Imagine a prospect walks into your place of business and offers you a card. “I’m not ready to buy, but I’d be happy to receive more information about special offers, new products, or other news. Here’s my contact information,” the prospect says. Would you refuse to take the card? It’s not a trick question. Every [...]
Ask Happy Clients to Spread the Love. You’ll Sell More
I recently met a business consultant who includes a stack of recommendation letters from happy clients with every proposal he writes. Over the top? Perhaps. But this guy has the right idea. Recommendations influence buying decisions. You have happy clients. Encourage them to share their happiness, and you will sell more. As soon as you [...]
Don’t Go For the Free Lunch to Market Your Business
I recently met a small business owner who proudly described his marketing strategy to me: “I’m focusing entirely on social media because it’s free.” “What do you mean by free?” I asked. “Well…” he said, “I don’t have to pay for postage or advertising or email software or anything like that. I just set up [...]
Nine Reasons to Invest in an Email Service Provider
We hear from many small business people who want to save a few bucks on their email marketing program and do it without a paid service. They say, “I can do the same thing you offer by creating and sending emails through my desktop email software. I create the email; paste the email addresses in [...]
Pity the Foolish Marketer Who Commits to Just One Lover
While eating breakfast this morning, I was browsing through my online news reader on my computer when I came across the following headline: “Among Affluent Americans, Print Media Is Tops; Death of Traditional Outlets Has Been Greatly Exaggerated” Print is number one!? That’s enough to make an online marketer choke on his Cocoa Puffs. Then, [...]
Can You Afford to Ignore Google+?
After lots of false starts and failed attempts, Google has returned to the social networking space with its Google+ project. Google+ combines some of the best features of Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites, and it adds innovative features the others don’t have. But instead of celebrating , many small business people are moaning, [...]
Design Tip: Be Careful About Using Graphics for “Read More” Links
A few months ago, I wrote a post recommending against image-only emails because many email clients hide images by default. Today, I received an email that reminded me the hidden image problem can bite you even if your email is almost entirely text. The email had several short excerpts of articles on the organization’s web [...]
A “Go-Giver’s” Guide to Content Strategy
Guest Blog Post by Dixie Gillaspie I used to do this little mental two step every time I sat down to craft a newsletter: One Step Forward – I have some awesome information to share (write article) Two Step Forward – I have an announcement about a new event, service, product or other offering (write [...]
Twenty-Five Percent Open Rate? Don’t Worry. Be Happy.
I have a distraught client. He called me a few days ago to report that only 26% of his 500 recipients were opening his emails and that fewer than 5% were clicking any of the links. “It’s not worth it,” he said. I replied by asking how much his email program cost. Counting software fees [...]
Video Quick Tip: Link-Tracking to Find True Prospects
Imagine walking into a networking event with 1,000 people in the room. All of a sudden, the sea parts. And on one side of the room, you see 500 people who have absolutely no interest in what you sell and what you do. On the other side of the room are true prospects who have [...]
