshy or sandy ground would you?

Once you know who you really are and what makes you tick, you have developed a great advantage.

• Making choices becomes easier – you now know what ‘fits’ with the real you.
• You understand how you tend to respond on an emotional level e.g. anger, enthusiasm, self-doubt. Now you can choose if necessary, to control your behavioural response and avoid reacting in a negative and self-limiting way.
• Knowing your strengths and finding ways to use those strengths on a daily basis definitely makes achieving your goals much simpler, giving you the confidence to aim higher.
• Being self-aware helps you to appreciate the fact that we are all unique human beings – no two of us exactly the same. Understanding this reduces conflict both within ourselves and in our interactions with others, leading to easier and more productive communications.

Self-awareness is a great tool to help you “get out of your own way”. To identify that little voice that says things like – ‘I don’t think you can do that’ - ‘you’re not good enough’ - you don’t know enough’ - ‘you’ll only fail and make a fool of yourself’.   We sometimes buy into this and block our own progress.

But I’ll tell you a secret – that little voice is lying! 

We need self-awareness to have self-belief and to believe in ourselves in order to develop a healthy level of self-esteem. Self-esteem is the life blood of self-motivation; add to that a positive attitude and we can pretty much achieve anything we want.

I think the biggest single danger for any business owner is the inability to make a decision and act upon it.   “I’ll think about it” is a response that can cause you and your business to miss the boat!  It’s often easier to sit on the fence than to make that decision and take action – hire a coach, change what isn’t working, face up to financial issues, get out into the market place and market yourself, make that sale and ask for the business.

I don’t really think that success or failure is the result of any particular circumstance or situation, but rather it is dependant on how we choose to respond to and to act (or not act) when life’s opportunities come our way.

Rather than “thinking about it”, you’ll find taking action infinitely more interesting and a lot more rewarding too.

Red Hot Copy Bootcamp

Interested in boosting your business, but don’t want the expense of a professional copywriter? I have the perfect solution.

Expert copywriter Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero is holding the Red Hot Copy Bootcamp. Starts May 21st. This training isn’t for the faint hearted!

What would normally take over 6 months to learn has been condensed into a tight, no-fluff-allowed system. Over 6 weeks you will master hardcore skills that separate you from the pack and make you a marketing force in your industry.

Get in. Get educated. And get out. That’s what this course
is all about. Go to Red Hot Copy Bootcamp for the full scoop.

Pssst! I took Lorrie's Bootcamp last summer. I was soooo... glad I did and you will be too

Review of BLOGWILD! A Guide To Small Business Blogging.

My virtual chum Andy Wibbels has been getting rave reviews for his now book Blogwild!

This one I really enjoyed.  A fast, easy, and funny read.  The nuts and bolts portion is oriented towards TypePad… Andy’s book is one of those… that you should keep by your desk....

Top 10 Tips To Attract Success

1. Orient yourself around your values
2. Know and respect yourself
3. Be trustworthy and conscientious
4. Understand your impact on others
5. Simplify everything
6. Master your craft
7. Eliminate delay
8. Under-promise and over-deliver
9. Become an excellent communicator
10. Be optimistic