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October 4th, 2009

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Networking: How I Built My Business

May 26th, 2009

Networking Groups

Marketing CoachingI have built my business from nothing to extremely busy by using Networking Groups.  It took more than 60 days (kudos to your Ronnie!) but it is very doable for anyone with persistence. The main local group I use is i Take The Lead – I also attend many free groups and events.  My group is having a guest speaker tomorrow – Abigail from Straight Edge Solutions – she has many innovative marketing ideas.  I always take something helpful for my business away when I listen to Abigail.

For my local readers – I invite you to come and hear Abigail as well as check out the possibility of advancing your business through Networking Groups tomorrow morning.  We meet at Sheri’s near Vancouver Mall – It is next to Azteca.  The meeting is from 7:30 to 8:30 am – take an hour out of your morning and learn how to build your customers and client base.  80% of my business comes form groups like this one.

Testing Flock

April 10th, 2009

Testing how Flock will post from the Flock editor

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Niche Marketing: 6 Easy Steps

March 31st, 2009

Niche Marketing Really Works

There are 6 easy steps to market online to a specific niche.

  1. Define your niche and their needs
  2. Talk the language of your niche
  3. “Hang out” where your niche is on the Internet
  4. Create content targeted towards your niche
  5. Post content on the Internet and link it to your services, products, website
  6. Be consistent and as your content grows so will your traffic

Let’s look at each of these  steps a little closer.

Define Your Niche and Their Needs

Many business owners fail to completely define their niche.  Some fail to recognise they even have a niche.  Marketing to everyone that breaths will get your company to broke very fast.  Look at your top clients, what do they have in common?  Analyse your business and determine what type of client you really want to work with – then define the niche a little more.  Choose from the “cream of the crop” and go after more of your very best clients.  While you are defining who your niche are, remember to note their needs and be sure your business is offering services or products that these people are actually looking for.  A prime example is a supplement distributor deciding that everyone needs their products.  While everyone could improve their health – not everyone cares to try.  Finding people that are already thinking healthy is a step in the right direction.  Then narrow it down to people that are actively seeking advice or are searching for an answer to a problem.  Forget about everyone else – they will come to you when the time is right for them.

Talk the Language of Your Niche

Don’t talk over peoples heads.  Use the language that people in your target market are already using – even if you have to “dummy down” and speak to them directly.  People are comfortable in their own little worlds – don’t make them feel they have to get out a dictionary to understand what you are saying.  If your niche are technical people then use the vocabulary that works for them.

Hang Out Where Your Niche Is On the Internet

Discover where your niche hangs out on the Internet, then join those Social Sites.  My niche is Small Business Owners and the leading site I use is LinkedIn.  There are so many different Social Sites on the Internet and every industry seems to have sites that cater to them specifically.  Search Google until you find where your target market is socializing and hanging out;  then join that site and get to know people and let people get to know you.  Do not go in spamming or pushing your services.  Social Networking online is just like social networking offline.  I would never go into a crowded room of people and start to sell my products to everyone.  It is rude and a very easy way to get banned from the site.

Create Content Targeted Towards Your Niche and Post it on the Internet

This is the most important step.  Find out what your target market is searching for then create content with those keywords.  Flood the Internet with your content so when a potential client searches, your content comes up high in Google and they get the answer to their question from you.  Make sure all your content is linked to more of your content and to your blog/website.  If you are selling something then link your content to the exact page where the potential customer will find the product or service that will solve their problem.  Do not make them hunt it down – they will just go to somewhere easier.  If your niche likes to watch video and listen via podcasts then make sure you are offering them a content format that they want and are used to.  Not everyone like to read!

Be Consistent and as Your Content Grows So Will Your Traffic

Don’t feel like you need to spend hours on this every day.  Do what you can do and be consistent.  I know people that block out 1 hour per week to work on Internet Marketing.  I know others that do something every day.  Find what works for you and then commit to doing it on schedule.  Over time your content will grow and links to your site will grow.  This will make your traffic grow and sales increase.  This is not an overnight success plan – it is a slow and proven plan to get traffic to your site.  The more you can commit to content the faster you will get results.

Online Marketing Strategies Similar for MLM and Brick and Mortar Businesses

February 23rd, 2009

I often get asked by business owners about Online marketing strategies. Many of my customers find information about MLM or Network Marketing when searching in Google for Online Marketing Strategies, and then ask me what a “real” business needs to be doing to drive Online traffic.

I am here to tell you – the 2 business models have no difference when it comes to Online marketing.
Here is a marketing strategy that I use in my business.

  • Write a Blog post
  • Create an article
  • Go to www.Hellotxt.com and make an update
  • Bookmark your blog post
  • Create a Squidoo and Hubpage on a similar topic

When you create your Blog post keep in mind that people generally skim blogs and remember to keep the post brief. Be sure to include lists and headings to make the post easier to read / skim. This also gives you an outline for a more in depth article for either EzineArticles, Squidoo, and Hubpages. After completing your post/articles go to HelloTxt.com and make an update referencing your post. This will send your message throughout the social sites that you participate in. Bookmarking your posts is best accomplished by participating in a Digg or Del.i.ous group so that you are not bookmarking (spamming) your own content. Bookmarking sites frown upon listing your own content and you risk the site deleting you account if you get caught bookmarking your own content.

All of these steps will help to drive traffic to your website or blog and it will also get more of your content listed in Google when people are searching for your topic. Be sure to do some deep linking to more of your content as well as relevant content produced by friends/colleagues.

Dotty

Local Business Profit from Local Search

February 16th, 2009

Why do I want to Advertise on the Internet?

I often get business owners asking, “Why should I have my business on the Internet?” There are many reasons but the most important reason is your bottom line. Weigh the cost of Phone Book Advertising, Magazine, TV or Radio Advertising against the cost of having a website. The Return on Investment is mush higher with a website and Internet Advertising.

More and more people are turning to the Internet to find services instead of having bulky phone books. According to Internet World Stats  73% of all North American citizens use the Internet. ABC News conducted a survey of online users – 47% of Internet users make purchases online. If 73% of your customers are using the Internet to get information and make purchasing decisions, and 47% are actually making purchases, then you need to be represented on the Internet.

Companies that do well with local search results are service based industries. With people moving into metro areas they need to find new service providers and are turning to the Internet to find and compare services that are available in their new location.

Two Types of Internet Advertising

The first type is paid advertising through a company like Google. Google’s paid advertising is called AdWords and is known as Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. The concept is simple – you define your best keywords (through keyword research) then bid on the keyword phrase. When someone types in your chosen keyword phrase then your website will come up in the listings for that customer to click on and go to your site. The cost of this type of advertising is industry specific meaning that is varies by industry.  Keywords can sell for pennies or well over $50.00 per click.  For business targeting the local market it is possible to take a costly keyword like “Web Design” and put a city or area behind it and get a much better price on the keyword. 

The second type of Internet advertising is called Organic placement – these are the sites that are listed in the main area of the search results page. The goal is to get placed in the top half of the first page. There are many variables that come into play for the search engine to decide who gets prime placement. It is all based upon relevancy of the phrase typed in by the searcher to the websites listed. Some factors are:

  • Keywords in the title of the website
  • Keywords in header tags
  • Keywords listed in the text of the page
  • Keywords in the URL
  • Keywords bolded or emphasized on the page
  • The Keywords in the text of inbound links
  • How many inbound links
  • The PageRank of sites that are linking to your site

 

That is a short list of considerations made by the search algorithms – but all of those items are in control of the owner of the website.  They should all be taken into consideration when optimizing your site for organic placement in the search engines.  This is called SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Dotty

A Leap of Faith…

December 13th, 2008

To bad people don’t treat their businesses like Bailey treats the snow. There are many lessons to be learned from this wonderful video.

Here’s to a new year  – attack your marketing head first and take a leap of faith that all will work out fine!

Dotty

Social Marketing Sites: How they increase your bottom line

December 10th, 2008

     To Participate or Not To Participate?

Social MarketingThe average business owner is very confused when it comes to Online Marketing. Many see no purpose for Social Sites as they relate to business. I am here to dispel several myths about Social Networking. Here is a list of what people have told me –

  • What is the purpose?
  • They are too hard to set up
  • They are overwhelming
  • Social Sites waste my time and fill up my email

I am an avid believer in NetworkingRead the rest of this entry »

Starting a Business with No Money

December 9th, 2008

Here is an interview by Pat Croce with Mike Michalowicz – author of Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.  Speaking on how to get started in business the low cost way by thinking outside the box.

Listen to the Interview

Dotty

Toilet Paper Entrepreneur (TPE) Review

November 27th, 2008

Awesome Business Devlopment Book – TPE

I have read many different business books and watched many different business seminars. The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur is one of the better business development books I have read. It puts everything in layman’s terms that are very easy to understand – and has a sense of humor too. Reading this book has made me rethink some of my business practices and will ultimately help the overall health of my business. I would highly recommend the easy-read of TPE.

Some of the more thought provoking sections for me are:

  • Immutable Laws
  • Area of Innovation
  • Top 9 List
  • Applying the PFA Process to Your Business

Writing my Immutable Laws Read the rest of this entry »