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Overcoming The Challenge Of Getting An Audience In Your Virtual Seats

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Nothing spells disappointment like spending weeks or months creating, planning, organizing, and marketing a virtual event …

And then having no one show up or just a sparse handful of attendees.

Ouch!

3 Biggest Virtual Event Promo Challenges

1.)  You may not have a large network of contacts.
2.)  You may not have the resources to reach the people you want to connect with.
3.)  You may be an expert in your niche, but you may not be great at marketing.

Even if you’re not currently using virtual events to grow your business, read on anyway.  

You may be surprised to receive an unexpected invitation to co-host a teleseminar or webinar or be interviewed on Blog Talk Radio.  

So take the boy scout/girl scout approach and be prepared!

Enjoy Over The Top Attendance At Your Next Virtual Event

My colleague and friend, Chris Makell, and I pulled our resources and skills together at the end of 2011 and created a special presentation to help you succesfully promote your virtual events.

If you want to learn how to get an audience in your virtual seats, register at no cost to watch the replay of “Virtually Fantastic Event Promotions!”

You’ll be provided with a handout of event promotional tools.

Then be on the lookout for an opportunity to join me and Chris for a Facebook fan page Q & A session.  We want to get you inspired and motivated to rock your next virtual event!

Watch the replay today.

You’re up to bat …

  • How do you get the word out about your telesminars or webinars?
  • Are you getting awesome attendance at your virtual events?
  • What’s your #1 virtual event promotional strategy?
Filed Under: Promoting virtual events Tagged With: , , , , ,

Help Me Fill “The Brag Bag”

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Did you know your target audience EXPECTS you to brag?

It’s true!

No one wants to work with a loser, right?

Bragging the right way will help you build relationships while you increase sales and revenue.

Everybody likes to hire professionals or purchase products or services they can brag about.

Your potential customers and clients want to hear about …

  • Obstacles you’ve overcome
  • Success stories of clients you’ve worked with
  • Awards you’ve won
  • Contests and challenges you’ve entered or sponsored
  • Your sales volume for the month
  • Those glowing testimonials from happy customers
  • Successful collaborations with colleagues
  • Charities and causes you support and believe in
  • Products or services you offer that help change people’s lives
  • Business-building tools and software you love
  • Coaches and mentors who have helped you succeed
  • The blog post that earned you 100′s of comments
  • Your proudest moment as an entrepreneur
  • Times you’ve been in the spotlight
  • Your secret sauce for success

So don’t believe it when someone tells you “bragging” is bad.  

It’s just the opposite – it’s good for business — and it’s essential to your success.

So …
If you could choose just ONE thing to “brag” about today, what would it be?

Post it in the comment box and let’s see how fast we can fill “The Brag Bag”!

Filed Under: Bragging, Brand yourself online, Building relationships online Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

My Biggest Marketing Mistake In 2011

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I didn’t “ask for the sale” nearly enough times in 2011.

I didn’t stay laser-focused on making money this past year — BIG mistake.  As you know, without sales, you can’t stay in business.

Believe me, I don’t plan on repeating that mistake in 2012.

Does that mean I’m going to pitch, push, prod, and pounce on people at the turn of every corner?

No.

Am I going to include a promotional offer in every blog post and social media update for the next 365 days?

No.

Will I transform myself into an abnoxious unrelenting spammer?

Heavens, no!

But I do intend to work a lot harder on asking for the sale.

What will that work involve?

  • Raising my level of confidence
  • Acknowledging my expertise has value
  • Charging what I’m worth
  • Targeting the right people
  • Testing new marketing platforms and modalities
  • Getting my marketing messages out there in a bigger way
  • Collaborating with colleagues for joint venture success
  • Building more brand awareness
  • Creating more Buzz!

Your turn …

1.  How do you plan to increase your sales in 2012?
2.  What was your biggest marketing mistake this past year?

 

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Merry Marketing! Share Your Holiday Offer

By 56 Comments

Before the jolly bearded man in the red suit comes down the chimney …

I’m inviting you to participate in some Merry Marketing!

Do you have a special holiday offer you’d like to share?

Please use the comment box to post the link to your offer and a few details about the “benefits” of purchasing your product, program, or service.

Hope Santa is good to you this year!

**Note**
Please do not post any MLM or Direct Sales opportunities to join your company.  

Thank you.

Filed Under: Marketing, Online Marketing, Online Promotions Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Twitter Update – What Are You Cooking For Dinner Tonight?

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If your small business is in a culinary niche, then posting a Tweet like “What’s for dinner tonight?” is totally appropriate.  It’s directly related to your business and what you have to offer.

But if you’re NOT in a food-related industry, then what?

Most likely you’ll just “confuse” your audience and we all know what happens when they get confused, right?

They don’t take action.

As online marketers, we sometimes get mixed messages about the most effective ways to use social media to build our businesses.

I’m sure you’ve heard, by now, it’s never socially acceptable to send out a boatload of sales pitches on social media sites.

So if we’re trying to build a business and make sales and we’re not supposed to try to sell anybody anything, then what in the world are we supposed to be sharing with our target audience on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media venues?!

Certainly not what we’re cooking for dinner – once again, unless the information is related to your niche.

Your social media updates need to be a delicate balance of messages in these two categories:

1.)   Relationship-building messages

2.)   Promotional messages

My next post will go into detail and give some specific examples.  Stay tuned.

In the meantime, please give me some of your ideas of what a “relationship-building message” would look like and one that is “promotional” in nature.

Are you sending out both?

Thanks and I’m looking forward to reading your comments.

Filed Under: Blogging, Brand yourself online, Building relationships online, Online Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking Tagged With: , , , ,

5 Expert Tips for Success – Affiliate Marketing Part 3

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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!

 

Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

In Case Of Emergency – Affiliate Marketing Part 1

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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!

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Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, Business Plan, Infopreneurs, Internet Marketing Tools, Making money on the internet, Online Promotions, Small business owners Tagged With: , , , ,

Use Your Voice To Promote Your Products And Services

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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.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tools, Making money on the internet, Online Promotions, Podcasting, Public speaking, Small business owners, Teleseminars Tagged With: , , , ,

Babies Can Teach Us A Lot About Marketing

By 6 Comments

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!

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Filed Under: Bragging, Build an online empire, Making money on the internet, Online Marketing, Online Promotions Tagged With: , , , ,

Selling to People Who Aren’t Even Shopping

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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?

Filed Under: Build an online empire, Business Plan, Following Your Passion, Online Marketing, Online Promotions, Small business owners Tagged With: , ,
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