If you’re going to take the time and trouble to write an article, I’m a big believer that you should try to re-use it as many times as you possibly can. Apart from the reason you’ve written it in the first place, which presumably one of the reasons is to help your build your credibility as an expert, here are eight other things you can do once you’ve completed your article:
1. Put it into your blog
Blogs or on-line diaries are a great place for you to express your opinion or publish views and news. You can set one up for free using Blogger or Wordpress and then once you’ve got one, you’ll be able to copy and paste your article in here to help you build your credibility throughout the internet.
2. Publish it on-line
If you type “free article websites” into Google, you’ll come up with thousands of sites where you can publish your article for free. Not only does this help build your credibility on the internet, but if you include a link back to your site, it will help bring new visitors to your website.
3. Use it in your newsletter
If you have a newsletter, you can use the article you’ve written in there to save you having to come up with something new.
4. Send it out as tips to your contacts
If you don’t have a newsletter, you could just use the article to send to your contacts. Giving your contacts free tips and items of value is a great way to build a relationship with them and convince them that they might want to work with you in the future.
5. Use your article in other people’s newsletters
I’m sure you’ve got several contacts that already publish a newsletter. Why not ask them if they’d be willing to use your article in their newsletter? Not only does it save them a job (they don’t have to think of something to write that week), it also strengthens your relationship and gives you an opportunity to work together.
6. Record your article
Once you’ve written your article, you could record it onto an audio recording and give it or sell it as a CD, send it out to your contacts or even send it into to your local radio station to see if they want to work with you in the future.
7. Publish it in a magazine or a newspaper
Once you’ve written an article, why not send it out to magazines and newspapers that your customers are likely to read. Many are looking for good quality articles that they can just use in their publication.
8. Write a book
Once you’ve written a few articles, all you need to do is edit and format them and you’ve got your first book!
Whatever you choose to do with your article, it’s such a shame if you spend a lot of time writing and putting it together to use it just the once. Make sure you use your article as much as possible and you’ll be well on your way to establishing yourself as an expert in your field.
Exceptional Thinking (http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk) helps small businesses with their marketing and new businesses to start up in business.
Sunday, 16 August 2009
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
If you could name just one marketing method…what would it be?
Small business owners often ask me if I could pick just one marketing method what would it be. Well, don’t worry I’m not going to say to you that it depends on your target market or on what you do. I really do have just one marketing method that I would pick above all others. Do you want to know what it is?
This marketing method is following up with people.
Surprised? Did you expect me to say cold calling or leaflet dropping or something else?
The reason that I’ve picked this marketing method above anything else is because no matter what you do, if you don’t follow up it won’t result in business.
Let’s imagine you go to a networking event. You pick up business cards and maybe the attendee list. And then you get back to your desk and you’re selective about who you contact so you only touch base with one or two people. How do you know that the ones you haven’t followed up with aren’t the ones that could give you business?
Another example could be if you’ve been talking to someone about doing some business with you. You’ve sent them a proposal and spoken to them a couple of times after you’ve sent it over. But, they haven’t come back to you and it’s gone a bit quiet. If you don’t follow up with them now, you’re missing a massive opportunity to get more business.
The same could be said if you’ve just done some cold calling and the person you needed to speak to wasn’t there. If you don’t keep chasing them and following up, you’re likely to miss out on some massive profits.
Following up is THE one thing that small business owners don’t like doing that could really pay off if you make it one of your daily jobs. You need to be following up with:
· Past contacts and customers
· Current contacts and customers
· Potential future contacts and customers
In fact, this marketing activity is so vital that it’s my number one marketing activity if I was going to give you one and only one thing you could do.
I ran a workshop on following up with people back in January and I’ve put all the tips and techniques onto a CD along with all of our other workshops. If you want to grab your copy for just a nominal fee to cover packing and posting, you can by visiting http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk/CD2.htm
Exceptional Thinking (http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk) provides help and advice on marketing for small business owners and to people starting out in business.
This marketing method is following up with people.
Surprised? Did you expect me to say cold calling or leaflet dropping or something else?
The reason that I’ve picked this marketing method above anything else is because no matter what you do, if you don’t follow up it won’t result in business.
Let’s imagine you go to a networking event. You pick up business cards and maybe the attendee list. And then you get back to your desk and you’re selective about who you contact so you only touch base with one or two people. How do you know that the ones you haven’t followed up with aren’t the ones that could give you business?
Another example could be if you’ve been talking to someone about doing some business with you. You’ve sent them a proposal and spoken to them a couple of times after you’ve sent it over. But, they haven’t come back to you and it’s gone a bit quiet. If you don’t follow up with them now, you’re missing a massive opportunity to get more business.
The same could be said if you’ve just done some cold calling and the person you needed to speak to wasn’t there. If you don’t keep chasing them and following up, you’re likely to miss out on some massive profits.
Following up is THE one thing that small business owners don’t like doing that could really pay off if you make it one of your daily jobs. You need to be following up with:
· Past contacts and customers
· Current contacts and customers
· Potential future contacts and customers
In fact, this marketing activity is so vital that it’s my number one marketing activity if I was going to give you one and only one thing you could do.
I ran a workshop on following up with people back in January and I’ve put all the tips and techniques onto a CD along with all of our other workshops. If you want to grab your copy for just a nominal fee to cover packing and posting, you can by visiting http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk/CD2.htm
Exceptional Thinking (http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk) provides help and advice on marketing for small business owners and to people starting out in business.
Monday, 10 August 2009
Can other people tell what we're thinking?
Last night, I was reading an article about whether other people are better at telling us what we're thinking than we are ourselves. I'm a firm believer that other people can absolutely pick up on how we're feeling.
Have you ever been to a networking event and not been feeling your best? Do you find yourself surrounded by other people or do they naturally stay away from you? If it's the latter, other people may be picking up on your vibes and stay away from you even if you're trying your hardest to hide how you're really feeling.
This also means that if you're desperate for business and are feeling quite depressed about things, others will pick up on this and stay away from you when you want them to do the opposite.
If you want to attract rather than repel people, you need to be giving out the message that you want people to come and speak to you and to do this, you need to really believe it. So, try thinking positively for the next couple of days and see what difference it makes!
Have you ever been to a networking event and not been feeling your best? Do you find yourself surrounded by other people or do they naturally stay away from you? If it's the latter, other people may be picking up on your vibes and stay away from you even if you're trying your hardest to hide how you're really feeling.
This also means that if you're desperate for business and are feeling quite depressed about things, others will pick up on this and stay away from you when you want them to do the opposite.
If you want to attract rather than repel people, you need to be giving out the message that you want people to come and speak to you and to do this, you need to really believe it. So, try thinking positively for the next couple of days and see what difference it makes!
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Simple and quick tips to get clients fast
August is traditionally a time when things go quiet for a lot of businesses as potential customers get back into the swing of things. When you need customers fast though, knowing that is no help at all. So, here’s my top simple and quick ways to get customers fast.
1. Talk to your past clients
Have you kept in touch with your past clients? Maybe they’re looking for your products and services right now. Drop them a line (either by phone, email or post) just to see how they’re getting on. When you’re looking for customers fast, your past clients are often a great source of leads.
2. Analyse what’s worked in the past
Write down a list of your current and past customers and next to each name, write down where this customer came from. Be specific – if it was a networking event, which one; if it was a referral – who sent it to you? Analysing your marketing in this way should give you a very clear idea of which marketing methods are working for you and which are not. Then you can go out and do more of the methods that are working for you.
3. Offer your customers something special in return for referrals
I’m sure in your business, you’ve had at least one referral in the past and when you need customers fast, referrals are a great quick source. Approach your current customers and past ones and offer them something in return for a referral – it could be a free e-book with quick tips; a bottle of wine; discounts of your future products and services. Try it, you might be surprised.
4. Go where your customers go
If you’re stuck for marketing ideas and want to find customers fast, one of the best ways is to look at your customers and have a think about where they would naturally congregate i.e. it might be at conferences; at the gym; on Facebook etc. Wherever it is, make sure you’re in these places too – you’ll meet your target customers very quickly and then you can start talking to them about what you do.
5. Give away free samples
Free samples, demonstrations, reports, tips sheets, e-books, audio recordings and so on are a fantastic way to build credibility quickly and allow your potential customers to experience your services. This way, they’re more likely to trust you and your company and feel that you can help them.
6. Go through your ‘potentials’ list
Most businesses have a list of potential customers that were interested in their products or services, but didn’t buy at the time. Dig those out and go through them all. While the vast majority may not buy, some will still have been thinking about using you and may well be in a position to buy.
7. Do some marketing
Finally, don’t sit there moaning and groaning that you haven’t got any customers. Get out there and do some marketing. Go to networking events, write some articles, call some people – it doesn’t matter what the marketing is; what matters is doing something and the more you do, the better you will feel and the more impact you will have.
Marketing does take a while to have an impact so if you want some customers, do some marketing today.
Exceptional Thinking (http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk) provides help and advice to small businesses on marketing and to people who are thinking about setting up in business.
1. Talk to your past clients
Have you kept in touch with your past clients? Maybe they’re looking for your products and services right now. Drop them a line (either by phone, email or post) just to see how they’re getting on. When you’re looking for customers fast, your past clients are often a great source of leads.
2. Analyse what’s worked in the past
Write down a list of your current and past customers and next to each name, write down where this customer came from. Be specific – if it was a networking event, which one; if it was a referral – who sent it to you? Analysing your marketing in this way should give you a very clear idea of which marketing methods are working for you and which are not. Then you can go out and do more of the methods that are working for you.
3. Offer your customers something special in return for referrals
I’m sure in your business, you’ve had at least one referral in the past and when you need customers fast, referrals are a great quick source. Approach your current customers and past ones and offer them something in return for a referral – it could be a free e-book with quick tips; a bottle of wine; discounts of your future products and services. Try it, you might be surprised.
4. Go where your customers go
If you’re stuck for marketing ideas and want to find customers fast, one of the best ways is to look at your customers and have a think about where they would naturally congregate i.e. it might be at conferences; at the gym; on Facebook etc. Wherever it is, make sure you’re in these places too – you’ll meet your target customers very quickly and then you can start talking to them about what you do.
5. Give away free samples
Free samples, demonstrations, reports, tips sheets, e-books, audio recordings and so on are a fantastic way to build credibility quickly and allow your potential customers to experience your services. This way, they’re more likely to trust you and your company and feel that you can help them.
6. Go through your ‘potentials’ list
Most businesses have a list of potential customers that were interested in their products or services, but didn’t buy at the time. Dig those out and go through them all. While the vast majority may not buy, some will still have been thinking about using you and may well be in a position to buy.
7. Do some marketing
Finally, don’t sit there moaning and groaning that you haven’t got any customers. Get out there and do some marketing. Go to networking events, write some articles, call some people – it doesn’t matter what the marketing is; what matters is doing something and the more you do, the better you will feel and the more impact you will have.
Marketing does take a while to have an impact so if you want some customers, do some marketing today.
Exceptional Thinking (http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk) provides help and advice to small businesses on marketing and to people who are thinking about setting up in business.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Burning the candle at both ends
In an effort to have more of a work-life balance recently, my husband and I set some boundaries. We would only work 8-5.30pm, have weekends off and go out with friends more for socialising.
So, a heavy weekend and 5 late nights socialising with friends later, I've decided that burning the candle at both ends probably isn't the best thing to do in the world. It's all very well having a life, but there's the thing about the balance that I seem to be missing.
I've decided that waking up with a headache and not feeling your best is definitely not the way to a great working day and neither is all work and no play.
How do we get that balance then?
Well, it's certainly not about going from one extreme to the other. Maybe it's about both work and life in moderation. I'll be practising the balancing in the future then.
So, a heavy weekend and 5 late nights socialising with friends later, I've decided that burning the candle at both ends probably isn't the best thing to do in the world. It's all very well having a life, but there's the thing about the balance that I seem to be missing.
I've decided that waking up with a headache and not feeling your best is definitely not the way to a great working day and neither is all work and no play.
How do we get that balance then?
Well, it's certainly not about going from one extreme to the other. Maybe it's about both work and life in moderation. I'll be practising the balancing in the future then.
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Do you enter business awards?
It’s business awards season again – the time when just about every company out there launches an award. Do you enter them? If you don’t, here’s why you should.
Firstly, if nothing else, business awards are fantastic for teaching you how to write about your business in a positive way. If you’re planning to ever write tenders, you’ll know how important this skill is. Also, because you only have a small amount of space available to write why you should be considered for the award, you’ll need to be able to write about your business in a very succinct way.
And then, once you’ve entered the award, if you are declared a finalist and if you’re lucky enough to win, the PR opportunities can be enormous. I know one of my contacts didn’t have to do any promotion at all, the year she won a massive business award.
Having said that, small businesses in particular don’t often enter business awards because “we’re too small and we won’t win anyway.” My answer to this is how do you know? If every small business felt like that, we wouldn’t stand a chance out there when compared to the big companies.
So, come on – as long as the business award is free or very low cost to enter, why not? Here’s some of the business awards out there right now (please note, if you’re holding a business award and your award isn’t on the list, please don’t be offended – it’s simply that I didn’t know about you).
Social Enterprise Awards - http://www.socialenterpriseawards.org.uk/pages/socialenterpriseawards.html - closing date 28th September 2009
iAwards - http://www.iawards.org.uk/ - closing date 16th September 2009
Essence of the Entrepreneur - http://www.essenceoftheentrepreneur.co.uk/2009/intro/ - closing date 31st August 2009
O2 X Awards - http://o2-business.com/Business/ - closing date 1st August 2009
Remote workers Awards - http://www.remoteemployment.com/awards2.aspx - closing date 31st July 2009
Midlands Business Awards - http://www.midlandsbusinessawards.com/businessawards2009.html - closing date 31st August 2009
Everywoman Business Awards - http://www.everywoman.com/everywomanAwards/TheNatWesteverywomanAwards/ - closing date 31st July 2009
If you want to enter though, be quick. Some of the awards expire very shortly. But please remember to enter them. If you don’t enter, you can’t win and winning will be fantastic for your business…
Exceptional Thinking (http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk) provides help and advice for small businesses on their marketing and to people starting up in business.
Firstly, if nothing else, business awards are fantastic for teaching you how to write about your business in a positive way. If you’re planning to ever write tenders, you’ll know how important this skill is. Also, because you only have a small amount of space available to write why you should be considered for the award, you’ll need to be able to write about your business in a very succinct way.
And then, once you’ve entered the award, if you are declared a finalist and if you’re lucky enough to win, the PR opportunities can be enormous. I know one of my contacts didn’t have to do any promotion at all, the year she won a massive business award.
Having said that, small businesses in particular don’t often enter business awards because “we’re too small and we won’t win anyway.” My answer to this is how do you know? If every small business felt like that, we wouldn’t stand a chance out there when compared to the big companies.
So, come on – as long as the business award is free or very low cost to enter, why not? Here’s some of the business awards out there right now (please note, if you’re holding a business award and your award isn’t on the list, please don’t be offended – it’s simply that I didn’t know about you).
Social Enterprise Awards - http://www.socialenterpriseawards.org.uk/pages/socialenterpriseawards.html - closing date 28th September 2009
iAwards - http://www.iawards.org.uk/ - closing date 16th September 2009
Essence of the Entrepreneur - http://www.essenceoftheentrepreneur.co.uk/2009/intro/ - closing date 31st August 2009
O2 X Awards - http://o2-business.com/Business/ - closing date 1st August 2009
Remote workers Awards - http://www.remoteemployment.com/awards2.aspx - closing date 31st July 2009
Midlands Business Awards - http://www.midlandsbusinessawards.com/businessawards2009.html - closing date 31st August 2009
Everywoman Business Awards - http://www.everywoman.com/everywomanAwards/TheNatWesteverywomanAwards/ - closing date 31st July 2009
If you want to enter though, be quick. Some of the awards expire very shortly. But please remember to enter them. If you don’t enter, you can’t win and winning will be fantastic for your business…
Exceptional Thinking (http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk) provides help and advice for small businesses on their marketing and to people starting up in business.
Monday, 20 July 2009
When is the right time to change suppliers?
When you're running a small business, you will inevitability have suppliers that provide products or services to you. From website designers to accountants to banks, several companies will be providing you with a service.
But sometimes, the supplier you're with isn't performing up to scratch and now (with the economy like it is) you may be considering changing them. So, the question you need to ask yourself is should you stick with the devil you know or change to someone else who could provide you with a better service?
If you're considering changing suppliers, the first thing you should do before you change them is talk/email your existing supplier and tell them what you're not happy with. You'll be amazed how often they'll be prepared to bend over backwards to accommodate your request. A recent supplier of ours cut their prices in half when we asked about it. But you won't know unless you ask.
If talking doesn't work, then you'll need to start shopping around. Always ask for a trial with a new supplier. That way, it gives you a chance to try them out while still sticking with your existing supplier. If you don't like the new supplier, you haven't lost out by dropping your old supplier.
Be specific about the service and product that you're expecting from the new supplier and make sure it's written down. That way, if there's problems, you've got something to refer to.
Trial periods and being specific should help to cut down on any problems with new suppliers, but remember talking to your existing provider can work wonders too.
But sometimes, the supplier you're with isn't performing up to scratch and now (with the economy like it is) you may be considering changing them. So, the question you need to ask yourself is should you stick with the devil you know or change to someone else who could provide you with a better service?
If you're considering changing suppliers, the first thing you should do before you change them is talk/email your existing supplier and tell them what you're not happy with. You'll be amazed how often they'll be prepared to bend over backwards to accommodate your request. A recent supplier of ours cut their prices in half when we asked about it. But you won't know unless you ask.
If talking doesn't work, then you'll need to start shopping around. Always ask for a trial with a new supplier. That way, it gives you a chance to try them out while still sticking with your existing supplier. If you don't like the new supplier, you haven't lost out by dropping your old supplier.
Be specific about the service and product that you're expecting from the new supplier and make sure it's written down. That way, if there's problems, you've got something to refer to.
Trial periods and being specific should help to cut down on any problems with new suppliers, but remember talking to your existing provider can work wonders too.
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