07.23.08
Are you procrastinating with your internet marketing?
You know that you need to get the word out about your business, but you either don’t know how or just don’t have the motivation. Sound familiar?
I’m a little ashamed to admit that even I, an internet marketing specialist, procrastinate when it comes to my own marketing. I keep meaning to write an article to help get the word out about my business, but it always gets pushed to the back burner. When I finally have time, after my client work is done and my infant daughter is sleeping, suddenly, rearranging my workspace seems oh-so-important. So I get busy on that and, before I know it, my daughter is awake and my free time for marketing just flew out the window.
What’s a business owner to do? With so many priorities, something’s got to take a backseat, right? That’s true, but I’m begging you, please don’t be like me – make marketing your top priority. Ever since I took a cue from C.J. Hayden’s book, Get Clients NOW!: A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches (a great read, by the way), I put together a solid marketing plan and have been holding myself to it for the past week. In fact, I’m pretty proud of myself for (finally) practicing what I preach.
It’s really not as hard as it seems; you just have to dig in and get started. Then, set aside time every day for marketing (even if it’s just one hour), and decide in advance what you’re going to do. That way, there’s no guesswork over how you should spend your time. For instance, let’s say that Mondays are reserved for article marketing (where you write an article to be submitted online), Tuesdays and Thursdays are for updating your blog (you do have one, right?), Wednesdays are for following up on sales leads, and Fridays are for networking, either online or in-person.
Make the whole process as straightforward as possible and then, most importantly, follow your plan as much as possible.
You’ll be on the path to success in no time!
07.16.08
What the heck is internet marketing and why should I care?
This is the first in a series of posts about online small business marketing.
If you’re a business owner who isn’t getting your internet marketing groove on, then you are really missing out on the vast potential the internet can provide for your business.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll get into the particulars of various internet marketing methods so you can decide which are best for you.
First up is the business marketing blog. What is that, you ask? According to Wikipedia.com:
A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
What does this mean for you, the small business owner? Quite frankly, a small time commitment each week = the possibility of greater exposure for your business. Which means more interested customers are stumbling onto your web site, which means a higher chance of sales. It’s really very simple!
The hardest part is coming up with fresh content for your blog. You can’t write a blog post once every two months and expect to have any favorable results. There’s nothing worse than a silent blog, so if you think you lack the time to keep one up, you’re better off exploring other options, whether that be looking into other internet marketing methods or hiring a copywriter to take care of the dirty work of actual getting your thoughts down into writing (yes, we do exist, and we can transform your knowledge and experience into interesting content that will attract the attention of your potential customers). If you can commit just a few hours a week to posting at least two blogs (or if you’re ready to hire a copywriter to take on this task for you), read on for more information about this increasingly popular marketing method.
Facing a blank page when it’s time to write your first post? Think about the questions your customers regularly ask you. For instance, let’s say you’re a financial consultant and people constantly ask you the easiest way to create a budget so they can pay their bills and still have fun money left over. Jot down your top ten tips that you would give your customers and embellish on each one in its own blog posts. Just like that, you’ve got your first ten blog posts. If you post twice per week, you’re covered for five weeks!
But don’t let that stop you from keeping the creative wheels turning, because those five weeks will be gone before you know it. Keep looking for new ideas, and be sure to write them down as they come to you. You don’t want to be stuck scrambling for new material on a moment’s notice – you can bet your creative muse will be nowhere to be found!
I know what you’re thinking…“Sounds interesting, but how much is this gonna cost me?” Nothing more than your time, my friend. You can set up a new blog in mere moments with no out-of-pocket expense. Check out www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com for a few free blog options. Yep, that’s right – FREE. Doesn’t get much better than that.
If you need help brainstorming blog ideas, please feel free to contact me at tammim@writeassociate.com.
For copywriting assistance, visit www.writeassociate.com.
07.10.08
Which is it: your or you’re?
Through my work as a professional book editor, I’ve noticed that two of the most commonly misused words are “your” and “you’re”.
Here’s an easy way to tell when to use which form: try to put “you are” in the sentence instead of “your” or “you’re” and see if it makes sense. If it does, you’ll use the contraction “you’re”.
For example: “(You are) going to the store.” Since this sentence works, you can replace “you are” with “you’re”, making your new sentence, “You’re going to the store.”
But take a look at this sentence: “(You are) big presentation is today.” Doesn’t quite make sense, does it? In this case, you’ll use “your” so that the sentence reads, “Your big presentation is today.”
Got any questions or comments about this post? I’d love to hear them! Simply reply directly to this post, and I’ll respond as quickly as possible. Thanks for reading!
07.07.08
Get your free grammar and punctuation e-course!
If you’re writing (or thinking about writing) a document that will be in the public eye, you should be thinking about more than just what you’re going to write. You also need to be contemplating how you’re going to make sure that your writing is grammatically correct. Your work needs to be completely free of errors if you want to have any hope of establishing credibility with your readers. Like it or not, even one measly grammar mistake can damage (or kill!) your hard-earned reputation. And if you’re a business owner hoping to gain the trust of your target audience, presenting a polished, professional image is absolutely vital to your success.
Are you starting to sweat yet? If it’s been a few years since your last grammar class, there’s no need to fear – you can now click here to sign up for a FREE e-course called Mind Your Grammar!: Increase your credibility with this quick, easy, and (best of all) FUN guide to better writing. You’ll get four simple lessons delivered right to your inbox over the course of four weeks. Seriously, these lessons don’t take more than a few minutes to read through, and there are brief quizzes at the end of each lesson to test your knowledge of the subject matter.
Did I mention that this course is quick, easy, fun, and free?
What do you have to lose?
