Can you explain your business in few words? Can you engage people in 6 words?
Most business owners have a hard time talking about their business in a concise format. A very hard time when they go to networking meetings and have 30 seconds to do an elevator pitch.
This video shows how very small sentences can be extremely powerful.
My mother is 72 and technology is not her cup of tea. Since I moved with her only granddaughter to another country 5 years ago, she reluctantly has learned how to send e-mails, not without complaining quite often how ugly the computer, or “thing” as she calls it, was in her living room. Today, things are quite different. When I asked her a few months ago what she wanted for her birthday, thinking she was going to ask for a new croc pot, she requested a new digital camera to use with the “thing”.
Every time we speak using Skype, she uses the camera. She then, sends the pictures to her wall on Facebook, so her new friends can see the granddaughter.
My mother is very good with knitting looms, she makes wonderful scarves. She takes pictures of them and list them on Flickr, and she has even learned to name the pictures with the right keywords. She uses her blog and etsy.com to sell her pieces. Since she got the camera, she started putting together some video tips on crafts and she posts them on Gather. She says the “thing” helped her find a new life and brought a less painful meaning to the word “distance”.
We talk a lot about the conversation going on with your audience and about how things are perceived by your audience.
Paying attention how you send the message and how this message is perceived is crucial when marketing a business.
This video illustrates the power of the right message and you should watch it until the end.
This new series is starting today. Check what people think about Twitter for business
How to Get Started and Get Going
Creating info-products is so simple that many people never even begin because
“nothing,” they say, “can be that simple.” The truth is—it is that simple. You can
produce a info-product e-book, audio mp3 download, or even a downloadable video. All
you really need is the desire and a computer. So let’s get started.
Getting started is the hard part. What to write about? Although it has become some what
of cliché: Write about what you know. And trust me; you know a lot about a lot of
things. The first step is to brainstorm. Make a list of all the things you like to do and all
the things you hate doing. For instance, maybe you love to go camping but hate to
balance your check book. Both have great possibilities to become info-products. Try
make your lists as long as possible. That way, you’ll never be at a loss for ideas.
Next pick out two ideas from you list and test them to see just how much information is
already out there. The easiest way to test them is to do a Google Search for each idea.
For example, with “camping” Google returned 18,200,000 hits, and with “balancing
checkbook” Google returned 66,900 hits. Without revising the topics, it appears that
“balancing the checkbook” has the greater appeal because the market is not over-
saturated.
Once you choose and test an idea, the next step is another brainstorming session. Set a
timer for five minutes and write down everything that comes to mind about your topic,
whether it makes sense or not. When you’ve finished look over all the information you
came up with in the brainstorming session and prepare your outline. Mark the places in
your outline where you will need more information and get to work on the research.
When your outline and research are complete write the first draft. Use a conversational
style and write quickly. Once you’ve finished the first draft, ask someone to read it and
ask them if it makes sense to them. For instance, if you use the “balancing a checkbook”
idea, ask if they could balance their checkbook with the information you provided.
Listen for feedback. Did you miss a step? Was anything unclear? Did you friend not think
it would be useful? Ask them why? This is all valuable information that will make your
info-product better.
Finally develop the final product using the feedback. If you are writing an e-book, design
the cover and table of contents and convert all to a PDF file. There are many on-line
sources that will convert your Word document to PDF for free. One site is doc2pdf.net.
If you preparing an audio info-product, record the audio from your script. Assuming that
you already have a microphone, you can get audio recording software for free at
Audacity. Once you’ve completed the recording, listen and edit.
Creating info-products is easy. So what’s stopping you? You’ve got all the tools you need
to get started right now. You could be making money as soon as tomorrow.
If you are in the information marketing business, you already know what an exciting and
lucrative business this can be. If you are new to the business or just beginning to think
about wading into the ocean of opportunity, you are in for an amazing business
adventure.
All adventures, whether business or other types, are fraught with wrong turns, detours,
pitfalls and traps. And as you know, not all adventures end happily, that’s what makes
them adventures and not fairy tales. Whether you are an experienced information
marketing trekker or a novice pilgrim, you greatly improve your chances of success by
learning to recognize and avoid some common obstacles and traps.
The first and easiest trap to fall into is to try to go into too many directions at once. With
the information marketing business it is easy to do: one idea leads to another, and
another, and another. Before you know it, you are light years away from your original
focus and have no idea where the finish line might be. While some people call this multi-
tasking, the truth is that this fractured thinking. Stay focused. Keep a notebook for all
those fabulous ideas, but stay focused on your original idea and see it through.
The second most treacherous trap is underestimating the time and research needed to be
competitive in the global market place. Information marketing businesses are the fastest
growing market sector. With each new day comes a fresh onslaught of information
marketers, all of whom want to beat you to the prize. There are several keys to avoiding
this trap: (1) be diligent and relentless in marketing your product; (2) partner with other
information marketers who have products that dovetail nicely with yours, and (3) insure
the uniqueness of your information product.
The third and most insidious is discouragement that leads to quitting. Because the
information marketing business can seem like an endless labyrinth, it is far too easy to get
discourage. The key to avoid this trap is to remember that unlike a real labyrinth, there
are many paths to prize and that each dead end or wrong turn is actually a lesson that will
lead you forward to success, if you just pay attention.
There are many pitfalls, traps, and detours in the adventurous journey of information
marketing—too many to enumerate here. The true trekker will make the information
marketing business a passion—will spend every day learning about the business and
building the skills and techniques to be successful.
The very essence of the information marketing business is creativity and innovation and
that essence is what appeals to even the most trepidatious entrepreneur. So whether you
are an experienced information marketer or new to the business, enter the labyrinth
eagerly equipped with the knowledge of the typical traps and pitfalls and adventure your
way success. Always remember that the information marketing business is an adventure
not a fairy tale: happily ever after is not guaranteed.
Information marketing is the fastest growing commercial enterprise in the world. From
Bangkok to Bedford, would-be entrepreneurs are stepping aboard the information
starship hoping to cash in on the billions of dollars being made each year in the
information market place. The truth is many will fail, many more will eek out a modest
income, and only a few will actually achieve the economic bonanza they were reaching
for.
The distance between failure and success is measured in time, tenacity, and a small scoop
of good luck. Those that fail completely, fail because they lack the tenacity to keep
trying and because they fail to understand the complexity of information marketing and
the rigorous competition that defines the information marketplace. Those that succeed
take a step-by-step approach and measure their early successes in terms of competence,
audience size, and the skill to dovetail one information product into a series or range of
products.
First Steps To Success
The best advise successful information marketers can give to newcomers is to choose one
area of interest or expertise and stick with it. Choose something you already know a lot
about or have an abiding interest in. Whether your interest lies in baseball cards or
weight-loss or anything in between, the exciting truth is that no matter what your area of
interest there is an audience and a marketplace for the information you deliver.
Before you begin to develop your information product, do your research. Google your
subject. Find out what has already been done, the type of websites or stores your targeted
audiences hangs out at, and finally determine the chat rooms and information boards that
you can participate in to begin to build your reputation and audience.
The next step is to develop your key information product. Will it be an e-book, a
newsletter, an on-line class or workbook? Perhaps you will develop a video or a seminar
or any number of other information products. Don’t skimp: provide the absolute best
product available. Give the customer more value than they ever could have expected for
the ridiculously low price you are asking.
Once your primary informational product is finished, the next step is to create a hungry
audience for your product. Now is the time to develop teaser products such as blog posts,
articles published through article directories, newsletters, etc. Start spreading the word
through chat rooms, information boards, blogs, search engines, and social networks.
Finally, and most importantly, keep track of every step. Keep a written record of what
worked and what didn’t work. Keep actual statistics of page hits, emails, and dollars
earned. Only then can you move forward with knowledge and build a solid foundation for
future success.
Information marketing is not for the feint of heart or those who hope to make a fast easy
dollar but it can be an enormously engaging and financially rewarding endeavor. A new
starship is leaving every minute of every day from every corner of the earth. The
question is: Are you ready to take the journey?[
Nothing will happen if you only watch the news and worry.
If you stop marketing your small business, then things will really go down the drain.
Remember that marketing is not the same as advertising and that there are many ways to promote your business without spending a lot of money.
Hope you have a website and a blog because there is a lot you could be doing to promote your business.
Why you don’t do a little cleaning during the weekend?
Make a list of the keyword phrases you think your ideal prospect would type when looking for a service or product that you offer.
Visit your website and check if those keywords are there and if not, do some re-writing and make sure the keywords are mentioned a couple of times.
Check also if the text on your website is about the benefits and about your customer’s needs and not just a sales pitch.
Things are not looking good to a lot of people and small business owners, especially in some industries like the mortgage and real estate.
This will pass, but what should you do to be on the safe side and create other channels of revenue?
First, maybe you need to reivent your business if you are facing an empty market. There is nothing wrong with reiventing a business, in fact many very successful businesses have done this in the past and it is a common practice.
Don’t spend too much time watching the news. Focus on what you can control, the things you can change and create a game plan.
Speed is a key factor in business and one that is often overlooked, even in small businesses. Take action today and make necessary changes, correct the course, don’t wait. This will make all the difference in your business.
Can you incorporate any kind of information business in your business? This can generate other channels of income.
Follow the money. Go sell your products or services to people that have money now. This brings some questions like: Can you do business in other countries? Do you have a website to create business for you in other markets?
My good friend, Ken McArthur is standing in a circus tent today
asking 2,000 people to spread a message of hope to teenagers who
don’t think that life is worth living.
I think it’s a great message of hope for anyone and would love to
see all of my readers think about spreading it today.
Here’s Ken’s simple message for for giving hope (and maybe saving
someone’s life!):
G – Greet and meet: talk to others, smile, say hello, ask
someone how they are doing
I – Involve yourself and others: find a cause you can support,
volunteer, pledge resources. Get the people around you
involved, especially if you see someone beginning to
withdraw. Invite them to participate in some activity, to
“get out” of their comfort zone
V – Validate others: tell others that they matter – especially
family members and friends that you tend to see daily but
may take for granted, give genuine complements
E – Empathize: be a listening ear, take time to be fully
present, don’t try to solve – just acknowledge someone’s
feeling/hurt
You can find out more about Ken’s wonderful project with his
Impact Action Team at:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=5lqIa&m=1cD3X5pVjpOv_r&b=RporB3_5ICVEsm.UKJDLmw
Spread this message today!
