A social media saga

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me – a Tweet saying ‘will you marry me?’

That was a bit of a shock, but on Twitter? Really?

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me – a LinkedIn update telling me he’s still waiting for an answer.

He’s keen, isn’t he?

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me – a link to a Pinterest board with lots of wedding related pix.

OMG! I’m beginning to worry about this – what bloke spends his time on Pinterest looking at wedding stuff?

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me a Facebook message reminding me he was still waiting.

This is beginning to get a bit scary.  More like stalking than romance.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me an Instagram pic of five diamond rings – asking me to choose one.

Hmmm!  Are diamonds really a girl’s best friend?

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me a YouTube video of him proposing – down and one knee and all!

My friends are over-excited – and begging me to put him out of his misery.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me a link to a Facebook Page belonging to a wedding planner.

... and I haven’t said ‘yes’ yet.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me a MailChimp email with articles about engagements, how to choose the right bridesmaids and writing wedding speeches.

He seems to have it all planned out – and I still haven’t said ‘yes’.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me a link to an eBay auction for a beautiful wedding dress.

Gorgeous dress, but coming from China it probably won’t size up to UK sizes.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me a link to a blog about the perfect honeymoon.

Lots of lovely pix of moonlit beaches and misty, romantic scenery.  Actually a holiday in the sun sounds wonderful, especially as it looks like snow outside right now.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me a virtual card that played music announcing that he loved me forever.

Together forever?  Bit cheesy, or is it really romantic?

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me – nothing.

However, he did turn up on the doorstep with a bunch of flowers, chocolates and a ring.  Should I say ‘yes’?

Customer service on autopilot

When someone buys something from you, you want to make them feel cared for – but if you’re selling high volume it gets harder and harder to keep up with staying in touch.

That’s where autoresponders can be really useful.  They put your communication on autopilot and your customers still get useful information at regular intervals without you having to spend half your day sending emails.

How does it work?

Here are some examples:

Customer has bought a product from you

Messages can follow with a thanks for purchasing, hope you’re finding it useful, don’t forget to register your guarantee on our website, tips for use, other products that other customers have also bought.  Perhaps reminders about servicing or insurance if that’s appropriate.

Delegate has attended a workshop, seminar or webinar you’ve run

Messages can include pre-event information, time to arrive, notes to support the learning and maps and location details.  Post meeting regular reminders of the key points to encourage people to take action, request for feedback and information on any follow up events or services can all be on autopilot.

Client has worked with you on a one-off project

As long as they’ve given permission to stay in touch you can send them a series of useful tips and advice that will help them to remember you next time they need your kind of help.

What makes a good autoresponder message?

A brilliant subject line.  If time is short, this is where you need to invest your time, if you don’t get it right they’ll never open the email.  You’re aiming at something that makes the reader want to find out more.  That might be words that ring a bell for them or something intriguing that sparks their curiosity. 

Short is good!  You don’t have time to read long, long email articles – so why should your customers?  Tips and information should be concise and to-the-point.

White space makes reading easier.  Make sure that you layout your message with short 2-3 line paragraphs, bullet points and at least a line space between paragraphs.

The content needs to be relevant to the recipients.  What would help them as a purchaser, delegate, client?  Understand what they want and your messages will be bang on target.

Now all you need is a system for setting these up.  If your internal CRM system can do this, that’s great, but there are plenty of online services – Aweber, GetResponse, MailChimp, ConstantContact, Infusionsoft – and many more.

Not another email ...

If you’ve ever got on one of ‘those’ marketers lists you know that you can count on at least one email daily – sometimes more than one.  They’re all trying to give you useful information, but it’s like a deluge.  Too much information just switches your brain into overwhelm – and you don’t get ANY of it.

It’s hardly surprising that so many people are nervous about embarking on email marketing, but there are a few things that you should know that might change your mind.

1. It depends on how people got on your list.
If they signed up via your website in order to download an information document that they wanted, they have already shown that they are interested in what you’re offering.
If you put them on your list because you met them networking somewhere, then you’ll need to check they want to stay on it – and maybe encourage them to download your free document so they actively opt-in.  This will ensure that you are compliant with GDPR (when it becomes law in May 2018) and also that they want more of the same value.
If they’re on your list because they’re a customer or a former customer, they already know and like what you deliver.
If they’re on your list for any other reason, they probably shouldn’t be on it at all.

2. Email marketing is not all about selling
A good email campaign is about building your reputation for delivering great value.  Then people are interested in paying for what you sell.  If they like the free stuff, they’ll be more than happy to pay you for the paid-for service/products.
This means that your email campaigns need to deliver a combination of value and promotion, ideally in the ratio of 2:1, so every third email is promotion.
Value can include tips, articles, formats for business processes, worksheets to simplify something, comparisons between similar products, opportunities to join something free, recommendations for books, webinars, websites, blogs, articles, video content, courses, etc.

3. Know your audience
When someone has already shown an interest, you know they are looking for more of the same kind of thing.  That means that you need to continue to deliver similar content of value.
Also you will need to know how often your audience will tolerate receiving information from you.  Some people are happy to get a daily email, some would find weekly too often.  It might be worth asking a few people that already know you (existing clients, perhaps) and giving them examples of the kind of content they can expect.

4. Make it personal
Most people respond better to emails that sound like they’ve been written by a human being rather than a marketing copywriter (although a good copywriter doesn’t sound like one).  Write in the way you would to someone you know personally and use an informal style so they feel like you’re actually talking directly to them.
Leave out the corporate stuff – you can’t have a conversation with an organisation – and make it about them.

Get your head around these things and you’ll find email campaigns are nothing to get nervous about!

Flexible Facebook

If you’re running a business having a Facebook Page is de rigeur!  There are some people who will tell you that, if you’re selling to other businesses, you’re better off on LinkedIn – and there is some sense in that.  But don’t overlook the value of Facebook. 

These are just some of the ways you can use Facebook to help your business:

Get attention

It may not appear to be your marketplace, but everyone works somewhere and you never know who will spot your ad and take a closer look, especially if you’ve got the demographics for your ad properly targeted.

Find new talent

It’s an excellent recruitment tool.  A short ad that leads to something more in-depth on your website is a great way to ensure that you get good matches.  Often the online job boards generate hundreds of applications, many of which couldn’t do the job.  The right words in an ad, coupled with a comprehensive job description and requirements, gets fewer applications, but much better matches.

Resource suppliers

It’s also a good place to find suppliers and unusual gifts for your clients or items to take your events up a gear.  There are businesses offering all kinds of goods and services, anything from flowers to fountain pens.

Customer service forum

It’s a wonderful customer support tool.  If your customers know they can talk to you directly on your Facebook Page then you’ll find you start to build a community.  People give you good reviews to enhance your credibility and, if you get the occasional disgruntled person, you have the ability to discuss their problem and respond positively.  The stats say that a customer with a problem that is solved is more loyal than one who has never had a problem!

R&D

It can be used for market research.  If you’re thinking of launching a new product, you can run a poll and get feedback from your target audience on whether it’s something they’d like.

Tips to get it right

Ensure someone monitors the Page daily.

Respond to comments promptly – even if you don’t have an instant answer, ensure you let people know you’re on it, not ignoring them.

Have clear audience demographics for any ads you run so you get the right people’s attention.

Aim to create a community so people feel they can talk to you.

Deliver value rather than just promoting your business.

Be human.

Facebook is a powerful tool – use it to help your business grow and gain a great reputation.

Getting investment

Before I begin, let me say, I’m not a financial expert and this won’t give you advice on the right investment sources for your business.  However, I have worked with many people who have been putting together business plans with a view to getting either a bank loan or an independent investment.  I’ve also worked on various crowd-funding campaigns.  This is about getting the pitch right.

Some people think a business plan is all about the numbers – they are important, but not the only thing that’s important.

There are two things that are critical:

1. You know who your client base are.
2. You know how what you do or sell makes a significant difference to them

If you haven’t identified your market – or markets – clearly and in detail most investors (including your bank) will be reluctant to commit money.

Knowing that there is a demand for your service or product and the impact it will make underpins that.

This is just as important if you’re crowd-funding your investment.  There are thousands of crowd-funding products that never really gain enough traction to generate the funds they need.  This is almost always because the pitch simply isn’t clear and compelling.

It’s not enough to be excited about your offering – it has to make sense to the readers of your pitch. 

• Why will this take the world by storm?  
• Who will benefit from it?
• What will those benefits be?
• How will they impact their life, business, relationship, health...?
• What exactly is the plan for the investment?

Woolly wanderings won’t work!  You have to be crystal clear about all these things so the reader can envisage it all in action.  Your words have to capture their imagination and bring it all to life.  Then they’ll be ready to get on board and invest.

Yes, do your figures – and base them on achievable results – but never underestimate the power of words.  If you get it right people will be willing to get behind you and support you in achieving your goals.

Spiked!

In the newspaper business when an article gets ‘spiked’ it means it’s been dumped.  In the old-style newspaper office a metal spike mounted on a wooden block was on every editor’s desk.  Articles that didn’t make the grade were spiked – and then the office junior would come round and collect the paper to throw away.

In today’s world health and safety wouldn’t allow dangerous spikes in the office, but there’s no need as hitting the delete key takes much less effort!

So what will get your press release or article spiked?

• Blatant sales promotion
• No story that will interest the publication’s readers
• Doesn’t match the type of item the publication normally prints
• No facts, quotes or topical connections
• Nothing new or interesting

There is never any guarantee that your press release will get published, but to give it the best chance you need to think about what will get the editor’s attention.  You need a hook to draw them in. 

A hook could be:

• Saying something controversial (as long as you don’t resort to libel)
• Stating a strong opinion – as long as you can back it up with a rationale
• Something that relates to a topical issue – as long as it’s relevant for this publication
• Notable statistics – what can you prove, the more unexpected the better, but don’t invent these, you’ll need to provide your sources
• Something that has an impact on the local community

Make sure your hook shows up in the headline, the opening paragraph and the subject line of the email you send it in.

If you’re coming down strongly with one point of view, be prepared that the editor will be looking for someone who holds an opposing opinion to give the item balance.  They may even ask to interview you both to develop the article, so be ready for a debate – just remember to remain professional and don’t descend into insult-throwing.

An alternative might be a human interest story, but there does need to be a story.  This might be:

• A case study showing unusual outcomes
• A profile of someone in your team with an interesting history or who has achieved something exceptional 
• The journey from idea to production of a new product – as long as there’s an interesting twist to create the interest

‘We’ve opened a new office’
‘Joe Bloggs has joined our team’
‘We’re launching a new product’
‘We’re putting on an event’

Will almost certainly be spiked.  They may be interesting to you, but not to most of the other people in the readership.  The latter two will be spotted by most editors as direct promotion – and, while they understand that any press release has an element of promotion, they don’t like being used for free advertising.

Be creative, learn to think laterally and you’ll start to see hooks that will avoid being spiked and actually appear in print.

Are you throwing your money in the bin?

I go to lots of networking events and I collect lots of business cards – these are useful as it provides a means of getting in touch with people who may become suppliers.  I also get lots of leaflets about services, forthcoming events and promotions – most of these end up in the paper-recycling bin.

The problem with leaflets is that they don’t ‘fit’ anywhere and end up cluttering the place up.  Also they’re usually paper, so they’re easy to scrunch up and throw away.  Quite apart from the issues around resources and environmental conservation, that’s your hard-earned cash that’s going in the bin.

It’s not only the cost of the paper and printing, but the design cost too.  If you’re grinning now because you designed it yourself and printed it off on your office printer (or photocopied it), I have one word for you – reputation!

Unless you happen to be a graphic designer most ‘home-made’ flyers and leaflets look like what they are – home-made.  And the subliminal message is ‘amateur’ or ‘cheap’, neither word is one you want associated with your business.

We’ve all done it and produced something in a hurry at the last minute for a networking event and hoped that nobody would ‘mind’.  They don’t mind, but they don’t value it either.  So you need to aim at the other end of the spectrum and put something of substance into their hands.

I like to have things printed on card, rather than paper.  It’s harder to scrunch up and chuck in the bin. 

If you have some valuable tips printed on the reverse side, this is much more likely to be looked at than a paper document, which people tend not to turn over, you’re creating retainability (no, that’s not really a word, but you know what I mean).

Think about the size and shape of your document – how easy is it for people to carry?  A card that is one-third A4 and fits in a DL envelope, also fits easily in jacket pockets and bags or pops inside a notebook.  The tips mean it tends to stay around longer too.  It’s the next best thing to a promotional gift with your brand on it.

Do you really need to print?

If you’re trying to keep costs down without looking cheap, how about creating special web pages with the information on them and then giving out envelopes containing the links instead of using up lots of ink and paper creating leaflets?

In most cases people who are actually interested will be willing to look at a website.  Those who aren’t will take a leaflet anyway as they often think you will be offended if they don’t – and then dump it as soon as they get back to the office.

A low cost promotional item may be affordable.  In fact, when you add up the design, printing and paper costs, it may even cost less.  Talk to a promotional gifts specialist who will come up with all kinds of clever ideas – and you’ll be much more memorable than dishing out a piece of paper.

What other creative ways can you think of that will capture the people who are genuinely interested without having to distribute a tree every time you run a promotion?

LinkedIn: personal profile or company page?

So many people ask me if they should have a LinkedIn company page – and those that do complain that they find it difficult to build followers on their company profile.  That’s because most people search for YOU, not your company. 

Even if they do search for your company, the list that is presented includes all the people who are identified as working for the company.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a LinkedIn company page, but it does mean that it may not be the focus for most of the connections you make.

Personal means PERSONAL

Quite apart from the fact that the LinkedIn terms and conditions state that you must use your real name and your photo should be a recognisable likeness of yourself, complying with them makes good sense.

Think of it as the equivalent of meeting someone at a networking event.  You don’t introduce yourself “Hello, I’m Bigshot Images Ltd., what company are you?”  You introduce yourself – and others by name.

If your name is Christopher or Robert or Samantha and you’re known by Chris, Rob or Sam – how would you prefer people to address you?  Whatever that is, use that name.  The other side of that coin is that, if someone has put Christopher as their name, always start your messages with that name, until they tell you otherwise.  As someone whose shortened name (Les) I hate, it’s the fastest way to turn me off someone if they call me by that!

Similarly, you don’t introduce yourself as “Jane Bloggs, FRSA, CIPD”.  Don’t put your qualifications in your name – there is a place for that elsewhere in your profile.

When you’re out networking in the real world you don’t have a mask that has a picture of your products, a caricature, a shot of your business premises or anything else covering your face.  This is why a good headshot is essential.

The key elements of a great profile shot are that:

• You are looking directly at the camera, it’s the equivalent of making eye contact (and we all treat people who won’t make eye contact with suspicion).
• It is JUST head and shoulders.  When your profile picture appears on the site as an avatar, you become unrecognisable if you’ve put a full length shot.  Your face is just a small white smudge!
• You aim for friendly and approachable – in other words smile at the camera.  
• It’s a professional shot – not one cropped from a party you were at or a recent holiday.  That just shrieks ‘unprofessional’ and people make judgments, even if you are the most professional business person on earth!

Your company page

Do create a company page – and write an interesting introduction.  Add showcase pages for specific products or services. 

Don’t forget to link your company page with your current role in your experience so the logo appears on your personal profile.

You could include a link to your company page in the summary and ask people to visit it and follow it (if you think that’s important).  However, don’t worry too much if you only generate a handful of followers.  If your personal network is growing and you’re having useful interactions with people, you will find that your company page is a ‘nice to have’, rather than an essential.

Make an impact with your website

The look and feel of websites has changed over the years.  Gone are the days of long copy for the search engines and pages that look like articles.  Today’s websites are colourful, video-rich with short, punchy copy and informative blogs.

As a writer and someone who has studied readability (what stops people getting your message), there are some elements of modern websites that I dislike.  I still look at most sites on a desktop screen, but when you take into account how websites are viewed on a mobile device, the new designs come into their own.

These are some of things that you should consider if you’re giving your website a make-over.

• If you start with a big colourful image – make sure that it’s relevant to your business and has one compelling headline visible above the ‘fold’ (i.e. on the first screen that is presented).  No message means you’re making your visitor work too hard to find out more.  Too many messages can confuse them – resulting in them thinking ‘let’s go somewhere easier’.
• If your image is one of a series, get your web designer to make the transition from one picture to the next a slow fade in and out.  When the image changes abruptly it is distracting, especially if part of the image is still visible when you’ve scrolled down a bit to read the message below.  Effectively, you’re putting a barrier in front of your message.
• Make sure that the next item on your home page is an introduction – but don’t head it up ‘Introduction’!  Give it an interesting headline and then you need 2-3 short paragraphs focused on the benefits your visitor can experience or the problems they can get solved from exploring further.
• On the subject of headlines, every page needs one.  ‘Services’ is not a headline, it’s the page title.  Yes, the search engine needs that on the page, but the human visitor has clicked on that tab or a button that has told them that’s where they’re going, so they don’t need to be told where they are.  They do need a reason to start reading so the biggest headline on the page needs to be the hook to pull them in.
• Every page also needs images.  They give the page energy and life and encourage the reader to stay put and find out more.  However, they must be relevant to the page content, so choose carefully.  Be creative, you can use simple diagrams, models, charts or video clips.
• If you have text alongside an image the text goes to the left, the image to the right.  This ensures people read towards the image, rather than scan down and start reading underneath it.
• Use short paragraphs – 3-5 lines – and plenty of white space.  Ask your web designer to wrap paragraphs around 100 characters (at 12 point) to make reading easier.  Very long lines make reading uncomfortable as the reader has to move their head to scan the line – and finds it harder to pick up the next line.
• Don’t forget to include a call to action at the end of every piece of text.  What do you want your reader to do when they’ve read this bit?  Call you, complete an enquiry form, visit another page, read your blog, sign up to your free download?  Tell people what to do – and make it easy for them to do it (the phone number in the call to action or a link to the next place you want them to go).

These are just a few things that will make your website engage your visitor – and help to turn them into an enquiry.

Delete, delete, delete

That’s what most people do when faced with a full inbox populated by random newsletters.  Most people’s experience of marketing email and newsletters is that the majority are sycophantic or just plain boring.

If your strategy for growing your marketing list is to ask people to sign up for your newsletter on your website, don’t be surprised if very few people actually accept the invitation.  Let’s be honest, you don’t want any more newsletters in your inbox, so why should anyone else?

How to get people to read your newsletters

Start with a great subject line.  Acme Widgets Newsletter October 2017 is the fastest way to get deleted.  But something more intriguing will trigger curiosity in the reader and, at least, get them to open it.  How about

Are you the loose nut in your machine?

The peculiar tale of the widget that got lost.

Did you know that ...

Once you’ve got them to open your email, keeping them engaged depends on telling them something they want to know (not something you think they need to know).

How many newsletters have you read that kick off by telling you their latest company news?  New staff, new premises, even new products are more about you than me, your reader.

The best newsletters start with a hook relating to something your audience is really interested in. 

• What can you tempt them with?  
• What will get their attention?  
• What problems are they suffering from – that you can solve?

If you know your audience well (in other words you know your ideal client inside out) finding these subjects won’t be a big step. 

Then write a chatty newsletter, as though you were writing to a friend, and you’ll engage your reader. 

Don’t ramble on, chatty doesn’t mean long-winded.  Talk directly to your audience as though they’re right in front of you and they’ll keep reading.  Best of all, they’ll want to read the next one you send out.

How social is your social media?

If you have a Facebook personal account, you’re probably using it for social activity; keeping up with family and friends in far flung places, letting people know what’s going on in your life (and sharing cute cat videos – no?)  However, if you have a Facebook business page how social should you be?

And what about Twitter?  Is that intended for social interactions or is it just a means of sending text messages to the world?

Then there’s LinkedIn – but isn’t that a business platform?  So why is it categorised as social media?

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.  What about Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Vimeo, Tumblr ... the list is endless.

If you’re running a business social media is an important marketing tool, but don’t be fooled into believing that, when you’re in business mode, it’s not social.

It’s all about you

People buy people.  You can’t have a conversation with an organisation and you’ll notice that the large corporates that do social media well, identify who you’re talking to. 

Your social media content will work better when you talk as though you’re a human.  Yes, they are marketing tools, but the less personal they are, the less people will engage with you.

Tell your network what you’re doing (without breaking any client confidentiality, of course).  Give them a picture of your world, help them to get to know you.  If you’re really smart you’ll find a way to share your expertise while you’re doing this so you are building relationships and educating your audience at the same time.

Do you have a LinkedIn company page, but focus your effort on your personal profile.  The information you share will be shared under your name, not your company.

Facebook is a different animal and your Page will work well if you’re chatty and engaging.  Share what you’ve discovered today, whether it’s a great article, something you tried out and didn’t work, a revelation that came to you in a flash, or what you’ve done to combat writer’s block.

If you’re launching a new product or service it’s fine to get excited about it – as long as that’s not the only time you talk to your audience.

Just in case you were wondering – don’t give in to the urge to share cute cat videos on your business Page – unless you’re a vet, of course!

What’s the point of a blog?

If nobody reads it – nothing.  But how do you get a following like some of the well-known bloggers who make millions from writing blogs?

Most of these bloggers are young in their 20s and have a massive following around a specific subject. They earn their money from the ads that appear on their blog and from promoting other people’s products or services that are allied to what they write about.

These are the exceptions – but that doesn’t mean you should give up before you even get started, or abandoning an existing blog.

Firstly, let’s get one thing straight – a blog is not a sales platform.  If you keep selling at your readers, they’ll quickly stop reading.

Secondly, if nobody knows about your blog it will get very few views.

Create a plan

I find it helps to have a list of subjects to start with (you might find this blog useful on this), but even better is a list of problems you solve for clients.  

If you want to write these as case studies that’s one way of doing it, but sharing your expertise to help other people so you’re not just giving the results, but how to get them is even better.

Decide where to post your blog.  Clearly on your own blog, but where else could it go where potential clients might see it.

If you post it and promote it on social media, more people will know about it, but how often do you post about it?  On the day the blog goes live?  During the week it goes live?  What about a month later, three months later, a year later?  If a blog still contains good information there’s nothing wrong with reminding people about it long after its first post.

What about your list?  If you’re writing good quality information your clients, suppliers, former clients, networking contacts and others might find it useful too.  As long as you have permission to email them, send it out as an html email.  This is a great way to remind former clients how good you are!

Be consistent

Don’t think you can post one blog and then sit back and that will be it.  Aim for a minimum of two a month, ideally one a week if you really want to gain traction.

Use a social media management tool like Hootsuite to schedule your social media posts, so it doesn’t fall off your to do list.

Keep track of the blogs you write so you find it easy to cross reference and check what you’ve written about before – I use a simple spreadsheet.

So what is the point really?

A good blog is a testament to your expertise.  It also gives a flavour for the kind of person you are, your approach to life and business.  It’s an important cornerstone or your reputation.

5 things every business owner should know

Most people launch their own business without knowing if they’ll succeed or fail.  Given the statistics about the number of start-ups that fail in the first year, five years, etc. it seems sensible to do as much as possible to increase your business’s chances of success.

I’ve started up three businesses, one with a partner, one that acquired two co-directors and one that I own outright.  I’ve made plenty of mistakes and learned some really valuable lessons.  These are the 5 things I wish I’d known – and ACTIONED before jumping in the deep end.

1: Who is your ideal client?

My first business worked on the ‘Anybody who needs us’ premise, with limited, but not long-term success.  The second business took a look at this, but we couldn’t bite the bullet and choose a market sector.  There was too much ‘but we could do this for these people, and that for those people too’.

Finally, in my third business I got to grips and made myself choose a client profile that I knew would really value what I could offer and that I would really enjoy working with.  It was worth writing out my client avatar – it was almost like magic.  Suddenly I was getting calls from people who either fitted my ideal client profile perfectly or were very close.

2: What can you do for them?

The key to keeping clients is a thorough understanding of their problems; what keeps them awake at night.  If you can solve their problems and deliver tangible benefits your clients will stick with you like glue. 

So list the biggest and most common problems your clients experience.  Then list your services (or products) and identify how these could solve your clients’ problems.  Now outline at least a couple of benefits (what’s in it for me?) for each outcome.  This is what you’ll use to attract potential clients.

3:  What are you worth?

Nobody wants to price themselves out of the market, nor do you want to be ‘cheap and cheerful’ so you need to set your prices in relation to the value to your customer.

Some people recommend starting out by working out how much you want to earn per month/year and then working out what you would need to charge to earn that.  I think there are some dangers there as start-up companies usually underestimate the time things take and overestimate the number of hours they have available.  This means they end up working day, night, weekends and holidays to stay viable.

What value does your service have to your client?  How much would it cost them if you didn’t provide what they needed?

Of course, it’s worth doing some research into your competitors pricing, but don’t let that stop you charging more.  People who are willing to pay more, appreciate you more!

4:  Where are your ideal clients to be found?

Another easy-to-overlook aspect for a new business.  In fact, I’ve met quite a lot of established business people who still haven’t really nailed down where to find their potential clients and spend a lot of time turning up at random networking events in the hope that the golden egg will fall into their lap.

Are there local branches of professional organisations that fit your ideal client profile? E.g. if you’re providing management training a good proportion of the local Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development group would be potential clients.

Are their online forums, LinkedIn groups, Facebook Pages or groups where your ideal clients are found?

5:  How can you influence potential clients to come to you?

Who else serves your market?  Could you form an alliance?

If you’re active in groups online or offline where your ideal clients can be found, offer enormous value first and you’ll earn a reputation as an expert.

Write articles around your area of expertise – and publish on your blog, on your LinkedIn profile, in the trade journals your target market reads.

Make sure your social media activity is focused on giving value.

Don’t send out newsletters or email marketing that is sell, sell, sell – value first, promote later.

Build a list of people that have shown they’re already interested in what you offer.

If you invest time in working through these five essentials – you’ll find building and growing your business gets a lot easier.

31 questions every budding author should ask

If you think being the author of a book would be a good business strategy then there are some things you need to consider first.

Why you? 

1. What qualifies you to write about this subject?
2. Have you got a following for this area of expertise either on your blog, social media or as a speaker/presenter?
3. Do you know what other books on your subject already exist?  Why is yours different?

Get focused:

4. What is the core subject of the book?
5. What kind of book are you planning to write? (Autobiography, business handbook, self-development, etc)

Planning and writing:

6. How many chapters and/or sections will your book have?
7. Have you organised your information into chapters and sections along with any supporting material?
8. Will you need to read other books to inform your writing?  Do you have a reading list?
9. Do you know how long it takes you to write 1000 words?
10. Have you put writing time into your diary to achieve your first draft by a specific date?
11. Will you use any quotes or other material that requires permission?  Do you know how to obtain the necessary permission?
12. Are you planning to have your book professionally edited?  Do you know the costs of this?
13. Your book will need proof-reading do you know how long this will take and the cost?
14. Have you got a title – or a list of possible titles?  Also a subtitle?
15. Do you have a list of people who would be willing to read the final draft and provide a review to include either on the cover or inside the final book?

Publishing:

16. Do you want it to be an ebook or a hard copy book – or both?
17. Are you planning to get a publishing house interested in publishing your book or will you be self-publishing?
18. Are you aware of the financial aspects of publishing?
19. For traditional publishing what do you know about advances, royalties and expected returns?
20. For self-publishing are you prepared for the costs up-front for editing, graphic design, page layout, print-on-demand, etc?
21. Do you know how long it takes for a book to get from finished manuscript to in the bookshop – for traditional publishing and for self-publishing?

Marketing:

22. Books don’t sell themselves so how will you promote your book to the people who will find it most useful?
23. What gives your book that ‘WOW’ factor?
24. Which genre does it fit into?  Where would you find it in a bookstore?
25. Who will buy your book?
26. How big a market do you have – i.e. how many potential buyers?
27. Where will you find your readers?
28. Apart from social media how else might you promote your book?
29. Who do you know who is famous or an expert in your field or an allied field and would either write a foreword for your book or provide a review to be used on the cover?
30. Which publications might be interested in featuring your book?
31. Do you intend to have your book featured on Amazon?  If so, do you have a strategy for encouraging people to write reviews?

There are no guarantees of success with a book, some really well-written books don’t do very well and others that aren’t so well-written go viral.  However, whether you go down the conventional or self-publishing routes, you WILL need to do your own marketing.  The more effort you put in the better your book will do!

Building your list

If you’ve ever been on a webinar run by one of the big online marketers you have almost certainly heard the phrase ‘the money is in the list’.

You may have discounted that as ‘not relevant for a business like mine’, but a list of people who have demonstrated an interest in what you do or offer is definitely the next best thing to money in the bank.

It doesn’t matter if you have a strong aversion to the idea of spamming people – that’s something you need to get over.  If people have already shown an interest and you deliver information that’s valuable it’s not spam.

The key elements of a money-generating email marketing system

1: Creating the ‘carrot’

This is something that will persuade people to willingly give you their name and email address.  It’s usually a document that has information of value to the people you want as customers.  Here are some examples:

• 17 Mistakes Property Investors Make ... and how to avoid them
• The Top 7 Questions Interviewers Ask
• Your Email Marketing Blueprint
• Your Health & Safety Checklist
• How to assemble a flatpack with the minimum of frustration!

Every business has expertise embedded – it’s just a case of working out what will tempt your ideal customers and then providing that information with an attractive title.

It doesn’t have to be a long document as long as it has useful tips or advice.  A one-page checklist or 10 top tips is enough.  Some people create longer ‘reports’ or ‘ebooks’, but it’s up to you.

Save your ‘carrot’ as a pdf document to make downloading easy and the content stable and secure.

2: Setting up the data capture form

To provide the means for people to enter their details you need a form – and then the information needs to be collected somewhere.  Of course, you can get a developer to create a bespoke system for you that sits behind your website, but we’re probably talking figures with at least three zeros on the end.

The more usual approach is to use one of the many online data-management tools.  Probably the best known is MailChimp, because it has a free option for up to 2000 names and it’s a good place to start. Other options with monthly subscriptions that usually relate to the number of contacts you’ve got; these include AWeber, Constant Contact, GetReponse, Infusionsoft and many more.  Most are based in the US and subscriptions are in US$, but some have other currency options.

Once you’re signed up you can set up a list (or several lists) and set up a form for each list.  The hosting platform will provide some html code that is pretty straightforward to insert into your website.

3: Organising the delivery system

If you get people’s contact details and then don’t deliver the promised information your reputation is going to take a battering!  This means you need a means of delivering the document.

This might be a hidden page on your website where people can download the document.  Your data capture form set up will probably allow you to insert the URL for this page into their process so that, once someone has confirmed they want to get this information, they are taken to the page for download.

Another option is that confirmation triggers an email with the document attached or with a link to the page where they can download it.

These three steps are pretty straightforward, but don’t forget to promote your free document on social media.  If people don’t know it’s there, your list will grow very slowly so Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other places where your target market hangs out are great places to let people know about this valuable information.

If you need help with any of this – from developing your giveaway to setting up the data capture system – just give me a call on 01245 473296.

There are awards – and AWARDS!

Just recently a client was talking about entering some awards – and we thought it was just a case of answering the questions on the entry form, until we looked into it and discovered they wanted supporting material.

Most local business awards are happy with written answers to their questions, but some organisations, especially professional bodies, want evidence to support the narrative.

What is supporting evidence?

It depends on what award you’re entering for, but these are some I’ve seen:

A business plan:  OK, you should have one of these if you’re running a business, but in the real world many small business owners never get the plan out of their head and onto paper (or screen).  A business plan doesn’t have to be a 92 page document and it doesn’t have to be just a spreadsheet of financial projections.  A one pager is possible and should include:

• Products/services
• Target market
• Competitors
• Market share
• Last year’s turnover and projected increase either in % or actual currency
• Staff numbers and recruitment plans
• A short statement of the company’s goals – vision, mission, etc.

Training plans for the staff:  If you are running a small organisation training may be hands-on rather than formal workshops.  That doesn’t mean you don’t have a training plan.  The secret is to identify where skills need upgrading and stating the method – even if that’s on-the-job.  Also where staff have the potential for promotion what skills/knowledge they need to step up and how they’ll acquire these.

Financial performance:  Turnover by product/service per year showing increases.

Make sure you’re comparing like with like, if a new product or service is introduced this is likely to have an impact.

Most awards panels will want to see the profit as well as the turnover.  You can increase the turnover year-on-year, and not increase the profit if overheads have risen.  They’ll want to see increases in both figures, especially the profit line.

Market analysis:  The customer base for your product and their buying patterns:

• What kind of company/person buys your products/services?  Location, age/company size, etc. 
• How often do they make repeat purchases?  
• How many additional purchases do they make?  If they buy A do most of them also buy B? 
• How you stack up against competitors?
• What sets you apart from your competitors – i.e. what are your advantages?

Expansion or development plans:  What activities are you intending to carry out to grow your business?  This might be new products or services, but it also might be opening new outlets or plants in different locations, moving overseas, changing suppliers, buying new equipment – anything that will enhance the company’s performance.

Testimonials/case studies:  If you don’t have these you’ll need to start talking to your customers.  Third party validation is powerful and a case study that shows how you go about solving customer’s challenges is an excellent way to show how you operate.  Always include customer feedback in a case study.  Asking for feedback is a really good habit to develop.

There may be other supporting evidence requests, but, even if you’re not entering an award any time soon, these are really good activities to carry out to help your business grow.

How do you use an autoresponder system?

If you’ve never used an autoresponder or aren’t sure what one does, they’re simply an automated email series that sends out emails automatically for a specific purpose.

I’ve written about free downloads to develop your list and start building relationships with new people into your marketing funnel, but there are other ways to use them.

They’re really good for delivering ecourses.  If you have a series of lessons, it’s much easier to set up an autoresponder so that each lesson is delivered at regular intervals, than having to do it manually.  If you’re smart you can have your payment system to trigger the first lesson to go out and then the rest will be delivered at intervals you choose – weekly, fortnightly or monthly – or any other period.

If someone has signed up for an event well ahead of the date, autoresponders can be set up as event reminders at regular intervals so you get fewer no-shows.  You can use this for joining instructions, directions to the venue or online login information, useful pre-event learning or reading and much more.

If you’ve run a course, workshop or seminar you know some of the people who attended won’t put their learning into practice right away.  Autoresponders are excellent learning follow-ups to remind delegates to take action and give them some hints and tips on getting things moving.

So someone has bought your product and they’ve gone off into the sunset.  How can you ensure they’ll get the best possible results with it?  Send them a series of autoresponders to give them product guidance, tips for use, basic installation instructions or a set up guide.  Yes, these may have been included in the instructions that come with the product – but there’s still plenty of brownie points to be gained from being pro-active in supporting your customers.

If you’ve offered people something on your website and they’ve expressed an interest, but haven’t followed through, or they’ve made an appointment and then cancelled it, autoresponders can maintain your visibility in case it’s just a bad time for them or they’re not quite convinced.  Don’t sell too hard, just remind them that they can make a new appointment or re-engage whenever they’re ready.

This isn’t a definitive list – just some ideas to get you started.

Email marketing campaigns that get results

When your computer or phone pings and you know an email has arrived do you open the new email hoping to see a sales pitch?

No – I thought not.  But that’s what many people send out – and then wonder why people unsubscribe from their lists or just delete their emails unread.

Remember it’s email MARKETING, not email SELLING.

Marketing is about raising awareness, education and communication.  It’s helping people to understand what you do and how it can be of use to them.

There are statistics that have been researched over and over again that say that, on average, it takes between 5-12 ‘touches’ before people are ready to buy.  Your email marketing is part of that process.

Yes, there are some people who are ready to buy right now – and the right messages won’t stop them doing that – but most people aren’t ready yet.  It can be that they don’t need your product or service right now, but do have an interest.  Email marketing helps to keep them in your loop so, when the time is right for them, you’re the first name that pops into their head.

Sometimes the time lapse can be months or even years, but, in the meantime, the right messages can turn a ‘haven’t bought yet’ into an enthusiastic advocate.

Good practice for email marketing

• Aim for a series of messages around a single subject
• Anything that’s just product/service description is boring, so aim to deliver something of value to the recipients.  A good rule of thumb is value-value-product education, that means start with something of use in message one – related to your business – and add a web link to your product/service as a P.S.  Repeat this in message 2 – then in message 3 you can explain a bit about your product or service.
• Keep it short.  Of course, you’ve probably read l-o-n-g emails from professional marketers that have kept your attention, but most of us are busy and find shorter emails have more chance of getting read at the first time of opening.  I have folders full of emails I’ve never read – not because I’m not interested, but because I was busy at the time they arrived and a quick glance told me I’d need some time to digest the content – and I put it in a folder to ‘read later’.  A year down the line I’ll cull all the old ones – that I’ve never got around to reading.  I don’t think I’m alone – except maybe some people delete rather than file.
• Make the subject line interesting enough for people to want to find out more – but make sure the message delivers when they open it.
• Plan your campaign for the audience you’re sending them to.  What will get their attention.

If you can go and sit in the recipient’s chair and see it from their perspective that will help you to deliver powerful email campaigns that get results.

Who is in your Facebook audience?

Anyone who knows me has heard me on my soapbox about ideal client profiles may sigh a bit – I’m off again!  However, if you want Facebook ads to work for you, choosing who sees them is essential.

If you are going to invest in an ad, you’ll need to:

• Get the headline and message right – to influence the people who see it to take action
• Get the images right – to attract the people who see it to read it
• Test alternative text and message combinations to ensure the best-performing ads are presented to your audience
• Pitch the call to action correctly for the audience

There’s an old cliché ‘If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.’  If you have not spent time building an avatar for your ideal audience, any text, any message, any call to action – will cost you money and IT WON’T WORK!

If you’ve ever met anyone who tells you ‘Facebook advertising doesn’t work’ – ask them how much drilling down into their target audience they did first.  I’d put money on the fact that they made one of these errors:

1. Chose a general audience – e.g. men and women between 20-60 years old.
2. Didn’t test their headlines and images on a sample audience to see what worked.
3. Pitched a big ‘ask’ rather than something easy for the audience to sign up for so they could be warmed up.
4. Didn’t supply enough information during the action process to engage the customer – like the benefits of taking action.

Building an avatar

If you want to improve the return on your investment in Facebook ads you need to nail your audience down in as much detail as possible.

Of course, your audience may be broad, but pick the best segment and aim the ad at those people.

• Decide whether they are male or female; 
• Choose an age range that is no more than 10 years;
• Identify the interests they have
• Try a geographical area to start with;
• What groups or Pages are they already interested in that would also make them a good customer for you?
• Upload your current customer list and Facebook will find them on Facebook and find other people who have a similar profile.

Remember that you can have more than one custom audience – and one ad will not work for everyone.  The message for an 18 year old student and the message for a 40-year-old Mum will be vastly different – that just means you’ll need to run separate ads for each audience.

That’s for starters.  Now you know who you are talking to – and if you can imagine a person who fulfils your avatar, then pretend you are talking directly to them.

• What would get their attention?
• What kind of images would capture their interest?
• What would they be willing to take action on?  Start with the least action – you’ll feed your pipeline better that way.
• What could you offer them that would get them on your list so you can market to them?

If you’re taking them to a web page it needs to be one that re-engages them and makes them want to take action.  That might be a free assessment, a free download (usually a report or ‘how to’ document or ebook, it might even be a low-cost item.

Video on the web page is good – and also on your Facebook Page. But keep it short; just a couple of minutes max.

Finally, don’t expect miracles in 24 hours.  You’ll need to give your ad at least a week, often more, to start making a difference.

How well do you look after your crowd-funders?

If you’re the head of a company that has shareholders, they have expectations.  For some investors this might be to attend a shareholders meeting – at least annually – to find out what’s going on in the business; for others it might be the expectation of a dividend landing in their bank account from time-to-time.

If you’ve run a crowd-funding campaign you need to look after your investors to reassure them that you are using their money responsibly – for the purpose it was intended.

Yes, there are some people who will invest a small amount and forget about it, but the last thing you need are people who have invested, heard nothing – and then talk about it on social media.  It’s no longer a few friends who listen to their complaints – but the whole social media stratosphere!

Most people want to know what’s happened to their money – so what is your plan?

Rewards

Typically, a crowd-funding campaign offers a reward.  This might be:

• ‘Thank You’ with your name on a Facebook Page for a small investment
• A listing as an investor on a website page
• One or more of the products they’re funding – depending on the finished value of the item
• A discount option on a bigger product
• Promotional items – T-shirts, coasters or other branded goods
• Customised product

It all depends on what’s being funded.  The big issue is – when do people get their products or thank you?

Staying in touch

I invested in a product nearly two years ago – and the items I was promised I’d get about six months down the line have still not appeared.  If I hadn’t heard from them I would be a little irritated, if not thoroughly annoyed.  However, the company has kept in touch regularly with progress reports, details AND pictures of some of the manufacturing glitches they’ve had to iron out.  Although the time-lapse has been much longer than expected I’m impressed with their updates – and their attention to detail, to ensure the final product is perfect.

Often there isn’t much room in the ‘Rewards’ outlines to put a lot of detail, so a regular progress report is reassuring for investors – no matter how small an amount they’ve invested.

Our advice:

• Put a note in your diary for a regular monthly update and email your investors to tell them how the project is progressing.
• When your project is complete – put rewarding investors right at the top of the list.

These are simple things to do – and the rewards YOU will get are a group of enthusiastic supporters, who will do a lot of positive marketing for you.

What are your ideal clients reading?

Getting press coverage is a tough mountain to climb – which is why many companies invest a substantial chunk of their marketing budget in hiring a PR agency.  These experts will devote their time to finding publications that are willing to publish articles that feature your business or expertise in some way.

If you’re a small business it’s tempting to think that your local weekly or daily newspaper is a good place to start – but it’s probably not the easiest nut to crack.  Every other small business in the area will be hoping that their press release will get published and the editors have seen most of the stories before.

Your best bet is to get into the professional or trade publications that your target audience reads.  Most industries have them – People Management for HR and Training managers, The Caterer for the hospitality business, The Grocer for the retail food industry, Accountancy Age for Accountants ... and so on.

If you’re a plumber you don’t want to appear in the Heating & Plumbing Monthly – as the readership is likely to be other plumbers, but you might want to get featured in The Property Hub as an expert in property refurbs.

I get clients who will argue that a specialist publication has a relatively small distribution – perhaps only a few thousand, while getting into a national or glossy magazine puts them in front of millions.  The problem is that those millions are not all your ideal clients – in fact, very few of them are likely to be – while the right industry journal gives you a captive audience who are predominantly the right readers.

How to get your article published

Firstly, read an issue or two or the publication you’re aiming for – and see what kind of article they feature.  What could you write about that would fit into their publication?

Secondly, forget about press releases – you’ll be coming at this from a different angle.  This isn’t about you promoting your business directly, it’s not a ‘news’ piece.  You should aim to share something of value – a ‘how to ...’ article or ‘the 3 mistakes ... and how to avoid them’ or a ‘what you need to know about ...’ article.

Thirdly, get in touch.  The best way to get published is to talk to the editor and ask some questions.  These are some examples:

Do you accept articles that aren’t commissioned?

Would you be interested in an article on [subject]?

Is there another topic around [your expertise] your readers would be interested in?

How do you prefer articles to be submitted?

What is the deadline for your next issue?

If you can comment on previous issues it will show you’ve bothered to do your research.  If you can explain why you think an article about X would help their readers it also helps to make your case.  Don’t just send an article in on spec.

Many industry journals don’t have a big editorial staff, so good articles are often welcome.

Remember not all publications appear in hard copy, there are many digital publications too.

Do some planning and reading and you’ve a much higher chance of getting in front of people who could be your next clients.

10 Top Marketing Tips

These are the things I find I have to ask my clients the most before we can get their project off the starting blocks!  Knowing the answers will put you several steps ahead of your competition:

ONE – Know who you want to reach

You may think you know who your target audience is – but how detailed is that ideal client profile?  Every marketing message you send out will be ten times better if you are aiming it at a very specific audience.  Take a look at this to get your ideal client profile polished up.

TWO – Be clear about the purpose

If you’re going to invest in a website or a new flyer ‘because everyone else has one’ is not a good enough reason to spend your marketing budget.  What do you want the outcome to be from your investment?  Be specific – so, for your website, not ‘lots of sales enquiries’, but ‘three genuine sales enquiries per week that convert to business’, not ‘bums on seats’ for a course or presentation you’re doing, but ’25 people who will really benefit from the event’.  When it comes to distributing flyers this will help to ensure you place them in the right hands too.

THREE – Be seen as an expert

Create content that demonstrates your knowledge and expertise.  Post it where people will see it – LinkedIn as an article, your blog, link to it on social media, get it into your ideal clients professional journals, use it to populate email campaigns that deliver value, lead your newsletter with it.  You need to do this regularly and sustainably.

FOUR – Stay on message

When you’re been on the planet a good few years you’ve almost certainly developed a wide range of knowledge and it’s easy to want to use it to help people.  However, it’s important that you are seen as the ‘go-to’ person for a particular skill or product type – not a jack-of-all-trades.

Of course, there are people who have a portfolio of skills – many people present themselves as a speaker, trainer, author, coach – but around a specialist area.  If you’re offering business development services and aromatherapy you’ll end up with a big sign over your head that says ‘dabbler’ – unless you can find a way to integrate these two into a logical package.

FIVE – Be visible

I learned this lesson the hard way some years back – I stopped attending networking groups and, after about three months, there was a noticeable drop off in business.  I network locally and nationally offline and locally, nationally and internationally online.  That means I turn up for regular networking meetings and events and I also dedicate some time each week to posting material on the platforms that suit my market best.

As ALL my business comes from networking and referrals – I rest my case!

SIX – Package your offer for your ideal client

What you want to say and what your potential client wants to know are not usually the same things.  Go and look at things through the eyes of your ideal client and present what they want.  If you’re not sure, ask a client (or former client) who fits your perfect client profile what they would want to know, read about, be offered.

SEVEN – Build your list

Permission based marketing is very powerful – and it works for every industry and business type – not just high profile online marketers.  With both national and international data protection it’s important that you do have permission to send emails to people – so ensure you set up a system that gathers people’s contact information, with permission.

This will also help you to identify those who are really interested in what you have to offer.  They may not buy the first time of asking – and not all of them will become customers, but once they’re on your list you can keep them in the loop about what the latest offers and developments are.

EIGHT – Deliver value

If the only communication you get from a company is ‘sell, sell, sell’ you’re likely to start deleting their emails, unread and unsubscribing from their list.  The same applies when you’re sending information out.  What can you send that will be of real help to your database?  The better you’ve done item ONE, the easier it will be to pin this down!

If you keep sending out information of value you’re building something called ‘reciprocity’ – and that means people will have a good feeling about you and your business and feel more inclined to choose you when they’re ready to buy.

NINE – Build relationships 

People buy people, not organisations (unless they’re household names).  Getting to know people whether it’s online via social networking, offline through local networking groups or professional bodies – it’s important to start from a position of wanting to help.  You’re building your reputation and being known as a helpful expert is a good position to be in.  Remember people are interested in people who are interested in THEM!

TEN – Plan!

When you have a plan for your marketing you’ll find it’s all much easier.  You’ll be able to put time and budget aside for key elements and knowing what needs to be done ahead of time allows you to schedule things.

Planning ahead will save you wasted time and money.  If you rush into things you don’t always make the best decisions and can spend more money that you need to on last minute things – like printing.  Having your Christmas cards designed and printed in August will usually cost you much less than waiting until December!

*****

Good luck with putting these top tips into action!

What do you use LinkedIn for?

It’s a powerful platform and successful – or it wouldn’t have so many users (467 million from the last stats).  Microsoft wouldn’t have bought it if it didn’t have a future and that means that millions of people use it – but what for?

Job hunting

When it first kicked off in 2003 LinkedIn was very much aimed at the recruitment market.  There were no groups, no company pages, just a personal profile – and even that was limited to a CV style arrangement.

Profile owners were encouraged to post their company’s vacancies and job hunters were able to ask people in their network who were connected to someone in that company to introduce them.  Employers liked having a third-party validation before getting to the point of interview.

It’s still a very effective platform for both employers looking for staff and people looking for the right role to develop their career.

Communities

Somewhere around 2005-6 LinkedIn introduced groups.  As this was around the time Facebook started up and included groups on their site, I suspect this might have been an influencing factor.

Typically LinkedIn was set up to encourage account holders to join their peer groups – so as a writer I was pointed at writers and publishers, authors, etc.  This is an excellent way to be part of a collaborative community.  However, if you’re trying to build relationships with potential employers – or customers – it’s better to join the groups where they hang out!

Visibility

LinkedIn’s updates are a good way to improve visibility.  They’ve developed from just comments to being a multi-media experience!

Posting the right kind of post can engage many of the other LinkedIn members who comment or like your post.

Articles have added another dimension to this and allow account holders to share their expertise, knowledge and opinions.  This can be a bonus whether you’re an employee, looking for a new job or running a business.

• An employee who demonstrates their value will gain extra brownie points.
• A potential candidate who has a wealth of published material online gives employers more to get their teeth into and can be the deciding factor between two similarly qualified candidates.
• Sharing your expertise as a business owner lets potential clients know the breadth of your knowledge and know-how, making it more likely that they’ll choose your company as their supplier.

Business development

LinkedIn has a number of tools – and also the option to upgrade to a paid account that offers useful services to help you to find people in your market and build relationships with them.

If you know how LinkedIn can be a serious revenue generator.  It’s not a quick fix – but pays off if you use it effectively and consistently.

Do you need a paid account?

My advice: first get to grips with all the tools available on the free account – and only if they’re not getting the results you want, take a look at the various levels of paid accounts.

How much copy does your website need?

I’ve been writing web copy for well over a decade and clients still ask ‘how much content to I need?’  The glib answer is ‘as much as is needed to get your message across’, but it’s never as simple as that.

In the ‘good old days’ web pages would often have as much as 600 words (that’s a couple of A4 pages of text)  because the SEO people had said that was what the search engines gave you ranking points for.

Even in those days nobody read that much content on a page, so if your call to action was at the end of the content, very few people would ever get to it.

Worse still there was the issue of key words and key word density.  That was the percentage of relevant key words or phrases in the content.  Most sensible SEO people used to aim for around 2%, but I was once asked to write copy with the key word density for a single word at 8%!  That meant that the word appeared on virtually every line.  You can imagine that the reader found this kind of copy hard going, so from a retention point of view it wasn’t good.

Then search engines got smarter and SEO people reduced demands to 250-300 words with at least one or two mention of your key words.  But that was when there was only one piece of content on each page – including the home page.  Today home pages are more like a magazine contents page with bits of information for everything the site offers.

Also the human interaction with the screen has changed.  Our attention span has diminished – possibly because we’re faced with so much information that we’ve had to develop our scanning skills and now read very little in depth.  More people are accessing the web via their mobile devices and flicking up and down websites at a rapid rate.

This means that every word on the page has to earn its place.  Mark Twain is credited with this P.S. on a letter he sent to a friend:

“Sorry for the long letter, I didn’t have time to write a short one.”

Some people think this doesn’t make sense – until they try to get a complex concept across and are limited to just a few words.  Anyone can ramble, very few can deliver clarity in just a few words.

So what are the essentials for getting your message across:

• A strong attention-grabbing headline – focused on the reader.
• A short introduction (two short paragraphs) that entices the reader to explore further.
• A call to action telling the visitor what to do next.
• Something that makes taking action no effort – so if you want them to phone, put the phone number; if you want them to move to another page, put a link or, better still for mobile devices, a button.

Every page needs these elements, although some pages will need a little more information and, perhaps, some benefits.

Invest time (or engage an expert) in these elements and your website will work well for you.

How to create a newsletter with the minimum of effort

What’s the point of a newsletter?

There should be one – and the best answer to the question is that it’s a great way to build relationships, but only if the content is what your list wants to read.

Let’s be honest, none of us want any more ‘stuff’ in our inboxes that’s not useful so your newsletter needs to deliver value first and foremost. This means that you can forget about telling people about:

• Your successful achievement of sales targets (they don’t care)
• New recruits (they’ll only be interested when it affects the service they get – positively)
• Expansion of your business (as long as they’re getting a good service – or can see they will do so if they’re not already clients, they aren’t interested in how big or small your organisation is)
• Moving to a new office (if they have to visit you they will need the address, but otherwise it’s irrelevant – no matter how excited you are about it!) 

Yes, there are justifications for all of these pieces of information – but, first and foremost, people want something that gives THEM value, everything else is ‘fluff’.

So how do you deliver that value without slaving over a hot Word document for hours?

Don’t reinvent the wheel!

Every business has information that is of value – so leverage yours.

Do you have:

• A blog that has good articles in it?
• Case studies that show how people benefit from specific services?
• Questions – with your expert answers – that customers often ask?
• Strong views on an industry topic (your customers’ industry, not yours)?
• Articles you’ve read that you think your list of readers will find useful?

These are all potential material for your newsletter, whether it’s as a lead item or a supplementary item.

My advice is that your newsletter should have anything from one to three pieces of information.

You don’t have to write information that will only be used once in your newsletter – ideally you can use information that has already been created and simply collate it.

If you’re smart, putting a newsletter together each month won’t take you long – and your readers will look forward to something interesting popping up in their inboxes each month.