Expectation of Instant Results

“As designers go, I’m long in the tooth. I learned design “old-school” — rubylith and type galleys and paste-up with waxers — the last of a dying breed.

Being online has been changing my industry for over 20 years. I have been lucky in that I’ve been “growing old” with the technology… from early forums and bulletin boards to today’s twitter and video streaming technology… it’s mind blowing if I think about how much it’s changed. What I’ve noticed most, however, is not only our reliance on it, but the expectation of instant results. 

The pace has become frenetic. It’s more of a pressure cooker than ever. When I started in the business, concept was king; now it’s content. Produce more, but with less… less money, less creative, less time, less space. The notion of getting a profound message across in 30 seconds was a challenge 20 years ago… now do it in 140 characters. Gray mares like me can find it pretty exhausting. The fact that I’m writing this at 11 pm after rising at 4 am and working all day should underscore that message.

Freak, I could write an essay on this… I’d better stop now…”

Patricia Simoneau of Grassroots Marketing & Brand Design
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Engage and Build Relationships

“I help moms revitalize their careers and bodies through coaching, workshops, classes and personal training.  When I’m not interacting with clients one-on-one, social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook provide an opportunity to share value-added content, tips and resources.   My business, CareerFit Mom (www.careerfitmom.ca), has reached a broader audience through Twitter and I personally learn something amazing from following folks I might not have otherwise had a chance to meet.  Social networking lets me engage others, build relationships and provide support to other moms, but you know what, it is super fun too!”

Beth Yarzab of Career Fit Mom

 

 

Generated Revenue

“Social Media has allowed me to connect with my readers which I feel is a very powerful resource. I receive feedback from my fan base and it allows me to share new information about my site, share promotional contests, new ideas and much more.

Facebook and twitter have increased traffic to my web site and to my newsletter subscriber list. I think it also helps give my business, a face and a story not “just a site”. It also has helped me to better understand my visitors by directly hearing right from them.

In regards to business, twitter has opened many business doors:marketing, promotional opportunities and has helped engage sales as well. Being a small company of one, it has generated revenue to help get my website name out there and it has opened doors for potential clients to see and “hear”who I am.

Reduce Spending

“Social Media has changed the way I do business.

Being online has had an extremely positive impact on my business because  I live in the rural area it has allowed me to reach out and build a community of relationships beyond my backyard. I have been able to significantly reduce the amount I was spending on print media, increase my visibility ,become part of organizations I may not have otherwise known about and has been an incredible tool for seeking out joint venture opportunities. Being online has also increased my productivity by having most information within a clicks reach.

I am pretty confident that my business would not be the same without being online.”

Shelley Strait of The Cash Creator Coach and The Real Growth Retreat

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Tell My Story

“Several years ago, I started a business selling a baby product I’d invented. I paid thousands of dollars for a professionally developed website thinking once I launched the site, orders would come. But they didn’t. I still had to market the product via old-fashioned avenues like public relations and advertising–both of which can be costly. I had no other way to reach the public and eventually closed the doors. But now, with my new business venture, I can barely keep up with the vast and varied ways I can let consumers know what I’m doing. I can blog, tweet, post, link, and pin. And that’s just the beginning. I can digg, stumble, start a channel, and more. Sometimes it’s overwhelming. I’m working now to craft my message for each venue and find out which one creates the most conversion to sales so that I can focus on those opportunities that are most effective. I still have to work just as hard to promote my product, but I don’t have to pay for the opportunity to promote nor do I have to wait for a newspaper or magazine to decide I’m newsworthy. It’s up to me to tell the story.”

Shelley Hunter of  Gift Card GirlFriend

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Building Connections

“The biggest way social media has changed my business is by expanding the connections I have with people I likely would not have met any other way.  These connections have resulted in great conversations, learning, shared resources, being a guest on Blog Talk Radio and teleseminars, being approached for collaborative book writing projects, speaking engagements and new friendships.
I engage via Facebook (http://facebook.com/CreativeWellnesswithLyndaMonk), Twitter (@LifeWriterCoach) and LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndamonk).  I have a lot to learn about how to use each of these amazing tools/platforms/communities to make a greater contribution as a coach, speaker, and writer online.  With the goal of learning in mind, I participated in the Social Media Camp 2011 in Victoria, BC, Canada where over 600 people gathered from Canada, the US, and beyond to explore more about how to use social media in business and in life.
I love connecting with people who inspire online – people who have a positive message and information/tools to share that contribute to individual and collective health, wellness, creativity, personal growth, and success.  My business is Creative Wellness – Awakened Living with Life Source Writing.  I inspire and teach helpers, healers, and others who make a difference to nourish their spirits, prevent burnout, and fill their emotional cups with a holistic reflective writing practice.  Social media is a great place to make a difference with words!”

Promote Others

“I think in answer to your question—the answers are really endless but for me, personally, it is not only a way to promote your products to current and potential users but it is a way to also help the mompreneur community also. We can help promote others. I have found countless guests for my radio show through social media. I have found resources for doing business through LinkedIn, and I have found stores to carry my products through Facebook and Twitter.

Now with Pinterest entering the social media marketplace with a completely different type of platform while using Facebook and Twitter—it is integrated marketing at it’s finest form. One is able to reach so many more people with limited financial resources than ever before.”

Tagged In:business, business success, business women, online business, small business, social media, Social media business, social media consulting, social media success, social media training

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Unless you have had your head buried in a hole the last few weeks, I am sure you have heard of Pinterest.

Pinterest is the newest social media platform. It is a place to save(pin) images and videos on a board for later use. Your boards are then shared with other Pinterest users who can repin content that they like to their boards. This platform is very visual and is great for creating sharable images.

This platform could be a great tool for interior designers, teachers, artists, photographers, small business owners, anyone who loves DIY projects, crafters, magazines, museums, tourist attractions, SPCA and the list goes on…

How to use Pinterest:

1. Sign up for Pinterest

2. Create Boards- Currently I have a “Homeschooling” board and a “Home Ideas” board but you can name boards anything you want to separate your images just like categories

3. Save the Pin It bookmark to your computer- This book mark stays on top of your screen allowing you to easily hit the Pin It button and save the image to the board of your choice

4. You can use the search bar to search other peoples boards for specific keywords.

Why is Pinterest great for business?

1. It is a great way to make content viral!

2.  It always documents the original source of the content on the pin. Which means no matter who pins your content, it will be linked back to your site.

3. It offers great SEO potential

Some great links on how to use Pinterest:

Ideas on how people can use Pinterest : http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/293314/how-do-people-use-pinterest/1

To learn how to use the Pin It Button: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3297-How-to-Use-Pinterest-for-Your-Ecommerce-Business

Tagged In:business, online business, Online business Red Deer, Online Consulting, online training, Pinterest, Red Deer Alberta, Red Deer business, social media, social media consulting, social media training

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When building an online business it is extremely important to remove any opportunities that make your customer concerned.

We have all been there. We have found something online that we really want. It is cheap and looks great. But we are just not sure. In a brick and mortar store we have the opportunity to use our senses (touch, smell, taste, hear and see) when deciding if we want to buy a product. We also get the satisfaction of the instant purchase we get to take the treasure home with us right now. No worry of shipping charges or how long it will take to get here. We hear horror stories all the time about online scams, which also adds some worry.

So as a business we know the challenges we face when it comes to selling online.

The key is to remove as many concerns as we can so that the customer can make the purchase without worry.Here’s how:

Have a FAQ Page (Frequently Asked Questions)

Creating a good FAQ page will not only help your customer but will also save you time on unnecessary questions. Some points to include in your FAQ page are shipping costs and times, taxes, extra charges, guarantees and return policies

Testimonials

A good testimonial should include the persons first and last name as well as location. When possible a photo would be ideal. The best testimonials include results. Ex. “Thanks to John I lost 40 pounds in 6 months and have kept it off for 3 years” OR “Thanks to Pam I earned $10,000 in 5 days wearing my pj’s”

Stats/Facts

People trust Stats!  For example a business considering whether Facebook would be worth it for their business might take comfort in “One in every nine people on Earth is on Facebook”

Guarantees

Almost anyone will order something that has a 30 day guarantee and unless your product sucks (which why are you selling it???) very few will ever ask for their money back. It is giving your customers a safety net and people like feeling safe

Use PayPal

PayPal is the world’s most trusted online money transfer; don’t risk using some cheaper unknown version to accept money. People want what they trust and it will make you back the money you spend in fees

Site Design

Let’s face it looks do matter. Kind of like we would not be impressed for someone to show up unshowered and in their pj’s for a job interview, we are not impressed by a 20 year old website. I am not saying that you need to spend a fortune on a custom design by with wordpress and web template options galore; there are options at every price range.

Contact Info

Nothing makes me want to run more than a site with no contact information listed. If you take your business serious and want to come across as legit. I suggest listing your email, phone, social media profiles and if applicable an address. The more ways a person has to contact you the more they will trust you.

Images provided byCopyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Tagged In:online business, online sales, Red Deer, Red Deer Businesses, Red Deer Social Media, selling online, Shopping online, social media

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How to host successful virtual events, like tele-series and tele-summits, is a strategy that EVERY entrepreneur who wants a huge, targeted, ultra-profitable list of subscribers needs to know.

What is a virtual event? Very simply, it is a series of teleseminars hosted with a team of experts (your joint venture partners) on a particular topic or theme.

For example, each year my husband/business partner and I host the Networking Masters Telesummit during International Networking Week. And each year, the event attracts a ton of new and relevant subscribers and revenue too. We grow our business in leaps and bounds rather than inching along like we used to.

Here are 8 reasons why hosting a virtual event is my #1 marketing strategy:

1) RAPID LIST BUILDING: The collective promotional effort of the joint venture team creates massive exposure. For example … 10 high profile joint venture partners with an average list size of 10,000 means that your event will be exposed to 100,000 people. That’s good for you – and, it’s good for your joint venture partners too

2) RELEVANT LIST BUILDING: When done correctly – the flood of new subscribers you attract through your virtual event are targeted and relevant to your area of expertise. So, you get the best of both worlds: quantity + quality. And, when it comes to list building this is a winning combination! The more relevant your list, the easier it is to build rapport and the more likely they are to become a paying customer.

3) IMMEDIATE REVENUE: A virtual event when planned the right way provides a valuable opportunity to generate immediate revenue. That’s right, a percentage of the targeted and relevant subscribers you attract will become paying customers immediately.

4) CATALYST FOR GROWTH: A virtual event is a catalyst for tremendous growth. My business grows by leaps and bounds rather than inching along. I’m also able to leverage the momentum and buzz a virtual event creates. And you can too!

5) DIVIDE THE EFFORT MULTIPLY THE EFFECT: In my opinion, a virtual event is the ultimate leverage. By partnering with other experts in your niche, the collective energy and effort grows your list, boosts your credibility and stimulates revenue. Now you can impact more people AND… do more and more of what you LOVE to do!

6) CREDIBILITY THROUGH ASSOCIATION: When you partner with other highly respected experts in your field, it boosts your credibility by association. And, as the lead of the joint venture, you boost your fame factor too! “Oh wow! You know [insert name of super cool guru JV partner]? I’m impressed”

7) POWERFUL AND PROFITABLE RELATIONSHIPS: Collaborating and creating joint ventures with other experts boosts your credibility through association. As you add value and increase to their lives, they want to add value and increase to you. These mutually beneficial win-win relationships are priceless.

8 ) MARKETING BECOMES FUN AND EASY! Marketing becomes easy and fun! The momentum each event creates allows me to get the biggest results for my investment of time and money. The key word here again is LEVERAGE. Virtual Events is SMART marketing on steroids!

Have you been sitting on the sidelines watching and envying others who are taking leaps in their business with virtual events?

Now, it’s your turn …

You’ll be amazed how simple it really is. If you’re ready, I’m ready to teach you, in detail, exactly how to create your own 100% unique Telesummit so you can enjoy a flood of new targeted subscribers, instant credibility and more money too!

One way you can get more information is to register for my FREE teleseminar “5 Startling Mistakes Event Smart Entrepreneurs Make When Hosting Virtual Events and How to Avoid Them”

You can register at http://www.VirtualEventsMadeEasy.com/preview It’s a calendar friendly event which means as long as you register, you’ll get the replay.

Fun, Fame and Fortune Mentor Gina Bell is devoted to teaching multi-passionate and creative entrepreneurs how to embrace their multipreneurial spirit doing ALL that they love to do. If you’re ready, she’s ready to give your marketing and mindset a motivating kick-in-the-pants so you can claim your fair share of fun, fame and fortune too! Gina’s personal mantra is “Get Inspired, Be Inspiring”. Learn more about her products and programs at http://www.GinaBellinc.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gina_Bell Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2470620

Tagged In:building business, Guest Blogger, online business, online marketing, Virtual Events

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