Marketing your business? You gotta grow your database!
Marketing your business? You gotta grow your database!
How to do that?
Here are three tips:
1. Participate in an affiliate campaign. That means agreeing to offer a bonus product to the launch of someone else’s product (book, eBook, audio CD, program). You agree to promote their product to your email list in exchange for a commission on any sales that come from your list ($ in your pocket) as well as increasing your visibility to prospective buyers thus driving traffic to your website. People come to your website and sign up for your mailing in order to claim your bonus = increase in your database.
2. Are you a good writer? Pick some topics you’re an expert on and offer them to article submission sites such as www.ezinearticles.com and www.ideamarketers.com. There are tons of sites that accept free articles or you can pay to have your articles listed. Be sure to write about content-rich subjects you really know about that offer value to the reader. If you’re serious about having your articles attract traffic, hire a VA to handle this task. There are hundreds (maybe thousands!) of article submission sites and taking on the job single-handed is daunting and costly. I’m talking HOURS and HOURS taken away from your business that could best be invested elsewhere. I chose a VA (virtual assistant, www.justtoobusy.co.uk) to handle this task for me rather than use an article submission service. Why? I’ve heard that spam dramatically increases when using article submission services. No thanks. I’m already deluged by spam.
3. Write a blog. Search engines love blogs. Be sure to offer readers information that is of value. That’s my intent in creating this blog so I hope you are finding information you can use to help you!
A few additional comments on building your database… One thing that drives me NUTS is when I find I’m subscribed to someone’s ezine or email list without permission. This can happen when I meet people at networking events and we exchange cards or I contact someone and they just add my email to a mass mailing list. Often, I mysteriously get emails from people I’ve never heard of who have somehow gotten my email address. You may not realize that on some sites, your email is captured the moment you click on the site.
By assuming people want to become part of your network without gaining their permission to say, “yes”, you might be sabotaging a potential business relationship. To me that’s just another way to spam folks.
To be added to my mailing list or blog, you must either confirm your subscription or be sent a one-time mailing from me with an invitation to join. At the bottom of mailings, be sure you have a link to unsubscribe or change subscriptions so that people remain in charge of whether they wish to hear from you or not.
That’s why I appreciate the emails that request confirmation of agreement to “opt-in” to a mailing list. Even though it’s an extra step, I find that being asked to join with someone gives me choice - something I respect and need. Listen, I have no problem with one-time samples of newsletters or ezines that give me the option to subscribe.
One of the keys to success is developing quality relationships with people whether they are clients, colleagues, friends, prospects or visitors. In my opinion, growing your business and your database means being a person of integrity and treating others with respect - you know The Golden Rule…do unto others.
Bottom line - pick marketing strategies you enjoy and have fun with them!
Marketing your business You gotta grow your database - To learn more about this author, visit Lorraine Cohen's Website.
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These days, building your email database is a key strategy to growing your business, both online and offline. I don’t mean just focusing on having BIG numbers on your list; what you want to build is a quality database.
How to do that?
Here are three tips:
1. Participate in an affiliate campaign. That means agreeing to offer a bonus product to the launch of someone else’s product (book, eBook, audio CD, program). You agree to promote their product to your email list in exchange for a commission on any sales that come from your list ($ in your pocket) as well as increasing your visibility to prospective buyers thus driving traffic to your website. People come to your website and sign up for your mailing in order to claim your bonus = increase in your database.
2. Are you a good writer? Pick some topics you’re an expert on and offer them to article submission sites such as www.ezinearticles.com and www.ideamarketers.com. There are tons of sites that accept free articles or you can pay to have your articles listed. Be sure to write about content-rich subjects you really know about that offer value to the reader. If you’re serious about having your articles attract traffic, hire a VA to handle this task. There are hundreds (maybe thousands!) of article submission sites and taking on the job single-handed is daunting and costly. I’m talking HOURS and HOURS taken away from your business that could best be invested elsewhere. I chose a VA (virtual assistant, www.justtoobusy.co.uk) to handle this task for me rather than use an article submission service. Why? I’ve heard that spam dramatically increases when using article submission services. No thanks. I’m already deluged by spam.
3. Write a blog. Search engines love blogs. Be sure to offer readers information that is of value. That’s my intent in creating this blog so I hope you are finding information you can use to help you!
A few additional comments on building your database… One thing that drives me NUTS is when I find I’m subscribed to someone’s ezine or email list without permission. This can happen when I meet people at networking events and we exchange cards or I contact someone and they just add my email to a mass mailing list. Often, I mysteriously get emails from people I’ve never heard of who have somehow gotten my email address. You may not realize that on some sites, your email is captured the moment you click on the site.
By assuming people want to become part of your network without gaining their permission to say, “yes”, you might be sabotaging a potential business relationship. To me that’s just another way to spam folks.
To be added to my mailing list or blog, you must either confirm your subscription or be sent a one-time mailing from me with an invitation to join. At the bottom of mailings, be sure you have a link to unsubscribe or change subscriptions so that people remain in charge of whether they wish to hear from you or not.
That’s why I appreciate the emails that request confirmation of agreement to “opt-in” to a mailing list. Even though it’s an extra step, I find that being asked to join with someone gives me choice - something I respect and need. Listen, I have no problem with one-time samples of newsletters or ezines that give me the option to subscribe.
One of the keys to success is developing quality relationships with people whether they are clients, colleagues, friends, prospects or visitors. In my opinion, growing your business and your database means being a person of integrity and treating others with respect - you know The Golden Rule…do unto others.
Bottom line - pick marketing strategies you enjoy and have fun with them!
Marketing your business You gotta grow your database - To learn more about this author, visit Lorraine Cohen's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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