Five Ways to Boost Your Email List

Building an email list in order to market and promote your products or services is crucial to boosting your profits.

It’s a cliché but the money really is in the list.

Now you might not want to hear this but the majority of people who visit your website will just leave again without interacting or contacting your company.

But you can change that.

First you must entice people who come to your website to hand over their email address.

To do that nowadays web surfers want something in return for their details.

Below are 5 ways to boost your email list:

1. Short Report: You don’t need to spend hours or days slaving over a report. Just a few pages will provide satisfaction and whet their appetite for more of your content. If you need content on your particular business go to Ezine Articles and search under your category for relevant articles. Once you have found a few put them together and add an introduction and a conclusion and there you will have your very own report to give away.

2. Checklists: People love having things simplified, and checklists are perfect for accomplishing this. For example, if you offer any kind of wedding service put together a checklist the bride can follow to plan her big day.

3. Worksheet: These differ from checklists because they’re more interactive, and basically help you brainstorm through something. For instance, if you provide services or information to business owners, you could put together a worksheet that will help them define who their target market is by asking a series of questions.

4. FREE Phone Consultation: Offer potential clients 15 minutes of your time for FREE where you answer their questions and you get to assess their business needs or personal requirements and offer solutions. This also helps build a relationship with them. DON’T hard sell them though.

5. Resources: Help your subscribers save their time by putting together a list of your best business tool that help you make money. Who are your writers, designers, what websites do you frequent for information, etc?

Work out which list building idea will suit your business and try it out.

But You will need an autoresponder to capture people’s email addresses.

The one I use is Aweber and I can’t recommend it highly enough as it is one of the best on the market.

Have You Got A Business Brain?

We aren’t born successful entrepreneurs.

Lord Sugar didn’t just wake up one morning to a business empire.

Duncan Bannatyne didn’t become a millionaire overnight and Michelle Mone didn’t create the perfect bra in a heartbeat.

It took all these leading business figures years to build up their companies and become a success.

All three are down to earth people but all three have business traits which set them apart from the rest.

You too can have business success but it requires some key elements.

You Have to Take Action

If you sit around waiting for tomorrow to arrive then chances are your business might be struggling.

To be a success in business you have to take action now.

You can’t put things off, instead you get round to doing them now- that could mean developing a new product, launching a new product, networking or trying out new marketing methods.

You have to be obsessed with taking action.

Those who constantly take action have been proven to have successful businesses.

Those who take action quicker than their competitors win in this economy.

Don’t make excuses about not doing something.

DO IT NOW!

Spin Some Plates

Organised chaos.

It’s a skill when running a business to have several things going on at once but managing to keep control of all of them.

When you’re taking action you do it on many different levels not just step by step in one project.

Do as much as you can because out of the chaos will come success.

Company owners who do things step by step will see their business struggle.

Fail Fast

Failure is a dirty word in business for the majority but for the successful minority it’s a word in which they embrace.

In business you’ll fail at something whether that’s your first business venture, a recent project you’ve embarked on or the latest marketing method you’ve tried.

But instead of a moment of frustration and anger look at your failure as a lesson to be learned.

By failing fast you are learning fast.

We all have setbacks in business but it’s what you do with them that will set you apart from the rest.

You have to have a different approach to failure in order to succeed.

Be a Multi-Level Marketer

To be a success you have to be great at marketing.

Marketing is one of the biggest parts of your business and the sooner you see that the better.

There are so many marketing methods out there that your competitor won’t be trying.

It’s up to you to be trying different strategies and roll them out.

Marketing has changed in recent years and so has the way customers buy.

You have to be one step ahead and marketing is the way to do that.

You Have to Have a Thick Skin

As your business grows so will the amount of criticism you get.

Jealousy is a nightmare and it’s something you will experience.

The best way to combat it is by IGNORING it.

You have to keep focussed as criticism can come from all angles including your competitors, your family and even the media.

Don’t let anyone slow you down.

More than 95% of businesses are struggling in this current economic climate but there is a small percentage who’re thriving and that’s because they all have the above qualities in common.

Do You Have a Business Brain?

Five Ways Graphics Can Hurt Your Online Business

A web with no graphics would be a bit like chili without the seasoning!

Graphics, photos and clipart are to your website as spices are to your cooking – enhancing the experiencing and leaving you with a more memorable experience.

However, just as food can be too spicy, there can be too many images on the page ruining the experience, so you’ll need to find a happy, medium.

Too many images can actually turn visitors away. So what type of graphics will harm more than help your website?

Let’s have a look at 5 ways graphics can hurt your online business:

Too Large

When images are too large they can be too slow to load and they can also take away from the text. The purpose of the image is usually to help convey an idea relating to the content. When the image takes up too much of the screen, the visitor can be distracted missing the purpose of the site.

Inappropriate

When your website is a business design, you need to focus on the content of your pages and the overall message they project. You need to ensure the images you use are appropriate and reflect your business values correctly. If you do not present your image appropriately to the audience you are targeting it could be more detrimental than helpful.

Poor Quality Images

Using images that are unclear, fuzzy, poorly centered or amateur in other ways will be reflected in the assumption your business is also amateurish. No images are better than poor quality images.

Illegal Images

There’s a lot of creative images on the internet and you might do a right click and save without thinking much about it. The problem is that if you use these images on your website and you may find yourself facing copyright infringement. Use only those images that are royalty free unless you have permission to use others.

Ignoring the Use of the ALT Tag

Many people ignore the ALT tags, not realizing just how important it is. The alt tag is like a free sign to your website. Without the use of the ALT tag, your website is at a disadvantage for visitors and you will also be non-compliant when it comes to web standards.

Knowing how graphics can hurt your website as well as help your site will help you to build your web presence in a manner that keeps your visitors interested in what your website has to offer.

Five Ways to Market Your Business for FREE

Getting the word out about your business or product doesn’t have to cost you the earth.

In fact sometimes the best marketing methods are absolutely FREE

Below are five of the best methods.

Let’s get cracking.

Email Marketing

I’m still amazed at the amount of businesses that don’t use emails as part of their marketing campaigns. I think people think they are too good to be true because they are free. But in order to be successful with email marketing you have to build up your list of email addresses. So each time you are in contact with a customer or a potential customer ask them for their email address. Now for many people they don’t like handing over their email addresses so in order to get round that offer them something for free. That could be a free report, a free e-book or a free service.  If you give something free of charge then customers will part with their email addresses. Email marketing is perfect for building a relationship with potential clients. Email your customers at least a few times a month. Don’t bombard them with sales pitches though, offer them information that will help them. Hard selling will just make them unsubscribe from your email list. Make your emails simple and keep them friendly and personalised. Large amounts of money can be made from emails. Give it a go.

PR

Write a press release about your business and fire it out to newspapers, magazines, radio, TV and websites. But make sure what you have to say is interesting otherwise it will go straight into the bin at the other end. Being a journalist I have been sent thousands of shit press releases over the years. I don’t care if your managing director has won an award for implementing some dull strategy. Your press release has to grab journalist’s attention. It must have a catchy headline. The first paragraph is the most crucial as it must want me to read on and find out more. And please put proper contact details on your press release. It’s unbelievable how many press releases I get sent which don’t have a phone number on them. No matter what your line of business is you will have information that will benefit people. Become an expert in your field. Producers and journalists are always looking for ways of filling their shows, columns and news bulletins so don’t be afraid to get in touch with them. PR can produce coverage that would cost you thousands if you had of paid for it. Being featured in a publication or broadcast also gives your company more credibility than if it was just an advert.

Increase Your Prices

It sounds crazy in a recession but it works. People don’t buy products on price and if you seem a bit dearer than your competitors then that makes it seem like your products have more sustenance or quality. Test it out. Increase your prices by 10% and see what happens. By doing that the difference on your bottom line with be happy viewing. Also if you employ more marketing techniques then your business will get stronger so you can afford to put your prices up slightly. I know there will be a few of you reading this thinking ‘How can I justify this to customers?’ well you have to back up your higher prices with information on how your product or service will be worth the money and how you pay for what you get in terms of great service and customer satisfaction from you.

Social Networking

If your business hasn’t got a Facebook page or a Twitter account or BOTH then you could be missing out on some serious profits. In this day and age your business has to embrace the internet as there is so much money to be made online. Social networking is FREE and it helps to build a relationship with your customers. Facebook and Twitter may seem complicated if you are not on them but trust me they are simple to use. Get online and set up a page today and start building up your business friends lists. Every day post a few messages on them. Again give people FREE info and tips regarding whatever line of work you are in. Also don’t be afraid to personalise messages on them too. Your customers are human and to build up a relationship you have to show that you are human too. Once you establish trust with potential clients it will become easier to sell to them.

Joint Ventures

A wee while ago now a TV company I was working for went into administration and I was made redundant. So to make a bit of cash I launched a production company which consisted of a cameraman, a picture editor and myself and I started contacting marketing companies to see if we could film corporate videos they were commissioned to make from their clients. All I did was make contact with them by phone or email or in person and provided a sample of my work. Some responded to me, some didn’t but the best part some HIRED my team and I. The point I’m making is your business has services or products that could mutually benefit other companies. Other companies have a client lists you can get access to that would take you years to build up. Do a deal with a company which allows them to make money by selling your service or product to their clients. If you are a wedding photographer join up with a wedding videographer and sell a joint package to couples. Set up a couple of joint ventures with other businesses and watch your profits soar. It’s like having another sales team without you paying them. Aim to set up one joint venture a month and sit back and watch your business grow.