There are two resounding traits that help entrepreneurs overcome the challenges of starting a business and reaping the rewards of their labor. Just like opening a physical store, setting up shop online takes passion and demands a high level of optimism. The passion is the desire on the part of the entrepreneur to find something he or she loves to do and make a career out of it.

Positive thinking allows a person to stay focused in the face of cynicism from banks, peers and competitors. A “yes, I can” attitude quickly translates to “Wow, it’s working” as an online business opens its doors to the world.

Moving a business online doesn’t have to be an arduous process. To set up an online business, entrepreneurs should apply their passion and positive thinking to three key areas:

1. The planning process. Everything an entrepreneur needs to know, consider and decide before starting an e-commerce site.
2. Developing a marketing strategy. Determining how to get the word out and how to maintain good relationships with customers.
3. Understanding technology needs. The tricks and tools that make it all happen.

First and foremost, every small-business owner needs a well-thought plan. The internet is the best place to find information, learn from peers and effectively manage resources to formulate a plan that is perfect for a particular business and its owner.

The plan should look at every aspect of the proposed online business with a critical eye.

Originally Posted on: Florida Small Business Consulting - SuncoastGlobal.com

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The first thing you must do is calculate your minimum and maximum allowable ad budgets:

• Step 1: Take 10 percent and 12 percent of your projected annual gross sales and multiply each by the markup made on your average transaction. In this first step, it’s important to remember that we’re talking about gross markup here, not margin. Markup is gross profit above cost, expressed as a percentage of cost. Margin is gross profit expressed as a percentage of the selling price. Sell an item for $150 when it only costs you $100, and your markup is 50 percent.

  Your margin, however, is only 33.3 percent. This is because the same $50 gross profit represents 50 percent of your cost (markup,) but only 33.3 percent of the selling price (margin.) Most retail stores in America (carpet, jewelry and so on) operate on an average markup of approximately 100 percent, some operate on as little as 50 percent markup and others add as much as 200. More expensive items, such as cars, recreational vehicles and houses, typically carry a markup of only 10 to 15 percent.

• Step 2: Deduct your annual cost of occupancy (rent) from the adjusted 10 percent of sales number and the adjusted 12 percent number.
• Step 3: The remaining balances represent your minimum and maximum allowable ad budgets for the year. At this point in the calculation, you may learn that you’ve already spent your ad budget on expensive rent, or you might also learn that you should be doing a lot more advertising than you had previously suspected.

Now let’s calculate an ad budget. Assume that your business is projected to do $1 million in sales this year, you have a profit margin of 48 percent, and your rent is $36,000 per year. The first thing to do is calculate 10 percent of sales and 12 percent of sales ($100,000 and $120,000, respectively).

Second, we must convert your 48 percent profit margin into markup, because markup is what we’ve got to have to make this formula work. Most business owners know their margin by heart, but never their markup.

To make the conversion from margin to markup, simply divide gross profits by cost. Dividing $480,000 (gross profits) by $520,000 (hard cost) shows us that a 48 percent margin represents a markup of 92.3 percent. Bingo.

Now we multiply $100,000 times 92.3 percent to see that our adjusted low budget for total cost of exposure is $92,300. Likewise, we multiply $120,000 times 92.3 percent to get an adjusted high budget for total cost of exposure of $110,760.

From each of these two budgets, we must now deduct our $36,000 rent. This leaves us with a correctly calculated ad budget that ranges from $56,300 on the low side to a maximum of $74,760 on the high side.

Most advertising salespeople will tell you that “5 to 7 percent of gross sales” is the correct amount to budget for advertising, but don’t you believe it. It simply isn’t possible to designate a percentage of gross sales for advertising without taking into consideration the markup on your average sale and your rent.

Yes, expensive rent for a high-visibility location is often the best advertising your money can buy, since a business with a good sign in a high-visibility location will need to advertise significantly less than a similar business in an affordable location.

To prove this, just look at the example above and change the rent to $75,000 per year. In this case, the ad budget would range from $17,300 to $35,760, representing just 1.7 to 3.5 percent of sales.

The formula you’ve just learned is the only one that reconciles your ad budget with your rent as well as the profitability of your average sale. Use it!

Originally Posted on: Florida Small Business Consulting - SuncoastGlobal.com

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Creating a customer service policy and sticking to it can make it easier on you.

Take these steps to help you ensure that your clients receive excellent service every step of the way.

1. Put your customer service policy in writing. These principles should come from you, but every employee should know what the rules are and be ready to live up to them. This doesn’t have to be elaborate. In fact, keep it as simple as you possibly can.>
2. Establish support systems that give employees clear instructions for gaining and maintaining service superiority. These systems will help you outservice any competitor by giving more to customers and anticipating problems before they arise.
3. Develop a measurement of superb customer service. Don’t forget to reward employees who practice it consistently.
4. Be certain that your passion for customer service runs rampant throughout your company. Employees should see how good service relates to your profits and to their futures with the company.
5. Be genuinely committed to providing more customer service excellence than anyone else in your industry. This commitment must be so powerful that every one of your customers can sense it.
6. Share information with people on the front lines. Meet with your employees regularly to talk about improving service. Solicit ideas from employees-they are the ones who are dealing with customers most often.
7. Act on the knowledge that what customers value most are attention, dependability, promptness and competence. They love being treated as individuals and being referred to by name.

Phrases That’ll Make Your Customers Happy

Principles of customer service are all very well, but you need to put those principles into action with everything you do and say. There are certain “magic words” customers want to hear from you and your staff. Make sure all your employees understand the importance of these key phrases:

• “How can I help?” Customers want the opportunity to explain in detail what they want and need. Too often, business owners feel the desire or the obligation to guess what customers need rather than carefully listening first. By asking how you can help, you begin the dialogue on a positive note (you are “helping,” not “selling”). And by using an open-ended question, you invite discussion.
• “I can solve that problem.” Most customers, especially business-to-business customers, are looking to buy solutions. They appreciate direct answers in a language they can understand.
• “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” When confronted with a truly difficult question that requires research on your part, admit that you don’t know the answer. Few things ruin your credibility faster than trying to answer a question when you are unsure of all the facts. Savvy buyers may test you with a question they know you can’t answer and then just sit quietly while you struggle to fake an intelligent reply. An honest answer enhances your integrity.
• “I will take responsibility.” Tell your customer you realize it’s your responsibility to ensure a satisfactory outcome to the transaction. Assure the customer you know what he or she expects and will deliver the product or service at the agreed-upon price. There will be no unexpected changes or expenses required to solve the problem.
• “I will keep you updated.” Even if your business is a cash-and-carry operation, it probably requires scheduling and coordinating numerous events. Assure your customers they will be advised of the status of these events. The longer your lead time, the more important this is. The vendors customers trust the most are those that keep them apprised of the situation, whether the news is good or bad.
• “I will deliver on time.” A due date that has been agreed upon is a promise that must be kept. “Close” doesn’t count.
• “Monday means Monday.” The first week in July means the first week in July, even though it contains a national holiday. Your clients are waiting to hear you say “I deliver on time.” The supplier who consistently does so is a rarity and will be remembered.
• “It’ll be just what you ordered.” It will not be “similar to,” and it will not be “better than” what was ordered. It will be exactly what was ordered. Even if you believe a substitute would be in the client’s best interests, that’s a topic for discussion, not something you decide on your own. Your customer may not know (or be at liberty to explain) all the ramifications of the purchase.
• “The job will be complete.” Assure the customer there will be no waiting for a final piece or a last document. Never say you are finished “except for….”
• “I appreciate your business.” This means more than a simple “Thanks for the order.” Genuine appreciation involves follow-up calls, offering to answer questions, making sure everything is performing satisfactorily, and ascertaining that the original problem has been solved.

Neglecting any of these steps conveys the impression that you were interested in the person only until the sale was made. This leaves the buyer feeling deceived and used, and creates ill will and negative advertising for your company. Sincerely proving you care about your customers leads to recommendations and repeat sales.

Never Let Your Customers Forget You

One important tool for generating repeat business is following up. Effective follow-up begins immediately after the sale when you call the customer to say “thank you” and find out if he or she is pleased with your product or service. Beyond this, there are several effective ways to follow up that ensure your business is always in the customer’s mind.

• Let customers know what you are doing for them. This can be in the form of a newsletter mailed to existing customers, or it can be more informal, such as a phone call. Whatever method you use, the key is to dramatically point out to customers the excellent service you are giving them. If you never mention all the things you are doing for them, customers may not notice.
• Write old customers personal, handwritten notes frequently. “I was just sitting at my desk and your name popped into my head. Are you still having a great time flying all over the country? Let me know if you need another set of luggage. I can stop by with our latest models any time.” Or if you run into an old customer at an event, follow up with a note: “It was great seeing you at the CDC Christmas party. I’ll call you early in the New Year to schedule a lunch.”
• Keep it personal. Voice mail and e-mail make it easy to communicate, but the personal touch is often lost. If you’re having trouble getting through to someone whose problem requires that personal touch, leave a voice-mail message that you want to talk to the person directly or will stop by his or her office at a designated time.
• Remember special occasions. Send regular customers birthday cards, anniversary cards, holiday cards…you name it. Gifts are excellent follow-up tools, too. You don’t have to spend a fortune to show you care; use your creativity to come up with interesting gift ideas that tie into your business, the customer’s business or his or her recent purchase.
• Pass on information. If you read an article, see a new book, or hear about an organization a customer might be interested in, drop a note or make a quick call to let them know.
• Consider follow-up calls as business development calls. When you talk to or visit old clients or customers, you’ll often find they have referrals to give you, which can lead to new business.

With all your existing customers can do for you, there’s simply no reason not to stay in regular contact with them. Use your imagination, and you’ll think of plenty of other ideas that can help you develop a lasting relationship.

Dealing With Unsatisfied Customers

Studies show that the vast majority of unsatisfied customers will never come right out and tell you they’re unsatisfied. They simply leave quietly, later telling everyone they know not to do business with you.

So when a customer complains, don’t think of it as a nuisance-think of it as a golden opportunity to change that customer’s mind and retain his or her business.

Even the best product or service receives complaints now and then. Here’s how to handle them for positive results:

• Let customers vent their feelings. Encourage them to get their frustrations out in the open.
• Never argue with a customer.
• Never tell a customer “You do not have a problem.” Those are fighting words.
• Share your point of view as politely as you can.
• Take responsibility for the problem. Don’t make excuses. If an employee was sick or a supplier let you down, that’s not the customer’s concern.
• Immediately take action to remedy the situation. Promising a solution and then delaying it only makes matters worse.
• Empower your front-line employees to be flexible in resolving complaints. Give employees some leeway in deciding when to bend the rules. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, make sure they have you or another manager handle the situation.

Originally Posted on: Florida Small Business Consulting - SuncoastGlobal.com

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The five most common mistakes made in business-sign design are:

1. Attempting to be understated or elegant.
2. Attempting to “fit,” or blend into, the surrounding environment.
3. Underspending.
4. Including too much information.
5. Placing the sign too high. (The eyes of drivers tend to stay focused at windshield height. Low signs are better in town. Tall signs are better on freeways where they’ll be read–at windshield height–from great distances.)

Great signs are always the most interesting piece of scenery in their vicinity. This is why they’re noticed even when people aren’t looking for them.

Would you like to have such a sign? Believe it or not, it’s possible–not cheap or easy, but possible.

Consider the sprawling white letters stretched across a hillside in Southern California: HOLLYWOOD, a landmark known around the world. Did you know that sign was originally erected by a real-estate developer to identify his remote suburban subdivision, Hollywoodland?

Not all business signs will become famous landmarks, but it doesn’t hurt to keep these common denominators of business signs that do become landmarks in mind:

• They’re dramatic. This can be due to the fact that they’re:
  • Grossly oversized
  • Strangely placed
  • 3-dimensional
• They’re different. They contrast sharply with their surroundings due to:
  • Color. For example, snow-white Hollywood letters against a hillside of dark brown and green.
  • Installation. The famous Hollywood sign isn’t on a pole or a board. Its individual letters sit directly on the ground.
  • Context. There’s nothing immediately around it to distract from it. Or if there is something important nearby, it’s incorporated into the sign itself.
• There’s something “wrong” with it. Ever notice how the Hollywood letters aren’t level, but rise and fall with the terrain? This makes it far more memorable.

I doubt if the builder of the Hollywood sign did these brilliant things intentionally. But they worked, even if some of them were accidental. Do you have the courage and determination to repeat on purpose the things he did right by accident? If you do, the public will soon be using your sign as a reference point when giving directions.

Originally Posted on: Florida Small Business Consulting - SuncoastGlobal.com

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A feature is an in-depth look at a topic, product or industry–it’s a complex story designed to be read at a leisurely pace. And a feature can benefit your company by linking your brand or product to a larger trend or industry focus while also showcasing you, the entrepreneur, as a thought-leader in your field.

While a news release is designed to entice the reporter into finding out more information themselves, a feature is designed to be used as is, or merely edited to fit the space available.

Topics such as health, home improvement, travel and technology all lend themselves well to features since they can be used in special sections of newspapers–such as lifestyle, home, arts or technology–or in the weekend magazines. Trade publications also publish feature articles, usually in the form of special supplements.

Because a feature should be written from a journalistic perspective, you should emphasize information over outright promotion. Ideally, a feature editor won,t change the story at all and will use it when it,s needed as part of a theme or to fill space.

Papers like to have quality articles on hand, so come up with your feature-worthy concept, then use the following guidelines to help you write a great article.

Headlines

The headline is the most vital part of your feature. Treat the headline as if it were a summary of the article. Ask yourself, Why is this story important? What about it will it grab readers’ interest? A good headline answers those questions by telling the reader something new, different or useful–in 20 words or less. A few examples I’ve seen recently include:

• Plug-In Devices Help Save Money on Your Utility Bill
• Reinventing the “Mommy Tack”: More Women Choose Business Ownership to Gain Control, Flexibility and Family Time
• The Sleep Expert’s Advice on Creating the Right Sleep Environment for Students

To come up with a good headline, pretend you’re telling a friend what the article’s about, explaining the most interesting aspects of your story. Keep the wording simple, and avoid superlatives and emotive language. Also, avoid using a brand or client name in the headline unless it’s very well known. Instead, focus on what’s most interesting about your topic.

Leads

A strong lead paragraph offers intrigue from the start. Editors don’t have time to read through the entire article to reach your key point, and neither do your readers. Think of the lead as an extended version of the headline, even using some of the same words.

When writing a lead, try to keep the paragraph short–two to three short sentences at the most. In total, your feature should be close to 400 words. Don’t worry about your brand at this point–just introduce the interesting aspects of the story. If your lead reads like an ad, it’ll be discarded immediately.

The Second Paragraph

The second paragraph serves to support and expand on the ideas set out in the lead. It’s also a good place to let people know who’s behind the feature so there’s no confusion about who provided the copy. Also, if the article has to be shortened due to space limitations, having the name of the company or spokesperson and your web address near the beginning will be vitally important.

If written well, the first two paragraphs can serve as a brief column item or filler if a newspaper or magazine has only limited space.

Using Quotes

A quote can lend authority to an article, introduce an expert and further advance the story. Most important, quotes can introduce personal feelings, comments and opinion, so this is where you want to use superlatives and emotive language (without sounding false!).

Be sure quotes are in a conversational style, and don’t merely cite facts or figures–no real person speaks only in data. Also avoid repeating information or using jargon; speak as if you were explaining your product or service to your grandmother.

Ideally, the person you quote should be someone who’d be available for interviews should a journalist want to ask additional questions. So he or she should be knowledgeable on the topic and open to working with the media. Use your strongest quote first, and be sure to provide information on the speaker and his or her relation to the company in a contact section at the end of your article.

Getting Into Detail

After the third paragraph, any information you add should develop the story further and hold the interest of the reader. Now’s the time to go into detail about the benefits of a product, or the mechanisms of how it works. However, for ease of reading, use bullet points or top tips if you’re listing information.

Another thing to remember–and one way a feature differs from a news release–is that a feature story will almost never include corporate identity or forward-looking statements.

When to Send a Feature

Generally, newspaper feature sections are planned at least three weeks in advance, so you’ll need to plan ahead. E-mail the features editor to determine their interest before you start writing–just a simple outline will do. If you’re trying to get into a trade publication, do your research and check the deadlines–they could be working as much as three months in advance.

Most news wires offer feature services and media databases, and they’ll often offer a feature calendar that corresponds with publications’ due dates. Consider distributing your feature via news wire and, if possible, choose one that has a list of when and where your feature could be placed and advises on crafting your feature for the different audiences.

Also, don’t forget your web audience. Search engines are used millions of times each day by people looking for how-to, where-to and when-to articles. Your news wire can help you reach these audiences by providing search engine optimization to help get your story placed highly in searches.

Images and Multimedia

A photo can often mean difference between your feature being chosen for publication vs. them choosing your competitor’s. A photo helps explain the story and can draw the eye of those scanning the page. It also gives editors more options when filling space.

Make sure your photos are high-quality: Always provide digital photos in high resolution (300 dpi) and, if possible, have them shot by a professional. A bad photo will reflect on the quality of your feature.

Other multimedia options include a video or audio version of your story, or additional expert quotes and interviews. A feature podcast or multimedia news release can include all these assets to transform your story into an online experience for your audience, complete with links and reference materials to let them experience more for themselves.

Finally

When sending your feature to reporters for editorial consideration, don’t be afraid to call them to offer more information; however, don’t call to check that the article has arrived. Reporters are busy and don’t like being called without good reason. And be patient–since your feature isn’t breaking news, the reporter may file it for use next week, next month or during the next holiday season.

Once your feature’s been accepted, look out for follow-up opportunities: Keep tabs on industry trends, or consider doing a “What happened a year later” story or a biography of someone quoted in the article. With luck, your feature could be the next topic of discussion around the water cooler.

Originally Posted on: Florida Small Business Consulting - SuncoastGlobal.com

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Choose a card that’s appropriate for your business, industry and personal style. If you’re a funeral director, for example, you don’t want to be caught handing out day-glow cards with cartoon figures on them. If you’re a mechanic whose specialty is converting old Beetles into dune buggies, a formal, black-on-white engraved card will probably be dropped into the nearest circular file. When crafting a design, start with the style that best supports the business image you wish to project. To help you get started, here are five different card styles for you to consider:

• Basic cards. A basic card is usually printed in black ink on plain white or cream stock. This is a good style to choose when utility is all you need. It’s a no-nonsense approach that can appeal to clients and prospects who would not be impressed by fancy design features-the people who want “just the facts, ma’am.” The design is simple, and the information is clear and concise.
• Picture cards. Having your face on your card-whether it’s a photograph, a drawing or a caricature-helps a contact remember you the next time he or she sees you. Images representing a product or service, or a benefit your business provides, can help you communicate your business better than dozens of words. A splash of color (rather than just black and white) is often helpful on a picture card, too.
• Tactile cards. Some cards are distinguished not so much by how they look as by how they feel. They may use nonstandard materials, such as metal or wood, or have unusual shapes, edges, folds or embossing. Tactile cards tend to be considerably more expensive than regular cards because they use nonstandard production processes such as die cuts. But for some businesses, this more unusual card may be worth the price.
• Multipurpose cards. A card can do more than promote your name and business-it can also serve as a discount coupon, an appointment reminder or some other function. It may also provide valuable information that the average person may need. For example, a hotel may include a map on the back of its card for any guests who are walking around the local area. A card of any type can be made multipurpose by adding any of these types of features.
• Outside-the-box cards. A wildly original, fanciful or extravagant presentation can draw extra attention. Creativity knows no bounds-except the amount of money you wish to spend. Some examples are cards made of chocolate or that folded out into a miniature box to keep small items in.

Now It’s Time to Order

Once you’ve settled on a basic idea for your business card, it’s time to head to the printer. There are four primary considerations when ordering business cards:

• Weight. Most business cards are printed on 80-pound cover stock.
• Finish. Of the three available-smooth, linen and laid-the smooth finish is the most popular.
• Color. Right now, two-color cards predominate. If you’re selecting from a catalog, there are between five and 15 standard colors to choose from. If you have another ink color in mind, your printer can show you a Pantone Matching System book, which includes every shade under the sun.
• Quantity. It generally pays to print more cards rather than fewer, because the printer’s cost is primarily in the setup.

Design Resource

For more detailed descriptions of the different types of business cards, take a look at It’s in the Cards. In it, Ivan Misner, Candace Bailly and Dan Georgevich review more than 2,000 business cards from 10 countries and select more than 200 examples of some of the best, which are shown throughout the book in full-color.

Though this may sound like obvious advice, it might cost you another trip to the printer if you don’t heed it: Include the essentials. This means your name, title, company name, address, phone number (or numbers, if you want to include your cell), e-mail and Web site. If someone wants to contact you after receiving your card, you sure as heck want them to be able to.

Originally Posted on: Florida Small Business Consulting - SuncoastGlobal.com

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And if you roll out a large traffic campaign before you’ve tested your site to make sure it converts maximum visitors into buyers, you risk losing sales and looking unprofessional to potential business partners and affiliates.

So you’re caught in a vicious cycle: Before ramping up a big traffic campaign, you need to test your sales process, but without any traffic, testing is difficult–if not impossible!

Here’s an eight-step action plan that will show you:

• How to get cheap, instant traffic to your website so you can test key components of your sales process–your sales copy, order form, navigation and opt-in offer–before rolling out a large-scale traffic campaign.
• How to ensure that every element of your sales process is optimized to convert maximum traffic into maximum sales.
• The most effective strategies for attracting thousands of highly qualified potential buyers to your site right away.
• The secret to putting your entire traffic campaign on autopilot.

So even if your site is getting no traffic right now, you can be testing the key elements of your sales process tomorrow–and as soon as two weeks from now, you can be rolling out your traffic campaign in full.

1. Get the traffic you need to test your website fast! But, you may be asking yourself:
   • How do I test my site?
   • What do I test on my site?

   As you may already know, there are an infinite number of things you can test on your site to help you increase sales. From layout to copy to design, there are limitless combinations of changes that may improve your visitor-to-sale conversion rate. But what’s “enough” when you’re just starting out? What elements should you focus on testing before rolling out your traffic campaign?

   Stick to the basics. Focus on testing your:

   • Salescopy: especially your headline, benefits, guarantee and call to action
   • Order process: which needs to be simple enough for a novice web user to place an order
   • Opt-in offer: so you can determine if you’re successfully capturing your visitors’ contact information
   • Site navigation: so you can figure out how many clicks it takes to buy. Ideally it should take less than three.

   These are the four critical aspects of your sales process that need to be tested before you start driving traffic. Later on, once you’ve generated sales and have some steady traffic, you can move on to testing other parts of your site.

   Of course, all this talk of testing your new site raises one big question: How can you test without traffic? Because if you’re just getting started, chances are good that your website doesn’t get much traffic yet.

   The solution is simple: Buy traffic through PPC search engines. Pay-per-click search engines are a lot like auctions–they allow you to bid for top-ranking positions under keywords of your choice. For each visitor who searches the keyword(s) you bid on and then clicks through to your site, you pay whatever you bid. Prices typically range from five cents to a few dollars per click-through for popular keywords. There are a ton of PPC search engines out there.

   With PPC search engines, you get cheap, instant, qualified traffic–provided you bid on targeted keywords. Not only that, but bidding on traffic in the PPC search engines can help your site get ranked in the free search engines, too!

   Here are a few tips to help you start bidding for traffic without breaking the bank:

   • In Yahoo Search Marketing, bid to appear in the top three listings whenever possible, since these results are also “pushed” to appear in many other search results–reaching a large percentage of all internet users.
   • Bid on targeted, descriptive keywords. So don’t just bid on “sock;” bid on “red wool sock.” Not only are targeted keywords and phrases usually cheaper to bid on–they’ll also attract more qualified potential buyers. Use a keyword selection tool like Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool to research targeted keywords that attract maximum traffic for minimal cost-per-click.
   • After you’ve tested and tweaked your site with a limited amount of purchased traffic, it’s time to start generating qualified traffic for your site on a larger scale. But how do you go from some traffic to a ton of traffic?
2. Get cheap traffic quickly with PPC advertising. Once you’ve tested your site with limited PPC traffic, the fastest way to ramp up traffic to your site is to roll out a PPC campaign on a larger scale.

   This is also a great time to get started with Google AdWords –Google’s own PPC contender. With Google AdWords, you get instant traffic with no waiting. Because as soon as you put the money down on your keywords, your ad goes up and starts working for you.

3. Get free traffic from search engines like Google. Now that you’ve bid on keywords for a strong showing in the PPC search engines, it’s time to tackle the organic search engines and directories. Search engines like Google and directories like Yahoo! can still be a great source of free traffic for your website. The trick is getting a competitive ranking for your best keywords.
4. Give away irresistible free content for priceless publicity. Believe it or not, a really easy, frequently undervalued strategy for getting traffic is giving away free content to other websites. Even just two or three well-written articles can generate truckloads of traffic, as long as they don’t contain a sales pitch.

   You want to include rare, hard-to-get information that’ll lend your articles automatic value–the kind of information that establishes you as an expert in your field.

   Once you’ve finished an article, write a short bio paragraph about you and your business and place it at the end of your article along with–and this is the most important part–a link to your site.

   To locate sites that might be interested in your content, e-mail other website owners in your industry–be sure to choose sites that receive attention and visits from your target market–and invite them to use your article on their site or in their newsletter at absolutely no cost.

   Many site owners need fresh content, so they’ll be more than happy to post your articles–and it won’t be long before those articles start driving traffic back to your site.

   Another option is to give away your articles through free content websites like these:

   • www.ezinearticles.com
   • www.freesticky.com

   Your articles will automatically be made available to thousands of websites seeking free, quality content–and all you have to do is submit your articles once.

   Don’t underestimate the power of giving away free content. And as your articles gain more exposure, don’t be surprised if you’re contacted by high-profile magazine and portal sites related to your industry looking for free articles to include on their sites, too.

5. Get free word of mouth publicity using viral marketing. Simply defined, viral marketing is a way for you to spread your marketing message like a virus. You encourage people to pass on information about your site to others, and you use that word-of-mouth publicity to advertise your business. Once you start the “virus,” it spreads without you lifting a finger.

   Need an example? Try Hotmail.com, the free web-based e-mail service provider. At the bottom of every single Hotmail e-mail sent by Hotmail members, there’s a simple one-line message:

   “Get your free, private email from MSN at http://www.hotmail.com”

   How much time do you think it took Hotmail to include that signature line as part of their e-mail service? Not much at all–but look at the impact this simple strategy had on the growth of their business. In my personal experience, more than 35 percent of all e-mail users have Hotmail accounts!

   You can easily duplicate this strategy by doing something as simple as including a “pass it on link” at the end of a free newsletter, something as simple as:

   “If you’ve enjoyed this article, please be sure to forward it to a friend!”

   By simply asking readers to take action and forward your newsletter, you’ll prompt free word of mouth exposure for your business without any extra cost or hassle.

   How else can you put viral marketing to work for you? Here are a few simple ideas:

   1. Give away free articles (like the ones I describe in Step 4) that include a “pass it on” link.
   2. Give away free demos of your product.
   3. Offer a free trial of your service with a “share this great resource” button on the page.
   4. Hold a contest on your site, and give participants an extra entry for every friend they refer.
   5. Start an affiliate program (see Step 7 below).

   As you can see, you don’t need to be the next Hotmail to get started with viral marketing. By simply encouraging people to “share this resource with friends,” you can attract some great word-of-mouth traffic.

6. Get free links on other high-traffic websites. Link requests require minimal effort from you, but they can absolutely explode your traffic numbers overnight. How? If your site is a featured link on a major site in your industry–one that receives a ton of attention–your site immediately benefits from all the exposure their site receives.

   Getting started with this strategy is simple, but you should follow a standard process every time you request a link. Let’s break it down into a few easy steps:

   1. Do a Google search for your standard keywords–the ones that people generally use to find your site.
   2. Make detailed notes about the sites that appear regularly in the top ten listings for your major keywords.
   3. Use the Alexa Toolbar, LinkPopularity or Technorati to find out what other sites these sites are linking to, whose linking to them and how much traffic they’re receiving, then look up their contact information.
   4. Before making contact, make sure you know the correct URL for the site, the URL of the sub-page on which you want your link to appear, the name of the site owner or webmaster, the date you last visited their site, and a brief description of the contents of the site.

   When you’re ready to contact the owners of these website and request a link, write a personal e-mail–don’t use form letters. Be sure to include some positive comments about their site, information about you and your site (along with your URL), an explanation of why a link to you would benefit them, and instructions for contacting you to get started.

   You want your request to be thorough and professional. If you can present a persuasive argument for why the link request benefits both of you, you stand a better chance of forging a connection. And if you’re really eager to get your link on their site, be prepared to up the ante by offering them a commission or a link on your site in return. The investment could be well worth the extra exposure your marketing message receives.

   When other businesses request links on your site, my advice is, be stingy. Just as links on others’ sites serve as a personal recommendation of your site, links on your site are recommendations for their businesses. Only recommend the best!

7. Get thousands of websites to promote your business for free. Imagine hundreds, even thousands, of websites promoting your product or service without spending a dime until someone refers a paying customer. You can do this with what’s called an affiliate program.

   Affiliate programs–also referred to as “reseller” or “associate” programs–are a great way to get other people (called “affiliates”) to promote your product or service for you. For every paying customer your affiliates refer to your site, you pay them a commission. And since you only pay when you make money, it’s an extremely low-risk option.

   Here’s how it works: Your affiliates send visitors to your site using banner ads, text links, letters of referral and so on, while you track these referrals using special software. It’s an extremely powerful way to grow your business because it automates your traffic generation. To get started with your own affiliate program, you need to:

   1. Establish your commissions. To keep your affiliates motivated, you should pay them 40 to 50 percent of your profits per sale.
   2. Get software to track the traffic and sales of your affiliates so you know what to pay them.
   3. Provide your affiliates with tools they can use to promote your products, such as e-mails, banners and so on.
   4. Recruit more affiliates. Look for sites that target your market, and invite them to become affiliates.

   Affiliate programs are an ideal way to automate your traffic generation because other people are marketing your site for you. Your sales increase on a daily basis–but your affiliates do all the selling for you, and it doesn’t cost you a dime until they send you paying customers.

8. Use e-mail marketing to attract repeat visitors. Getting lots of traffic to your site is great, but if you aren’t collecting the contact information–the names and e-mail addresses–of visitors, you’re wasting every single click. If visitors leave your site without buying your product, there’s a good chance they won’t ever be back–and you’ll have absolutely no way of following up with them. It can take up to seven points of contact to make a single sale.

   You’ll want to begin collecting visitors’ contact information from day one using an opt-in form on your home page. Then send them e-mail messages to follow up and keep them thinking about your site. Need some ideas for e-mails you could send to follow up with your opt-in subscribers? Try these ideas:

   1. Monthly or bi-weekly newsletters that include tons of tips and information
   2. Free reports on topics your market would appreciate
   3. Answers to common questions people ask about your product
   4. Offers for products similar or complementary to ones you may have already offered them
   5. Free product trials that give potential customers a taste of what you have to offer
   6. A “downgrade” offer for a product that’s less expensive or robust than your featured offer

   Following up with the addresses you gather is quick, easy and simple with e-mail management and automation software. You can create e-mail messages called “autoresponders” that potential customers receive automatically as soon as they opt-in on your site–within seconds–no matter what time of day it is or whether you’re even at your desk!

   That’s right: As soon as your visitors opt in, they’ll start hearing from you on a regular basis without you having to deal with the stress of writing a ton of e-mails to individual addresses. This is a process you can put on autopilot from the very beginning.

Final Thoughts

Obviously, we’ve covered a lot of ground in this article, before you dive into any of these strategies, you’ll need to do a bit more reading and research on each of these topics in order to understand these tactics in depth.

This article was meant to be a clear road map of exactly what you need to do first, second and third to test your website to maximize conversion rates and then roll out an effective traffic campaign that attracts swarms of potential buyers–automatically–for years to come. But reading more on each topic will help figure out exactly what you need to do for your site to make it a success.

Over the years, I’ve noticed a common thread that links all our most successful clients who have internet businesses: They have all focused on implementing one or two marketing strategies really well.

Don’t feel like you need to become an expert in all the strategies covered here. Focus on becoming really proficient at one or two–because this may be all you need to dramatically increase your traffic–and sales.

Originally Posted on: Florida Small Business Consulting - SuncoastGlobal.com

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The key to choosing a good advertisement begins with deciding what you want your ad to highlight. Are you trying to sell a specific product or are you trying to sell your business as a whole through your brand image? To answer that, you need to understand what the four main types of advertisements are:

1. Category-specific ads are written broadly enough to fit every advertiser in a category. A transparent fabric of smoothly woven cliches, a category-specific ad is a generalized template into which one merely inserts a store name and address. All you have to do is fill in the blanks. Ads that fit everyone don’t work very well for anyone. These were once called institutional ads. Don’t use them.
2. Franchise ads build the master brand.
   The hope of every franchisee is that the ads provided by the franchisor will generate enough brand attraction to pull customers into their store. Due to the fact that a franchisor can afford to create a higher quality of ad campaign than the typical local merchant, this strategy often succeeds.
3. Product-specific ads benefit every retailer who sells the product, but they aren’t really about the retailer at all; they’re only about the product. Product-specific ads almost always make good advertisements. The only problem small business owners run into is when they’re selling another manufacturer’s product and are offered co-op advertising.
4. Store-specific ads are the foundation of local branding, but to write them requires intimate, detailed research on the part of an expert ad writer. Rarely will a good, store-specific ad fit another advertiser in the same category. Store-specific ads are also guaranteed to make good advertising and I highly recommend them.

Now that you understand the four main types of ads, you need to choose the one that’ll work for you–not the one that worked for ABC Company down the road. The story you’re about to read is a a true tale.

You’ll see why the type of ad you choose can totally change the way your customers perceive you–and also why the same ad probably won’t work for someone else. The name of the store, the town and the vegetable have been changed to protect the innocent:

Heisenberg’s Jewelers had been in the same building on Main Street in Cabbage Valley for 105 years. A facelift seven years earlier had given the store white carpet, walnut paneling and a huge chandelier in a high, domed ceiling.

Heisenberg’s was the Sistine Chapel of jewelry stores. Not a problem, except that Cabbage Valley is a little farming community of about 45,000 people. Even the wealthiest of Cabbage Valley’s farmers felt they weren’t dressed well enough to enter that store. Heisenberg’s was truly an intimidating place.

“You need to understand who our customer is,” said the owner. She’s a 40 year-old female. Upscale. Very upscale. Well-dressed. Always buys the best. That’s our customer. That’s who you need to target.”

This was in mid-October. They were trying to get help saving their Christmas sales season, because if they had another season as bad as the previous six, they were going to have to close their doors in January.

“Let’s get something straight. There’s no handle that can be cranked that will spit out 40 year-old rich women. You’ll need ads that appeal to men or you’re going to have to find another way to make a living.”

This is the radio ad that saved Heisenberg’s:

“Ladies, many of you will be fortunate enough this Christmas to find a small, but beautifully wrapped package under your tree bearing a simple gold seal that says ‘Heisenberg’s.’ Now you and I both know there’s jewelry in the box. But the thing you need to know is this: The man who put it there for you is trying desperately to tell you that you are more precious than diamonds, more valuable than gold, and very, very special.

You see, he could have gone to a department store and bought department store jewelry, or picked up something at the mall like all the other husbands. But the men who come to Heisenberg’s aren’t trying to get off cheap or easy. Men who come to Heisenberg’s believe their wives deserve the best. And whether they spend $99 or $9,900, the message is the same: Men who come to Heisenberg’s are still very much in love. We just thought you should know.”

That radio ad was delivered slowly and thoughtfully with style and grace. No hurry. No street address. No store hours. No phone number. We simply told listeners what they already knew about Heisenberg’s, but made them feel differently about it. What we said in essence was, “If your husband voluntarily came to this scarily expensive store, he must really be in love with you.” It worked like magic.

Throughout the month of December, men wedged themselves into Heisenberg’s, waved stacks of cash at the register and shouted, “I don’t care what you put in the box, but make sure it’s got that damn gold sticker.” Heisenberg’s made a blistering fortune that year and reversed their downward trend.

Like every great store-specific ad, the Heisenberg’s gold seal campaign would never have worked if Heisenberg’s hadn’t already had the reputation of being extremely intimidating and expensive. That same ad could just as easily have been delivered by newspaper, direct mail or television and it would have worked just as well. It was the message, not the media, that delivered the miracle.

So in summary, remember the four main types of ads:

• Category-specific “institutional” ads are a waste of money
• Franchise ads are for team players who want to help build a strong collective brand
• Product-specific ads are for special promotions
• Store-specific ads are for local branding

What kind of ads are you running?

Originally Posted on: Florida Small Business Consulting - SuncoastGlobal.com

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But to start out, I recommend you keep your group on the small side. The participants should be relatively at ease with one another, and as you continue to brainstorm together over time, they’ll become more comfortable throwing out off-the-wall ideas–which often generate the best results.

Begin by choosing a facilitator to record the ideas on large, poster-size sheets of paper that can be stuck to a bulletin board or along the walls of the room. This will keep all the ideas clearly visible. And follow these important ground rules:

• Suspend criticism. All ideas, no matter how crazy they may seem, should be encouraged and recorded without comment or criticism from the group. The general goal of brainstorming is to collect as many ideas as possible, making quantity much more important than quality at this initial stage.
• Postpone evaluation. Brainstorming sessions are not the time or place to evaluate the merits of the ideas suggested. So don’t suspend the process to evaluate the projected results of any single idea.
• Build on others’ ideas. At their best, brainstorming sessions are fast-paced and fun. Participants should try to build each consecutive idea on the previous ones. This can sometimes result in surprising twists and turns.

Though all brainstorming sessions should follow these basic ground rules, there are numerous ways to approach the idea-generation process. Here are three proven methods to try:

• Pose an initial question. Suppose you had created a product for small businesses and were looking for a new marketing approach. The facilitator might open the brainstorming session by posing a question such as “What do small business owners want?”

  Participants would then throw out ideas, such as “to save time” or “to increase sales.” Or you might select a feature of your new product-one-button operation, for example–and open with a question such as “How does one-button operation help small business owners?”

• Use word association. This method involves brainstorming lists of words and then finding linkage between key words on each list. For example, imagine you want to create a new slogan for a hair gel product. You could start with the root word “gel” and use word association to come up with a list of ideas, such as “flexible hold.”

  Then you could brainstorm another list beginning with “flexible.” In the end, you might have four or five lists of ideas based on word association. To build your slogan, you’d choose a word from each of the lists and creatively link them together.

• Identify a challenge. Even the most difficult questions can be tackled by brainstorming, provided you have the right group of people. When I was called in by an auto parts manufacturer to find ways to use the company’s roll-forming expertise to produce additional products, we gathered together a large group of experienced workers from throughout the plant for brainstorming.

So while inspiration may come to you in the shower, a more structured approach to creative idea generation is often the best bet. Try using these effective brainstorming techniques to come up with terrific ideas for marketing your own business.

Originally Posted on: Florida Small Business Consulting - SuncoastGlobal.com

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Keep in mind it’s not just the question that matters, but how it’s presented. You may have to set the stage or tell a story leading up to the question that helps the client rationalize the buying decision. No matter how good your lead in or story is, however, you won’t get the sale if you don’t ask for it.

Here are a few closes that have proven successful. Don’t be concerned if they seem a bit wordy–you’re painting pictures and involving the emotions of your potential clients. Say the words with warmth and sincerity, and they’ll work for you.

When your clients hesitate because they aren’t sure it’s the right decision, try what we call “The Best Things in Life Close.” This is a great close to use with a personal sale, especially when you’re trying to sell something to a husband and wife. Compare the decision they’re considering right now to other decisions they’ve made and have been happy with. It’s especially helpful when they’ve admitted they want the product but are just struggling with saying yes. It goes like this:

“Isn’t it true, John and Mary, that the only time you’ve ever really benefited from anything in your life has been when you said yes instead of no? You said yes to your marriage. . .” [And this next part's optional: ". . .and I can see how happy you are." But don't add this phrase unless you've seen signs that they truly are a happy couple!] “You said yes to your job, your home, your car–all the things I’m sure you truly enjoy.

“You see, when you say yes to me, it’s not really me you are saying yes to but all the benefits this product offers… [and then list a few of the benefits they were most excited about.] Those are the things you really want for your family, aren’t they?”

With these words, you’re helping them focus on the benefits they want from the product rather than their hesitation to make the investment to own it. The little agreements you ask for during the close get the “yes” momentum started. If they do truly believe your product is good for them, these words will help them get over their hesitation to give you the final yes and close the sale.

Another situation might be during a business sale where the decision-maker uses “the budget” as a reason not to go ahead. This purchase might not have been in their plans, so the money isn’t in the budget. If you truly believe your product would provide excellent benefits to their company, your goal in this situation is to get them to admit and agree to that point.

Ask this: “John, if the money for this investment was in your budget, would you proceed?” If he says yes, agree with him by saying “That’s wonderful, John. I’m glad you see the benefits our XYZ product can bring to your business.”

At this point, you can either move on to a discussion of their return on investment or try these words:

“I can understand your concern with your budget, John. That’s why I contacted you in the first place. I’m fully aware of the fact that every well-managed business controls the flow of its money with a carefully planned budget. The budget is a necessary tool for every company to give direction to its goals. However, the tool itself doesn’t dictate how the company is run, does it?

“It must be flexible to allow the company to manage crises or take advantage of unplanned opportunities. As the controller of that budget, you retain for yourself the right to flex it in the best interest of the company’s financial present and competitive future, don’t you?

“What we’ve been examining here today is a system which will allow your company an immediate and continuing competitive edge. Tell me, under these conditions, will your budget flex or will it dictate your actions?”

Hopefully, you see the difference between just asking for the sale and helping people make decisions that are good for them. That’s the difference between an average salesperson and a great one!

Originally Posted on: Florida Small Business Consulting - SuncoastGlobal.com

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