Never Be a Cheap Date

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater


Up until the last couple of years, I used to give my time away freely.

In fact, I would spend up to an hour on the phone with people who had not even paid me a cent.

It was frustrating and it was annoying - because while a certain percentage of those people did move forward, there was a lot of time wasted dealing with those who wanted to pick my brain at no charge.

That was when I got smart.

And I started charging for those initial strategy sessions.

At first I was a little concerned of the change - would people stop contacting me? Would they stop dealing with me, etc?

But I was quickly proven wrong.

Here's what happened?

I saved at least a few hours a week. I doubled my conversion rate. Plus I made a few dollars even if people didn't go ahead.

At the end of the day, I stopped being a cheap date and started demanding those I deal with respected me and my time.

That means I get to deal with better people... people who are pre-disposed to dealing with me.

And believe me, there is so much more respect in the process when you make your prospects jump through a few hoops to get to you.

To prove my point, I violated this principle a few months ago when I had a prospect I thought could have big potential. So I didn't charge him for that initial conversation.

He picked my brain.

He questioned my fees.

And then to top it all off he tried to find out about all of the people I use so he could no doubt do the same to them.

And when I told him I'd be happy to provide him with that once he went ahead, I never heard from him again.

The message:

NEVER BE A CHEAP DATE

And learn how to market so people come to you valuing your service and predisposed to buy from you.

Better for you because you'll save time and make more while experiencing less frustration.

And better for them because they'll respect you more and actually trust what you have to say.

But one thing you need to be able to do in order to achieve this is write.

And write well - to sell.

And one of the best places you can go to learn how to do this is http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/cashflow


About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter with extensive experience in B2B and B2C writing. Mr Bywater is the author of Cash-Flow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. You can gain access to his copywriting and marketing tips via his entertaining and eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/


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Direct Mail: Why Business Owners Don’t Use It

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater


Want to know why most business owners don't do direct mail even though it's probably one of the most effective marketing methods?

Well, there's two reasons:

1. It's more difficult than e-mail

You've got to format the letter, get it right, hire a list, send it off to a printer and a mailing house, etc.

Much easier to click send and fire off an email.

BUT... and it's a very big BUT I myself am guilty of - direct mail will generally get you a far better response than email.

And while it may not be convenient, it's most certainly effective.

2. There's no sales reps selling you direct mail

When was the last time somebody knocked on your door and asked you to buy some direct mail?

But I'm sure you've received a phone call from your local newspaper... phone directory... or a local charity wanting you to buy advertising, right?

Truth is, most of us are lazy when it comes to our marketing.

So we wait for someone to knock on our door... being reactive rather than proactive.

Well, it's time to change all that.

... because pro-active marketers are the one's who make the dollars.

Not the ones who wait for someone to say "advertise here" have I got a deal for you.

Because the bottom line is even with a little knowledge you will be able to get far better results than the person who is selling you the advertising, except in the very, very, very rare case that the ad rep is educated.

So take control of your marketing today.

Be proactive - Not reactive.


About the Author:
Scott Bywater is an advertising copywriting expert and the author of Cash-Flow Advertising. To gain access to all of his copywriting tips on how to get more customers via his eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter, simply head on over to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/


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Write Winning Headlines While You Sleep?

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater


Want to get an extra 6-8 hours of productivity every day?

Then try this little trick...

Every night before you go to sleep, ask for an idea.

For instance, if you are writing an advertisement, say to yourself...

I really need an idea for this headline.

And then forget about it, turn off the light and enjoy a well earned rest.

It sounds crazy, doesn't it.

I mean how can you do anything while you are asleep.

You're dead to the world, right?

Well, not quite.

Your subconscious mind is actually ensuring...

Your blood is pumping

You are breathing

Your body temperature is being monitored

And dozens of other things are happening to keep you alive. So surely it can work out a headline or two for you by the morning, right?

There is a statistic quoted at some seminars that we only use 10% of our minds.

And this is a way to use more of it.

Of course, if you flood your mind with more education about how to get more customers and write winning ads then your mind will have more to draw on while you're flat on your back and enjoying dreamland ;-)


About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter and the author of "Cash Flow Advertising" and "More Customers Made Easy". Although Scott is accepting very few clients, he generously shares his experience on copywriting at his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/


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Why Sales Without Marketing is DUMB

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater


I remember when I first started out in sales I used to set up a meeting and I would get there and the person sitting across from me would be like:

"Well, convince me"

... and I would be like a telemarketer on steroids trying to show them why I had the best solution in the world for them.

Can you relate?

I started out as a cold-call salesperson and a cold call telemarketer, so that's all I knew.

And while it does work... while it is a numbers game...

it is NOT the most effective way to sell.

And over the long term, you shouldn't be running all over town talking to unqualified prospects who have this "convince me" energy about them.

Instead, you should...

CONVINCE THEM BEFORE YOU GET THERE

And how do you do that - that's right, through marketing and education.

For instance, if I was selling a web design service what I would do is create a report called something like:

"The 7 Mistakes You are Making With Your Advertising Right Now - and How They are Costing You a Fortune"

And then I would have a paging service take the call ... a distribution house mail out the report...

... and a handful of letters after that... followed by a series of emails like this one.

And then those interested... those people who were predisposed to deal with me...

Would call me. And they would be interested. And in order to talk to me I would charge them for that initial phone call.

And do you know what would happen -

My conversion rates would go up.

My time would not be wasted.

And my clients would get a better service because I wouldn't be wasting my time with people who weren't predisposed to deal with me.

But here's the question:

Do you have the discipline to implement this? Do you have the courage to charge for your time?

Or will you say...

"I don't have the time"

And will you then think...

"How can I charge for my first consultation. Nobody else does"

Yes, that's right and that's why the average small business owner earns crap money.

If you're sick and tired of dealing with people who don't appreciate your product or service... who don't respect your time... and of chasing your tail dealing with people who aren't predisposed to dealing with you, then I urge you right now to make the commitment to...

LEARN HOW TO MARKET YOURSELF - NOT JUST SELL

The good news - you can get started for peanuts at: http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com

And the first lesson alone will show you how to write that lead generation ad to get the ball rolling.


About the Author:
As a direct response copywriter, Scott Bywater strives to educate business owners on how to generate more leads, get more of the "right type" of customers, differentiate themselves from their competition, and convert their leads into sales via his underground and "outside of the box" strategies. You can get his copywriting and marketing tips delivered to your inbox via his eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/

SEO Lessons from Local Businesses

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Trey McMartin


More than once in the six years that I have been providing SEO services for websites, I have had the opportunity to discuss with individual business owners their search engine optimization needs.

Now and again, I run across an individual business owner who is quick to say that SEO is absolutely worthless. When confronted with such an absolute statement, I like to press for details.

It has been my experience that people who speak in negative absolutes will have a horror story to share.

In this article, I am going to detail some of the stories I've heard, which frequently tells more about some of the people in our industry, than it does about the effectiveness of search engine marketing.

PROBLEM #1 - "I rank number one in Google, and yet, I have never earned a dime from my website..."

When I first heard this story, I was very surprised... After all, if your SEO company did good keyword research, there is no reason why you should not be getting traffic and a few sales from a top ranking in Google.

I pressed for more details... I learned that the company who built the website also did the search engine optimization...

It only took a couple of minutes to learn that the website design company optimized this fellows' website for the name of his company... There was no other optimization performed on that website...

LESSON #1 - It is rather pointless to optimize a website for the name of the company... The only consumers who will be searching for the name of your company are existing customers...

But, if your company is unknown to the general public, then the people who would like to buy your products or services will not be able to find you among your competitors...

If you sell widgets in Tulsa Oklahoma, your future customers will be typing "Tulsa Oklahoma widgets" into their favorite search engines, trying to find your business... And if your prospective customers cannot find your business, your business does not exist in their minds...

PROBLEM #2 - "I had a company build a website for my business, but I have never received a single customer for my business, through my website..."

Are you sure?

Asking this question is not meant to offend you, but rather to get more details as to how you track incoming business...

If you are the average off-line business owner, who has built a website to promote an off-line business, chances are real good that you probably have never received a single customer from your website...

However, if your website does not request for your prospective customers to let you know how they found out about your business, then chances are that people who did find you through your website would never tell you that...

If more than one person answers the phone at your business, chances are just as good that someone may have mentioned finding you on a website, but no one conveyed that information to you...

In your business, you should have systems in place to track and record where new customers have found your business... To do otherwise is like driving your car in the fast lane during rush-hour traffic with a blindfold over your eyes...

LESSON #2 - If you are not asking your customers how they found your business, you will never know what kind of advertising is producing profits for your business, and which advertising is sucking the wind out of your business...

PROBLEM #3 - "I spend a great deal of money on PPC listings (pay-per-click) to get my business in front of search engine users, because after spending tens of thousands of dollars on SEO, I could not rank in the search engines at all..."

What keywords were you trying to rank for in the search engines?

"Travel. I have a travel business based in Oklahoma City OK that caters to business professionals..."

Have you ever noticed the caliber of companies who rank on page 1 in Google for the keyword: travel?

Those are companies who spend millions of dollars per year to market their businesses online and off-line... Do you have a marketing budget that will allow you to effectively compete with Travelocity, Expedia or Priceline?

Besides that, where do the majority of your customers work and reside?

"Oklahoma City of course."

If that is the case, why would you spend your limited marketing budget to target consumers who would never buy from you, because they are outside your local marketing area?

"I never really thought about it in that way..."

Most of your competitors are making the same mistakes that you are... That is to your advantage, because when you start to market your business in a more realistic and cost-effective manner, then you will be able to compete with your competitors, while spending far less money than your competitors are spending...

LESSON #3 - If you operate a local or regional business, do yourself a favor, and stop trying to compete in the national marketplace...

Final Thoughts...

Listed inside this article are three lessons that could potentially help your off-line business to find new customers and to generate new sales, as a result of your online advertising...

Depending on the average ticket price of purchases in your store or service business, how much could an extra 20, 50 or 100 new customers bring into your business each month? You do the math...

You could spend the next ten years learning what we have learned to maximize the effectiveness of your online advertising... Or you could employ us to work on your behalf to support your local business in your local marketplace...




About the Author:
More consumers are ignoring their phone books and searching for products and services online... If you don't want to compete for those consumers, your competitors will thank you... We primarily provide Local SEO Services to businesses in Oklahoma and Texas... But we are happy to serve any brick-and-mortar business in the United States... Contact http://MysticMountainMedia.com/ at 1-405-225-8932, 9am-4pm, Monday thru Friday. Author: Trey McMartin.


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Overcome Sales Objections Fast - Just Do This

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater


On Saturday, I went to a bike shop with my family to purchase a new bike for my son who is now so very proud that he can ride his bike.

And loves going down hills and turning the pedals and getting his first taste of "having wheels."

Anyway, when we got there the guy at the shop was talking to us about this brand called Giant.

Now my wife and I hadn't heard of Giant as we are not really bike people.

So my wife was like: Who are Giant?

And that's when the sales guy had the right answers right on the tip of his tongue to answer our objection.

But it wasn't just answers, it was the undeniable proof which could not be argued with.

I forget the exact figures, but in a nutshell he told us...

A high percentage of riders on the Tour De France used these bikes.

They manufacture a high percentage of bikes across the world.

So tell me, why were we so convinced in a matter of seconds?

It's really quite simple: He gave us COMPELLING PROOF.

Had he said...

Giant is great because each bike has 36 gears... and we sell a lot of them and I personally love them... etc, etc.

... it would have been like "so what" and felt like a hypey sales pitch.

But when you are presented with the facts... the proof... he presented us with... it's difficult to argue with.

So my question to you is: how much research have you put into your project to get facts like this which simply sell your product or service in an instant... and overcome objections so easily?

If you haven't, then when would now be a good time to do something about it?

You'll find plenty of other ready-to-apply advertising tips just like this when you get your hands on http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/cashflow


About the Author:
Scott Bywater is an income boosting, results focused direct response copywriter and the author of Cashflow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. His popular ebook "7 ways to get more customers" has been downloaded by over 8,247 business owners over the past five years. You can get your hands on it by heading on over to http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/


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Brand Management - Four Ways to Cross Pollinate Your Blog

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario


While using single marketing tools can be revolutionary and powerful, combining multiple tools really brings out the best in each tool. Wheels are tremendous things, air conditioning is wonderful and everyone loves a comfortable seat, but simply having all three isn't the same as having an automobile.

The same holds true of an online branding campaign. If you treat it as a bunch of distinct tools, you will gain some effort from it, but not as much as if you combine all these elements into a distinct and coherent system that meets your branding needs. Each tool can accomplish a different task, of course, but they all must be used in the service of brand promotion and name recognition if the campaign is to succeed.

Part of good online branding is building an audience for your blog. This requires an operation within a campaign... its own system of efforts built into the larger structure of the campaign as a whole. In order to do this, you must take advantage of tools such as Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks if you want to build your audience steadily and profitably.

Method One: The Blog

This may seem obvious, as there isn't a lot of point to doing promotions without something to promote. However, the content you promote must be worth promoting if you want to succeed. There are many sources promising to take any content out there and promote it successfully. These people are known as hucksters. For every one in a million story of someone's blog about stream of consciousness writing, one can find hundreds of failed blogs.

Therefore, focus first on producing solid, quality content. The audience can wait - the Internet isn't going anywhere, trust us.

Make sure the blog's author is passionate about the subject and committed to a regular update schedule. Build up a posting buffer of a full week consisting of topical but timeless pieces such as opinion articles or reviews that won't necessarily be dated immediately upon release. On the other hand, be ready to quickly adapt a story and post a quick update if something in the news pops up that affects the topic of your blog. Above all, make (and keep) the content entertaining, insightful and consistent.

Method Two: Twitter

Twitter is a natural second step for a cross promotion effort. The format is perfect for providing a link and a short message about the blog, as well as for getting the information in front of your whole Twitter audience quickly.

The key here is to develop the ability to summarize in clever and topical ways. Do not make the mistake of simply putting up a link. That's a waste of time - people have interests that they're already pursuing, interests that you have to interrupt to get their attention.

Develop a talent similar to lede writing from print journalism. Find a way to quickly punch in the important who/what facts that you want to get across.

If your blog post is an interview with a local author, include his name, the fact that you interviewed him and his book title along with the link to the interview. If your post is a news story about something touching on your brand's domain, consider something such as "for fans of..."

Also, take advantage of habit-building behaviors by updating your Twitter feed at the same time every day. In the first case, this will get people used to checking it at the same time. In the second, it means unscheduled announcements will seem that much more noteworthy.

Method Three: Facebook

While people still have the broad perception that Facebook is for teenagers looking to find friends on the web, its real strength lies in the fact that it can easily combine various media into "snippet" packages for people to observe.

If your blog has a video component, you can link the video on your Facebook page. This allows people to watch the video and follow the link to your page at their discretion.

Additionally, you can post the first excerpt of your new blog entries on Facebook, giving people a teaser of the relevant information without spoiling the whole story.

Finally, Facebook has the ability to bring groups and hobbies together. If you find a group on Facebook that seems to be a natural audience for your brand - and do not force this, ever - consider joining up.

Method Four: Remember All-way Traffic

It's been said before, but it cannot ever be stressed enough: The web is not a one-way street, and it is not even a two-way street. It is an all-encompassing omni-entity that can and will spread word about the things it loves and the things it hates to every corner of the globe. You have to be willing to cooperate with this effort, or your brand will be mocked and dismissed. Participate in the communities you join, don't simply join and throw blog links at them. Join the discussions, share ideas, comment on others' videos and provide links in your blog to pages you like.

If you prove yourself a good neighbor on the web, people will notice and you will benefit. If you simply try to take advantage of communities for your brand without cooperating in the effort, then you have no business using the web for your brand.


About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/


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