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Veronika Noize Articles

Written by: Veronika Noize

The Solopreneur's Bill of Rights - Click To Read Article
The Solopreneur (one-person business such as a consultant) is a breed within a breed. Fiercely independent, unconventional, non-traditional, and growing in numbers due to the economy and production-enhancing technology, we're a huge presence in the small business arena.

Three Marketing Lessons from Realtors - Click To Read Article
Any real estate professional can tell you the three most important factors in determining the value of real estate are location, location, and location.

Tracking the Return On Investment of Your PR Campaign - Click To Read Article
There's an old sales adage that says "People buy from people they know, like and trust," and public relations (PR) is one of the most cost-effective ways to build the awareness, goodwill and credibility that help influence buying decisions. Not that we would suggest that small businesses use PR to the exclusion of all other marketing tactics, but a healthy dose of PR, combined with a little advertising, direct mail, or other tactics, can provide a big sales boost for many small businesses.

Top 5 Most Intrusive Questions Your Fulfillment Vendor Will Ask You (And Why They Want to Know) - Click To Read Article
You think that everything is going along so smoothly. You've sent Request for Proposals to at least three fulfillment vendors, and you expect that within the next two weeks you'll have all the information you need to prepare your final marketing budget for the business case of your next big program. And then the phone calls and the questions start.

The Pro & Con of Groupon - Click To Read Article
Groupon: The Pro & Con

Top 5 Ways to Get the Most Bang for Your Fulfillment Buck - Click To Read Article
Let's face it, as creative marketers, fulfillment services are often the least important element of our marketing plans, and frequently not even a part of our budgets. After all, we think, how hard (or expensive) can it be to put a few packets together, or assemble a few thousand sales kits? I mean, it's not rocket science, for goodness sake! So why does the cost add up so fast?

Who Is Your Ideal Client (And Why You Should Know) - Click To Read Article
One of the greatest misconceptions of new entrepreneurs is that "everyone" will want a certain product or service. While this may come as a shock to some entrepreneurs, there is no product, service, or idea that has ever been developed for sale that appeals to everybody.

Why Your Business Needs a Web Site - Click To Read Article
No matter how small your business is, you need a web site.

The Power of Personal Notes - Click To Read Article
There are many things you can do to develop a great reputation, establish rapport with clients, colleagues and prospects, and get top-of-mind awareness in your target market--certainly too many things to list here. But few things are as effective (and inexpensive) in accomplishing all of those objectives as personal notes. As a devotee of personal notes, I've even been known to go so far as to call personal notes one of the three "magic bullets" of marketing.

Is Any Publicity Good Publicity? - Click To Read Article
There's an old saying that goes something like this: "All publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right." Frankly, as a marketing professional, I would pretty much agree with that. Publicity means visibility, which generates awareness that could lead to interest, which combined with the credibility that earned media endows, could very easily lead to sampling or a decision to buy. (Bear in mind that what looks like a long, convoluted path on paper actually takes only seconds to register in the minds of your customers, and then you have results!)

The Case for Outsourcing - Click To Read Article
As virtually every marketing manager will tell you, any marketing program is only as good as its implementation. Whether you're talking promotional or sales programs, effective implementation can make the difference between success and disaster.

Lessons in Networking: The Ultimate No-No - Click To Read Article
Networking is a great way to get your business and your name known, find new potential strategic partners, and to surface some prospects. But networking isn't just about finding prospects. You know that, and I know that. Pretty much everyone in business knows that, right?

Preparing A Third-Party Fulfillment Request for Proposal - Click To Read Article
Request for Proposal (RFP) formats come in all shapes and sizes, but clear and simple is usually best. Consider including these elements:

How to Get Your Name in the Paper Without Advertising - Click To Read Article
As marketing professionals, one of the most common misconceptions that we run across in our business is that marketing is nothing more than advertising, and that advertising is the only way to get your name in the paper.

How to Increase Your Sphere of Influence - Click To Read Article
What is influence, and why would you want to increase your sphere of it?

How to Give A Killer Spotlight Speech - Click To Read Article
If you're a member of a networking organization, chances are that there is a wonderful opportunity for you to significantly raise your visibility in the group, and to become known, liked and trusted.

Does It Pay To Advertise In The Yellow Pages? - Click To Read Article
As a marketing coach, one of the most common misconceptions that I run across in my business is that marketing = advertising. I've even had potential clients tell me (regretfully, of course) that although they need new clients to reach their sales targets, they can't afford to advertise, so they can't afford my services.

How to Get People Talking About YOU - Click To Read Article
How do you find YOUR prospects? If you're like many solopreneurs, very often your prospects find you. That means that somewhere somehow, someone is talking about you. That someone could be one of your clients, a colleague, or even your web site.

Top 20 Reasons to Write a Press Release - Click To Read Article
Any marketer will tell you that publicity is more effective than advertising for creating visibility for your business. And dollar for dollar, publicity is usually the least expensive way to get your name in the paper.

Top 10 Questions to Ask Your Prospects Before You Ask for the Business - Click To Read Article
When I was in high school, my girlfriends and I often envied the boys' prerogative of asking for phone numbers, dances, and dates, since the only time it was proper for girls to call boys was to invite them to the Sadie Hawkins dance. It wasn't fair, we fumed, that the guys got to do all the asking, and the girls had to wait to be asked.

So You're in Print: Now What? - Click To Read Article
You've done it. You've written an article that has been printed in a newspaper or magazine. Congratulations! You done good, kiddo. But now what?

What Women Really Need to Know to Market a Business - Click To Read Article
Do you know what you really need to know to market your business effectively? If you’re like most women in business, you started your business because you are in love with an idea or a product, and are firmly convinced that everybody else in the world will be just as enamored of the product or service as you are. After, most of us believe that we are savvy buyers, and if we like something, then we believe that every other rational person in the world should like it, too.

To Keep Your Clients, Appreciate Your Clients - Click To Read Article
Why do clients leave?

Publicity and Press Release Basics - Click To Read Article
What if you sent out a press release, and nobody cared? Unfortunately, that's often what happens when small businesses (and even some very large businesses) send out press releases.

How to Choose the Best Fulfillment House (For Your Project) - Click To Read Article
You have a marketing program to execute. Maybe you're running a sweepstakes promotion, warranty registration, literature fulfillment, or you might even be selling products online. In order to bring this program in on time and within budget, you'll need access to some highly sophisticated software and equipment, plenty of warehouse and production space, plus a few additional helping hands to get the project out the door. And oh yeah, you only need these resources for the length of the program. But you need them now! So how do you maximize results while minimizing costs (not to mention the impact on internal resources)? You use third-party fulfillment (3PF), of course.

How to Produce a Great Electronic Newsletter - Click To Read Article
As marketing tools go, it's hard to beat a great electronic newsletter, but it may be even harder to figure out what makes a newsletter great. I've subscribed to electronic newsletters since the first day I got an email account back in 1994, and even though the technology has changed dramatically, what made a great electronic newsletter then still makes a great electronic newsletter today.

How to put up your website in One Week - Click To Read Article
Want YOUR web site up in a week? It can be done, and here's what it takes to do it:

Marketing Brand YOU - Click To Read Article
How to Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd

Public Relations 101 - Click To Read Article
Public relations is a strategic marketing discipline that involves equal doses of creativity, persistence, substance and cooperation to influence members of the media to look favorably on an industry, client, company, business or service. The third party credibility is one of the greatest benefits of public relations.

Five Things You Need to Know About Networking - Click To Read Article
Networking is one of the best business building strategies I have ever used. As a matter of fact, I built my business through networking, so I know that it works.

Get All the Business You Want: Never Sell Again! - Click To Read Article
Is "selling" a dirty word to you?

A Duck Walks into a Bar - Click To Read Article
How to Get Attention with Your Introduction

Build Your Business with Networking - Click To Read Article
Being successful in business is less about having all the answers yourself than knowing where you can access expertise. Since you can't know everyone, you often rely on your friends or trusted colleagues for referrals, which is where your professional network comes in handy.

Email: An Overlooked and Virtually Free Marketing Tool - Click To Read Article
Once my clients truly understand that marketing is about relationships, we start talking about how those relationships are created and maintained to determine appropriate marketing tactics for their businesses and personal styles. But no matter what kind of business my clients are in, they all have the same excellent relationship marketing tool at their fingertips: Their email messages.

Five Business Truths to Learn By Heart - Click To Read Article
There have been times when I wanted to tattoo these truths on people's foreheads, but that probably wasn't my best idea ever.

3 Recession-Proof Marketing Strategies - Click To Read Article
In the fall of 1974, I got my first real job, with a real paycheck. It was during what historians have come to call the 1973-75 Recession, the worst economic time for the USA since the Great Depression, with record high unemployment and inflation, capped with the oil crisis.

Why I Ask - Click To Read Article
A Marketing Mistake to Stop Making

Playing the Name Game - Click To Read Article
You've probably heard the old saying that there is no sweeter sound to the human ear than the sound of one's own name. It's true. You can impress the heck out of new acquaintances if you just remember and use their names, and you'll be remembered (Name Game bonus!).

Do-It-YourSelf SEO Part 1 - Click To Read Article
What is SEO? And why would you want to do it yourself? SEO is the acronym for search engine optimization, which is the process of making your web site more accessible (and therefore "findable") to web search engines.

Do-It-YourSelf SEO Part 2: Use Articles to Increase Your Web Traffic & Your Credibility - Click To Read Article
In an earlier article we talked a bit about very basic search engine optimization for your web site. Here's another tip that will not only drive traffic and increase your rankings in search engines, but will raise your credibility as well: Submit articles you've written to article banks.

10+ Ways to Find Clients - Click To Read Article
The first challenge of most business owners is to find prospects who turn into clients, but how and where to find them can be a puzzler. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet that instantly generates a slew of clients. What usually has to happen is that we surface a number of suspects (people we SUSPECT may be interested in products and/or services such as ours), and from that pool we find our PROSPECTS, or people who are prospective purchasers if all needs and conditions are satisfied. Finally, when the decision to purchase is made, we have clients (or customers or patients or members or whatever you wish to call them).

Top 10 Reasons Why You Need A Killer Elevator Speech - Click To Read Article
It is my firm belief that virtually every person in business for her- or himself needs a killer elevator speech. Yes, that means you, too. Wondering why a killer elevator speech is so important for you? See if you recognize yourself in any of these scenarios:

How to Create a Blockbuster Referral Machine - Click To Read Article
Tired of marketing like a maniac but not getting any clients? Beef up your referral systems, and soon you'll have all the clients you want.

Some Pros & Cons of Posting Your Pricing - Click To Read Article
To post pricing or not to post pricing, that is the question. With all apologies to Shakespeare for that terrible rip off of Hamlet's big angst-ridden speech, here are some of the arguments for and against posting pricing on our websites.

How to Ask for a Testimonial - Click To Read Article
You've got some very satisfied clients, and you wish that every prospect could hear how they heap praises on you, but how to ask for (and get) really useful testimonials can get sticky if you don't know exactly what to say and when to say it. Here's how I get great testimonials - without writing them myself!

Top 10 Steps to Spectacular Success in Business - Click To Read Article
Worried that you haven't got the budget (or something else important) to make a spectacular success out of your business? While money, advanced degrees in marketing and a spot on Oprah can certainly help your business, none of them are really necessary for you to achieve spectacular success. Doubtful? Read my Top 10 Steps to Spectacular Success and see for yourself what it really takes to succeed big.

Top 10 (Easy) Ways to Ask for the Business - Click To Read Article
Forget spiders, snakes, and being naked in public--the scariest thing for most of the small business owners I know is asking prospects for business! If popping the sales question is one of your greatest fears, take heart..

Top 10 Reasons You Don't Have Any Clients (And How to Change That) - Click To Read Article
Having a hard time filling your practice? Or maybe it's more than hard; how about next to impossible!?!? Take a peek at my Top 10 Reasons Why You Don't Have Any Clients (And How to Change That) if you want some real help understanding what's holding you back, and what you can do to get your business moving forward.

Top 10 Excuses Why Marketing Is Not For You - Click To Read Article
Excuses, excuses, excuses! Some days it feels like everyone I talk to has an excuses why they can't market their businesses. I've heard them all, from "the dog ate my marketing plan" to "my product is so good that it should market itself" but the one thing I know about excuses is that they don't build businesses. People build businesses, and if you think you've got a good excuse why you can't market your business, my guess is that you're in error. Just look at my Top 10 Excuses Why Marketing Is Not For You to see if your excuse shows up (betcha it does!).

Signature Line: An overlooked, virtually free marketing tool - Click To Read Article
No matter what kind of business my clients are in, they all have the same excellent relationship marketing tool at their fingertips...

Great Business Card Top 10 Checklist - Click To Read Article
Is your business card completely useless? You'd be surprised at how many business cards are useless, for one reason or another, but yours doesn't have to be. Use this checklist to evaluate your business card (or to upgrade your new card), and to see what makes a truly great business card.





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