Archive for June, 2008

How to get your hands on a dose of marketing perspective?

Friday, June 27th, 2008

Here are my commandments on how to keep your eye on the big picture even as you are so focused on your own slice of the business world:

» Read, read, read. When it comes to your market, your industry and what you know, there is no such thing as too much information, too much knowledge.

» Know thy audience and know thy competitors. “Nuff said.

» Don’t be 24/7/365. Take time, schedule it if you need to, to focus on something not related to your business.

» Keep it humble. Don’t assume, talk to others, ask questions and always be prepared to change your mind and your plan.

» Be real. You’re important and what you do is important but there’s a whole world of important people and businesses and causes out there.
Permanent link to this post (136 words, 1 image, estimated 33 secs reading time)

Posted in information marketing, marketing, marketing research, small business marketing | Comments

Got Marketing Perspective?

Monday, June 23rd, 2008
You know when you’re so focused on something that you may lose sight of what it really is or of how important it really is (or isn’t) in the grand scheme of the world?

I got a great dose of perspective the other day. My 8-year-old daughter has an e-mail address. Her e-mail is included on this subscriber list. Recently, she received an e-mail with tips on blogs and blog writing.

She sent me back an e-mail that read like this: So….I guess BLOGS are IMPORTANT?????

That gave me a good laugh. It reminded me that while what I do is important, and, I like to think, helps others succeed, sell more, realize their dreams and learn something new as much as possible, the truth is, most of us aren’t finding the cure to cancer. We take ourselves seriously, as we should, but it’s just too seriously at times.

Taking a step back and drinking a big mug of perspective will make you much better and much more successful at what you do. So….remember….and this is very important: blogs are very IMPORTANT!!!
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Posted in blog, blog content, blog ghostwriting, blogging, marketing, online marketing, small business marketing | Comments

Market From A Position of Strength

Thursday, June 19th, 2008
I was reading (re-reading, actually) a great book over the weekend: Soar With Your Strengths. It’s all about how our teachers, our bosses and we ourselves are often so focused on improving weaknesses and changing natural tendencies that we neglect to focus on what makes us great, unique and powerful: our strengths.
“The goal,” the book says, “is to manage weaknesses so that the strengths can be freed to develop and become so powerful they make the weaknesses irrelevant.” By focusing on real strengths, people, their teams and their businesses will excel in ways never before imagined. By focusing on weaknesses, you will constantly be trying to explain away, make excuses and be something you really aren’t.

The same can be said for your marketing efforts. All too often, I see so much time and effort spent on trying to be something you aren’t. Why focus on what your business does just OK or a niche that you really don’t own? Focus on what works, on what makes you powerful and, ultimately, on the true value you offer your potential clients.

And speaking of strengths in marketing, I hope you consider your website to be a strength, an asset. But what are you doing beyond your website? Read my most recent post below, Beyond Your Website, to learn what you should be doing to build on the strength of your website.
Permanent link to this post (232 words, 1 image, estimated 56 secs reading time)

Posted in Internet Marketing, information marketing, making mistakes, online marketing, small business marketing | Comments

Beyond Your Website

Saturday, June 14th, 2008

You have a website. You love your website. You might have the best site around, but chances are it’s not enough. It needs to be part of an active, dynamic and constantly-growing online marketing presence that is your business.

  • Blog: Blogging, or writing articles on your website, can help give readers a sense that you’re an expert in your field. Writing about relevant industry news, new products or anything you think will help customers stay informed can really boost you as a reliable resource (and bring in new business, of course).

Read the full post

Posted in business writing, web content, web projects, web traffic | Comments

Content, The Key To A Successful Marketing Strategy (Part 2 of 2)

Monday, June 9th, 2008

In the last post, we talked about how a successful marketing strategy is centered on content. Determining exactly what content to focus on is 100% dependent upon your target audience.

A few questions to ask yourself before mobilizing your next marketing plan,

  1. Who is my target audience and ideal client?

Read the full post

Posted in information marketing, marketing, seo copywriting, web content | Comments

Content, The Key To A Successful Marketing Strategy (Part 1 of 2)

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

It is likely safe to assume that everyone understands the true purpose of marketing.
  1. Attract attention to your brand and company.

  2. Gain more business and/or increase sales.

  3. Brand yourself as the industry expert.
What everyone does not understand however, is that a successful marketing strategy has very little to do with hype or flashy design.

The most successful strategies concentrate on feeding much-needed content to prospective clients, a process that truly brands you as the “go-to” expert in your field. By keeping the focus on your ideal clients and their problems, you will be successful in holding their attention.

As long as problem solving for your clients remains the center of your content and information marketing strategy, you’ll go far.

Permanent link to this post (122 words, 1 image, estimated 29 secs reading time)

Posted in information marketing, marketing, online marketing, web content | Comments

DIY Copywriting Strategies – No Cost Teleseminar

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

Just one more day until I share my DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Copywriting Strategies Guaranteed to Rock Your World at NO CHARGE!!

From Marketing Limbo to Marketing ‘Aha!’ is tomorrow, Thursday, June 5th, at 12 noon EST.

You will not want to miss this FREE one-hour teleseminar because I promise you will:

• Receive valuable, instantly implementable tools from a leading copywriting and marketing expert that recently rewrote a clients’ web page resulting in the page climbing to the top of Google in just 48 hours.

Read the full post

Posted in Internet Marketing, business tips, business writing, copywriting, copywriting 101, online marketing, teleseminar | Comments

How do you know what to blog about?

Sunday, June 1st, 2008
Time for me to be honest: It is NOT EASY to write for your blog. The actual writing is doable, but the frequency and constant feeding of information and content to your blog is, well, constant and never-ending.

I think feeding the content beast is something that many business professionals struggle with. In an attempt to come up with something unique and fresh, the feature topic is often times over analyzed, and other good topics are ignored.
Most people read blogs because they are looking for tips, opinions or advice on an issue they are dealing with. They want to read something that is written by someone that has experience and passion about the topic. They want answers!
So a few tips when writing your next or your first blog:

• Be honest and authentic.

• Start with something you are passionate about.

• Stick to the topic and keep it narrow in focus.

• Consider who you want to read your blog and try to speak to them.

• Read and monitor industry articles that interest you for motivation. Was there information that you felt should have been included? If so, make that piece of information your next topic.

• If you come across a business problem and have difficulty finding resolution, turn your experience of finding the answer into a blog post. It may prompt dialogue between yourself and colleagues, as well as potential clients, resulting in great networking potential.
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Posted in blog content, blog ghostwriting, writing for blogs | Comments