Archive | Branding & Marketing RSS feed for this section

How to Keep People From Leaving Your Website

By on May 22, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Guest Articles, Technology

How to keep people from leaving your websiteIt doesn’t matter how much website traffic you’re getting, if those visits aren’t yielding positive results for your business, what is the point? After spending time, energy, money and love on your website it can be frustrating when it doesn’t start paying you back. Here are a few ways to diagnose what’s happening and how to correct it.

Why do people leave a website? There are two main reasons that someone leaves your website; 1. It’s loading too slow 2. They can’t find what they’re looking for quickly enough. The first reason you will have to get your technical expert on, but the second reason is all down to the content of the site, which you can change today. If this visitor is an ideal customer but isn’t behaving as you’d like, follow these steps for a greater chance of success on autopilot.

What do you want people to do? Successful websites have at least three calls to action.  For your website to be successful you need to clearly define what success is. So what does a successful visit to your website look like to you? Is it a sale?  A request for a free quote? A newsletter sign up? A contact? Decide what it is, ensuring that it’s supportive of your business goals, and complete the following tasks with that goal in mind…

Tell your visitors what to do.  This is often the easiest thing to miss. When you want someone to do something on your website, remember to suggest that they do it. At the end of a post, suggest another post they can go to next, suggest that they get in contact, that they join your newsletter, or a product you offer to solve their problem. Don’t leave a visitor to stumble through your website using the navigation bar at the top; you never know where they’ll end up!

Draw out a website path.  A great way to engage web visitors is to create a specific route through your website that will lead to your end goal. It’s a bit like a long sales letter, designed to soften your prospects over time. Create the content and modify existing pages to send visitors along that route. This makes it much more likely that your website goal will actually be achieved. An example might be a series of blog posts on a subject which leads to an information product that fully solves the problem. If you never end a post or page without outlining where a visitor should go next, you will be leading them by the hand through your website.

How to avoid common traffic leaks: 

Homepage: Your homepage is typically the first place visitors land and the point at which they could go anywhere. Consider limiting their options and make it very clear where they want to go to get the information they see. Don’t leave them with any doubt. To do this, consider what reasons your target market has for coming to your website? Provide a different route to satisfy each of these reasons.

At the end of a page: Perhaps they found you because they were looking to solve a problem and found your blog post on the topic. Then they get to the end of the post and are faced with what to do next? Don’t make them think to hard, SPELL IT OUT for them

Give visitors a reason to come back and remember you.  Of course some visits won’t complete your website goal, for one thing, you may not have what they require or they are just might not be ready for you yet. This is where you want to make sure that the contact hasn’t been wasted. Make the most of each visit by creating a newsletter they can sign up for, give away an ebook, special report or workbook in exchange for their contact details, and encouraging them to connect with you on social media sites. That way it’s not an opportunity wasted, and you may get another chance with them later.

Are you tracking your results?  I am nuts for analytics and you will be too once you see how small changes affect your website goals. Google analytics makes it possible for you to set up tracking and see whether your website goals are being met for free. You can see where people usually enter your website, where, why and your common leaks as well as seeing what path they take through your website and make improvements.

How do you plan to get your visitors to complete your goals? Share your thoughts.

About the author:  Jessica Shailes teaches entrepreneurs how to build a successful online presence without expensive software or technical skills. See posts including how to use Google Analytics online at http://fluidwebworks.co.uk.

Comments { 1 }

Presentation Communication – Your Quest to Impress

By on May 7, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, My Recommendations, Technology

Sponsored Post

All businesses depend on sending the right messages to their customers. Whether it is a brick and mortar office, retail store, online enterprise, a direct sales business or some type of consulting firm, you have one chance to make a first impression, and your business message must be clear. Customers will focus on what they see, what you say, and how you say it.

Look at what your customer sees

Your advertising collateral says a lot about your business.  Do you have a color sign out front with the business phone number? Do you have color flyers and quality direct mail pieces? Do you have color packaging that implies quality? Are you effectively using your display space to attract customers to walk-in and then buy once they are inside?  Do you have a helpful business website with great photos and customer testimonials?

Just as most customers would have reservations about eating in a dirty restaurant, buying upscale goods from a poorly-organized, junky store, purchasing from a customer-unfriendly website, or obtaining consulting services from a person with poor communications skills – your printed and digital materials have to help convince a prospective customer that what you are selling will definitely solve their problem.  As a small- or medium-sized business person, your sales window is usually very small. Fundamentally, on that first impression, they need to believe that you can deliver the goods or services they want. Every customer wants to feel good about a purchase decision. Your job is to use your marketing collateral to reinforce the point that your company will meet their requirements without a problem.

Show it and say it

If you are a retail store, it should be clean and well organized, with all of your merchandise clearly priced. Advertised and featured items should be readily visible and there should be some real “wow” factor when customers come through the doors. Do you have POPs or point of purchase displays in your store? Whether you are selling goods, have a cleaning service, a restaurant, a hair salon or a karate studio, your premise presentation should make a potential customer smile. You want them to want to do business with you. Even if you are opening a real estate or insurance agency or other type of office, make sure it is brightly lit, looks professional and exudes professionalism. Customers like to feel that they have come to the right place; your premise presentation should reinforce that perception.

If you provide services that take you on the road, like consulting, sales, or public speaking, you will need some additional materials for your customers to see that will tell them what you are selling and why they should buy it from you. We are now in the arena of sales collateral, which can include everything from glossy brochures to full-fledged media kits. The short version of your presentation is your business card and a brochure about your product or service and the reasons you should be on your customer’s list as a potential vendor. You want to have plenty of cards and brochures because these are initial customer contact items. Hire a professional to design them, and get them printed at the best possible quality.

Have a Clear Message

Most of all have a clear message as to why the customer should do business with you. If you get more interest from the customer, follow-up with a full-fledged media kit with customer testimonials, media clips, product samples, corporate bios, certifications, etc. As a general rule, the higher the cost of the product or service the longer the sales cycle, excellent marketing materials will reinforce that you are the right choice. Customers only want to make good decisions. Your sales materials need to support your brand promise.

Now you’ve said it, how do you get the prospect to respond?

A few tips:

  1. Use color printing to increase response. A recent study shows that 69% of people understand new ideas better when presented in color.
  2. Offer an incentive to drive a response, something that ties to your business will be more memorable.
  3. Provide multiple response methods such as phone number, website address, social media site.
  4. Set a deadline for the special offer you’re providing.

If you are thinking about a new copier/printer/scanner/email and fax machine, how about the Xerox ColorQube 8700?

Disclosure:  Melinda Emerson produced this content as a paid contributor to Xerox. The content is the author’s opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of Xerox.

Do you have more great ways to have the best presentation to your customer?

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

Comments { 1 }

How to Build a Social Media Brand

By on May 4, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, Social Media

Sponsored Post

Social media has leveled the playing field for small business owners in today’s marketing environment. It’s all about two-way communication with customers. Building a social media brand is a major factor in small business success, but the key is being niche focused. Beyond having a website, you need to make sure that you are out there demonstrating your expertise and dominating your niche at every opportunity. No one is calling 411 or looking in the yellow pages for vendors, it’s all about what comes up in the search engines. Don’t forget about LinkedIn, too.  Many experts, consultants and professional service providers are sourced through LinkedIn.  Here are the answers to the top 10 questions on how to build a social media brand.

How important is an online brand to a small business owner? 

Once a month people should Google themselves to see what is out there on the internet about their business. If nothing comes up in the search engines, that is a problem too. Start building online credibility with a LinkedIn profile and a helpful website. I would also add a Twitter account, Google+ profile, and Facebook Fan page as well. Retailers and service businesses should have a Yelp profile too.

What is the biggest mistake small businesses make when building an online brand?

You must consistently talk to the same customer online every time you share content and understand that it takes 7 contacts to make an impression. Many people think it’s going to start raining money in their small business as soon as they start using social media.  Not so! It’s like building any other relationship. It took me 2 years of tweeting, blogging and sharing other people’s information to be recognized nationally.

How does one go about developing a strategy to build a brand online? 

Start with three C’s of social media Content + Community = Commerce. Your content is currency in social media. Once you pick a target audience, you must listen first to find out where they are spending time online. Then you must use your content to become part of the conversation on that social networking site. When you start to engage with people by sharing their content and commenting on blogs, that’s when you starting building community. Once you have established trust within your online community that’s when you can sell to them. If you try to sell too quickly, you will torch the relationship.  Think of social networking as “Give to Get.”

Can you explain what you call “The Triple ROI of Social Media”?

  • Return on Investment: All social media accounts are free. Your investment is your time. A smart social media program returns the time you put in, in terms of engagement with customers and prospects as well as word-of-mouth referrals.
  • Return on Influence: By sharing quality content, small business owners build influence, which they can eventually monetize online and offline.
  • Return on identity:  Everything in social media is about building your brand identity.

What is the HELP mantra?

The HELP mantra is how I think small business owners should approach social media: Help Others, Engage People, Listen Carefully and Promote Yourself With Care. Traditional selling is dead.  Use a 4:1 ratio of sharing other people’s content over your own. Your content will do the selling for you. No one will engage you if you lead with “Buy my stuff, buy my stuff.” They will always respond to great stories about how you can solve their painful business issues.

What is your best advice for a business owner trying to build their brand online?

Before you do anything, clearly identify your niche target customer. Research the keywords people use most to search for your topic, service or product. Then develop your content strategy to stand out amongst your competition. If you are planning to use blogging as your strategy, start working on an archive of blog posts at least 3 months in advance so writing does not feel stressful to you.

How important is it to choose the right social networks? Which ones work best for what, ie. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr etc.? 

Everyone does not have to be doing everything. Twitter is a terrific listening device and is great for driving traffic to a blog. I convene my #Smallbizchat community live each week on Twitter, which has been a major factor in growing my online audience. LinkedIn is the most formal social network. It’s perfect for people who need to network with key decision makers.  Facebook groups and fan pages are great for engaging with retail customers. Google+ is also becoming a major factor in communicating with your entire social rolodex. Don’t forget about Pinterest too. If you have lots of great visuals Pinterest is perfect for target customers with that interest. Tumblr lets you effortlessly share anything. You can post text messages, photos, quotes, links, music and video from email and from any devices. If you use blogging as a key strategy, any of these accounts will help you spread the word.

Should a small business owner stay on message at all times? Is it ever okay to go off message?

It is critical to stay on message in social media. It should be obvious who your customer is by what you share online or what you write on your blog.  If you change your message too often, you will confuse people.  It’s ok to share personal things about yourself, so that people know that you are a real person, but be strategic.

Are there any special tools or apps on any social media sites that you would recommend? why?

I like www.Hootsuite.com to manage all my social media accounts. You can have up to 5 social accounts with the free version, but if someone is helping you with social media you may want to invest in a pro account.

How does one go about earning a community of subscribers, followers, friends, etc?  

Engagement is key. If someone leaves a comment on your blog, respond back quickly. In order to attract subscribers, followers, likes and connections you need to give them what they want – valuable content. Then, engage the people who like your content. Highlight a fan each week on your Facebook fan page, run a contest on Twitter. Be first to answer questions on LinkedIn to highlight your expertise.

On Tuesday May 8th 1-2pm ET I will speak with @FedExOffice during a live Tweet Chat #FedExOffice about how to build a social media brand as part of the Our Office Is Your Office Tweet Chat series.

Do you have any more ideas on how to build a social media brand? Your idea could be worth $50 bucks.

@SmallBizlady will offer two $50 gift cards for two more great ideas about building a social media brand.  To be considered, post your comment on this blog post until 10pm ET Friday, May 11, 2012. Winners will be announced on Twitter on Monday, May 14, 2012. FedEx Office has no involvement in the selection of winners.   This is sponsored by @SmallBizlady.

Disclosure:  FedEx Office compensated me to write this post and participate as a small business expert during the FedEx Office Our Office Is Your Office Tweet Chat series.  FedEx Office also provided the $50 gift cards. The ideas in this blog post are mine and are not ideas or advice from FedEx Office.

About FedEx Office: FedEx Office, an operating company of FedEx Corp., has more than 1,900 stores and locations in the U.S., Canada, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East, providing convenient access to printing and shipping expertise with reliable service. The company’s network features retail stores, centralized production centers, corporate on-site print centers, and on-site business centers at hotels, convention centers and universities. Services include copying and digital printing, professional finishing, document creation, direct mail, signs and graphics, computer rental, free Wi-Fi, corporate print solutions, packing services, FedEx Express and FedEx Ground shipping, Hold at FedEx Location and more. In addition, InformationWeek 500 recognized FedEx Office® Print Online and FedEx Office® Print & Go solutions with the 2011 Most Innovative Products award. Products, services and hours vary by location. For more information, please visit www.fedex.com/office.

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is America’s #1 small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

Comments { 27 }

5 Steps to Take Online Before Launching Your Small Business

By on April 17, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Guest Articles, Social Media, Technology

The fast-moving flow of information in social media  can be intimidating to even the most computer-savvy among us. To a budding small business owner, it can be daunting. Yet if you want your business to succeed, you can’t afford to ignore that world. Fortunately, there is a way to conquer that world and make it work for you—and the way to do it is to be proactive. That means thinking out your social media marketing strategy before you launch your business and then taking the preliminary steps to make it all work. Here are a few things you can do ahead of time to see to it that your launch will go smoothly.

  1. Stake your claim in the social media frontier.  Don’t be afraid. Hop right in! Getting connected may be new to you but it represents your golden opportunity to show your company’s value to the world. Create accounts on all the major social networking sites— Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn. Then to make things a little more manageable for yourself, consider signing up for a social media manager such as SproutSocial.com, HootSuite, or CoTweet.
  2. Be visual! A picture is worth a thousand words. So why use words when images are so much more effective? Take time to create an effective logo that communicates you, your business, and its value to your customers. Then follow up with photos, videos, infographics, and other forms of visual imagery that tell the tale of your company. If any of your products require instruction, create video tutorials to explain them. If your products are unique, use visuals to play up their distinctions! People are always looking for ways to be the coolest guys on their block, so make sure you show them how your products can help them become trend setters.
  3. Monitor your industry online. Do searches for mentions of your products or your industry on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. Become aware of your competition—not only what they are doing but also how they are using social media. There are numerous social media tracking applications available (for example, Trackur and monitter), many of which are free, that can help you keep track of chatter going on around the Web.
  4. Make yourself known. One of the most important things you can do in the social media world is forging relationships. Communication is not very effective if it only goes one way. So it’s of utmost importance to find a legion of fans and followers and begin an ongoing dialogue with them. You can start on Facebook with real friends and family. But then expand your reach. A quick keyword search can help you identify prospective customers who could be ideal fits for your product or service. Seek out key players in your industry and also target local media outlets and city officials. Then be diligent about establishing and maintaining communication with your new contacts. On Facebook, you can share their links on your wall and comment on them. On Twitter, you should always try to reply to as many messages as possible. If one of your contacts has a story, re-tweet it. On LinkedIn, join industry groups and start new group discussions or actively participate in ongoing ones. Most importantly, be careful to nurture these new relationships by avoiding asking for favors or help. Instead, offer your help to your contacts without asking for anything in return. This will build trust and elevate your relationships to the point where your online friends will ultimately be doing favors for you.
  5. Interlink One advantage to having multiple accounts on social media sites is to establish as many sources of user feedback as possible. People are seldom shy about sharing their opinions, and you can begin improving your products and services immediately as a result of their feedback. Another advantage is your ability to interlink within your own online network. One of the first things you will want to do after establishing your accounts is to link your company’s website, your Facebook page, your Twitter account, and your YouTube videos to each other. This is free advertising and is a neat way to showcase as many aspects of your business to as wide an audience as possible.

Today’s marketing climate is more diverse than ever, but there is no component that is as fast-growing or as effective as social networking. Your business can sell itself when you have the mechanisms in place to easily put it on display for the right audience to see. Those mechanisms are abundant in the social media world. So do your homework. Prepare to launch your business by preparing before the launch.

About the author:

Christopher Wallace is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Amsterdam Printing, a leading provider of personalized pens, promotional pens, and other personalized items such as imprinted apparel and mugs and customized calendars.

Comments { 1 }

Developing a Mobile Marketing Strategy with Kent Lewis

By on April 12, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Kent Lewis @KentLewis is President and Founder of Anvil Media and Formic Media, sister search engine and social media marketing agencies based in Portland, Ore. For more information visit www.anvilmediainc.com.

SmallBizLady: What exactly does the term “mobile marketing” mean?

Kent Lewis: Mobile marketing technically refers to any form of messaging or advertising targeted at portable devices, which typically means cell phones, but may also include iPads and tablet-style devices. For our clients, we typically focus on developing strategic plans around mobile-friendly websites, local SEO, mobile advertising, QR codes, location-based services, email & SMS messaging and mobile applications or “apps.”

 SmallBizLady: What does a small business owner need to know about the mobile web?

Kent Lewis: Small businesses have a few options when it comes to “mobilizing” a website. The easiest and most cost-effective approach is to develop a mobile-friendly website, designed in CSS, with small screens as a consideration factor. The site renders nearly as well on a phone screen as a monitor, if designed correctly. The drawback is that mobile browsers are not as robust and does not typically support Flash or Javascript elements, but HTML 5 provides a viable alternative for interactivity. The alternative approach would be to build your corporate website on a mobile-friendly CMS platform – one that automatically generates a mobile version of your website. The benefit of this approach is that you don’t have to design the website specifically for mobile, as that will be handled by the CMS platform. The downside is that there are compromises and limitations of such platforms. If mobile is a core strategy for 2011, the ideal approach is to create a dedicated mobile website (m.companyname.com) with unique content and features your mobile audience will need or appreciate (i.e. contact information, driving directions for starters).

SmallBizLady: How does local search engine optimization play into mobile marketing strategies for small business?

Kent Lewis: While your website should do the heavy lifting in terms of providing a resource for mobile-enabled audiences, there are third party local directories that are playing a larger role in mobile search, particularly for small businesses. The content typically seen on a computer screen in local search results is going to power mobile search and other mobile applications in the future.  For starters, be sure to claim & optimize local listings on Google Places/Maps, Bing & Yahoo! Local and related local directories. Specifically, Google Places pages now offer click-to-call capability, which will be appealing to mobile users who are more likely to convert.

 SmallBizLady: Can you explain the various mobile advertising opportunities available to small businesses?

Kent Lewis: While mobile advertising is in its infancy as an industry, it is growing quickly. The good news is that you can get started relatively quickly and easily with mobile advertising campaigns. For those of you with existing Google AdWords accounts, adding mobile is as easy as clicking a button. Beyond expanding your text and display ads to mobile searches, you can incorporate mobile-friendly capabilities like click-to-call and call tracking (via Google Voice) to measure effectiveness of mobile marketing efforts, without the need for third party technology.  If you’re looking for additional mobile advertising opportunities, consider testing mobile ad platforms like AdMob and mobile social advertising like 140 Proof for Twitter mobile applications. With a bit more time and resources, you can explore sponsorship opportunities within existing SMS, MMS and mobile apps. Last but not least, don’t forget to incorporate QR codes (customizable bar codes that embed a URL) into your print, and other display, advertising.

SmallBizLady: What are QR codes and how can a small business use them?

Kent Lewis: Quick Response or “QR” codes are essentially customizable bar codes that are read by mobile phones through the camera and an application. Most frequently, QR codes include an embedded URL, which offers small businesses an opportunity to incorporate a unique, trackable web page into offline/print marketing materials like business cards, newsletters, print, broadcast and outdoor advertising. Free QR code generators are available online and are easy to use, after which you can simply paste the new square code into your marketing materials and wait for the phone or inbox to light up!

SmallBizLady: What are Location-based Services and why should we care?

Kent Lewis: Location-based services (LBS) are generating buzz and ridiculous valuations, but can also be powerful tools for engendering loyalty from your customers. Getting started is relatively simple: create and optimize business profiles on Foursquare, GoWalla, Yelp Mobile, Google and Facebook Places. Don’t forget that these platforms are essentially virtual loyalty programs, which means they require a dedicated effort to maximize your marketing opportunities.

SmallBizLady: What do we need to know about email and SMS text messaging?

Kent Lewis: SMS messaging is going to be the “new email” – in that your focus will be to collect phone numbers instead of (or in addition to) email addresses. As such, make sure your email platform is mobile-friendly. Confirm your outbound emails render well in mobile browsers and that you are collecting opt-in SMS information and developing an outbound marketing strategy specifically for text messaging. To take full advantage of SMS, consider investing in your own dedicated mobile platform.  Leverage existing mobile texting platforms (like MooText or MobileStorm) to create, manage and track mobile marketing campaigns. These platforms typically incorporate a mobile CRM (MCRM) to expand your customer insights and data into the mobile realm.

SmallBizLady: When should small businesses consider developing an application?

Kent Lewis: While mobile applications or “apps” are all the rage thanks to big consumer brands, Google and Apple, they may not be a good fit for small business. Before investing in development or licensing of an app, conduct thorough research into your target audiences’ usage of mobile. If you have critical mass, then ask pointed questions of your target audience about their needs and wants in regards to a mobile app. From there, you can get a bid against your specification from qualified vendors. Incidentally, research indicates mobile users prefer games, music and access to social networks as core elements of mobile apps.

SmallBizLady: Any parting thoughts about mobile marketing for business owners to consider?

Kent Lewis: Regardless of your marketing objectives, target audiences, budgets and available resources, there are at least seven core strategies to consider when developing a mobile marketing strategy for small business. Conduct the necessary research up front to minimize your investment and maximize your ROI. Don’t forget to develop measurable goals, embed necessary analytics and start small with limited testing before committing significant resources. Like any marketing program, mobile requires a dedicated effort to be effective over the long haul.

 

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

 

Comments { 2 }

Budgeting Tips for Small Business Owners

By on April 10, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Cash Flow & Finance, Guest Articles

Photo credit: BUSINESS OBJECTS © Anatoliy Babiychuk

If your fiscal year parallels your wall calendar, then you made it through Q-1 or as you may formally call it, the first quarter. Perhaps you’re feeling optimistic about the goals you’ll accomplish this year, or are concerned about your revenue goals for the second quarter. It’s best to look at where you’ve been to figure out a great strategy for where you are going next. Here are four things you can immediately do to make the most of the remaining three quarters of this year in your small business.

1. Stick to your budget:

Not only do you need to stick to your budget, but you need to track your budget against what you actually spend each quarter. It is so important to prevent cost overruns before they occur. In fact, you should ask yourself Why three times, before making a purchase that is not in your budget. Keeping the numbers in your head is easy when you have one project, but not when you have many. Invoicing and accounts payable can easily become overwhelming. If you’re seeing success then add a stretch goal to your budget. A good stretch goal to consider is five percent of your figures.

2. Track Your Business Development Time

If you’re like most movers and shakers in small business, then you’ve spent a great deal of time this fiscal year building relationships, following up on leads, and hopefully closing contracts and sales. Remember to add up the time you’re spending on business development and use that number as a projection in your budget. Keep a daily timesheet to help you record how you’re spending your time on this critical marketing activity. Over the next three quarters, think about how much work you can actually complete in addition to your business development activities.

3. Track in Black, Red…. And Gray

Not only must you review your budget for revenue and expenses, but also, you must track the actual numbers.  If you’re using a basic spreadsheet, include an actuals column next to your budget column so that you can record what you’re really spending versus what you budgeted as the year progresses. Be sure not to overlook the obvious growing pains associated with any business such as rework, rush fees from your vendors, process hiccups, emergency breakdowns of equipment, etc. In the area of marketing, remember that you have to spend to create opportunities to sell.  This means that there should be monthly spending activity for marketing.

Your labor will often be a direct cost expense. Track your expenses closely and to think about what it takes to create and deliver specific products and services to your clients. You will also need to track your indirect costs, which support the entire business as a whole including admin, marketing and your professional services like accounting and legal support.  Likewise, be sure you understand the difference between fixed and variable costs so that as you grow, you know how to budget expenses that will increase and decrease with scale.

3. Do Your Homework

If you’re new to budgeting, or are jumping back into business, the first place to start is within your own network.  Begin creating trusting relationships with other professionals in your industry.  This will allow you to talk with them about how they budget without revealing what you might consider trade secrets. You need the right answers, and ones that are based on data to manage your business.  You need to know the following:

  • How much your products or services cost in the competitive marketplace?
  • How much companies like yours pay in expenses on average to operate weekly, monthly and annually?
  • What is the standard timeline for delivering similar products and services?
  • How much each supply chain component costs in similar companies in time and money?
  • What is the standard profit margin?

4. Unless You’re A Magician, Leave the Rabbit Tricks Alone

Moving into the second quarter of your fiscal year can be a bit scary if you didn’t start off with a budget. The opportunity is now for getting your arms around your company’s financial performance. You’ll need to plan for revenues and expenses to better understand what opportunities to pursue this year. You’ll want to know how to price them, and most importantly you’ll get clear about how many opportunities you must win to turn a profit.  When setting objectives, there is no magic wand to earn greater profits. Through consistent efforts you’ll do three things; increase revenue, fulfill your company’s mission and  move closer to turning a profit.

Do you have any tips for establishing a budget once the business year has started? Please share you thoughts.

About the author:

Akia T. Garnett, MBA is a speaker, columnist for Minority Business Entrepreneur Magazine and CEO of Brandbuilder. She is an adjunct professor of business, marketing and consumer behavior at Trinity University of Washington, DC, and Co-Author of Seen and Sustained: Best Practices in Communication that Increase the Visibility of Small and Diverse Businesses. Akia helps small business owners create, cast and complete vision and mission mapping exercises for their professional and personal brands.  Learn more at http://www.BestPracticesforSmallBusinesses.com

 

 

 

Comments { 7 }

How to Get New Customers Part II

By on April 3, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, Starting A Small Business

There are numerous ways of getting new customers but not all methods are applicable to all businesses. I also need to remind you that getting repeat business from your existing customers is far easier than attracting new customers, but it is important to have a strategy for getting new customers in the door. In Part 1 of this series, I provided a philosophy and an approach for obtaining more business. Choosing your best customer acquisition strategy will be driven by why your customer is buying, their purchase frequency, and how they collect purchase information. In Part 2, the focus is on specific strategies and tactics to create a stampede in your small business.

Here are 7 strategies for getting new customers:

  • Start advertising: You want customers to know you exist – If you have a storefront business that depends on local customers. Consider investing in local online advertising, direct mail, flyers, or local penny-saver ads. You can also do pay per click ads online too. Use calls to action in each advertising initiative to get prospects to contact you. Do not start any advertising program that you can’t maintain for at least six months.
  • Start building a prospect list. One of the key ingredients in a business is having an active prospect list.  One of the best ways to build your list is through your website.  You should have 3-5 ways to engage web visitors to get them to give you their contact information. Create a coupon or giveaway from your website. It could be a special report, free chapter of a book, or audio interview, a 10% off coupon, a free estimate or a giveaway for the first X number of new customers who download the giveaway.
  • Launch a public relations campaign: Your PR campaign should have a story behind it.  The fact that you open your doors is not compelling enough.  Consider having a PR tie-in a local charity, cause or group. For example, my neighbor got a front-page story in our local community paper as a donor of care packages in support of our troops. The article also highlighted her business and her contact information. You can always donate a portion of net proceeds to charity and get a tax write-off too.
  • Use incentives: Give your current customers referral incentives – everybody likes a deal. If an existing customer gets a special discount, cash, or free stuff for recommending a new customer to your business, it creates a winning situation for everyone. Interestingly enough, when you give a surprise benefit to an existing client, like a free pizza after so many purchased or a “no charge” for a regular dry cleaning customer, or free shipping and a discount on future business, customers tell others about these unexpected bonuses.
  • Develop a social marketing strategy: – Like it or not, we are in a digital age and ignoring free marketing tools, such as social networking sites is just plain foolish. You must be googleable! It used to be that all you had to do was build a website, now you need a blog and to have a social media footprint to go with it. No one uses the yellow pages any more. It is pretty common that if we want to know anything about anything we go to the internet. If your business is not there, it can really impact your visibility. Read, read, read and seek out a professional to get you started with social media marketing. Check out my book “Become Your Own Boss In 12 Months” to get more insights on building an online brand.
  • Use Success By Association – Become a part of your industry trade organization, local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, community service organizations, and other groups both local and national. My active membership in the National Speakers Association led to some outstanding business contacts for me. It is very satisfying to learn from peers and fellow business owners.
  • Create recognizable value – If you are in a business where you can provide informational value through articles or newsletters that provide tangible customer benefit, it can lead to getting a new customer and development of a “following”.  Media is always looking for content to sustain itself and to grow. If you have a message of interest, write an article for your local media outlet, notify your local TV or radio station about your unique business and the benefit it brings. Don’t keep your  better mousetrap a secret.

Getting the word out about you and your business will take planning and hardwork and you will sell your faith in your enterprise. It is not always easy to do, but persistence will get you to success.

Do you have any other tactics to share on getting new customers?

Enter the #SMBSolidInk Twitter Sweepstakes! Your Chance to Win a New ColorQube 8700 for Your Small Business! Follow @Xeroxoffice for details http://bit.ly/HsA9Xt

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and smallMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady" business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

 

Comments { 7 }

How Do I Get New Customers Part 1

By on April 2, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, Starting A Small Business

So often I am asked about how to get new customers that I decided to develop a two part series on the topic.  

No customers, no business. A simple and obvious fact, which leads new business owners to ask the question “How do I get customers to see and buy from my business?” The first question to ask yourself is:  Who are your customers and how do they like to buy the kind of products you’re selling? You want to be able to see the “face” of your primary customer. Is it a child, teenager, senior citizen, a techie, “do-it-yourself” person, a woman, a man, or some other demographic? If your target customer is Hispanic, it would not make much sense to advertise your product in an Irish magazine or Jewish website. Knowing your target customer lets you tailor your message to who’s buying.

Is your business a “brick and mortar” storefront? Online? Industry specific? Are you selling pizza, hats or doing software consulting? Your approach to creating “buzz” for your enterprise will vary in each case. If I am selling pizzas, I’ll advertise locally via the web and direct mail to announce specials, offer coupons, and give great friendly service. This business is built on the perception of competitive value-pricing, tasty meals, and ease of ordering on-line or by phone. Your likely customer will be within a few miles of your store and wants quick pick-up or available local delivery. Specials will get new customers in the door, but quality, value and taste will bring them back and get them to tell their friends. Having an online presence is important because it makes it easier for customers to order and to see all of your menu items.

If you are selling hats, you have several marketing options. You can offer hats online showing a variety of styles, perhaps with a buy-one get-one 50% off and free shipping. Consider partnering with local women’s organizations on fashion show fundraisers where you offer a discount on the hats shown. Or you can partner with a local boutique to help them accessorize their outfits — with special prices on your hats.

If you are developing a software consulting business you must position your business carefully. How unique are your programming skills? How much demand is there for what you know? Is a business built on reputation, contacts, networking or SEO? You must have a very targeted audience. You might start by creating a website and brochure outlining your skills and experience and distribute it to your network of contacts online and offline. Look through Information Technology magazine want ads to look for good matches to your qualifications. Sometimes a company looking for an employee might be willing to outsource the services to a company instead.

The underlying philosophy in getting new customers is trying to get them to buy when they have a need or are “in market.” We are “in market” for groceries when we run out of food, or for a new washing machine when the old one finally breaks down, or for another car when the cost to fix our current car is just not worth it anymore. The key is the right offer at the right time to increase the chances that customers will call or come in ready to make a purchase. Some offers must have a seasonal flavor, you don’t sell snow shovels in July, some are timed to days of the week – 30% off on Tuesday or after 3pm, restaurant deals for slow mid-week periods geared to seniors for example. It is also true that sometimes a customer being “in market “ is dependent on future plans for example a home renovation, creating a web site, deciding to plant a garden, to join a gym, or take a vacation. All of these activities typically mean that money is going to be spent and not surprisingly, cost-conscious customers still want that great deal. Now that we have covered the framework for getting new customers, Part 2 of this series will get into specifics of attracting new customers. Remember, choosing your best customer acquisition strategy will be driven by why your customer is buying, their purchase frequency, and how they get their purchase information.

Do you have any ideas to share about how to get new customers?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog.

Melinda F. Emerson, known as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

Comments { 6 }

How to do Facebook Ads for Business

By on March 20, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Social Media

 

On Facebook, 850 million people spend more than 350 minutes a month hanging out online. To some, it may be how they keep in touch with college friends, the way new moms share photos with family, or where sports fans go to cheer on their team and connect with other fans around the world. To businesses, it’s more than just a communication tool–it’s a goldmine. Businesses have the opportunity to create a Facebook Page where they can interact with their customers, provide product information, offer promotions, and gain valuable customer feedback. Facebook ads are becoming a major marketing channel for small businesses.

The user information that Facebook provides is data that businesses and marketers have dreamt about for decades. All of the information that determines a business’s demographic is being handed out on a silver platter when a Facebook account is created. Name, age, gender, geographic location, birth date, political opinion, religious view, marital status, place of work, college, college major, high school, friends, likes and interests are the advertising treasures that make the Facebook Ad’s platform unique. As business owners we are able to target campaigns to any and all of the profile characteristics that pertain to our specific target customer. This allows for more quality leads.

Facebook Ads operate using the cost per click (CPC) model, similar to Google AdWords. When running ads in Facebook you have the option to direct people to a business brand page within Facebook, or to an external website. When using ads within Facebook, you have custom opportunities that you can only take advantage of within Facebook. Opportunities include running a sponsored story, an ad for a Facebook Event, a specific post, application, contest, or video. This allows for marketing creativity and the use of an ad to coincide with a current social promotion.

There is also a major value here that a search engine can’t provide- the social reach. This is a feature that associates ads that run with users that have interacted with that brand or business on Facebook. The social reach brings us to the value of a friend’s opinion and word of mouth recommendations in 2012 purchasing. Those features are the clear picture of two marketing mediums working together for a better user experience.

Paid Ads + Social Intelligence = Smarter CPC

 

The above images display the social feature that Facebook incorporates into their ads and the role that a friend referral for a business plays in Facebook marketing

5 Areas to Focus on When Setting Up Facebook Ads

  • User Destination: Figure out where you want to send the users that click on your ad. There is a strong benefit to sending people to a Facebook Business Page, as well as sending them to a company website. It all depends on the marketing goal you are hoping to achieve. Costs per click will also vary based on where you direct people to go. A CPC landing page can make or break an ad campaign, but the landing page doesn’t necessarily need to be offsite. Facebook Business Pages allow for creative opportunities for landing pages including a contact form or a Facebook store among other options.
  • Ad Type: Determining which ad type to choose can directly impact the success of a campaign. Facebook Ads are a common ad type that is structured most similarly to traditional CPC ads. Sponsored stories, event, post, and application ads can also be successful for brands but focus on more specific content. There is a strong social advantage for running ads that highlight a brand’s status update or event because they show “likes” and shares associated with that post. These ad types often see increased click through rates because of the social association.
  • Targeting: You not only have the opportunity to target your current demographic, but can also connect with an audience that you would like to target as customers. Facebook allows you to target users based on every profile feature that they enter. Likes and interests are a feature that businesses need to take advantage of. If a business sells fitness products they have the opportunity to show their ads to anyone that “likes” fitness, health, working out, yoga, etc. The specific targeting allows for leads from a very qualified user group, which makes the Facebook Ad conversion rates much higher than traditional CPC campaigns.
  • Reporting: In addition to the basic reporting that Facebook offers, there are other ways to track your user’s activity after they click on your ad. You can setup goals and conversion tracking in Google Analytics that can assist in determining the success of the ad campaign.
  • Optimization: Continuously managing your ad campaign is vital to its success but knowing how to optimize it is what can really drive results. Knowing which ads are performing and why is what you’ll need to know to carry that success to the other ad campaigns.

As a marketer, Facebook Ads have been a revolutionary tool for driving success for clients. The dream-like targeting capabilities set Facebook apart from all other ad platforms and deliver quality results. Unfortunately, at the current time Facebook reporting doesn’t compare to the capabilities and functions of Google AdWords. Facebook offers basic features of budgeting, bidding, and reporting with a major opportunity for improvement as ads continue to grow and be a major financial driver for Facebook in 2012.

Do you want more tips for how to use social media to grow your small business? Register today for  Melinda Emerson’s webinar teaching social media, direct mail and email communications techniques March 29th 1-2pm ET http://www2.pbsmartessentials.com/how-to-better-communicate-with-your-customers

About the author:

Lindsay DeFeo is the Director of Social Marketing at Teknicks, a well known Social Media Agency in New Jersey. Lindsay utilizes her education and experience in both marketing and design to provide valued services to Teknicks’ clients. After working across several interactive enhancement marketing channels, Lindsay quickly saw the value for businesses in social and has built the Teknicks Social Marketing department from the ground up. She now manages a hard working and innovative team, working with many of Teknicks clients to improve their social presence online. Connect with her on Twitter at @Teknicks.

 

Comments { 5 }

How to Communicate Your Business Vision

By on March 19, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, How to Start

As a business leader, it’s your job to craft a vision for your business. Once you know what that is, you need to be able to communicate it to a wide audience including your customers and your employees. Even the interns need to know. Why? Because your need to share a vision that everyone understands, can relate to — and ultimately believe in. Here are five ways to communicate your business vision.

Share Your Vision With Everyone. To be effective, you’ll need to rally people around your vision.   You will need to keep saying it to remind your team of your message to reinforce what you are trying to achieve.  You’ll need to do this constantly to keep everyone focused. Don’t worry about sounding like a broken record, after all it is your business.

Use Storytelling: When you tell a story, you give life to your vision. The telling of stories creates trust, touches people’s hearts and minds, and serves as a reminder of the vision. It is also a great way to make your vision relatable to anyone. Your team will find it a lot easier to repeat a story than a vision statement.

Don’t be Afraid to Share: Sometimes we, as entrepreneurs come up with ideas that may seem far-fetched to others.  Do not let that stop you from telling people your vision.  When you speak it out loud, you speak it into existence.  I remember back in 2007, when I told people I was going to be “America’s #1 Small Business Expert,” at the time I am sure some of them may have thought, can she really do that? or they may have thought I was crazy. We’ll who looks crazy now? You must be willing to share ideas people have never heard of.

Be Brief: Learn to share your vision like it is an elevator pitch. Every business leader needs to be able to communicate the vision in a clear, brief way. Can you describe your compelling vision in the amount of time you have during a typical elevator ride? Your pitch should highlight your solution, your target audience and your niche focus. Try to keep it to two minutes of less.

Be Flexible: Don’t feel like you have to have all the answers. As an entrepreneur one of the most important things that you must do is evolve. Be sure to create dialogue around your message so that people feel comfortable to share suggestions and help you take your vision to the next level.

Put out calls to action. Don’t just tell people what you imagine for the future, ask for their help in making it a reality, and be specific about what you want people to do and why.

When you are think about how to communicate your vision first, create a strong vision and communicate it to everyone. Use storytelling to help people visualize your vision. Have the courage to share your vision. Be brief, and willing to take suggestions that could take your vision to the next level. When you put out calls to action, and assign specific roles you want your team to play in your success.

Are you looking for ways to better communicate with your target customers? Don’t miss my FREE webinar sponsored by Pitney Bowes March 29th 1-2pm ET Register today http://www2.pbsmartessentials.com/how-to-better-communicate-with-your-customers

Melinda Emerson "SmallBizLady"

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. 

Comments { 7 }

How to Market with Your Mouth: Using Speaking to Generate Business

By on March 8, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with David Newman @dnewman. David is the author of several books including 21 Secrets of Simple Marketing Success and The Speaker Marketing Toolkit. David is also founder and CEO of Do It Marketing, a marketing strategy and “done-for-you” services firm, and http://www.SpeakerCEO.com, an online resource community for professionals who want to speak more profitably. A frequent speaker at business events and in the media, he has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management, Selling Power, and on FastCompany.com. Here’s more information http://www.doitmarketing.com

 

SmallBizLady: What does it mean to Market with Your Mouth?

David Newman: A lot of business owners work hard to interrupt people with cold calling, advertising, and spam. That era is over. We’re living in a world of voluntary attention. Which means – first you earn their attention, and then you have a chance to earn their money.

“Market with your mouth” is shorthand for one of the best and most direct ways to earn attention. As a speaker – if you’re in front of the right room with the right people and for the right reasons – you have at your disposal a tremendously powerful marketing platform. You’re an authority. You have high visibility. You have the opportunity to deliver high value. And if you do it right, you earn high trust.

At that point, the marketing and sales process is 80% finished and now you’re simply in the process of filtering and sorting your best-fit prospects and you invite them to do business with you!

SmallBizLady: Why should someone consider the strategy of generating business leads from speaking?

David Newman: Every consultant, solopreneur, and small business owner needs to establish their thought-leadership in order to stand out from the crowd and be heard above the noise. No matter what business you’re in, there’s simply no room for yet another “Same-O Lame-O” player. Their days are over and their influence and impact are declining… daily… and dramatically.

So that means that every day you wait to claim your place among the thought-leaders in your industry and in front of your target buyers, you’re losing time AND money. Don’t let that happen to you. The good news is that independent research from the Wellesley Hills Group with over 200 buyers of professional services shows that at any given moment, between 52%-72% of them are willing to change professional services providers.

Across all service areas, more than 50% of purchasers could be considered Switchers, open to changing providers, ranging from 52% Switchers for Legal Services to 72% Switchers for Management Consulting. So the startling truth is that if you market with your mouth, you’re never more than one good presentation away from generating new clients and new revenue.

SmallBizLady: You emphasize choosing a target audience and a very specific niche topic when you speak. Why is that important?

David Newman: Whenever I work with clients 1-on-1 or speak to groups of business owners, we always ALWAYS start with identifying specifically WHO you are marketing to. I call this your “Buyer Persona” and we use 7 key questions to flesh out the specific characteristics of the folks who are your highest-probability prospects.

You need to understand what makes them tick – what are their characteristics, traits, attitudes, and values? What’s important to them? What headaches and heartaches do they have when it comes to the types of problems that your product or service is brilliant at solving? What do they SAY about their situation and what WORDS do they use to describe it? This is what I call “learning to speak prospect language about prospect problems.“

Until you can do that, NO marketing strategy will work, and especially speaking where your main focus is on articulating problems you can solve and sharing answers to those problems that your audience can take away and use immediately.

SmallBizLady: We all want to spend more time in front of right-fit audiences. How do we get started finding them?

David Newman: That’s a great question that I get asked a lot: What groups do my ideal clients belong to? This will obviously determine which audiences you want to be in front of.  Here’s my suggestion: Don’t guess – ask!

Here is the script to ask your current clients, prospects, and centers of influence who know your target market well…

“I’m looking to speak more in front of groups of [BUYER PERSONA]. I’d love to get your advice, insights, and recommendations.”

Another way to ask might be…

“Of all the industry groups and associations you belong to, which ones provide the most value in terms of the speakers and programs they present?”

With both of these scripts, the natural follow-up discussion would center around your desire to serve this industry/community more and to share information with them that would help them become even more successful.

Likely outcomes from you having this discussion with your best clients would include:

  • Names of specific groups, associations, and conferences
  • Names of specific people serving in board or programming positions
  • Names of other executives or decision-makers in the field
  • Names of other companies or firms in need of similar information/services
  • Specific networking introductions
  • Offers of referrals to the individuals they already know
  • An opportunity to reciprocate and ask how YOU might be of service to THEM

SmallBizLady: How can we find even more venues for speaking on top of the ones our best clients share from their personal experience?

David Newman: Finding venues to speak profitably could be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Here are some resources to help you laser-target your speaking to your best-fit audiences:

  • The Directory of Associations online (www.marketingsource.com)
  • National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States – hardcopy from www.columbiabooks.com
  • www.LeadershipDirectories.com for access to 500,000 corporate and association decision-makers (this comes at a hefty $5,000 annual fee)
  • Secret Tip: Your Public Library – Free access to high-priced proprietary business databases (including all of the above PLUS Hoovers, D&B Million Dollar Database, InfoUSA and most likely several industry-specific ones to boot!) All paid for with your local tax dollars – so enjoy!

SmallBizLady: How can our listeners design what you call a “client magnet presentation” when they go out to speak?

David Newman: At this point, it might be tempting to create a presentation based on your professional passions, interests, or favorite topics within your expertise. That would be a huge mistake. DON’T do it!

For your speaking efforts to pay off in terms of marketing results, you need to design your presentation content NOT around what YOU are passionate about, but what your buyers and prospects are passionate about!

Imagine a pair of X-ray vision goggles that you are now using to zoom in on your target clients. Ask yourself the following:

  • What do they want?
  • What are they missing in their lives?
  • What hurts?
  • Where is the pain?
  • What are they yearning for?
  • What do they worry about most?
  • What are their biggest headaches, heartaches, and hassles?
  • What are their urgent, pervasive, and expensive problems?

Build your presentation around THOSE specific questions, problems, challenges and obstacles. And don’t hold back. Unleash your best material, most powerful tools and templates, and give ‘em everything you’ve got. If they see the value in your presentation, believe me, they’ll be ready to buy at the appropriate time. And the person they’ll want to buy from is the one they already trust to deliver top-notch answers and specific hard-hitting ideas – YOU!

SmallBizLady: What’s the first step that business owners should take to find those specific “hot button” issues to address in their talk?

David Newman: What’s the first step? Research. Preparation. Homework. Industry, regional, business, and company news is now at everyone’s fingertips on the Internet. Look for verbatim quotes, video clips, audio interviews to capture as much as you can from representative members of your buyer persona group. Search Google, YouTube and LinkedIn. Scan industry and association message boards.

Then go directly to the source – your real live customers and prospects. If you’re not intelligently researching your prospects’ issues, challenges, and pressures, how can you possibly come in with credible high-perceived-value solutions? One of the best ways to approach prospects is with:

  • Interviews
  • Surveys
  • Research
  • Data gathering

It positions you and your firm as an expert resource and it gives you valuable data you should be getting anyway!

SmallBizLady: What about the nitty-gritty of putting a presentation together. What should it be titled? What should it include?

David Newman: Start by sitting down with a clean sheet of paper. Using the following “presentation idea starters,” jot down 3-5 potential topics/titles in each category based on your topic expertise.

Remember your speech should focus on addressing your buyer persona’s most urgent, pervasive, expensive problems. What are the personal and professional heartaches and headaches that they want answers to? In which areas are they hungry for strategies and tactics?

  • How to…
  • 5 Strategies…
  • 3 Keys to…
  • The #1 problem with… and how to solve it
  • Unlocking your…
  • The 3 biggest traps in [topic] and how to avoid them
  • 10 Tips for…
  • Everything you know about [topic] is wrong

Have some fun with these – brainstorm and jot down key words and short phrases under each one as they occur to you. Then begin to rearrange, compile and combine them until something emerges that you can get excited about. Think in terms of 5-7 mini-topics or “modules” – people can’t absorb more than that anyway.

And it’s better to hammer home 5 key points with clarity, conviction, and specific detailed answers than to do a “surface skim” on 20 or 30 sound bites that leave your audience hungry and slightly unsatisfied. The perception of “meat” and value is directly related to DEPTH and not BREADTH of your topic expertise. It’s MUCH better to be a mile deep than a mile wide!

SmallBizLady: And so how do you convert an audience of people grateful for your insights into a pool of prospects for your business?

David Newman: That is very much the secret sauce and it’s where a lot of business owners – including professional speakers, by the way – fall down on the job! Every time you speak, you want to make sure you leave with between 90% and 95% of your audience’s business cards or contact information.

Simply say, “I have a fabulous resource that I’m going to send to you.” This could be a handout, a special report, a buyer’s guide, an implementation pack, a starter kit, anything is good as long as it has high perceived value and direct relevance to your topic. Then you use the following script: “If you would like that resource, just give me your business card.”  And then here’s the language that’s important:

“I would also like to invite you onto my [TOPIC] tips list.  If you would like that to happen, just give me your card.  If you do not want that to happen, write ‘NO TIPS’ and I will still send you your gift but then I’ll tear up your card and throw it in the trash and you’ll never hear from me again.”

Folks usually laugh or smile at that – and then they get a visual in their head of you tearing up their beloved business card that they are so proud of and you get 95% of the cards in the room and only 2-3 will have “no tips” written on the back.

This one strategy will result in tens of thousands of dollars of business for you – if you do something smart with the business cards.  Put them in some kind of auto-responder, follow-up system, subscriber list, Constant Contact, whatever it might be – but you MUST follow up. “The fortune is in the follow-up” has become a cliché for a reason – it is 1,000% true!

The spinoff business for your company’s products and services will surely come from the “drip marketing” that you’re able to do after capturing your audience’s contact information and sending high-quality, high-value follow-up materials to them on a monthly basis. Don’t believe all the “seminar selling” nonsense you hear from the “get rich quick” hucksters on the web. Fact is, slow but steady wins the race for 99% of small business owners – unless you happen to be selling sleazy “get rich quick” nonsense which I recommend against doing!

SmallBizLady: Is there an online or virtual version of the “Market with Your Mouth” strategy?

David Newman: You bet – and you and I are both doing it right now! Whether you choose blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Vimeo, Skype, Slideshare, iTunes – any time you are sharing your face, your voice, and your expertise, you are marketing with your mouth.

Look, the sad truth is that generalists die on price and specialists win on value. That means value that you GIVE away, value that you charge a little for – like your $20 book – and value that you charge a LOT for like your premium flagship products and services. The other thing that specialists do is they publish, they speak, and they are generous with their time, talent and expertise.

Do webinars, host teleseminars, be a guest on radio shows and podcasts and TweetChats! So yes, social media sharing and content marketing ideas are definitely the virtual versions of “market with your mouth” strategies!

SmallBizLady: This sounds like a lot of work – how can we make it manageable while still running our business?

David Newman: Civic and community groups are a great place to start if you want to start locally. They are always looking for speakers and if you have energy, enthusiasm, and a valuable message with relevant take-aways, you WILL get business from it. Or at the very least you’ll get referred and introduced as a business owner worth getting to know.

Does video, audio, and other content generation take time? Yes it does. But the sources you can use are also right at your fingertips. Look at your most recent customer service issue. Look at the most recent client conversation you had. Look at the kinds of customer questions you get all the time – those answers, insights, and recommendations are the raw material for your “market with your mouth” strategy and they come in ALL the time. Often we don’t need to create content – we need to RE-create content that we’re already sharing during the course of running our day-to-day business.

SmallBizLady: Given everything we discussed here, what are the top three strategies you suggest our listeners focus on?

David Newman:  Figure out the audience you want to serve the most because they are your peeps, your tribe, your natural followers. Then figure out what they are passionate to learn, to do, or to become. Finally, start talking about, sharing, and connecting them with resources that solve those specific pains, problems, headaches and heartaches. Do so publicly through speaking, publishing, networking – both online and offline – and your reputation as being a source of valuable expertise will spread. Once you’ve laid the ground work to become visible, trusted, and valuable – the floodgates will open for you and you’ll be in the enviable position of NOT chasing business, but rather filtering and sorting the best prospects whom you’d like to hire as YOUR next customer! In closing, there’s a fourth strategy which is a gift from me – if folks would like a copy of my 96-page Strategic Marketing eBook, please visit www.doitmarketing.com to get it for free.

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

 

 

Comments { 0 }

How to Own Your Niche – #SmallBizChat QA with Stephanie Chandler

By on March 1, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Stephanie Chandler @bizauthor. Stephanie is the author of several books including Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business. Stephanie is also founder and CEO of http://AuthorityPublishing.com, a custom publisher of non-fiction books, andhttp://BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of resources for entrepreneurs. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, BusinessWeek, Inc.com, and Wired magazine, and she is a blogger for Forbes. Here’s more information on her newest book Own Your Niche http://businessinfoguide.com/own-your-niche/

 

SmallBizLady: What does it mean to Own Your Niche?

Stephanie Chandler: A lot of business owners make the mistake of trying to be all things to all people or going after a market that is too broad. Life coaches are a great example. This is a wonderful field, but there are a lot of life coaches out there. If you want to stand out, you need to find your niche. Are you a life coach who works with busy moms? Executives? People struggling with relationships? Weight loss? Creativity? Choose your niche and you’ll be better able to connect with your audience.

Now imagine that you want to hire a life coach. You’re a baby boomer and you’re thinking about retirement and life transitioning. Are you going to be more inclined to hire a general life coach or someone who specializes in working with baby boomers?

It’s important to consider your opportunity within a niche market. Whether you’re a financial advisor who specializes in working with people going through divorce or a business consultant for family businesses, choosing a niche can make a dramatic impact on your business.

SmallBizLady: How does someone begin to establish authority in their field?

Stephanie Chandler: Even if you have chosen a niche, you will likely still have some competition. There may be other people who do what you do, but only you have your own unique way of presenting your subject matter—and when you do that, when you bring your own uniqueness and deliver it with authenticity, you stand out from the rest.

So the process starts by understanding what you offer that allows you to stand out. Think about some of the people we see in the media. There are plenty of chefs out there, but Rachel Ray got her start teaching quick and easy cooking. She doesn’t even have any formal chef training and leverages that fact to make her more relatable with her audience. Paula Deen is known for down-home cooking. Curtis Stone is about healthy cooking. Each has a niche (with plenty of competitors), yet they bring their own unique personality which is the foundation for establishing authority in their fields.

So it all starts with knowing what makes you different and capitalizing on that. Everything else is just tactics—stuff we will continue to discuss here.

SmallBizLady: You emphasize target audience and the importance of community. How does that factor into marketing online?

Stephanie Chandler: Your target audience is everything—they are your potential buyers. You need to define who they are, what they do, where they spend their time, and what their wants and needs are. What challenges do they have that you can solve?

So let’s say you’re a consultant whose niche is in working with technology companies. You need to understand who your audience is—it’s not going to be just anyone who works in a tech company, it’s going to be people who make the hiring decisions such as the directors of customer support. Now you need to understand their challenges and how you can help. Next, you need to figure out how to reach them. What forums do they participate in? What magazines do they read? What trade shows do they attend? How can you engage them?

Most importantly, how can you either participate in their existing communities or start one of your own? You might create a website for technology managers, start a group in LinkedIn, host a local group via Meetup.com, or even host your own online conference. A lot of business owners look for ways to capture clients one at a time, but I want to encourage you to think bigger. How can you reach a community of prospects at once?

SmallBizLady: We all want more website traffic. Can you explain search engine optimization in a way that listeners can understand?

Stephanie Chandler: SEO helps tell Google how to find your site. Google uses complex algorithms to determine in what order websites appear in search results. Your goal should be to show up in the top ten results—and it’s not necessarily as hard as you may think. Here are some quick ways to start optimizing your site:

  1. Identify key words and phrases that your target audience would use to find you, and then assign a key phrase to each page in your site.
  2. Incorporate that key phrase in the page title, the heading on the page, and within the first paragraph on the page. Also, add the key phrase one or two more times in the text and/or images on the page. Keyword concentration helps Google understand what the page is about so you have a better chance of showing up in search, but be careful not to over-do it. Google could penalize you for keyword “stuffing” so make sure you don’t go overboard.
  3. Add relevant incoming links (aka backlinks). When a website has lots of other websites linking to it, it tells Google that the site is popular—and therefore Google will give the site higher priority. Look for ways to add links from other sites to yours, especially sites from your industry and high-traffic sites. You can accomplish this by writing articles for sites and including your bio, developing alliances with others, and looking for other opportunities to add your site link in as many places as possible.
  4. Update your site often. Google gives higher priority to sites that update content frequently, so the more often you add new content, the better your chances of showing up in search. Also keep in mind that new content gives Google more reasons to find you. If you’re a dog trainer and you write an article about dog parks in Denver, there’s a darn good chance your article is going to appear when users search for a related phrase—especially if your site is optimized and you’re adding content frequently.

SmallBizLady: How can blogging benefit a business?

Stephanie Chandler: Well when it comes to search engine optimization, one of the smartest things you can do is add a blog to your website. A blog makes it easy to add new content on a regular basis, and Google will notice that. It’s also a fabulous tool for connecting with your audience.

Your blog also becomes the foundation of your social media strategy. For each new post that you write, you can share it with your social networks and drive traffic back to your site, and then engage with your audience through comments. Plus, your audience will share it with their networks and it all begins to snowball into some fabulous exposure.

SmallBizLady: What is “content marketing” and how can listeners use it to promote their businesses?

Stephanie Chandler: There are many ways to market content online. You can start by writing and distributing articles to websites that reach your target audience—many websites accept article submissions. You can also distribute articles with sites like ezinearticles.com, ideamarketers.com, and scribd.com.

You can also create podcasts and videos for promotion purposes. YouTube in particular is a great place to build an audience. If you search for just about any “how-to” phrase, like how to bake a pie, Google almost always returns a YouTube video in the top ten results. Why not make that your video?

Also consider search engine-optimized press releases, which can give an increase in traffic for a period of time and may even attract some media attention. You can also write guest blog posts for other sites, distribute reports or ebooks for other sites to use as give-aways, or create podcasts and distribute them via iTunes and other outlets. The whole purpose is to distribute content online and attract the attention of your target audience.

SmallBizLady: Can you talk a bit about information products like ebooks, reports, podcasts, etc.? How can business owners use these in their businesses?

Stephanie Chandler: I am a big fan of compiling information products for both marketing purposes and for sale. It starts by giving away a free report or recording or ebook as incentive for people to sign up for your mailing list. Then you can also create products that your target audience wants to buy.

Years ago when my son was diagnosed with food allergies, I searched online for a list of dairy-free and gluten-free foods. I came across a nutritionist’s website where she sold a comprehensive spreadsheet via immediate download and I happy plunked down $25 for the information. This is the kind of thing you can create for your audience—information that solves a problem for them, while earning revenue for you.

SmallBizLady: What about books? Is it beneficial for entrepreneurs to write a book?

Stephanie Chandler: Absolutely! A book is one of the best ways to establish yourself as an authority in your field, dazzle clients, attract media opportunities, get speaking engagements, and so much more. If you’ve been thinking about this, don’t put it off. It’s one of the most powerful things you can do for your business.

SmallBizLady: Are electronic newsletters still relevant for small business?

Stephanie Chandler: Indeed, e-newsletters remain a powerful marketing tool for businesses. The challenge today is to get people to sign up when we’re all so busy and inundated with email. This means that you have to do two things: give incentive to sign up and then deliver dazzling content. If your newsletter doesn’t provide value, arrives too often, or is all about the sale, your subscribers will disappear rapidly. But if you can make it interesting and valuable, that mailing list can be golden.

SmallBizLady: With so much buzz about social media, where should I focus my time—on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn?

Stephanie Chandler: If you’re overwhelmed, start with one. Facebook is a good starting point for getting comfortable with social media and learning how it works. Create a personal profile and start connecting with friends and family. Next, create a company page. Facebook is especially powerful for retail businesses and service providers that offer value to their audience, such as interesting blog posts and tips.

Twitter moves at lightning speed, but it’s also a powerful option for building an audience. LinkedIn is ideal for consultants and service-based businesses because users often search for people to hire there. And if you spend time on LinkedIn, be sure to check out the groups because that is where the action really begins to happen and you can easily reach your target audience.

SmallBizLady: Social media is so time-consuming. How do you make it manageable?

Stephanie Chandler: Use tools like Tweetdeck and Hootsuite to monitor your networks and to pre-schedule some of your posts. You also have to learn how to manage your time. I’ll hop on and check Twitter when I have a few minutes between calls, but then I’m right back out. If you’re really focused, social media can be effective in 30 minutes per day.

SmallBizLady: Given everything we discussed here, what are the top three strategies you suggest our listeners focus on?

Stephanie Chandler:  Figure out your niche and what makes you different than your competition. Optimize your site. Have a keyword strategy on each page and start increasing back links. Add a blog to your existing website and start adding content a minimum of two to three times each week.

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

 

 

Comments { 4 }

How to Monetize Your Message – #SmallBizChat QA with Darnyelle A. Jervey

By on February 16, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat, Telesummit

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with @darnyellejervey Darnyelle A. Jervey, MBA, is a small business expert founder of IncredibleOneEnterprises.com. She is committed to showing entrepreneurs the mindset, marketing and money-making strategies to attract more ideal clients and charge what they’re worth so that they earn 6 figures unleashing their Incredible Factor.  For more information http://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com

SmallBizLady: What is your unique approach to marketing?  

Darnyelle A. Jervey: Marketing that evokes an emotional response for your “audience of one” because you are creating an experience for them that sets you apart from others who technically do what you do. In creating an experience, you find authentic and compelling ways to position your brand, product and service so that they see you as the only solution to the problem they’re experiencing.  When you are fully authentic, you can create compelling marketing that immediately resonates with your “audience of one.” And when they feel like you know them, their trust in your products and services deepen and they take action to work with you.


SmallBizLady: How do you determine your audience of one? 

Darnyelle A. Jervey: Before you can get started, you have to get clear on the problem that you can solve for others easily out of your abundance – of content, information, strategy, etc.  Remember the universal law of business. Then the first step is to thoroughly describe who they are right now. It can be done in one clear paragraph. This includes demographic as well as emotional information that helps you “get into their heads” so that you can eventually create compelling marketing for the to self select themselves into your products and services. Next, identify what their problem is right now in a full paragraph. Get clear on what they’re struggling with in graphic detail. Begin to use words they’d use to describe their problem. And lastly, build out a detailed paragraph about what theyre in most need of right now to solve the problem. This final paragraph is like your prescription for their problem.

 

SmallBizLady: What is the most important thing to do monetize your message? 

Darnyelle A. Jervey: Remember the universal law of business and build your marketing message around it. Everything that you do, say and are must align to the way you want to be represented in the market while solving a problem for your “audience of one”
SmallBizLady: Why do entrepreneurs fail to attract only ideal paying clients? 

Darnyelle A. Jervey: Because they lack the clarity of getting into the heads of their ideal clients. For this reason, I share a 15 page ideal client profile with my students and clients that is made up with a multitude of questions that you must answer about your ideal client before you’re ready to market to them. While they all complain, when they’re done they know their audience of one so well that they can speak their language and make an immediate impact.

 

SmallBizLady: What one strategy can SHIFT a business when implemented? 

Darnyelle A. Jervey: What I like to call the “dog whistle” strategy. Beginning to speak their language, in a frequency that only thy can understand and they will respond to your call to action every time…


SmallBizLady: How should small business owners create a systematic approach to marketing?

Darnyelle A. Jervey: Yeah I’ve created the client magnet marketing success formula which is devised of the 7 steps that create experiential marketing so that you consistently attract more clients, make more money and gain more leverage in your business.


SmallBizLady: What is the client marketing success formula?

Darnyelle A. Jervey: Again, it’s comprised of 7 core mindset, marketing and money-making strategy steps and ensures that at every step you’re focused on creating an experience.  Your message aligns with your marketing so that you create a movement.  The steps include aligning your message and mindset, clarifying your audience of one, creating magnetic marketing messages, creating magnetic marketing materials, creating an experience when networking, developing a client referral system, creating value-based packages and prices, closing the sale with ease and setting up marketing systems and sequence to gain leverage for your business.  These 7 steps, when used consistently are exactly what a small business owners needs to keep their pipeline full.
SmallBizLady: How do you determine your message?

Darnyelle A. Jervey: I recommend that you take time to “inspect the incredible” or complete a swot analysis on your business concept. It’s easy to want to speak in a voice that is already in the marketplace; however, it’s about finding what makes you different.  As you complete your SWOT, think differently. Ask yourself questions that look at the problem from a different angle. Don’t be afraid to burn the box.
Smallbizlady: How does your Incredible Factor play into your marketing?

Darnyelle A. Jervey: Let me start by defining the Incredible Factor for you – it’s your secret sauce, signature business move, unique selling proposition and hot undeniable gift in one client magnetic package. Think about the first time MJ moonwalked and forever changed the game.  Every entrepreneur has their own moonwalk and it, when marketed magnetically can create amazing wealth for them and their family. It’s how you solve the problem differently from the others in your industry.  It’s everything that culminates into the experiences that you create for your clients and customers.

 

SmallBizLady: What should an entrepreneur never do when creating their marketing?

Darnyelle A. Jervey: Copy from someone else. That will be seen a mile away. It’s inauthentic and as a result, you won’t achieve your results because your Incredible Factor isn’t making a statement. Take the time to find your signature move or, work with a business coach or mentor to find it.  Even though there is “nothing new under the sun” there is a unique way for you to present the information in your own style and voice.  Don’t be afraid to be you, you must own your Incredible Factor if you truly want to magnetize your marketing.

 

SmallBizLady: How will I know if my marketing is creating a movement?

Darnyelle A. Jervey: If you’re evoking emotion consistently in your marketing and your marketing is aligned to your mindset for success. When others identify with you emotionally, you create an experience and experiences move people to follow you because they believe your work is transformational.  And you’ll now be your results and your followers will tell you NAD everyone else.

 

SmallBizLady: Why do you suggest shifting your mindset as a key component to monetizing your message?

 Darnyelle A. Jervey: 95% of your success in life is based on mindset. Your business growth will always be stifled by your limiting beliefs. If your limiting beliefs are bigger than your desire to change the lives of those you’ve been called to serve with your Incredible Factor, you won’t grow your business. By taking the time to learn strategies to shift your mindset, you can experience exponential business growth. Which will allow you to create experiences for many more people.

 

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure.  As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 women for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

Comments { 0 }