Want a Thriving Business? Fish with 100 Lines – Not 1

Fishing with one Line

Are You Fishing with 1 Line or 100 Lines?

Only doing one of these networking tips could mean you’re only using one line instead of 100 lines.

Your business is only as strong as your customers, and if you do not invest a lot of time and effort into reaching new customers, your bottom line will suffer. It’s safe to say generating new leads for your business is important if you want to succeed. Would you agree that fishing with 100 lines is better than 1 line?  Exactly! Social media is wonderful and certainly creates brand awareness; however, social media is a tool not a strategy.

Networking / Forums

Network Group

  1. Be more active on niche-relevant forums and discussion boards to generate easy leads. If you hang out where consumers ask questions, you can gather trust, brand yourself and be a go-to source for them. Not only will they appreciate your assistance, they will also most likely visit your site for more information or to make purchases.
  2. Survey your current customers about where they typically congregate online. To generate quality leads, you need to understand where your audience hangs out. Once you know, get involved in that community any way you can. That may mean advertising or it may mean becoming a leader in the community.
  3. Leads are very valuable. Not every lead would be appropriate for the marketing campaign that you are running. Which target audience are you after? Don’t market to anyone else. You are more likely to find success when you pick the proper leads.
  4. Set time every week to follow up with potential leads. It usually takes more than one touch point to turn a potential qualified lead into a real hot lead. So after you’ve made first contact, set time a week or two later to touch base again. It’s about frequency here to make this person into a customer.
  5. Talk to business owners in related industries. They may be willing to share leads with you by sending their customers your way. For example, if you own a shop where you sell balloons, talking to a florist about a joint venture is a great way to get leads from another business.
  6. Don’t forget your website! Many people create a site and then just leave it, believing that “if you build it, they will come.” They won’t unless you actually put some effort into it. Create a blog and update it frequently, or add new content as often as possible to the site itself.

Pay Per Click Ads

If you plan to use pay-per-click ads to promote your website or social media, create ads which actually bring in targeted leads. Make sure it is clear what you’re selling and that the call to action is solid. Don’t make them blink or include fluorescent colors unless you want to drive away potential leads.

Ensure when using PPC that you drill down to your exact customer.   Use what you learned in your survey about what customers want so your target can be even more targeted.  Your survey represents your customer’s problems and your PPC and business represent the problem solver.

Google

Look into pay per click campaigns to generate leads. The first place most people go to seek business opportunity is Google. If you aren’t on page 1 organically for the typical search terms they use, then you need to pay to be there. You only are charged if people click the ads, so it’s an excellent way to simply build brand awareness as well.

By investing enough time and effort into lead generation, you can make sure that your business is properly situated for future growth. If you neglect lead generation, on the other hand, your business will suffer. Do not let this happen to you.

Have a fantastic day.

Why Facebook Marketing Beats Peanut Butter on Pancakes

Technically Facebook Marketing has less calories than peanut butter on pancakes!  Dang! Doesn’t that look yummy though?shutterstock_255612790

Facebook marketing is a great tool for entrepreneurs to appeal to a larger audience while gaining feedback on your goods or services. Because it’s easier to respond directly to customers, a relationship can be easily built. People buy from those they like, know and trust.

  1. Fan Page/Business Page:  If you haven’t already set up a fan page or business page do so now because Facebook does not allow you market your personal page through ads.  With your fan page / business page, each like becomes a lead to your business.  Every like on your page will begin your all important list.  We will talk more about that and how to market to those that are looking for exactly what you offer.
  2. Custom Tabs: When you first create your fan page or business Facebook page, you’ll have general tabs like the wall and info tabs. Extend your capabilities by creating your own custom tabs. Some businesses have tabs that contain links to various kinds of content like products, newsletters, and ongoing contests.
  3. Goals/Expectations:  Set your goals and expectations for your Facebook marketing campaign. This includes your budget – how much do you want to spend either daily or monthly.
  4. Discounts/Offers:  These are hot buttons for restaurants, dry cleaners, and other brick and mortar businesses.  OfferWant More Followers a discount or a freebie on your fan page / business page to increase followers, and will encourage your followers to share the offer. When people share your offer, you are exposing your business to additional customers that may not have heard of you.
  5. Caution:  If you decide to subscribe to updates from other Facebook pages, make sure you do not subscribe to brands you are competing against. Choose pages that will help you create a positive image for your brand. If you want to share other updates with your own following, remember that your brand will thus become associated with that page.
  6. How To Post: When you post content, one of your intentions should be to elicit responses from your community. Therefore, think about each post and figure out how to phrase things so that people will want to comment on what you have to say. Explicitly asking for opinions is one of the best ways to do this.
  7. Be Real:  This one is a BIG one!  Be yourself and be real.  Don’t overcomplicate it.  As you are writing your content, place yourself in front of your perfect customer and write as if you are talking directly to that customer.

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10 Tips for Writing Emails that Get Read

Email ListAre You Using Email To Your Advantage?

Don’t Miss These Tips for Writing Emails that Get Read

 

 

  1.  Create an Email that is Highly Anticipated.    When you check your inbox do you gravitate to opening an email from a friend or corporation?  Silly question right?  Of course, it’s from your friend. When addressing your email to your list, personalize it, write it as if you are corresponding with your friend – making it about one person not your entire list.  Write your email in a respectful voice as if you are sitting next to the person reading your email.
  2. Subject Line.  Think of a subject line that would make you want to open it.    Take it one step further, and think of your subject line as a magazine headline.  Have you been at the grocery checkout line and a certain magazine cover catches your attention?  That is how you want your email subject line to read!
  3. Promise.  Give your reader value by providing them a promise they will learn whatever your niche is.  As you continue to email your readers and they continue to receive value through your content, your reader know, like and trust you, which in turn means your emails will be opened and read.
  4. Avoid using the words “list,” “newsletter” or other similar meanings.  Today email is the quickest and least expensive way to broadcast to the masses.  When an email is received by your reader, the person quickly determines is there something in it for me.  If your reader feels they are on a list or receiving a newsletter, you got it – the email is transferred to the round file (trash).   Using words like “thank you for opting into my list” or “congrats on joining my newsletter” most likely your reader will skip over your email.
  5. Use Your Name.  This is obvious but how many times have you received an email where you have no idea who it’s from?  Did you open the email?  Bet not.  Just like personalizing your message to one reader, be a real sender!  Using your name is also a branding aspect.
  6. Don’t be Creepy.  Ever get an email and all through the email your name is repeated over and over?  Kind of feels creepy, huh?  That is an email that is full of scripts and reads like a call center.
  7. Be Understanding.  Be on your readers side. Tell them you understand their struggles. Empathize with them, and ask how you can help.
  8. Rewards.  Make sure people benefit from reading your emails. How? Share a useful tip. Make them feel better. Inspire them.
  9. Insert Hyperlinks.  Add hyperlinks within your email because it increases your chances of people clicking that link.
  10. P.S.  Don’t be afraid to add Post Script (P.S.) to your email.  P.S. can be used to to remind your reader of a deadline or use it to repeat what your reader will lose if they don’t take you up on your offer.

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Social Media Posting for Profits

Raise The Profits of Your Business with Social NetworksSocial Media

Do you have some questions on how to post on social media for profit? Awesome! Let’s get started.

Target Audience

Determine who is your target audience, their age, male/female or both, what type of car do they drive, income level, etc.  These are must knows because if your product or service is specifically meant for only men, and you are targeting women you are effectively tossing money out the door by targeting the wrong market.  For more information on drilling down to your target audience, connect with me at Suzette@SuzetteRahn.com.

Company Blog

Providing value through your company blog not only raises awareness of your business, it also provides value to your target audience.  Providing free content to your target audience, allows your audience to know, like and trust you.  Your blog can be in written form, video or both.  Most people are more inclined to watch a quick video than read.  Add to that with many social media users today are using their smart phones to browse social media. Think about what your product or service is, and write or shoot a quick video to share with your target audience.  Here are a couple questions to ask yourself: How does your product or service help your audience?  How can your product or service serve to fix your target audience’s problem? When your audience views you as the problem solver, you also gain more credibility and trust.

Social Media Share 

Once you’ve written your blog, share your blog link on all your social media channels.  (Yes, your business should have a Facebook Fan Page or Business Page, YouTube Channel, Twitter Account, LinkedIn, etc.)

To boost your page engagement, also run contests, ask interesting questions and displaying intriguing pictures.  It is a good idea to post at least 3 – 5 times a day on social media to keep your audience engaged.

Think with the End in Mind

Another way to think of it is – determine what your end goal is.  Is it to raise awareness of your brand? Is it to bring more customers in the door?  If you end goal is to bring more customers in your door, run a paid promotion through social media marketing. By running your ad, offer customers who see your ad a discount when they purchase.  An example is, “mention this ad in the store, and receive a 10% discount on your purchase.”  If your end goal is to raise awareness of your brand, run a paid ad through like campaigns.  For instance, a Facebook like campaign will bring awareness to your company by specific target marketing.

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