Learn, Grow & Prosper

Na, seriously, it wasn’t quite that bad

This post is to honor Barry Wells’ challenge I Am Showing You Mine But Will You Show Me Yours?  Having no idea, not ever made one before, he thought by me accepting the challenge it would be ‘My Big Nudge’, to get started! 

Making videos.OMG!   There were moments there which really put my nerves to the test.  I found 1001 ways how not to do things.  But, do you know what, at the end when I found the way that did work, getting it all together really wasn’t difficult at all.  I couldn’t believe it afterwards, thinking ‘how stupid can someone get?’  And more than once!

Anyway, I got it together, uploaded to Youtubes and the results are here for you below.  There’s huuuuge room for improvement in the actual filming, but with practice those ruffles will soon iron themselves out.  The sound is something that quite bugs me though.  If anyone has any idea how to rid that humming, I’d really appreciate it.

What I have here in this short video is a Social Share Tool from Visibli.com which will link a personalized Engagement Bar to the top of a website you’ve shared through twitter or facebook.

I’d very much appreciate your thoughts – remembering now in your commenting, it was my first ever.

Thanking You & Take Care
Julie

Well, I must say Barry Wells certainly has kept me busy over the past few days.  (He doesn’t know it – yet anyway. ) 

I’ve picked up some good ebooks and I’ve got some that well, you know how some people can talk alot and not really say anything, abit like that.  They’ve gone to the trouble of writing a 40 page book which could have been rapped up in five and then in those five pages there’s just no back-up for the information given.  Or you can download those ones where you need a dictionary and thesaurus at hand to actually understand what it’s all about.

When you buy some electonic gadget or a new book-shelf, you read the manual and follow through with the instructions because if you don’t, that shelf is not going to put itself together and you’ll never know how to get the best usage out of that new gadget.  If you’re looking for a book just to read then pop over to Amazon and buy a novel.  The purpose of Internet Marketing books are to explain things in clear text and show you, how to, where to, what to and and and, so that you can follow through on the information, making it easier for you to get your business rocking and rolling.  These books should be like working manuals, you don’t just read them, you use them. 

Now, when you get your hands on a good one, it’s like gold, I’m hanging onto this – it’s mine !   Then I thought, nah, everyone deserves a break, I’ve had them and it does give one a great feeling to pass on something. If you’re a newbie to Internet Marketing and looking for some direction to get you on your way, “Internet Marketing for Newbies” is for you.

So, before I take up on the resale rights offer, I’m going to give away Barry’s Book (I’m allowed) for, well, from now until then.  All you need to do is fill out the form here and claim your copy.

Like I said, now until then and then could be anytime. If you need it, get it now while it’s free because who knows, I don’t at this moment, when then will arrive and this free offer will be gone.

Enjoy and to Your Success.
Julie

So, what is working now?  It’s like the never ending story really, not only with Marketing but with Industry.  There is always something new going on and we all do have to do a little bit of work on a regular basis to keep up with it.

From What’s Working Now – Part I and Part II – A brief sum up:

Know Your Audience;  One of the basic marketing principles is to give your target market exactly what it is they’re looking for.

Recognize your customers’ need to communicate with you;  Very important and can be easily implemented through your Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz and many others.

Do Your Research;  And keep one step ahead of your competitors.  Doing research which will keep you up-to-date in Your Industry, then passing this news on to your subscribers and through your blog posts,  people will return to you.  For example, if you sell computer software and there’s an updated version coming to the market, get it, test it and pass your findings onto your readers.

Read; for the same reasons as to do your research, reading helps you hear what’s going on.  Don’t be shy to ask questions, many bloggers encourage feedback.  This not only helps you getting your answer, the blog owner then gets an idea of what their readers are looking for.

Sign up to Google Alerts, RSS feeds, a weekly or monthly newsletter, both for your target industry and the latest on marketing/SEO news.

And of course, there is the network you’re building up through blogging, Twitter, Facebook or/and forums. There will always be someone who’ll pass on information or where to go for it, if there is a need to know.

Take Action;  Nothing will happen if you don’t do anything.

Just a little foot note:  My Parents sold their Corner Shop a few years afterwards and moved on.  But whether it was for business reasons, friendship or both, they kept contact with most of their customers from that shop for many many years.

Do not under estimate the powers of having good Customer and Network relations.  No matter what your business ventures are now, the people you connect with today could be of help to you, you to them, in life for many years to come.

So tell me, what’s your favourite marketing methods?  I’ve come to really enjoy blogging, both my own and hopping to others. Twitter can also be fun, to have a conversation in 140 characters at a time can be quiet entertaining, something I don’t do enough of actually.

Take Care
Julie

To continue on from my last post What’s Working Now -Part I, I wanted to take a little look at service and conversation at Your Online Store.

Let’s return for a moment to my parents corner shop. 

When a customer came in they’d be greeted with a smile and a warm welcome.  A conversation is most likely to have been started up, anything from the weather to holiday plans if it was close to a special holiday season.  Small talk, polite conversation on uncontroversial matters, before one got down to business and asked how could they serve them.  For every visit after that, the conversations would become more personal.  Enquiring about the families welfare, did little Jimmy get his new bike or how’s the garden going … and so on.  Simultaneously, Mrs Brown’s shopping list is taken and her shopping basket filled with the listed items.

Your On-line Corner Store;  having a shop online there’s no direct face to face communication and customers have to fill their own shopping basket.  If your products are not digital and automatic downloads after purchase, do make sure you deliver promptly.  The link to payment has to be easily found and method of payment easy and international, eg. paypal, credit card.

Relationships aren’t built so directly and quickly as having an offline shop, so you do need to put some effort in here and let people know you’re a charming and reliable person.  This is where having a blog comes in.

Having your own blog you can write about anything, placing your product links anywhere you see fit.  If you wanted you could start a conversation by writing a post on the weather, holiday plans, your garden or even tell about Mrs Brown’s visit.  And of course, about the products or services you offer, what they’re used for and how to use them,   any specials or give aways you may have going.

Chat to your readers through your posts and replies to their comments.  This way they see your character, get to know you, you them, good customer service and relations even friendships are built.  People return and they pass on your link.

Through your blog you also build relationships with other marketers and bloggers.  This is a terrific way to pick-up tips, ideas, what to watch out for -good and bad, of any great offers, the latest up-to-date Internet rules and/or marketing methods.  There’s always someone who knows someone who has the latest biz or knows where to get it.  Simply, a network of folk helping each other out.

Go blog-hopping, leave constructive comments, DO NOT go plugging your website or products on these comments.  You will be able to put your website URL in the box available when registering your name and email, your link will appear on your comment.

Well, I’ve waffled on again and still haven’t finished saying what I wanted to say, so there will have to be a continuation on this.  Until then, I’d really like to hear from you.

Take Care
Cheers
Julie

When recently checking my stats to find out where the best responses from advertising were coming from, what I noticed was that there was no one site with the best referrals, but a couple of the headlines which caught the most attention.   Top Quality Products, Your Own Business, Be Your Own Boss and Make Money of course gets good responses.  Which is no surprise, being your own boss and making money selling quality products is what we all like to have.  The top two headlines which attracted the most attention were:

1st -Get What’s Working Now
and
2nd -Marketing Strategies

This being the results, it made me think there must be quite a few people out there who are in need of a helping hand and to be pointed in the right direction.  Now, I don’t know everything (yet, he he …) but in putting what I have learned to practice, I see results and I do know where to go to get the help when I need it.

Right, you’ve got your website and blog (good idea to have both) set up, now you want to know how and the most up-to-date ways to market it, getting results and making those sales.

Strategies; a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim. Let’s start there because if you don’t have the basic strategies, you’ve nothing to update.

Near 50 years ago when my parents first got married, they opened a little corner shop.  They needed to let people know who they were, what they had to offer and where to find them.  Once the customers came in, they wanted them to buy and they wanted them to return (as a customer of course and not the bought goods). To achieve this they needed to have a plan-of-action. A special offer perhaps as a first time customer, discounts on their next purchase or something free.  Bill-boards and flyers were made, ads placed in local classifieds showing the opening specials to attract the customers, and when they come in, service with a smile, conversation made to build trust and even friendships.

Point being, the basic strategies are still the same today, whether your corner shop is on or offline and why, because they work.  It’s the techniques and methods we use that have changed since Internets arrival and it does move and update very quickly. 

Your On-line Corner Store; One of the most basic steps for starting an Internet marketing campaign is optimizing your website for search engines. Your website needs to be functional, user friendly, quality and original content suitable to your products.

Placing classified ads which are to the point and catching to the eye, perhaps with a special offer getting prospects to click the link to your website/sales page. Submitting press releases is a great method to use for new announcements and writing regular articles showing your expertise on your products and/or services; how it works and why it’s a good product to have and of course, your press releases and articles all having a link back to your website.

A good tip I was given; the best way to start out with your advertising is to pick one form that you would like to start with.  Begin with that and get good at it.  Once you’re seeing results then start adding other methods on top, one at a time.

Some of the best types of advertising to start with are …  

Classified (list of sites) (3-5 per day)
Articles  (1-3 per week)
Press Releases (at the beginning and when you’ve anything new or updates to announce)
Ezines (electronic magazines)

Part II we’ll go a little bit into how service and conversation is offered online and ways to keep up-to-date.  Until then I’d like to hear your comments and for some great step-by-step marketing strategy instructions, you may like to take a look at this free video course

Take Care
Julie

Pick up Your Free Copy

Writing and submitting articles is an effective marketing strategy to attract visitors, increase your ranking and boost sales.

Article marketing is free, it brands your business, makes you an expert, teachers you how to relate to people and creates back links to your website. Of course, it’s not the cure-all to advertising your business, it’s one piece of the pie, but an effective one.

What deters alot of people from writing articles, is thinking they can’t write but by learning a few simple steps, writing your own articles isn’t as hard as it appears. One of the biggest hurdles is finding ideas. A good starting point is to write about things you’re interested in and very passionate about. You already have knowledge in these areas which you can share with others. Don’t under-estimate your own abilities in things you are experienced in.

Getting article ideas, writing, formatting, editing and reviewing them, Article Writing Tips & Marketing Secrets for Non-Writers will give you a few guide-lines to help get you on your way.

Good writing and do let me know if the book gave you any good and helpful tips.
Julie 

PS.  This morning I read a terrific post from Barry Wells, the topic being ‘Are You an Avid eBood Reader?‘  I do recommend you take a couple of minutes to pop over to Barry’s blog and read it too.  You’ll then understand when I say, print out Article Writing Tips & Marketing Secrets for Non-Writers and any other eBook you may download for that matter.

Take Care