SOLO MOMPRENEUR

Archive for February, 2010

LinkedIn is a great marketing platform for building your business and for making b2b connections.

William Bernbach said, “An idea can turn to dust or magic depending on the talent that rubs against it.”

Here are 6 ways to give your inner being a makeover and increase your visibility and credibility:

1.)  Become an expert at “stating” your expertise – Step up and Claim it!

What problems do you solve?  Who do you help?  What real world training or life experience do you have?  What awards have you won or books have you written?  Have a sense of self-worth. Experts with sizzle share information “memorably”.  Draw upon your creativity, sense of humor, and energy.

2.)  Understand where your target market gets information

Start a “wish list”.  Identify three venues where you want to be known.  Become the Go-To person.  Don’t be ORDINARY.  Set yourself apart from others in your field.  Personally brand YOU.  Your personality and unique FLAIR are as special as your fingerprints.

3.)  Create an ROI (Return On Investment) Plan

Figure out what you want in return.  More web traffic?  Increased opt-in rate?  Increased credibility?  Publicity?  Fame leads to fortune.

4.)  Be a trend watcher

Open yourself to new venues, formats, and opportunities.  Follow the top ten bloggers in your niche.  What are they talking about?  Subscribe to a weekly ezine that will keep you updated on the latest trends in your industry. Utilize social media to stay informed – what are the  latest hop topics of discussion on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.?  Awareness is powerful.

5.)  Toot your own horn

Create some Buzz!  Create some Fans!  Exude confidence.  Find your passion and work with your strengths.  Share your accomplishments.  Get powerful testimonials to serve as social proof and increase your perceived value.  Accept invitations to do presentations, teleclasses, or seminars. Become a sought after, recognized expert.

6.)  Publish or Perish

Get seen by more people.  Publish articles in online article directories.  Blog, blog, and blog some more.  Take a look at the VALUE of the information you supply.  Through writing, you can bottle and sell your expertise.  Imagine your ideal visibility level and focus on CREDIBILITY- the quality of being believable, trustworthy, transparent, and authentic.

Travel Off the Beaten Path, Stand Out and Sizzle!

I love Max.  He’s a real sweetheart.  We’ve been together for eight glorious years.  He wears a perpetual smile on his face and he’s never in a bad mood.  I don’t know how he does it!  I wish I knew his secret.  He shows appreciation for the littlest things in life and he’s as pleasant as the day is long.  He’s handsome, too.

When I walk in the door from work, Max greets me with kiss after kiss.  He acts as if he hasn’t seen me in a hundred years.  I cherish his playfulness.  And believe me, I stop and count my blessings and my lucky stars! Whenever I’ve had a particularly trying day, he has a special talent for lifting my spirits.  I’ll attribute this talent to his sweet  and very gentle nature.

Max adds warmth and joy and companionship to my life every day.  He’s the kind of partner I wish everyone could have. I treasure every moment with him and I pray he’ll be around for a long time.  Oh, by the way, Max is my dog.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

You can choose to bury your head in the sand or sweep the fact under the rug, but …

Social Media sites are here to stay.

Online visibility and credibility expert, Nancy Marmolejo, answers “Why Social Networking?” in her Free Action Guide. It’s a great read!

Take a minute to share your thoughts:

How are you incorporating social networking into your marketing strategy?  Which social media site do you use most?  Why? Post your comments below.

Social media marketing is absolutely necessary if you’re trying to build your business online.  You can’t ignore the fact, sweep it under the rug, or crawl into a hole of denial. Just take a look at television ads these days.  Social media sites are here to stay.

The last I heard, Twitter is growing in popularity by 40% a month!  If you haven’t figured out how to utilize Twitter as a marketing tool, let me help you get on board in the most effective ways possible.

Keep these guidelines handy for using Twitter as a marketing tool:

1.)  Provide Value

2.)  Create anticipation

3.)  Drive conversation

4.)  Showcase your biz

5.)  Announce something important

6.)  Build community

7.)  Be helpful

8.)  Brag a bit! You deserve it

9.)  Show a little personality

10.) Experiment with giveaways, discounts, and contests

As a general rule, less than 10% of your Tweets should involve any kind of selling or promoting.  So what should you be Tweeting about?

Re-Tweet information from your followers that you find useful, funny, or relevant. Share Twitpics – the most opened links on Twitter!  Communitcate newsworthy items and events and be sure to ask your followers to Re-Tweet the messages for you. Speak in your authentic voice and show why your biz and you are cool.  Send out welcome Tweets to new followers (no selling) and become the go-to person in your niche by providing helpful tips and resources and answering questions from your target market.  Promote what you want to promote, but make building relationships your highest priority.

Not quite sure how to “brag” the right way on Twitter? The biggest challenge is getting over the “fear” of bragging. After all, you don’t want to sound like a used car salesman. My friend and colleague, Cathy Goodwin, can help.  Just get her mp3 recording and 25-page workbook by going to:
BRAGGING 101 (This is my affiliate link and I give it my highest recommendation) Teeny-Tiny investment and Big results.

The bottom line is that if you aren’t utilizing Facebook as one of your main marketing platforms, you NEED to jump on board. Service professionals, authors, consultants, and other small business owners are realizing revolutionary results on Facebook.  So why shouldn’t YOU?

I know I’m looking forward to making a big splash on Facebook and I hope you’ll join me and my friend and colleague, Jessica Swanson, the “Shoestring Marketer”, for a Free Profitable Facebook Marketing Webinar this Thursday, February 11th.

As an extra special bonus, you’ll receive a link to the video recording, a downloadable PDF workbook, and a step-by-step action plan.

Seats are limited so I suggest you RUN, not walk to register for this complementary event!

If you answered “YES” to the question in my title, you’d be right!