VA Business Coaching Blog » Marketing Tips

What I Learned About Marketing From Sea Turtles!

Jeannine Clontz — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:01:56 +0000

I recently watched the plight of newly hatched sea turtles, slowly and methodically making their way to the ocean. They faced all sorts of outside forces that turned hundreds of hatchlings into a mere 30-40 living specimens who actually made it to the ocean.

Once there, they quickly learn how to manage life around their sea-based predators and are even now believed to stay on course and return to their original nesting grounds 30-50 years later, with the use of magnetic fields.

It’s really fascinating to consider that this creature is able to survive such slim odds of making it to the ocean, and then finds itself traveling thousands of miles in a lifetime, based on magnetic maps in their heads.

I’ve found that in marketing my coaching business, or even when I’m helping one of my coaching clients market their own, taking things slowly and methodically is really the most beneficial way of establishing the long-term relationship that leads to good qualified leads and ideal clients for all of us.

While there may be hundreds of other competitors navigating the same marketing waters, what I believe differentiates us, is the consistency and completely mapped out marketing plan that is focused on the right target market for our specific business; a plan that builds rapport, establishes our expertise, and provides prospects and clients with viable, trackable, and profitable solutions to grow their businesses on multiple levels.

I’ve been pleased to see that people are finally realizing that they need to get back on track with their marketing; but still somewhat befuddled that they do it without a marketing plan in place. This makes it extremely difficult to be held accountable to implementing the plan, whether it’s you personally doing the implementation, in-house staff, or virtual professionals.

It’s difficult for you to track your results if you don’t have a clear picture of your marketing initiatives, when they’re being implemented and having something in place to track their results. Even something as simple as asking a prospect, ‘how did you hear about us’, would be helpful, but is usually not consistently requested of a new client.

So I encourage you to be one of those living specimens that makes it through the sea of competitors by creating a simple marketing plan using the latest technologies to improve your consistency and productivity while gaining ideal clients who will be best served by what you have to offer.

Times are tough, the economy is starting to rebound, making now the best time for you to re-invent your approach to marketing your business.

If you would be interested in discussing how we might be able to assist you please feel free to contact us for a complimentary consultation to discover what options are available to bring more qualified leads to your business.

Jeannine Clontz, provides professional business coaching to established and start-up virtual assistants (VA’s). Learn more about Time Management for Virtual Assistants by downloading her FREE report “A Fresh Look at Time Management for Virtual Assistants”, or request her FREE audio CD “What’s Holding Back my Business Success?”, and more by visiting: http://www.VAbizcoach.com ; or contact her at: coach@VAbizcoach.com.

What I Learned About Marketing From Sea Turtles! is a post from: VA Business Coaching Blog

Podcasting Tips for Businesses With a Female Audience

Jeannine Clontz — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:02:34 +0000

Generally, women are multi-taskers. Whether they are career-driven individuals or not, women rarely focus on one thing at a time. That makes podcasts very appealing to them. With podcasts, they are able to take in information that they’re interested in without having to take precious time out of their busy schedules.

If you own a business that targets female audiences, creating a podcast would be the perfect way to generate interest in your niche or whatever it is you have to offer. While podcasts are effective communication platforms for both genders, targeting a purely female audience requires a very specific communication strategy.

To generate interest among women, it’s important to keep them engaged, and actually have the ability to turn your listeners into customers. Here are my top podcasting tips:

1) Tell Stories

Women find it easy to make connections through stories. Communicate your messages through narratives and anecdotes that place your brand or your offerings in the context of your listeners’ lives. Doing so will allow them to easily take in and absorb what you are communicating. Your messages will become more memorable and easy to share with others.

2) Be Entertaining

No matter how serious or technical your messages are, you should be able to communicate them to your listeners in a fresh and entertaining manner. Try to imagine that your listeners depend on your podcast to get information that would be too boring or unentertaining. A new and fun approach to something serious but relevant will surely keep your listeners tuned in.

3) Speak on a Personal Level

Many podcast hosts speak as if they’re simply reading from a script or going through their notes. Add personality to your own podcast by speaking as if you’re conversing with your listeners. That will make your female audiences feel like they’re simply listening to a trusted friend over brunch and they are more likely to pay attention. You may even want to consider getting a co-host to turn your podcasts into actual conversations.

4) Keep it Light

Keep in mind that your podcasts can be accessed through various mobile devices. Being multi-taskers, your female listeners are likely tuning in while they’re on-the-go or working on something else. If your podcast requires your listeners to take down notes, you’re definitely going about it the wrong way. Keep your discussion light and avoid talking about things in a manner that requires your listeners’ complete attention.

Female listeners are generally easy to please. The best thing about having that type of audience is, if they like your podcast, they are likely to encourage their friends and relatives to tune in as well. Follow the tips above and you will find it easy to engage your audience and keep them tuned in. In no time, your listeners will not only be your brand’s advocates but its endorsers as well.

Podcasting Tips for Businesses With a Female Audience is a post from: VA Business Coaching Blog

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes to Avoid (Part Two)

Jeannine Clontz — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:56:53 +0000

Last time we discussed the top five mistakes to avoid when marketing your business, here are the final five!

6. Your message isn’t clear. Always test it out on current clients, peers, or family/friends to be sure it’s not confusing or misses the point you’re trying to make.

7. Untimely message. If you’re looking to build some business during the holiday season, make sure you’re giving prospects enough time to respond. Don’t release your holiday special two weeks before the holiday, start building momentum at least two months in advance.

8. No call to action. If you’re not giving the prospect a reason to contact you, you’re missing the mark. Create a sense of urgency with a deadline, or something extra if they respond by this date; anything that engages them and asks them to do something more.

9. Not marketing to your current clients. We sometimes forget that our current clients may not know about new services or products we have available, or, perhaps they have someone to refer. Don’t leave them out of your regular marketing efforts.

10. Not managing/collecting results. How can you know if something you’re using is yielding a return on investment? You need to ask every single prospect how they found you; or build in something in your call to action that will tell you exactly how you connected. Keep track on a simple spreadsheet and check in periodically to get the biggest ROI for your marketing dollars.

So how many of my ten mistakes resonated with you? Two, four, none? Take steps now to correct these mistakes and you’ll start seeing more, better qualified, leads, connecting to your business.

Have a few challenges I missed – share them by leaving a comment below!

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes to Avoid (Part Two) is a post from: VA Business Coaching Blog

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes to Avoid (Part One)

Jeannine Clontz — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:30:56 +0000

Without marketing your business could stagnate, or even worse, close. Identifying and correcting some basic marketing mistakes will help you to promote and grow your business.

Here are my Top Ten Marketing Mistakes

1. Your message is too general. While some of you may think that EVERYONE could use your product or service, if you take a step back, you’ll probably notice some common thread to many of the clients you currently serve. Maybe they’re in the same industry, or have a similar problem you’re able to solve. Whatever it is, establishing a target market will help you focus your message on those most likely to respond favorably.

2. Using only one medium. If you’re only marketing on the Internet, you may be missing an entire segment of prospect. Consider all your marketing options and mix it up to see if you get better results.

3. Changing something that IS working. Sometimes we get bored with our marketing and decide it’s just time for a change. If you have something that is yielding good returns, don’t change it – instead add something new.

4. Being inconsistent. Nothing says unreliable faster than sending out a ‘monthly’ newsletter in January and then not publishing the next issue until May. Be prepared and plan to be consistent with your marketing. Don’t set yourself up to fail.

5. Spammy message. Don’t come across like a snake oil salesman, make sure your message speaks to your prospect’s pain, but don’t overdo it.

Next week we’ll share the final five mistakes to avoid – meanwhile, check these out and make sure you change your system to avoid these pitfalls.

Have a few I may have missed – share your marketing challenges by leaving a comment below!

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes to Avoid (Part One) is a post from: VA Business Coaching Blog

Still Doing it Without a Marketing Plan?

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:03:51 +0000

Many of the virtual assistants I coach tell me they either don’t do any marketing, or do ‘some’, but nothing consistently. This is especially surprising to me for VAs who promote themselves as Internet Marketing Virtual Assistants.

There are some great resources available to you from well respected and established virtual assistants in our industry, some of which you can find here on my blog - this is so important to the well-being of your business. Find something that resonates with you and will help you to spread the word about your business to reach your target market.

As the economy begins to recover, not having a plan could be extremely hazardous to your business. My business has shown steady growth over the past three years and I believe this is because I have a complete and easy-to-use marketing plan system in place.

Start small and build your plan over time. Be consistent and try each marketing strategy for at least 6-months, or 5-7 touches, before you make the decision to scrap it and try something new.

Sometimes as small business owners, we just don’t know where to start, or how to balance our time to include those things that we need to do to make our businesses grow. Having and implementing a simple marketing plan can make a difference in your business generating a little bit of income, or allowing you to make a good living.

If this sounds like you, then I hope you’ll consider several things to get back on track with your marketing and get your business growing again.

Consider attending my July Elite Virtual Assistance Insider, Marketing Plan System Workshop on Wednesday, July 21st from 7:00 to 8:30 PM Eastern (Elite VA Insider July Session Details); or purchase my Grow Your Virtual Assistance Practice Marketing Plan System here: http://vabizcoach.com/products.html#marketing . I will also be giving away a copy of this system during the July session.

Take the time to find something that helps you consistently market your business and make the last half of 2010 your best ever!

Rather get a quick response to your question or challenge? Leave a comment below!

Jeannine Clontz, provides professional business coaching to established and start-up virtual assistants (VA’s). Learn more about Time Management for Virtual Assistants by downloading her FREE report “A Fresh Look at Time Management for Virtual Assistants”, or request her FREE audio CD “What’s Holding Back my Business Success?”, and more by visitingt: http://www.VAbizcoach.com; or contact her at: coach@VAbizcoach.com.

Still Doing it Without a Marketing Plan? is a post from: VA Business Coaching Blog

Gain Email Marketing Subscribers Through Your Website

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:28:39 +0000

The task of building a list of subscribers for email marketing isn’t too difficult if you already have a website that has engaging content and decent traffic. However, your visitors won’t sign up just because you asked, you need to optimize your site to build your subscriber list without compromising its current focus or making it look like a sales page. To help you use your website to build your subscriber list for email marketing, consider these tips:

1) Make Your Sign-Up Form Visible

The first step to getting email marketing sign-ups is to let your visitors know the option to subscribe exists. Make it easy for them to find your sign-up form. If possible, you should position it in a way that it is visible no matter which part of your site a visitor is viewing.

2) Provide Incentives to Subscribers

All internet users have become wary of signing up with their email addresses because of the many ways it can be used. This may bring up privacy concerns. To put such privacy concerns to rest, you need to give your website visitors powerful incentives to subscribe. Statements like "Register to Receive Our Weekly Newsletter" or "Sign Up for More Information" will no longer be enough to gain subscribers for email marketing. Experiment with different statements and incentives in order to find exactly what it is that will work for your specific target audience.

3) Minimize Required Fields

Although getting as much information as you can from your subscribers will allow you to fully customize your email marketing campaign for them, it may not be a good idea to ask for too much information right away. If your subscription form requires too many fields, potential subscribers may easily be turned off and refuse to sign-up at all. Generally, all you really need to ask for is the subscriber’s name and email address.

4) Send an Email at Once

To manage expectations, immediately send emails to all who subscribe. These emails should contain everything new subscribers can expect from you whether it’s a newsletter, free report, or something else. The same email should contain instructions that will allow new subscribers to confirm their email addresses or opt-in if you so desire. This will help you make sure that all the email addresses in your mailing list are valid and all those who subscribed are actually interested in what you have to offer. Doing this will help you avoid statistical nightmares when tracking the results of your email marketing campaign.

Always remember that visitors won’t subscribe to your newsletters or marketing emails just because a sign up form is available on your site. You need to woo them with incentives, entice them with proper communication strategies, and make it easy for them to sign up. As long as you keep all these in mind, you can make good use of your website to gain subscribers for email marketing.

Share your thoughts and ideas for new ways to gain subscribers by leaving a comment below!

Jeannine Clontz, owner of Accurate Business Services, a VA practice, is an author, writer, speaker and VA Business Coach specializing in providing professional business coaching to established and start-up virtual assistants (VA’s). For her FREE audio CD “What’s Holding Back my Business Success?”, a 2-month trial in her Insider group coachingprogram, or 1-month trial of her coaching club visit: http://www.VAbizcoach.com; or contact her at: coach@VAbizcoach.com.

Gain Email Marketing Subscribers Through Your Website is a post from: VA Business Coaching Blog

Subscriber Respect Builds Trust in Email Marketing

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:12:46 +0000

Respecting your current and potential subscribers is important in building trust through your email marketing campaign. How you collect email addresses and what you do with them will establish the level of respect you’ll provide. Most individuals consider their email address as private so what you do with it greatly affects whether you get to build on that trust or ruin it entirely. Subscribers trust those that show the most respect for their privacy. Here are tips to help you give subscribers the highest level of respect.

1. Set High Permission Standards

Never trick people into opting in. Get clear permission to send out everything you want to through your email marketing campaign. This means you should never pre-check opt-in boxes or trick subscribers with intentionally misleading text (i.e. "Do not select this option if you do not want to receive…"). Before people sign up, provide clear information on exactly what they are signing up for. Let them know what type of emails they will be receiving and how often they can expect them. Another level of confirmation is best. Ask new subscribers to confirm their decision to opt in through a second action, like asking them to click on a confirmation link located in your first email.

2. Be Transparent About Your Privacy Policies

Don’t intentionally publish privacy policies in long legal speak, or small print, knowing subscribers are unlikely to read them. Make it simple for them to discover and understand exactly what you intend to use their data for, and establish the proper level of respect. This means writing your privacy policies in simple language and making it easily accessible. If you trust and respect their privacy and if you really are trustworthy, you shouldn’t have anything to hide.

3. Respect Permission to the Highest Degree

Never rent or sell your list to third parties, even if you feel confident it can’t be traced back to you. People set certain expectations when they submit their email addresses to trustworthy email marketers. Subscribers don’t expect marketing messages from new senders or other things they did not explicitly sign up for. They should receive exactly what you told them to expect. In doing so, you will be recognized as a trustworthy provider.

In email marketing, you need to show subscribers exactly why they should trust you; and the amount of respect you give their privacy is a huge part of creating your trustworthiness. Never try to trick them into opting in for anything they don’t expect or fully understand. Value the trust they show for you as they give you their email addresses.

Jeannine Clontz, owner of Accurate Business Services, a VA practice, is an author, writer, speaker and VA Business Coach specializing in providing professional business coaching to established and start-up virtual assistants (VA’s). For her FREE audio CD “What’s Holding Back my Business Success?”, a 2-month trial in her Insider group coachingprogram, or 1-month trial of her coaching club visit: http://www.VAbizcoach.com; or contact her at: coach@VAbizcoach.com.

Subscriber Respect Builds Trust in Email Marketing is a post from: VA Business Coaching Blog

Build Trust Through Email Marketing Content (Part Two)

Jeannine Clontz — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:48:41 +0000

Last week we discussed giving more than you gain in your email marketing pieces, as well as, keeping promises. We close this discussion with important insights on proofreading and how best to communicate.

3. Proofread your emails.

While I would think this goes without saying, I’m surprised at all the typographical errors I see in email marketing pieces. The content of your emails should be perfect because even one typographical error can have serious consequences.

Spelling and grammar mistakes can breed distrust as your subscribers may tend to think of you as unprofessional or an unreliable source of information while some mistakes may also keep you from communicating clearly.

To make sure that your emails prove that you are worthy of your subscribers’ trust, you must proofread and edit them until you are completely satisfied with your work. If at all possible, it also helps to get a fresh eye to go through them for further tweaking and updates.

4. Communicate like a human being.

In email marketing, you need to communicate with your subscribers in a way that doesn’t intimidate them. Compose your messages in a tone similar to how you speak in casual conversations and avoid using corporate jargon and marketing buzz words. Doing this allows you to make your subscribers feel that they can relate with you and that they can trust and believe in what you have to say.

Another very important trust building factor is to avoid using templates that come with your email marketing tools. Compose your own welcome messages as well as auto-responses and customize them to suit the personality of your business. This will further help you in gaining trust from subscribers.

Implementing a successful email marketing campaign does not just involve sending out information in exchange for click-throughs or money. Much of your success lies in how you gain trust through the messages and information you send.

Follow the tips listed above and you can be sure that you can gain the trust of your subscribers as well as keep them loyal to your online business. Have some more tips you’d like to share? Having challenges with your email marketing campaigns. Share them by leaving a comment below and we’ll be glad to open up a discussion to help you resolve them and move forward.

Build Trust Through Email Marketing Content (Part Two) is a post from: VA Business Coaching Blog

Build Trust Through Email Marketing Content (Part One)

Jeannine Clontz — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 23:54:45 +0000

Your email copy plays an immensely important role in gaining trust from subscribers. While the quality of information is still the most important element, there are a lot of other factors to consider. Listed below are those I find most important.

1. Give more than what you might gain.

We all know the importance of providing relevant and engaging content to gain traffic and business/income in return. Although your subscribers recognize this exchange (they get useful information only if they provide their data and perform certain actions, sometimes a purchase), many of them still focus on the idea that you’re only helping them out because you’re after their money.

To alleviate this perception, be ready to provide value without expectations of any return from subscribers. Offering free reports or items works, but there are other things you should consider.

Provide timely information related to your niche but without direct benefit to you works well, especially if you don’t publish any obvious call to action. Subscribers who receive such content from you on a regular basis are more likely to trust you and become loyal to your business than if you simply sent them content produced specifically to prompt them to make a purchase.

2. Always keep your promises.

There are two types of promises you make when marketing your business online. The first is a promise brought about by your brand. Your brand has a certain reputation that serves as a promise. No matter what, there are things that people will expect from you. These expectations are something you must meet through your written copy. For example, if your brand is known to have a fun-loving and edgy personality, the content of your emails should reflect that.

The other type of promise you make is what’s stated in your registration process as well as your follow-up emails. In these materials, you need to state certain things that people can expect to receive when subscribing to your mailing list. These include the content you will be sending as well as how often you will be sending it. These are things that your subscribers will consider as promises, so you should always be true to what you say.

As long as you match the expectations you’ve set in your subscribers’ minds, you will be able to keep their trust and loyalty for years to come.

Next week we’ll talk about how your emails are formatting and proofed, and how to communicate with subscribers to maintain and improve your levels of trust.

Until then, if you have a question, challenge or something to share, please let a comment below.

Jeannine Clontz, owner of Accurate Business Services, a VA practice, is an author, writer, speaker and VA Business Coach specializing in providing professional business coaching to established and start-up virtual assistants (VA’s). For her FREE audio CD “What’s Holding Back my Business Success?”, a 2-month trial in her Insider group coachingprogram, or 1-month trial of her coaching club visit: http://www.VAbizcoach.com; or contact her at: coach@VAbizcoach.com.

Build Trust Through Email Marketing Content (Part One) is a post from: VA Business Coaching Blog