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Information Overlaod: 5 Ways to Cut Through the Clutter
| Guest post by: Marian Banker |
Article Overview: Two or three years ago you could create a marketing campaign, send out a series of e-mails and expect a reasonable response rate. Things have changed. We've hit information overload and we just don't have time to read and respond to everything we'd like. Information overload has become a chronic problem, so if you want to reach your target you must cut through the clutter. Something has to really grab me and be super easy or I'll just delete it. And that seems to be true for many people I speak with. So how do you move beyond information overload to reach those who will want to respond to your outreach?
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Information Overlaod: 5 Ways to Cut Through the Clutter
Two or three years ago you could create a marketing campaign, send out a series of e-mails and expect a reasonable response rate. Things have changed. We've hit information overload and we just don't have time to read and respond to everything we'd like.
Information overload has become a chronic problem, so if you want to reach your target you must cut through the clutter. Something has to really grab me and be super easy or I'll just delete it. And that seems to be true for many people I speak with. So how do you move beyond information overload to reach those who will want to respond to your outreach?
Here are some strategies to consider.:
Create a Compelling Message
What are the most urgent issues your ideal customer is facing? You can ask when someone signs up for your mailing list, downloads an online item or purchases something from you. Don't just get their name and e-mail address, send an autoresponder asking them to send you a reply. Keep it simple and as easy as possible.
Ask people you meet at networking and events what are their urgent issues. Create products and services that address the most common ones. Then create your message using keywords that have surfaced during your research.
Make It Super Easy
The other day I wanted to sign up for an event and when I looked for the time and how to sign up I couldn't find it right away. Within 20 seconds I was gone. I just wouldn't take the time to wade through the content to find it...and neither will your prospects.
I offer the One Page Marketing Plan, which makes it super easy to create your marketing plan. It's a step by step do-it-yourself system with everything you need to not only create your plan, but use it as well. Simple, step by step is what you want.
Offer to Do It For Them
But some people would rather have me do it for them. Obviously I will need information from them, but once I have that I can apply my own techniques to create their plan. It costs more, of course, but for those who want a strategic plan to follow, my consulting services are perfect for them.
People want results, but they often don't want to or don't have time to do the work to get them. If you can do it for them or at least partially do it for them, you've got a strong selling point.
Make More Direct Connections
I have found that I'm much more successful when I reach out directly, one-to-one to people who are in my network. These are people who have purchased something from me in the past, have participated in an event I hosted, or are a prospect I've had a meaningful dialogue with.
The telephone is still a wonderful business tool. What I've learned works best when you're reaching out to someone you haven't communicated with recently is to make a phone call telling the person you're sending them an e-mail. On the call or in the voicemail tell them what it's about briefly, making it as compelling as possible so they will read the e-mail. Otherwise it may just get deleted without being opened.
Leverage Social Media
Business is still built on relationships. It's just that the way in which those relationships are managed has morphed somewhat with the advent of information overload. The social media offers great tools, but be careful, because they can add to the sense of overload. Be selective and consistent and people will begin to know, like and trust you. I'm much more likely to respond to something from someone I know rather than someone I don't know.
Newsletters (like this one) are still a viable option for staying in touch, but the open rate has dropped. So I need to apply the other options as well.
Apply as many of these strategies as you can and you'll be ahead of your competition.
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Mental health and wellness - more money, less weight and an organized life!
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What are Your Real Priorities?
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About the Author: Marian Banker RSS for Marian's articles - Visit Marian's website Marian is co-producer and host of the annual Small Business Summit 2006-2009, an all-day conference that brings together small business owners and technology providers. She is creator of the "Business Success System", a step-by-step process with tools, text and a virtual classroom atmosphere. Since 1995, has coached Entrepreneurs, Professionals and Executives in transition to become business leaders. Emphasis is on what it takes to lead a business to success. Holds a Masters in Business Administration and has over 25 years experience as senior executive, consultant, entrepreneur, educator, mentor and coach. Founded Prime Strategies in 1996 to provide the small business community with coaching, consulting and training in business leadership, translated into plain English for the typical small business owner. Click here to visit Marian's website   Warning Signs Checklist Partner Questionnaire |
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- Stas and lucy,
Could you guys give us a recap of your entire business idea as it stands now. Seems like it morped a bit. Let us know:
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Re: Quick Ways To Utilize SEO Effectively
- There are many different types of content: blog content, website content, newsletter content, audio & video content, the list can be endless. I'll just list 10 types of website content here:
* Index/Introduction
* Product Descriptions
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* Reviews
* Resources
* How-to Information
* Downloads
* Contact Information
* Navigation/Site Map
About/Company Info
Anchor text as the others have said is the hyperlinked words on a web page - the words you click on when you click a link.
Anchor text is important because it tells the search engines what the page is about. Used wisely, it boosts your rankings in search engines, especially in Google.If you use "click here" as the words people are going to click on, you're telling people the page is about the subject "click here", which is not the phrase you want to rank highly for, the text you need to use is a keyword that you have chosen for your website, blog or article.
Take care,
Carol
Re: Get Improved Sales Optimization
- Great Information Jason!
As per the online business perspective, every user looking for relevant information and user friendly website structure. You can also provide 24hr customer support to make your customer reliable and easy.
New topics
- Thanks Evan. A Human Resources section would be great. Information and templates for hiring the right people, training, retention ( always an interesting an useful topic), conducting performance appraisals, information on discipline and documentation, conflict resolution, exit interview information, etc.
This would be really useful because most small companies don't have set HR guidelines/policies.
Thanks!
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