SOLO MOMPRENEUR

Archive for the ‘Online Promotions’ Category

And no wonder!

I’ve lived under the same roof with twin daughters who have been HIGHLY competitive since they left the womb.

Try living with two 4.2 GPA students who get into heated discussions (okay, they’re actually arguments) over the fact that one got a score of 103% on an exam and the other got 104%.  Sheesh!!  And the competition ensues with the very next exam and we’re right back on the “Who’s better/smarter” merry-go-round again.

And I’ll spare you the sordid details of the “Who’s more beautiful” competition.  That one gets REAL “ugly”.

I hesitated registering them for different sports like softball and volleyball they wanted to play throughout their school years.  I probably don’t have to tell you why.

The score sheets we were keeping had NOTHING to do with whether their teams won or lost a game.  You can just go ahead and use your imagination here.

So it’s no revelation that I tend to shy away from competitions.  Just the thought of competing in something brings on a tension headache and ties my stomach in knots.

I prefer to view everyone as winners.  We’re all good at something, right?

However …

There is such a thing as “healthy” competition that gives you the opportunity to stretch your mind, fine tune your skills, or move a bit out of your comfort zone.

I’ve entered just such a competition and as a fellow blogger, I think you should think about entering, too!

Check it out but you’ve got to hurry!  BLOG ENERGIZER

The deadline to submit your 5 blogging questions is TOMORROW – August 10^th.

In part one and part two of this series, you’ve learned about different business models, how to zero in on your affiliate marketing personality, and the cool advantages of becoming an affiliate marketer.

In Part 3,  I want to share some expert tips on how to be successful by promoting and recommending other people’s products, programs, and services.

Tip #1

Dip Your Toe In First

Trying to start up too many sites and affiliate programs when you first begin as an affiliate marketer can mean you won’t have enough quality time and energy to dedicate to each one.  Beginning with one website and a handful (3-5) of relevant affiliate products will give you a chance to learn the ropes.  Once you have found the winning formula, you can repeat it over and over again.

Tip #2

Believe In The Products You Promote

Make sure you purchase and test any product you intend to promote before you begin to sell it.  By recommending it to your target audience, you are putting your reputation on the line! So making sure the product does what it claims is just good business sense.

Check out the company selling the product you are promoting.  Is their customer service up to your standards?  Is their site professional and easy to navigate? Will they treat your customers as you would treat them yourself?

Tip #3

Let’s Talk Money

Check out the payment terms of each affiliate program you join.  What percentage can you expect to get from each sale or will it be a fixed dollar amount?  Will you be paid only for the sale, or will you get commission for each sales lead you generate?  If an affiliate program pays out less than 40% in commissions, I wouldn’t consider joining.  Most pay 50% and some as high as 75%.  Now we’re talking!

Tip #4

Use The Resources In Your Affiliate Members Area

When you join an affiliate program, check your affiliate back office to see what marketing materials have been created for you to use in your promotional and business-building efforts.  These may include email marketing messages, text links, articles, blog posts, graphics, banner ads, Facebook updates, and Tweets for social media marketing.

Some affiliate program owners choose to email you affiliate tips and marketing materials over a 30-day period after you join their program in lieu of having these items stored in the affiliate members area.  In that case, you’ll need to create a file to keep those items handy.

Tip #5

Grab Your Megaphone

You can have a great website promoting high quality affiliate products and fantastic sales copy that would convince the most skeptical visitor to buy, but if you don’t have any traffic to your site, you are not going to make any money.  Successful affiliates spend around 75% of their time and energy on marketing – through e-books, articles, social media venues, classified ads, free reports, tips booklets, and blogging (my favorite).

The beauty of affiliate marketing is that anyone can do it – exclusively or as an addendum to your existing business.

See you for Part 4!

Although I’ve been a medical professional for many years, I’m not talking about medical emergencies here.  Let’s put all of those into the hands of the skilled and fine emergency room physicians.

However, I do want to talk about what you can do to put a band-aid on your business in case of a solo entrepreneur emergency.

If you’re brand new to the internet, you’ll want to keep a big box of these band-aids on hand.

You’ll need a smaller supply if you’re a seasoned solo professional and you experience only an occasional cut or scrape.

Whether you’ve been a solo pro for years or you’re just getting your internet biz off the ground …

You need affiliate marketing band-aids!

You’ve been a “promotion and recommendation” expert since kindergarten.

When you got a new toy for your birthday, you shared it and showed it off to your friends.  And when you put on a spiffy new pair of Keds sneakers, you instantly became a walking advertisement – literally and figuratively!

In this series, I’ll be talking about how you can rely on affiliate marketing to create streams of income or heal a drop in sales.

To begin this journey with me, grab a FREE copy of Affiliate Classroom Magazine and read the comparison of different affiliate marketing business models.  No, I am not an affiliate for this magazine.

Choose a business model that fits your goals and your personality.

See you for Part 2!

Got 15 seconds?

May I please ask for your vote? If so, just click the image.

I can count the number of contests, sweepstakes, and drawings I’ve entered on one hand.  Most of the invitations I receive are nothing but cleverly-disguised advertisements and a means of getting my name on a list to continue to advertise to me.

Not so in this case.  The 2010 competition for “Leading Moms In Business” is sponsored by reputable online marketing organizations with the goal of genuinely helping the winner to accelerate her business success and boost her online visibility and credibility.

I’m up against some pretty stiff competition!  And some of the entrants are way out ahead of me already.

Your vote matters and I would sincerely appreciate your support.  If you’d like to set up a daily voting reminder, that would be awesome.

THANK YOU!

Some solo professionals and small business owners really enjoy writing and others prefer speaking.

You don’t have to have a college degree in communications or specialized training to use speaking as a strategy to promote your products or services.

If you enjoy using your voice to build your online business, teleseminars are a fantastic marketing platform. You can invite your e-newsletter subscribers, blog readers, customers, current clients, and social networking friends to attend your teleseminar.

For those that can’t attend, be sure to provide a “replay” link so they can listen to the presentation at their own convenience.

If you spend time on my website, you’ll quickly figure out that I’m a big fan of “Free”. So here are four No-Cost teleseminar resources for you to check out:

1. FreeConferenceCall.com
2. NoCostConference.com
3. FreeConference.com
4. FreeConferenceCalling.com

Speak up! Speak out! Using your voice is a very effective way to share your expertise, showcase your talents, and let your personality and pizazz shine through.

Babies are soft and sweet and gentle, wouldn’t you agree?

But sometimes they can be doggone loud!

Those are the moments they will instantly and effectively grab your attention, awaken you from a sound sleep, call you away from the dinner table, or even cut your shower super short.

What can you learn from babies that will help you market your business online?

Babies are great at taking center stage, tooting their own horns, and getting someone to take action. And that’s exactly what you need to do as an online marketer in order to reach your business goals.

Pardon the pun, but you can’t take “baby steps” and be shy about it. Many solo professionals I’ve met would rather do a root canal on a Rottweiler than promote themselves. They’re afraid of coming across as sales-y and no one likes a pain-in-the-patootie sales person.

I’m not suggesting you annoy your target market by pitching, pouncing, prodding, and pestering (loud and obnoxious never wins any awards). Instead, learn how to become an expert at Bragging — the right way.

Your clients and potential clients want to work with a winner, someone who is skilled at alleviating their pain and solving their problems. They want you to brag and they want to brag about you.

Ask yourself these questions as you put together your marketing messages: “Why would someone want to hire YOU? What are your strongest selling points that set you apart and make you stand out? If someone were to brag about you, what would they say?”

Friend and colleague, Cathy Goodwin of Copy Cat Copywriting, has an mp3 recording and 25-page workbook called Bragging101 for under twenty dollars that is a phenomenal tool that teaches you how to market confidently without sounding like a used car salesman. I use it in my own business and refer back to it often. If you have a fear of bragging, check it out.

If your current marketing strategy and self-promotion resembles that of a sleeping baby, it’s time to wake it up!

Prefer to listen to this post?

Do you think you could you sell a bathing suit to a fish?

Fish spend all their time in water and do a lot of swimming, right?!

And how about selling shoes to a dog?

Dogs have four feet and do a lot of walking, right?!

But fish don’t need bathing suits and dogs don’t need shoes.

Fish might want a larger aquarium to swim around in, additional fish in the tank to keep them company, or some new exotic fish food to sample.

And dogs might want some doggie treats, a new toy, or a nice comfy bed for all those naps they seem to enjoy every day.

As a small business owner and online marketer, it’s much more savvy to sell people what they WANT, not what they need!

Let’s say you’re an artsy-craftsy kind of person and you’re in the business of sculpting figurines in the shape of cats.

Instead of marketing and promoting your cat sculptures in newspapers, trade publications for artists, or art-related venues online …

Find out where cat lovers hang out and share your expertise! Look for them in forums, groups, on Twitter, or research cat-loving blogs and articles.

Tell cat lovers why you chose this art form, why cats inspire you, what motivates you as an artist, your favorite kinds of cats, big sculpting boo-boos you’ve made along the way, etc.

Cat lovers certainly don’t NEED a cat sculpture, but they sure might WANT one!

Do you see the difference here?  Can you think of some ways you might change your marketing efforts and strategies to get better results and enjoy greater success?

Invaluable PR
This kind of publicity can be priceless!

We all know that awareness and driving traffic to your business is one of the biggest challenges for any business owner. Winners of the Leading Moms in Business Ranking will be part of a very high profile list that will be published and promoted widely in traditional media such as national and local TV, radio, in newspapers and magazines, and on some of the largest, most influential websites on the web. MSN, Bizjournals, ABC News NOW (and StartupNation, of course) have been among media covering the rankings and spreading the word about these enterprising moms.

If you have a mom-owned business, Enter Here

When you arrive on the page to get more details and submit your business, will you please cast a quick vote for me?  Thank You!

I rarely enter competitions such as this.  However, I am making an exception since the competition is being sponsored by “Ladies Who Launch” and “StartUpNation”.  They have a stellar reputation.

While we’re on the subject of Public Relations …

My mentor and colleague, Jessica Swanson, is hosting a complimentary webinar tomorrow evening 5/20 entitled, “Profitable Public Relations”.

Grab your No-cost seat now

I’ll tell you a little secret …

I’ve already seen the webinar and it’s out-of-this-world wonderful!  As a member of Jessica’s Shoestring Marketing Association, I have the joy and privilege of viewing webinars in advance of the general public.

All I can say is DON’T MISS IT!

You can call your Twitter followers any endearing name you like.  I call my followers “Peeps”.

Twitter is a cool little micro blogging platform that small business owners should not overlook or discount.  It’s one of the top venues for establishing authentic relationships, sharing your expertise, and building your brand.  So the rumors are not true.  Twitter is NOT a waste of time.

Without question, Twitter is my all time favorite social media marketing site.  I like the rapid fire conversations and the challenge of keeping posts at 140 characters or less.

If you’re looking for an ALL-INCLUSIVE FREE Twitter webinar on how to “Twitter Your Way To The Top”, mark your calendar for April 29^th.  My friend and colleague, Jessica Swanson, founder of Shoestring Marketing, will be the host.  All of Jessica’s webinars are jam packed with tons of information, tips, resources, and action plans!

Some online marketers seem to be at a loss for WHAT to Tweet about.  Here’s a list that will help to lift the fog and eliminate the confusion:

• Use interesting quotes related to your target market
• Talk to your followers with @replies
• Link to someone’s blog, article, video, podcast, or picture
• Ask questions
• Answer questions
  
• Re-Tweet valuable and helpful information
  
• Announce an upcoming event (webinar, teleseminar, meet up)
• Make a comment
• Pay a compliment
  
• Use #hashtags (www.Hashtags.org)
• Introduce followers to your products, programs, and services
• Post a survey
• Take a poll
• Create Twitter lists
• Share Biz Tips and Tools
  

20% of your posts should be promotional and 80% should consist of interaction, instruction, and education.

If you follow this rule of thumb, you’re going to generate traffic to your site and obtain qualified leads for your business!

Here’s the link again to the Free webinar: “Twitter Your Way To The Top”

Either there’s a whole lot of really brilliant online marketers who are exhausted, overworked, careless, or suffering miserably from absentmindedness …

OR …

“Oops!” is a new marketing strategy and no one invited me to a webinar to learn about it!  Didn’t get an invitation to an Oops teleseminar, haven’t seen anyone Tweeting about it, and I haven’t seen one mention in any of the ezines I read.

Do you think some exclusive and secretive Oops group is purposely leaving me out of the loop?  I’ve got my suspicions and I’m beginning to wonder because …

Rarely does a day go by that I don’t find one of the following in an email subject line:

• Oops! I sent the wrong link
• Oops! You missed the deadline
• Oops! I forgot to mention
• Oops! I’m sorry you couldn’t attend
• Oops! I should have sent this yesterday
• Oops! Looks like you missed this
• Oops! The call has been rescheduled
• Oops! The early bird discount expired
• Oops! Here’s the corrected link
• Oops! I didn’t mean to do that

Is it just me?  Or are you getting “Oops!’d”, too?

All kidding aside, I know that sometimes we just get in a hurry and make a mistake.