Why You Need To Build An Email List, and Not a Social Media Profile

By on May 14, 2013 in Branding & Marketing, Guest Articles

Why You Need To Build An Email List and Not A Social Media Profile 300x272 Why You Need To Build An Email List, and Not a Social Media ProfileGuest Article

I’ve got news for you — when you’re building your social media profile (and not your email list), you’re setting yourself up for failure. Here’s why: Your goal with social media should be to drive traffic back to your own website.  Once your target lands there, you’d best have at least three ways to get them to give you their email address.  Without a way to follow-up with more helpful information, your chances of converting a visitor into a customer are quite slim.  Here are more reasons why you should focus your marketing efforts on building your email list first — before social media.

#1 When you build your social media profile, you’re at the mercy of a third party company that you don’t control. One day Facebook might change their EdgeRank, and you’ll have to start paying to talk to your own fans (oh wait, that already happened). Another day, your account might get banned for no reason. Another day, another travesty. Do you really want someone else to control YOUR business? Put your best effort into a platform you control, your website.

#2 When you build your social media profile, you’ll be plagued with mediocre results forever. Here are some numbers: If I share a link with my 16,000 Facebook fans, I might get 200-300 hits… MAX. If I share a link with 16,000 email subscribers, I’m going to send AT LEAST 2,000 hits. Now, I know you can’t spend hits, but those hits are people. And the more people you can send to your website, the more money you can make. Period.

#3 Despite email not being sexy, it’s still the BEST way to keep in touch with YOUR ideal customers. Think about it. When people use social media, your business competes with close friends, party invites, and photographs. When you use email, your business competes with other businesses–and possibly coworkers who want your subscriber to do something they don’t want to do. I don’t know about you, but I would rather buy a new John Varvatos jacket from Gilt than another set of business cards.

How to Start Building An Email List

Now that you want an email list, the question is, how do you start BUILDING the email list?

#1 Three High-Converting Places to Add Email Signup Forms to Your Website

When you want to build your list, you’ve got to place email signup forms in the right places. Why? A form at the top of your site converts almost 5 times higher than a form on the bottom. Small changes–just like that—mean big results.

Where can you place them?

Try The Halpern Header

When you go to SocialTriggers.com, you’ll see a big box at the top of the page. A box that spans across the top of my content and sidebar. I call this the “Halpern Header.”

This box at the top converts amazingly well. Whether you’re running a blog or not, giving prime real-estate is a surefire way to start turning more of your visitors into leads (and customers).

You might think, “Well, won’t people get sick of seeing it?” And the answer is no. Why? Because once people get on your email list, they’ll rarely visit your homepage anymore. Instead they’ll follow your emails directly to content.

(Note: Even if you don’t run a blog, creating a Halpern Header works because it’s asking for an email in the most highly viewed part of your page)

The Top of your Sidebar

Most websites have sidebars, and yours is likely no different. Most people put an email signup form at the bottom of their sidebar, but they shouldn’t. An email signup form at the top converts almost twice as much as an email signup form at the bottom.

One note: You should put your email signup form ABOVE your social media profiles. As we talked about earlier, email crushes social media.

Try the bottom of your content pages

When a website visitor reads your content, and reads the entire thing, and they love your work (or at least like it enough to actually read it) Why not ask them to sign up right after the post ends?

It converts well, and it grabs a reader right when they’re feeling great about your work.

#2 How to Start Getting Traffic To Build Your Email List

Now that you’re ready to convert visitors into subscribers, the next thing you need is traffic. Traffic that converts.  And that’s where what I call “The Drafting Technique,” comes into play. Here’s the deal:

When you’re racing at high speeds, like with cars, there’s wind resistance that slows you down.

But you can eliminate that resistance by drafting, which is fancy for “get behind the guy in front of you.”

How? You see, the person in front breaks the wind resistance, and the people behind him can maintain their speed while expending less energy because they take advantage of the “slipstream.”

Now, like with racing, top bloggers also have a slipstream, or better yet, a “link slipstream.” What’s a “link slipstream?”

Bloggers (or journalists) have a history of linking to businesses, websites, or topics. It’s your job to find people who write about the same thing you’d like to be featured for. You do this by looking for people who wrote about competing products, competing companies, or even someone just like you.

As an example, back when I started Social Triggers, I looked at someone like Lewis Howes (a friend). I discovered he was landing interviews all over the place, and decided to try and get interviewed by the same people.

This works because the people already had a history–a link slipstream–of covering people like me so I knew I could land the same interviews.

See how that works? This is the exact strategy YOU can use to start doing this as well!

And that’s it!

You can start building your list TODAY.

Now that you know why you should build a list… and how to convert traffic into email subscribers… and how to get traffic… you’re all set.

How do you plan on using these strategies to grow your business? Leave a comment and share!

Why You Need To Build An Email List, and Not a Social Media ProfileAbout the author: Derek Halpern is the founder of Social Triggers, a top marketing blog with 102,532 subscribers and a top marketing podcast on iTunes.

At Sign Aeroplane Shows Web Mailing Communication courtesy of Stuart Miles / www.freedigitalphotos.net

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6 Things You Could Do Today to Generate a Sale in Your Small Business

By on May 13, 2013 in Business Inspiration, Grow Your Business

6 Things You Could Do Today to Generate a Sale in Your Small Business 198x300 6 Things You Could Do Today to Generate a Sale in Your Small BusinessIt’s National Small Business Month and here are some quick ideas to jumpstart your small business for the second half of this year.

Have you updated your elevator pitch? When is the last time you sharpened your marketing plan? Do you have monthly sales goals? Are your business finances updated by the 15th of the month? Do you do at least one thing a day to generate sales? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, it’s not too late to start moving in the right direction.

Here are 6 things you could do today to generate a sale in your small business:

1)      Send a thank you note. Personal hand-written notes are so powerful. Send one to a friend, customer or a prospect just to check in and let them know they crossed your mind.  If you can, include an article of interest to them, too.

2)      Ask for a LinkedIn or Yelp recommendation. You need to ask for recommendations religiously. Turn your happy customers into an unpaid sales force for your small business. Be sure to send the link to make it easy for them. The easiest way to get a recommendation is to give one.

3)      Follow-up with a recent contact. I meet people everywhere and I’m sure you do, too. Reach out to a contact that you met at a recent networking event to schedule a face-to-face meeting or appointment. Pick out a place that is mutually convenient and have a quick coffee or lunch meeting.

4)      Change your timeline graphic on your Facebook fan page. People respond to visuals.  Make sure to update people on what’s new with your small business.

5)      Write a new blog post for your business blog. Make sure that your article is helpful to your target audience and is at least 500 words.

6)      Track down your outstanding receivables. On a weekly basis, evaluate your accounts receivable. If any client is behind 30 days in issuing payment, give them a call to find out payment status. While you’re on the phone, inquire about any additional opportunities to do more business.

Let me know how these marketing tactics are working for you in your business.

“Standing Business Partners” courtesy of imagerymajestic / www.freedigitalphotos.net

May is the busiest time of the year for me, and here’s where you can catch me live this week.

Monday May 13th: I’m headed to Austin, TX for the RISE Conference Austin sponsored by Dell. I’m be speaking at the Opening Keynote session Monday evening at 6pm https://www.riseglobal.org/about

Tuesday May 14th: Don’t miss my brand new TV Show, Crowd Rules on CNBC 9pm ET Do you have what it takes to win $50,000? In the all new competition series, Crowd Rules, three small businesses compete for the grand prize each week. To win–they must convince the crowd! Check out an exclusive sneak peek. You can see my episode June 18th.

Wednesday May 15th: Come celebrate #SmallBizChat’s 200th episode! Join me on Twitter Wed 8-9pm ET where we’ll have some surprises and giveaways — so do not miss this.  We’ll be talking about how to build a powerful social media brand. Here’s how to participate in #Smallbizchat http://bit.ly/S797e

Thursday May 16th: Join me in Columbus, OH for the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference #BEEC. I’ll be leading a boot camp on how to develop and launch a brand for a new small business. It’s not too late to join me, register today.

Friday May 17th: Don’t miss Part II of my three part series in the New York Times You’re the Boss Blog on how to have a great website.  Here’s part one: The Problem Social Media Cannot Solve

I feel so grateful to be your SmallBizLady; it’s my mission to end small business failure – and I work hard at it. I love to meet my fans in person, so if you’re attending any of the conferences where I’m speaking this week, please stop and say, “Hi!”

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The Five Irrefutable Laws of Small Business Success

By on May 9, 2013 in Grow Your Business, Q & A Interview, SmallBizChat

SMALL BIZ CHAT LOGO 20121 300x123 The Five Irrefutable Laws of Small Business SuccessEvery week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with @Restaurant_Lady, Misty Young.  Known for her relentless approach to systems development in restaurant marketing, leadership, financials, operations and service, From Rags to Restaurants author, Misty Young is a tried and tested professional. Her own multimillion dollar restaurant chain, the Squeeze In, now has 4 locations. Misty and her husband purchased the nearly 30 year old Truckee, California restaurant in 2004, worked it daily for two years IN the business, while Misty studied, developed and implemented systems and worked ON the business “nights, weekends and holidays.”  For more info:  visit http://fromragstorestaurants.com

SmallBizLady:  What are The Five Irrefutable Laws of Small Business Success?

Misty Young:  #1 The Law of Leadership – the ability to influence. Our job as business leaders is to model personal growth and expect successful behavior while we develop and hold ourselves and our associates accountable.

#2 The Law of Operations – every aspect of the business is systematized to efficiently and effectively meet stated goals through planning, policies, procedures and measured performance.

#3 The Law of Financials – with integrity and diligence, financials and products are tracked, monitored and adjusted to assure financial health, fitness and profitability.

#4 The Law of Products / Services – our products must be reliable and we must diligently serve our customers and associates with courtesy, appreciation, respect and kindness.

#5 The Law of Marketing – the business must use multi-media tools to communicate timely with customers and associates in relevant, meaningful ways.

Every small business requires leadership for success. Part of the definition of leadership in my mind, is accountability. The leader, by influencing their followers, whether associates, suppliers, clients or customers, sets an example of personal growth and development while holding themselves and others accountable. All other aspects of small business success flow from diligent leadership. When the leader is focused on successful results and holds others accountable, the operations, financials, products / services and marketing are more likely to be successful as well. It’s a closed loop system; the same exact laws fit all businesses, from A-Z, auto repair shops to zoos.

SmallBizLady:  What are three accountability strategies you recommend?

Misty Young:  1. Written Job Descriptions, 2. Comprehensive Training Processes, 3. Standardized Performance Evaluation System

Assuming the small business has associates (employees) – systematizing the business is the critical first step. Making the business turn-key by creating written job descriptions, training protocols and developing a standardized performance evaluation system are basics. Business systematization should leave no question unanswered, no mystery to be solved, don’t expect your associates to be mind readers – they’ll do their best – of course, but it might not be YOUR best! Leave nothing to chance!

Even without associates, solopreneurs need systems, accountability, standards and protocol for how they approach every aspect of their business. The systems and planning provide the road map.

It’s not enough to say you’ll do these things; you actually have to do them. That’s the accountability part – what’s on your daily agenda matters! Making lists isn’t the same as completing tasks. I suggest all my clients put on their “STAR” glasses when setting about to develop accountability: Approach the task with Strategy (plan); Tactics (activities); Action (doing it!); and Results (what happened). Feed back the results into the strategy and refine in order to move forward.

SmallBizLady:  Why is there no law directly about the customer?

Misty Young:  The customer is the center, the true focus. The Five Irrefutable Laws of Small Business Success are all centered around the customer. Businesses succeed when they find a need and fill it, discover a problem and solve it. The small business then builds a firm foundation of success to attract customers with their solution, bringing them inside the business. Everyone wants to be associated with a winner or with a winning format. Unprepared or unprofessional small businesses risk making customers angry and repelling them if the solution isn’t ready for market. The universe requires order before motion. Being organized first helps build traction.

SmallBizLady:  If you anger or repel a customer, what do you do?

Misty Young:  As a restaurant owner, I created the LATTE approach to resolving customer problems. I believe mistakes are opportunities to learn – they are inevitable but don’t have to be fatal. In our restaurants, we strive to reduce the number of mistakes made in day-to-day operations. We learn from mistakes and evolve.

LATTE stands for:

  • Listen
  • Apologize
  • Take Action
  • Thank
  • Evolve

Our goal is always to resolve the situation satisfactorily for the guest and evolve from the situation. The worst thing we can do is to send an unhappy guest out our door and the best thing we can do is learn from our mistakes. I believe excellent associate training is the ultimate fulfillment of a small business’ marketing promise – do it right! That circles right back to systems and accountability!

SmallBizLady:  Do you have a guarantee in your restaurant?

Misty Young:  Of course! Most small business people will guarantee whatever they’re doing, they may as well tell their customer! If you’re going to guarantee your products / services no matter what, always doing the right thing to take care of your guest or client or customer, you should let them know! We surely do, our outrageous guarantee is: “You’ll love our food or it’s free!” Our guarantee is on our menu, website, mobile app, even on our business cards. We don’t like to give away free food, so we work hard at consistency and excellence and circle back to training when we mess up (we’re humans, we mess up!). If you have a guarantee, tell the world. If you don’t have a guarantee, develop one now!

SmallBizLady:  You’re a restaurateur; do you really think these Five Laws fit all businesses?

Misty Young:  I know they do, I have other business interests besides restaurants. The Five Irrefutable Laws of Small Business Success are a great model for every business from A-Z, auto repair to zoos, there is nothing missing. Whether a business is building boats, selling fishing nets or serving smoked salmon, success requires Leadership development; Product / Services reliability; Marketing mastery; Operations proficiency and Financial literacy. All successful businesses stand firmly on the Five Laws.

SmallBizLady:  How can Small Businesses apply your “STAR” concept?

Misty Young:  When you think of STAR as an envelope, the context, it’s a simple concept. We approach whatever we do with a plan (strategy), activities to carry out the plan (tactics), do what we need to do (action) and measure the outcome (results) and feed back into the closed loop.  We see the synergistic beauty of the STAR approach. Many businesses are operating right now without a strategy, a plan. They might say, “We’re already successful without a plan, why have one?”  Here’s the easy answer: businesses with a strategic plan tend to be more successful, more profitable. It doesn’t have to be complicated.

SmallBizLady:  What do you see as the weakest link for Small Businesses in the Five Irrefutable Laws?

Misty Young:  Most small business failure can be traced back to a lack of financial accountability. It’s not for a lack of love or proficiency in the Products / Services, that’s the place of our expertise, our love, right? But financials? Many small business people don’t know how to decipher financial basics, balance sheets, profit and loss statements or cash flow statements. As small businesses, we don’t have to become CPAs, but we have to be able to talk to CPAs and understand what they’re saying. Anything less is a disservice to ourselves, our customers, associates, communities. Small businesses are the economic engine of the world, and strong financials are the firm basis on which the successful ones stand.

SmallBizLady:  What’s your approach to Law #5, The Law of Marketing?

Misty Young:  One of my favorite marketing gurus is Dan Kennedy.  His book “The Ultimate Marketing Plan” is one of the most dog eared in my massive collection. Kennedy says, “Little hinges swing big doors.” That statement made a huge impact on me. I do whatever it takes to be successful in business. Sometimes that’s a ton of little things, or one big thing. I market, measure, repeat, carefully evaluating what works. I keep what works and toss the jerks. I’m a bit of a nerd about analytics, metrics and measuring marketing success through ROI review. I don’t like wasting marketing dollars. Strategically investing money in marketing is an important business concept.

Finally, I manage my agenda carefully, and learning is on it every single day. I never stop learning and specifically seek more information and knowledge about marketing (it is a first love of mine, after all). That means I’m always finding great content and ideas about marketing, whether from sources like you, SmallBizLady, or Hubspot, MarketingProfs or through my MasterMind group, I make learning a priority.

SmallBizLady:  What’s an important lesson you’ve learned from a mistake?

Misty Young:  Fast isn’t always best, although the Universe loves speed. Be quick but don’t hurry, move forward once you have enough information. You don’t have to know everything to make a decision; you just have to have firm confidence, and continue to ask questions. I really believe a strong question set is important – and not just any questions, but very specific questions. Instead of asking “How can I make money selling tires?” ask, “How will the tires I want to sell save lives?” Take enough time, be specific, trust your gut, and then make your move. God gave you feelings for a reason, trust them.

SmallBizLady:  You’ve grown your company 400% in the last five years during a bad economy, how did you do it?

Misty Young:  I’m a people, systems and efficiency junkie. I have been relentless at systematizing and documenting everything in my businesses, literally living and building The Five Irrefutable Laws from the ground up. It started, quite literally, with checklists, which became operations manuals and developed into a full-fledged, values-based Code of Business Conduct. I created comprehensive multi-media training systems and performance indicators to hold myself and others accountable to results. I stayed true to marketing, financial literacy and operational excellence while taking great care of our customers and associates. It hasn’t been easy, but through developing my own leadership, and developing leaders within the organization it has been worth the intense effort.

SmallBizLady:  What one thing would you say is crucial for small business success? What’s the “one thing?”

Misty Young:  What you do every day matters for the long haul. If you don’t decide what you want for your life or business, you leave it open for others to decide for you. In other words, you can live your life by design or default. Set your own agenda, and live to your expectation. Take control of your time and make your desire come true.

Napoleon Hill, in the all time classic, “Think and Grow Rich,” said, “Thoughts are things, and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with the definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches, or other material objects.”

Be definite in your purpose and persistent in your action to translate your burning desire into business success.

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9 pm ET; follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in : 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 America’s #1 small business expert. 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 to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. She writes a weekly column on social media for The New York Times. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts  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 and the ebook: How To Become A Social Media Ninja; 101 Ways to Dominate Your Competition Online.

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