Vision Of Success

When you choose to market your business, you can do so in a variety of ways. You can pick up the phone and make phone calls for little cost at all. Or you can spend thousands on a full page ad in a large magazing. Marketing is about choices, and the results you see from those choices.

Online marketing  for small businesses works in the same manner. You can do things by yourself, and invest more of your time into getting results. (check out my do it yourself online marketing strategy program http://www.visionbusinessconcepts.com/do-it-yourself-strategy.htm) Or you can pay someone to do the work for you. Either way, in the online arena, you can begin seeing results immediately.

Plus the big advantage for marketing online is you are creating a trail for your business. What you do today may have impact for your business many years into the future. You can’t say that for most direct mail pieces!

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you speak at a local women’s association meeting. They enjoy your talk, and give you the opportunity to place an article on their website’s resource page. That page remains on their site for years into the future. Even though you may never speak to that same group again, that page can continue to work for you, and bring in potential leads each and every year!

Lori

You have a website. You know it has the potential to bring you in leads (and sales). But is it working for you? Do you know if it’s working for you?

For many businesses, the only way they drive traffic to their website is by telling their customers to visit it, or to list their web address on their brochures. If this sounds like your business, let me ask you a question. Are you concentrating on gaining rankings in the search engines?

Take a few minutes and spend some time in Google. I have a sample image here for you. When you type in a search phrase, Google provides results in several ways.

1. The top section, highlighted in a light color, is top sponsored links. These are results that the companies listed here are paying for.

2. The right hand side also contains a variety of sponsored links. Likewise, the companies sponsored here are also paying for links.

3. The terms listed in the main body section are the natural results. These companies worked hard to achieve top listings under popular search phrases.

Think about your own search patterns. When you do a search, how many pages do you click through to find a site with relevant information? Chances are you look through the first page of results (the first 10 pages of top producing results), and you may click through to the second and third pages, but you probably don’t go much further.

Which means if you aren’t ranking in the top 10 under your key phrases that people are searching for you on, you’ll never come into contact with the people looking for you.

As a business owner, you have two jobs when it comes to Internet marketing.

1. Figure out what people are typing into the search engines to find you.

2. Consistently get top rankings under those key terms for more exposure.

Tip: You don’t always want top placement under the most obvious key word.

Let me give you an example. As many of you know, I have a photography background. So we have a site dedicated to helping photographers.

Ranking under the term “photography” would only bring me minimal results. Instead, we’ve focused our efforts on the terms that people are searching for us under.

Under the terms:

Photography Business - we’re 14 out of 272,000,000
Photographic Studio Secrets - we’re 1 and 2 out of 1,400,000
Wedding Photographer Equipment Checklist - we’re 3 and 4 out of 990,000

I could provide many more examples, but I’m sure you’re starting to see the value. As people search for things relevant to my business, they are finding my site, clicking through to my site, and buying from my site.

Is your site doing the same?

Lori Osterberg has created three successful businesses in the past 10 years, and along the way discovered the secrets of taking a local small business and turning it into a worldwide success. She now shares this passion with people all over the world, and speaks, writes and mentors on using technology to grow your business – and stay small at the same time! Receive her FREE ezine at www.VisionOfSuccess.com.

What kind of response rate are you getting from your email? Think about these statistics for a moment.

* A recent study showed that over 50 percent of all email sent out each day is spam (with tens of billions of email sent every day).

* Top ISP’s (your Internet service provider) are blocking about 25 percent of your permission based email. This is the email that you have requested, or that is coming from clients and peers.

While these numbers may frighten off small business owners, and make them wary of using email as a marketing tool, there are things you can do significantly improve your delivery rates.

Here are 5 tips to help you overcome delivery problems:

1. Get Permission.
With dozens (or even hundreds) of emails coming into a persons email box every day, don’t send regular email out to someone that hasn’t requested it. When you are out networking, by all means add these people to your mailing list. But don’t automatically put them on your email list. If you have an ezine, send an email thanking them for speaking with you, and give them the link to sign up for your ezine. Never assume they want your information, even if you meet with someone regularly.

2. Attract attention by your From and Subject lines.
People learn to scan their email boxes quickly to determine what to delete, and what to keep and read. If you always send things from one email address, they will recognize you instantly. Also, be descriptive with your subject lines. Don’t use “Hi” or “Thanks”, describe what your message is about “I enjoyed meeting you at Wednesday’s Networking Group” or “Thanks for spending 5 minutes at my booth Tuesday”. Depending on their email program, they may not see long detailed subject lines. But getting to the point provides you with a greater chance of having your email opened.

3. Get your email through the spam filters.
Spam filters are constantly changing, but there are things that automatically rank high when your email account is determining deliverability of a message. All capital letters, excessive punctuation, repeated phrases, specific words/phrases, and continual talk about selling/buying will all trigger spam filters. If you use a good delivery system, many have spam assessors that will let you know the status of your email.

4. Create a structured email, and use it again and again.
Keep your emails similar in nature. If you use ezines, develop a template. If you send text email, build up a style. People develop relationships online because they like the way you write and the information you provide.

5. Tell people upfront what to expect.

Tell people upfront what you will be delivering. If you are sending autoresponder series, use your first one to provide the details of the remaining emails. On your website, sell your ezine and tell people what they will be receiving each delivery. Put samples to give people an idea of what to expect. And be consistent.

Lori Osterberg has created three successful businesses in the past 10 years, and along the way discovered the secrets of taking a local small business and turning it into a worldwide success. She now shares this passion with people all over the world, and speaks, writes and mentors on using technology to grow your business – and stay small at the same time! Receive her FREE ezine at www.VisionOfSuccess.com.

Step 5. Do it again.

Once you’ve tried a marketing tool, and analyzed how well it’s working for you - do it again!

Some things work; some don’t. The important thing is to keep trying. Even if something fails, the worst that has happened is you’ve spent money and learned. If it doesn’t work, don’t assume nothing will. It’s a matter of finding the right message in the right place in the right time.

Lori

Step 4. Test everything you do.

For many creative professionals, they throw money at a form of marketing and continue to do so for years. I attended a networking party put on by a magazine. I sat next to a gentleman that had been advertising in the magazine for years. When I asked him his results, he said, “I’m busy. I’m not sure where my clients are coming from. But I have a great relationship with the editor and would never leave this magazine.”

Having a great relationship with a magazine salesperson is great. But if you are wasting thousands of dollars a year, is it worth it? Wouldn’t it be better to invest those thousands into something that brought in a lot more business?

Choose your marketing tools wisely. And test them. Find out how people are coming into your business. Keep the tools that work - stop the tools that don’t.

Lori

Step 3. Become a better marketer.

Marketing is a game that must be played throughout your business career. As long as you are in business, you must market!

Many creative professionals make the claim, “I hate marketing” or “I just don’t have time to market”. Yet that is their lifeblood.

Add into it all of the different methods - especially with  online marketing techniques, and it’s easy to see why it can become overwhelming.

The important thing is to understand it. Then make a committment to do something about it. Understand it enough to hire the people to help you. Or purchase services that will make you marketing efforts easier. But you must understand it to make sure what you are buying has value for your company.

Step 2. Set your goals.

Once you see your future, it’s easier to put it into place.

Start out by writing your general goals on a piece of paper. For example, if one year from now you see yourself with 20 clients, each spending $10,000 USD, write that goal down.

These are your large goals. But large goals are hard to achieve because they are so large. 20 clients at $10,000 each sounds great, but if you are having trouble getting one client through our doors, these 20 can be a monumental goal.

Underneath this large goal, start breaking it down into more manageable tasks.

• Attend a networking function.
• Increase my prices.
• Offer bigger packages.

Write down as many tasks as you can think of that will help you achieve your goal. Do this for every goal you have.

Lori

Want a step by step plan to help you become a better marketer?

Marketing is really an art form. It’s something that takes time and dedication. But if you follow these steps - and keep with it - you’ll be well on your way.

1. Create a vision.

When people say they don’t have a marketing plan, they usually haven’t thought about what their business means to them. Start by looking at your business in the future. Where do you want it to be one year from now? How about five? Really think about it, and write down exactly what you see. What type of clients do you have? What are they spending? What is your profit? What are you doing with those profits?

The more you can “see” your business, the easier it will be to get excited about it!

Lori

I was reading a newsletter today, and came across a startling fact about the distribution of wealth in America.

In 1990,  the top 1% of people in the country earned 15% of all income.

That statistic alone is amazing to ponder. Now add this:

In 2007, the top 1% of people in the country earned 22% of all income.

If you aren’t doing something to help grow your business, and move in a different direction, it’s easy to see where you are heading (and it isn’t into the top 1%).

The key to success is to educate yourself. Start up a business. Earn extra money doing what you love. Go back to college. Better yet, attend a seminar or buy training  material from a mentor.

If you sit around doing what you’ve always done, you’re going to get what you’ve always gotten. Make a change now.

Lori

Are other countries in the same shape? I’m willing to bet so. But I’d love to hear your opinions.

Have you ever watched the Priceless ads on TV, and come up with your own great idea? Well now you can submit it. Head over to http://www.priceless.com/ and submit your own ideas. You can include your thoughts, photos, and even videos.

Just one more way that big companies are gaining there marketing ideas from their customers.

Lori