Tweet

Ah spring! The bounty of colours that erupt from the grey doldrums of winter that brings everything back to life again!

Spring is a time for rejuvenation and your business marketing efforts are perfect for revitalization. It’s time now to put more spring into your marketing and get more clients!

Here are five things you can start on today to get you started:

1)      Pick up the phone. Just as spring is a time of new beginnings for you, the same principle applies for your potential clients. People are in a hopeful, happy mood and are more amiable to making decisions, developing plans and moving forward. Pick up the phone and call your leads, past clients and those you met through your networking activities and introduce yourself, or remind them that you’re still around, and are here to help them.

2)      Conduct a promotion. Create a contest or some sort of promotion that’s tied in with Spring. If you’re in the cleaning or organizing industry, this is tailor made for you! However,  avoid discounting your services – instead, add in more of what you’ll give or do to the regular price. Discounting devalues your product or service but adding more value to an existing package is a win-win scenario for both of you!

3)      Spruce up your website.  If you haven’t updated your website in the past month or so, it’s time to give it a freshen-up. Just like you wouldn’t be reading the Friday newspaper to find out what happened on Monday, your prospects also don’t want to see old news on your website. Spruce it up to bring back some life to it! Here are some suggestions:

1. Freshen up the  copy (text and images), especially on the home page, in a way that your prospects will find enticing.  Copy is King in the on-line world so don’t neglect this critical component of your website. If your copy isn’t well written, it’s not going to elicit much  trust from your potential clients nor compel them into action so be sure it’s written in a way that achieves your website goals.
2. Give it an updated look. If your site was created more than 3 years ago, it’s time to bring it up to date. An old and tired looking website is not going to attract your ideal client.  The more enticing your site looks to your prospects, the more effective it will be at drawing them in and hiring you.
3. Add a blog (or don’t forget about your blog!) A blog is a perfect way to keep your website copy fresh and new. Post an article once a week and not only will your prospects see that you are actively participating in your business (and seeing how much you know) but the search engines will reward you by bringing you up higher in the search engine rankings.
4. Add an eNewsletter (or don’t forget about your eNewsletter!) A perfect way to keep in touch with your tribe (your eNewsletter subscribers) is to write to them at least once a month. This is a critical component to your marketing efforts and you will get results from it. It doesn’t have to be elabourate like mine, but it’s essential for you to showcase your knowledge and skill by writing short articles that will inspire, inform and educate your followers.

   Hint: Integrate this with your blog to cut down on writing so many articles!) By the way, if you’re having trouble getting people to sign up for your existing eNewsletter, you might want to consider hiring Dan to do some SEO for you – he’s brilliant at driving targeted traffic to your website!

5. Add Social Media features to your site. If you’re participating in any of the social media channels, then it’s important you have those buttons and links on your website so you can send people to your accounts to follow you. Additionally, you can add social media sharing features to your site, especially your blog, so people can share your articles to their followers.

4)      Get active in Social Media.  There’s no avoiding it, social media is becoming more and more prominent, and expected, in today’s marketing efforts.  Incredibly,  I am hearing from some clients that they are not being considered for hire due to having a lack of followers on Facebook! Whether right or wrong, potential clients could judge you on your lack of participation in this arena so it’s worth taking a look at.  I know for some, it seems like a waste of time and honestly, I felt that way for a long time too. In the past year I’ve been doing more studying and working at social media and have found there are some key strategies that need to be in play in order for your efforts to not go to waste.

For those who are brand new to Facebook or did get started and didn’t do anything with it, check out my beginner’s guide to Facebook here. For those who are already active but are not seeing any kind of results yet, I suggest participating in the upcoming online Social Media Summit where you will learn tons from many top social media experts.

5)      Get out and network.  No amount of online efforts will ever replace the benefits of in-person networking. The key is to find the right networking events to participate in and there, you will gain a huge boost in building relationships and credibility. One of my mentoring clients, Janice Porter (Janice@janiceporter.com)  is a Networking master and I highly recommend you hire her as your personal mentor for networking – she will help prevent you from wasting your time and will teach you how to network effectively in order to build your client base .

If the above list seems overwhelming to you or you don’t know where, or how, to begin. One of my mentoring packages might be a good fit for you where I can walk you through each of these marketing channels and guide you to having a successful business this spring!

Susan is president/founder of eVision Media, a web development and eMarketing firm specializing in building effective brands for entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations for over 10 years. With a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, she is able to provide an authentic and personalized service for those wanting a trustworthy member of their team for their brand & marketing design, website development and SEO/eMarketing needs. Contact Susan today for a free 30 minute consultation on helping you build your website presence to be the effective marketing tool is can be. susan@evisionmedia.ca or visit www.evisionmedia.ca.

Tweet

Here’s a great article by Daniel Levis on effective copywriting for your web site:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8 Timeless Tips for Making Your
Web Marketing More Persuasive …

The first thing you need to do is draw attention to your marketing. Spend at least as much time worrying about the headline of each web page you create as you do worrying about the body copy.

Brainstorm at least five headlines, pick the one most likely to stop your prospects dead in their tracks (tip, the only way to know for sure is to test), and use the rest of them in the body of the message.

Curiosity Killed The Cat – It’s human nature to be curious. One of the most effective ways to get your sales message consumed is to throw a little mystery. Mystery, mixed with relevant benefit is essential to creating a powerful headline that drags people into your copy. But that’s not all …

It also helps to drive your prospect deeper into the body of the message. Remember, the deeper your readers go into your copy, the more difficult it will be for them to STOP reading it.

It doesn’t hurt to tell a little bit about what your offer isn’t, to build up the suspense, and help drive your reader further down the page.

Tell A Story - In 1919, a Russian immigrant named Max Sackheim, stumbled upon a fascinating discovery. He had been hired by the Sherwin Cody School of English to come up with a mail order advertisement, and his original headline read, “Do You Make Mistakes In English”?

The ad didn’t pull.

By adding one magic little word to the headline, Max was able to make the very same ad produce amazing results. The ad became so profitable that it ran for over 40 years straight, when Max changed the headline to, “Do You Make These Mistakes In English”?

People’s curiosity got the better of them. They just couldn’t resist reading Max’s advertisement. They were all wondering if they might be making “these” mistakes in English. Max was able to slip right under the buyer’s natural resistance to being sold, and suck them right into the advertisement.

Story telling has the same effect.

You Can Never Over Educate - Nobody ever bought a hammer, because they wanted a hammer. What they wanted was a bunch of nails tapped home just right. Sequential e-mail follow up is ideal for showing your prospects how to achieve their goals with your product.

Remember, the more comfortable your prospects are about the “How To” of using your product or service to solve their problem, the more confidence they’ll have in your ability and willingness to really help them. One of the most effective things you can do with your autoresponder, is to offer free courses and tutorials that show your prospects how to use your products to get the results they’re looking for.

It’s the ultimate soft sell, and very effective!

Warts & All - It’s all about trust. That’s why follow up is so essential. Your prospects need to be exposed an average of 7 to 9 times before succumbing to your seduction.

Pointing out the imperfections of your product can go a long way toward building that trust. You don’t necessarily have to slam your product, but giving the straight goods on the pitfalls the buyer might encounter when using such products, and helping them to avoid them, demonstrates your honesty, and openness.

It’s like showing the front of your hands in a face-to-face encounter.

Be Specific - Details, exact numbers, and vivid descriptions worked into your copy are worth their weight in gold, because they’re far more believable than generalities. When you make a claim, back it up with facts and figures.

Your prospects are both naturally skeptical, and hungry for truth.

Don’t Be Shy About Objections - Every product has natural objections. Don’t be afraid to address them.

Read your copy after being away from it for a while, and at some point in the message you’ll feel them creeping in. That’s the point when you add something like, “OK, you’re probably thinking _________. I can understand why you might feel that way. Many others who looked at this product felt just the same way, until they found out about ________.”

You need to come up with a list of reasons why your prospect would want to buy your product or service, and also the reasons why not.

The Fear of Loss Is Greater Than The Desire For Gain - Often the fear of losing something, sometimes even something that we do not yet have, is a stronger motivator than our desire for gain.

The fear of missing out on a special price or promotion is a good example of this.

Don’t we all want what we can’t have? Work hard to find ways to make your product scarce, or at least make your offer scarce, by offering it for a limited time.

Justify Your Offer - People know that you’re in business to make a profit, and that you don’t give things away out of the goodness of your heart.

When they see a sale, or a special price, or a bonus offer, the wheels naturally start turning in the back of their heads. What’s the catch? While it’s our emotions that truly motivate us, logic does have a nasty habit of getting in the way.

When you are open with your prospects about the reason why you’re offering them a special deal, it’s amazing how easily they’ll accept your reasoning, and abandon their resistance. The same applies to giving a legitimate reason why your special offer absolutely expires on a specific date.

So there you have it. Eight timeless persuasion tips, revealed.

Tweet

I read a great article from Vertical Response (a newsletter provider service eVision Media recommends to a lot of clients) that gives some great hints and tips on how to write effective newsletters that will help with your response rate.  Here’s the article:

Writing Email Marketing Copy That Sells

by Janine Popick,
President and CEO – Founder of Vertical Response

Writing your email marketing campaigns can make anyone want to pull their hair out, especially if you’re trying to sell a product/service, or ask for a donation, either as part of your newsletter or the sole purpose of your email. You want to make sure you hit all of the highlights and make sure people SEE your offer.

I’ve put together some ideas you can think about and put to work when writing copy that sells in your campaigns.

Benefits – I’ve written about this before, but I can’t stress how important it is for you to answer your recipient’s question, “What’s it going to do for me?” “How is it going to make my life easier?” They don’t necessarily care about all of the nifty features you’ll offer without getting to the heart of why they need it first. Many businesses get caught up in focusing on themselves rather than their recipients. Recipients should always be the focus of the copy.

Use Subheads – Getting the attention of your readers using subheads is always a great idea. It breaks up your thoughts and gets to the heart of what you’re selling quickly while letting them do the skimming.

Write in Small Chunks – You need to get to your point fast in small succinct paragraphs. When was the last time you read an entire press release in an email? It’s difficult to do, no one has the time, they need you to tell your story briefly. If they want more detailed information, link off to a page where they can find it.

Use Bullets – Bullets break up points or benefits so that your readers can get your information quickly by scanning. This is a very popular copywriting tactic for email and the web in general.

Get Customer Testimonials – Nothing sells your product better than your customers, but getting the testimonial right is essential. “I love this product!” is not good enough. You need to get to the heart of why they love your product or your cause. “I love this product because it saved me $500 in fees per year!” tells a much better story. Make sure you put your customer’s real name and city or company they come from. It adds credibility to the quote.

Get the Subject Line Right – Make sure you think about the subject line first, it’s the most important item in your email. In just 40-50 characters get across what they’ll get for opening your email.

Write Like You Speak - If you’re talking to a prospect or customer you don’t speak in long boring sentences. You are probably concise and conversational. So should your email marketing copy be.

Ask For The Order – I’ve spent a lot of time on calls-to-action lately and it’s because they’re important. Your call-to-action is your “Buy Now” link or your “Call 1-800..” copy. It’s essentially what you want your recipients to do. You should definitely display your call-to-action above the fold so that your recipients don’t have to scroll down to find your offer links. Don’t be afraid to get in your recipient’s face either. If that’s what you told them you’d be sending them, they expect it and probably want it. Use expiration dates and bold colors, and make sure to link from everywhere you can in your email to get your recipients to act now!