(Cyclones) Your Fortune is in the Follow Up!
No commentsBy Alexandria Brown
Would you blow your entire annual marketing budget on just one ad to run once during the Superbowl?
Of course you wouldn’t. You know that people seeing your message just once wouldn’t be enough.
Then why do we tend to spend our time and dollars on single-shot marketing, rather than repeated messages?
The answer is… most folks just don’t know any better. Or, perhaps it seems boring to repeat your message over and over and over and over.
But the truth is, your fortune is in the follow up!
This past weekend I went to hear direct marketing master Bill Glazer (my marketing mentor who runs Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle (along with Dan Kennedy) speak at a conference here in Los Angeles. During his talk, he shared with the audience how he spent the last few decades of his life running Baltimore’s #1 retail men’s clothing store, Gage Menswear, along with his late father.
Bill talked about one of his first direct mail campaigns, and how during the planning stages he announced to his dad that they were going to mail a special promotional offer to the same list not once, not twice, but three times. His father was appalled and yelled at Bill that he was crazy and was wasting their money!
Bill persisted and mailed all three pieces of the campaign. Well, their results revealed that mailing the exact same offer three times not only increased their response, it DOUBLED their response! Pop was floored, and he sure was delighted with the flurry of sales that came in. From that point on he also trusted Bill with their marketing dollars.
Why does repeating your message work? online newsletters writing
It’s simple… people are inundated with messages every day. Last statistic I heard was each of us sees over 3,700 distinct messages a day! That means you need to repeat yourself over and over if you’re going to break through the clutter, actually get their attention, get them to read or listen AND get them to respond.
Your assignment is to now look at all areas of your marketing and advertising in your business, and see where you need to add some follow up.
Some quick places to look at:
Your Ezines - Are you publishing your ezine enough? Once a month just doesn’t cut it anymore. You should be reaching out and “touching” your prospects and customers at least once a week, if not more. (If you’re running out of ideas or you’re not sure how to do this without bugging folks, my ezine system takes care of that for you!)
Teleseminars and Live Events - When promoting events, you’re going to need many more than one or two announcements or mailings. As a general rule, when I’m really trying to fill up a teleseminar (phone seminar) I sent out at least three emails dedicated to the promotion. For live events, you need dozens of messages, and well ahead of time. Most of the trainers I know start marketing no less than six months ahead of any live event they’re hosting!
One-on-One Marketing - If you cold call or mail out letters to prospects, how many times are you following up? Don’t be afraid to call or mail again. I myself have finally responded to an offer after I’ve been contacted several times, and was glad the vendor took the initiative to follow up.
Advertising - Instead of blowing your budget on a few large ads per year, try running a smaller ad much more often! Also most publications, both online and offline, will usually give you big discounts for purchasing more than one ad at a time. (I do this with ads in my own ezine, Straight Shooter Marketing.)
Remember, many marketing experts who test all these strategies say that repetition is the key. So don’t even feel you have to be creative with your marketing - just saying or mailing the same thing over and over is better than not saying it or mailing it again.
Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” publishes the award-winning ‘Straight Shooter Marketing’ weekly email newsletter with 20,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at
www.EzineQueen.com
Recycle Your Articles to Gain Tons of Traffic and New Subscribers
By Alexandria Brown
While there are many effective ways to get more traffic and build your email newsletter list, the one Ive had the MOST success with is to submit articles for use on other peoples websites and in their ezines.
But wait a minute, you say. Arent I supposed to be creating great articles for MY OWN e-zine?
Yes, you are! And after your article appears in your OWN e-zine, you should then submit it to others. Over the past few years, Ive found this to be the best way to get traffic, build my list, and increase my sales, for five reasons:
1) You can quickly gain FREE exposure to TENS OF THOUSANDS (or even HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS) of untapped prospects at a time. There are many high-traffic sites and ezines with high readerships that are looking for content from people like YOU.
2) Articles let you educate and share good information with your prospects. They also position you as an expert in their eyes, so theyll think of YOU as the most respected resource in your field. (Traditional ads dont do that for you.)
3) You have the right to promote yourself, your business, and whatever else you want at the end of every article. And anyone using your article must keep this information intact. (More on that in a minute.)
4) This is a tried-and-true method that will NEVER stop working, unlike the latest and greatest gimmicks to spoof the search engines. (Try one of those and see how quickly your traffic halts once the bottom drops out.) Search engines love real content and will always love real content.
5) Its EASY, and anyone can do it!
HERES HOW TO GET STARTED
1. PICK A WINNER
Browse through your archives and pick an insightful article that really showcases your expertise. Or, if this is new to you, write a basic article on your subject of expertise. (Not a good writer, or need help? Hire a writer from Elance.com.)
2. POLISH IT TIL IT SHINES
Publishers will not be interested in your article if it contains typos, misspelled words, grammatical errors, or inactive Web links these goofs would compromise the integrity of their publications. So make sure its Kosher!
3. ADD A COPYRIGHT NOTICE
At the end of the article, insert a copyright notice, dated when you first published the article. Example: 2005 Alexandria K. Brown
4. WRITE A JAZZY RESOURCE BOX
In exchange for your letting other publishers reprint your article, its customary to require they include the contact information you provide. This is usually called the resource box and it should come RIGHT after your copyright notice. Heres where you can ham it up.
Dont waste time promoting your actual business in the resource box. Why? Remember your #1 goal is always to get prospects on your LIST. Youll gain MORE clients and customers by FIRST getting them to subscribe to your FREE ezine or special report. THEN youve got them! Youll be in front of them regularly, and thats when theyll understand why they should hire you or buy your products.
5. SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE TO ONLINE CONTENT DIRECTORIES
There are hundreds of free content Web sites and announcement lists where you can submit your articles for other publishers to use. Some even let you include a picture and other information about your website. One of my favorites is EzineArticles.com.
6. SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE DIRECTLY TO APPROPRIATE PUBLISHERS
For best results, take the bull by the horns and contact publishers directly. But not just any publishers ones with e-zines that accept articles AND whose readers are your ideal clients and customers. A great place to start your search and build your own list is Charlie Pages Directory of E-zines.
7. AUTOMATE THE ENTIRE PROCESS
I know youre probably thinking right now, OK Ali, this sounds great, but isnt this going to be time consuming?
The answer is most definitely YES. In the past, youd have to spend several hours a week just to get one article out there. Its a lot of administrative work, requiring time that you probably dont have.
But my friend Jason Potash has just released his brand new ARTICLE ANNOUNCER software that does all this work FOR you. It blasts out your articles to hundreds of directories, publishers, and other sources to help generate a slew of web visitors to your site, month after month.
My staff and I have tested Jasons Article Announcer product and wholeheartedly recommend it. I urge you to see Jasons information page NOW, and grab your own copy before the price goes UP in just a few days.
Remember also that if you dont want to do any of your own article marketing yourself, its a perfect task to pass on to an assistant, intern, or freelancer. The key is getting it down to a SYSTEM, which is what this software helps you do.
Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, The E-zine Queen, is creator of the award-winning Boost Business With Your Own E-zine system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for her FREE how-to ezine marketing articles and FREE audio class, visit www.EzineQueen.com
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Get More Sales With These 5 Proven Headlines
By Alexandria Brown
It’s important to realize that headlines work best when they appeal to your reader’s interests (not yours). And not only can they *grab attention*, they can also make your message easy to read, convey your main selling points, and lead your customer to a sale.
Over the years copywriting pros have used several headline formulas that always work well. Here are my fab five:
1. The Question: “Are You Worried About Your Financial Future?”
A question headline automatically gets your readers involved in your message, because they answer it in their minds. Many people will read further into your letter, ad, or Web site copy just to find out what answer or solution you provide. Again, make sure the question focuses on the reader’s interest, not yours. A bad example would be: “Do You Know What New Product We’ve Created This Year?” (No one cares but you!)
2. The How-to: “How to Get Thinner Thighs in 30 Days.”
How-to headlines work very well, because people love information that shows them how to do something. (Thousands of book titles begin with “How to….”) Think of the benefits your product/service offers and then try creating some “how to” headlines email newsletter.
3. The Testimonial: “Jane Smith’s Consulting Is Pure Magic — Our Sales Have Increased by 30%!”
Why not let your clients do the selling for you? Their commendations can go a long way in convincing others to use your services. Tip: To appear credible, always include your clients’ full names and the cities they live in.
4. The Command: “Boost Your Business Today!”
Turn your most important benefit into a commanding headline, such as “Make More Time for Your Family,” “Look Younger Instantly!” and “Get 7 New Clients This Month.” (By the way, throwing a number into your headline is another good tactic. And readers seem to like odd numbers as opposed to even.)
5. The News: “Introducing Our New ‘Rest-Assured’ Tax Service!”
Caution: This only works if you truly have something big to announce that is of interest to the reader. (Something that will make her life or business better.) Don’t try to make news out of something that’s not.
Once your readers know you have something they’re interested in, they’ll take the time to read your entire article, brochure, letter, ad, e-zine, or Web page. So put some TLC into creating headlines that entice!
Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” publishes the award-winning ‘Straight Shooter Marketing’ weekly online newsletter with 20,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at
www.EzineQueen.com
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 at 11:25 am and is filed under news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
