“How Do I Best Use MySpace to Market My Online Business?”
From our last post, hopefully you’ve been able to set up a killer MySpace profile. But now what?
How do you best use MySpace to market your business?
Welcome to Day 19 of the “30 Tips in 30 Days” Blog Special for the month of December. If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, click on the Business and Marketing Tips category on the right sidebar.
Question: “How do I best use MySpace to market your business?”
Answer: YOU DON’T!!
At least not directly.
As I’ve stated here before, one of the biggest mistakes home business owners make when using social marketing is TRYING TO MARKET THEIR BUSINESS DIRECTLY.
Why is it a mistake? Because people come to MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook to enjoy content and build relationships.
They DO NOT want to be sold to.
So what do you do?
You build relationships with people, become friends, and through your content, get them interested in what you do.
How do you add friends?
There are a couple ways:
- Manually — you can use the Search feature to search MySpace for people with specific interests, locations, nationalities — pretty much whatever you are looking for. Once you find them, you can send them a friend request. HINT: Read their profile and send them a short message that indicates what about them interests you. If you do this, you will almost always get your friends request accepted
- Automated — there are several software packages that will allow you to add friends to MySpace automatically. My favorite of these is AddNewFriends.com. They have a free feature that allows you to add up to 50-100 friends per day. You can also add a short message that you can send with your friend request. You can make this message something general to apply to everyone. You will probably get a lower percentage of people to accept your friend request, but you can add ALOT more FRIENDS in a short period of time using automated software. HINT: Don’t add more than 100 friends per day (or 50 to be safe) using automated software — if you do, you run the risk of getting shut down by MySpace.
How else can you find friends on MySpace?
One of the ways I use most is to go to the Groups feature.
MySpace has dozens of group categories to choose from, and hundreds of groups. Find some that share similar interests to yourself and start checking out profiles. You can also add an entire group of friends using AddNewFriends.com.
For example, I attended Rutgers University and there is a specific group that includes Rutgers current students and graduates. Great resource for me. First of all we have something in common already before we’ve ever met. Secondly, these are usually people of high intelligence, willing to check out new opportunities to make money online.
Use the Group Search feature to add friends to MySpace. It’s the best way to start making friends with people with similar interests.
To your prosperity and your new relationships!
Bob
December 19, 2008; Cresskill, NJ
The Secrets to a Great MySpace Profile
Today let’s talk about MySpace. I will assume that you have all signed up for a MySpace account. If not, go get your Myspace account now!
Welcome to Day 18 of the “30 Tips in 30 Days” Holiday Blog special, where I am providing a marketing or online business tip for each day in the month of December. If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, simply click on the Business and Marketing Tips Category on the right sidebar.
If you are marketing online and you are not on MySpace, you are making a big mistake.
This is not your teenagers MySpace anymore!
Online business owners are flocking to the social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook like never before. The reason? Because there is money on the table. If there wasn’t, you wouldn’t see them on these sites.
So get with it, get your account, and set up your profile.
In today’s post, I am going to give you some easy TIPS to follow to set up a killer MySpace profile.
But before I do, a word of warning.
Remember the video on social marketing I put on this blog a few days ago (see post “Are you Getting Social Networking All Wrong?) If not, go back and view it again. And again. Because if there is one thing that will kill your results using MySpace, it is blatant PLUGGING of your BUSINESS. In fact, it also may get your account deleted.
MySpace if for building relationships. People to people. Get interested in what makes other people click. What are their interests and goals. Share with them about you and your dreams and aspirations.
In other words, take the time to get to know people, help them with their problems, and MySpace will pay off for your big time!
OK, enough preaching from the pulpit (my wife hates it when I do that)….
Here are 5 Tips to Building a Great MySpace Profile Page:
- Headline: This is a short blurb that means something to you that will show up next to your picture. Have fun with it. It can be a quotation, passage, or anything that means something special to you. A
- Photo: Your MySpace photo is important, because it will be displayed prominantly on your profile page. Make sure it is a good picture of you, smiling, being happy, enjoying life. Nobody wants to know an Eeyore
(for those Winnie the Pooh fans).
- About Me: this sections, as it is named, is YOUR STORY. It is the heart of your profile. And you want to get it right.
Jimmy Davis of MLM Goldmine outlined a great template for creating a great “About Me” section.
He calls it MyStory Marketing, and it is what I used to create my MySpace profile.
Here are the steps:
- State who you are. Sounds obvious, but some people forget. If you have a website, you can claim ownership of it. For example, we wrote on our profile….”Hi, our names are Bob and Rosemary Clarke, and we are the authors and creators of Carbon-Copy-Professional.com. Even if you are just getting started in the industry, you have instant credibility with this statement.
- Give a short summary of WHY you are making this MySpace page. Paint your picture. What got you to this point of your life. Maybe you just got laid off and you are looking to network. Maybe you are so stressed out at your job that you can’t stand it anymore. Or maybe, with the high cost of everything right now, you just need more money! Whatever the reasons, state it clearly. This is the OUTLINE THE PROBLEM phase of your profile.
- Next, give some more personal information about yourself. Where you live, where you were born, what are your hobbies, your likes, your dislikes. In other words, tell your story. This is MyStory Marketing at its best.
- Now, provide the solution to your problem that you outlined above. It can start with a phrase like, “All of these frustrations ended when we finally….”
- Call To Action. What do you want your readers to do? Ask them to visit your website, or if you want them to contact you, provide the information. Make it clear, but don’t be pushy.
- More Photos: Now add some more photos. NOT business photos, but some of you having fun with friends or family. I used a site called Slide.com to post my pictures. You can see them on my MySpace page.
- Other sections: Here you can put in more personal information about you. Your interests, you favorite television shows, favorite movies and books, etc. Let people get to know the REAL YOU. This is all about getting real. If you are not authentic, people will spot it a mile away.
Again, this is supposed to be about the personal side of you, not the business side. Make it fun and personal!
OK, a couple more tips before we wrap up this post.
- When you are typing your About Me section, type it in the blog section of your page. This section allows you to add alot of HTML, and works just as if you were creating a document in Microsoft Word. You can add bold, italics, colors, etc. that you would not be able to add by simply typing in the About Me template. After you are finished, you can cut and paste to the appropriate section of your profile.
- If you can make YouTube videos, as I know you all can after the last few posts, try making a video about yourself (not focused on your business). Tell your story, and post it in your About Me section. Very powerful!
- Add a Twitter box to your MySpace page (more on Twitter later). This will allow people to see what you are up to on an ongoing basis.
So go out and create your own personal MySpace page. It’s fun to do, and will help you create relationships that may or may not pan out for your business. If so, great, you have a new customer. But if not, no worries. At least you have added a whole bunch of new friends! Not bad!
Tomorrow we will discuss how to add friends to your MySpace page.
Til next time, folks.
Bob
Visit MY MySpace page!
3 Steps to Exploding Your Traffic with Video Marketing
You know how to make a video. And you know how to edit it and get it ready for people to see. Now what?
Welcome to Day 17 of the “30 Tips in 30 Days” Holiday Blog Special, where I will provide one solid business or marketing tip each day in the month of December. If you missed any of the previous tips, simply click on the Business and Marketing Tips Category on the right sidebar.
Let’s get to it.
So you’ve started making videos. Now where do you send them?
Once you get good at videos, you want to get maximum exposure.
Remember, GOOGLE LOVES VIDEOS. Videos, along with other types of social marketing get ranked very highly on Google.
In the 90 Day Challenge of MLM Goldmine, Howie Schwartz has taught their members (of which I am a proud graduate) how to DOMINATE Google for a specific search term using videos, articles, and other social networking tools.
By the way, I totally recommend the MLM Goldmine material. Dennis Karganilla, Jimmy Davis, and Howie Schwartz are AMAZING at what they do, which is to show you how to use social marketing to dominate your niche. And if you don’t know what your niche is, they help with that, too.
Okay, sorry I got sidetracked.
Here is what I did to explode my business using video marketing:
1. Starter: When I first started making videos, I was TERRIBLE. My first videos were not for public consumption, if you know what I mean. So I simply uploaded them to YouTube, just to understand how the process works.
2. Novice: As I started to get better at shooting videos, I started using Tube Mogul to expand the places to which my videos were distributed. This is a FREE service (although I think there may be a paid option, although I haven’t personally used it) where your video is automatically uploaded to 15 different sites.
Cool, right?
But I soon found that the TOP EARNERS in this industry were shooting WAY HIGHER.
3. Welcome to the world of TRAFFIC GEYSER. This is “Tube Mogul on steroids”, if you will. For $47 per month, your video is distributed to 46 sites and includes blogs, podcasts, and other sites in addition to video sites. It’s a little more complicated to set up your account, but there are easy step-by-step videos to get you through it painlessly. And the support is amazing.
At the time of this writing, Traffic Geyser is offering a promotion whereby you can get 1 month of Traffic Geyser for $1. And if you decide you don’t like it for whatever reason, you can cancel your membership at any time without penalty.
If it sounds like I like Traffic Geyser, it’s because I do.
But then again, I love anything that will help me take MASSIVE ACTION in my business.
There you go — 3 steps to take, depending on your experience and budget, to become a video marketing ninja.
Don’t just sit there reading this…. GO MAKE A VIDEO!
Until next time,
17 December 2008; Cresskill, NJI Finally Made My First Video, Now What?
So you finally jumped in with both feet and made your first video! Congratulations!
But now what?
Welcome to Day 16 of the “30 Tips in 30 Days” Holiday Blog special where I am providing one business and marketing tip for each day in the month of December (except Christmas — we all have to rest at least one day!). If you missed any of the previous posts, simply go to the Business and Marketing Tips Category in the right sidebar —->
In my last post, I showed you one of my first videos. Boy was I uptight!
Kind of had that “deer in the headlights” kind of look.
But as with anything else, the more videos you do, the more comfortable you become.
So if you’ve finally made that first video, no matter what the quality, congratulations!
Now go make 100 more…. seriously.
Because video marketing is an EXTREMELY POWERFUL way to get your message out… one of the most powerful on the Internet. We’ll talk about ways to get your videos distributed in the near future, but for now I want to focus on how to edit and upload your video to YouTube.
You can use several different Video Editing Software, and all have their pluses and minuses.
For me, I use Windows Movie Maker. Why?
For one thing, it’s available for free on all Windows-based PCs.
For another, it’s very easy to use, even for those of us who are technically challenged! 
Here is a great video that will help you upload and edit your video using Windows Movie Maker….
Pretty simple, huh? Yes, once you get the hang of it. But all you can do is take the bull by the horns and give it a try. I promise it won’t be too painful.
If you have a Mac computer, most people use IMovie08.
Here is a video by my great friend and Mac wizard, Curt Frieden, AKA “The Mac Marketer”.
Thanks to Curt for putting out this terrific content.
Happy Videotaping everyone….
To your ultimate success!
Bob
Video Marketing Tips For Newbies: “What Do I Talk About?”
So, you’ve decided you want to do Video Marketing. You’ve got your new Flip Camera ready to go. Now what?
Welcome to Day 15 in the “30 Tips in 30 Days” Holiday Blog Special, where I offer network marketing tips each day for the entire month of December. If you have missed any of the previous posts, go to the Business and Marketing Tips Category.
One of the biggest questions I get from my new team members is this:
“Bob, what on Earth do I talk about?”
It’s a great question really, because there is a lot of GARBAGE out there in Videoland.
I mean, really! If I hear one more talking head pitching his business like the old “Crazy Eddie” commercials in the 70’s and 80’s (I am dating myself, here), I might just shut off my computer for good.
These people are missing the whole point of video marketing.
And it is the BIGGEST MISTAKE that most newbies make when doing Video Marketing:
THEY PITCH THEIR BUSINESS.
So what should you do and what should you talk about?
It’s an easy rule to remember: ALWAYS PROVIDE VALUE IN YOUR VIDEOS.
And the second rule is: BE YOURSELF AND PUT A PERSONAL TOUCH IN TO YOUR VIDEOS.
There is a very simple formula when making an effective video:
STEP ONE: Identify a PROBLEM
STEP TWO: Explain how YOU experienced this problem and what the consequences were to you.
STEP THREE: Provide a SOLUTION to the problem.
STEP FOUR: Give a CALL TO ACTION
Here is an example. My wife Rosemary and I made this video when we were doing the 90 Day Challenge, and the assignment was to do videos on our Top 10 Frustrations in MLM.
This is one that most people in MLM can relate to:
Remember what I said about PROVIDING VALUE in your videos.
If you’re new, where do you find the content that would be interesting to others?
It’s simple: ACQUIRE SOME KNOWLEDGE.
Read a book like Think and Grow Rich. Listen to Personal Development gurus like Jim Rohn or Zig Ziglar . If your company offers training, get on a call or webinar and learn!
The more you know, the more value you can give.
As a Newbie, this knowledge may be lacking at first, so get on with it.
In the meantime:
- Talk about why you decided to start a home based business (don’t you dare mention your business until you give a call to action at the end of the video, and even then it’s best not to mention it by name).
- If you were in a prior business in MLM or direct sales, talk about your frustrations about your experience. Make it personal. Tell your story.
When we were first starting out, Rosemary and I did a video on OURSELVES. Admittedly, it didn’t provide much value except for us and those that know us.
But what it DID do is it got us comfortable with the PROCESS of making videos.
Once you are comfortable doing it, you have overcome one of the biggest hurdles to overcome in video marketing.
Here is our PERSONAL STORY VIDEO for those that care to listen: “Bob and Rosemary Unplugged.”
It’s a little longer than I like to make our current videos, but it was one of our first attempts….
A few more tips on Video Marketing before I close:
- Keep it short. I try to keep my videos to less than 5 minutes unless it’s a “How To” video.
- Script your video. In the beginning, it’s a good idea to write a script for your video and practice it once or twice. Then get rid of the script when you do the final version (you don’t want to be reading the script).
- Give your video a catchy title, but include highly searched keyword terms (more on this in a later post).
- Have FUN! Nobody wants to join someone’s team who is always scowling and not smiling.
- It’s worth repeating… NEVER pitch your business!
- TAKE ACTION -- make one video per day for 7 days and you’ll feel very comfortable doing so. It doesn’t have to be perfect — it just has to be REAL.
To your video success!
Bob
Check out our YouTube Channel!
Our Primary Business Opportunity
The Easiest Way to Start Doing Videos
A few days ago we talked about the right way and the wrong way to use Social Networking.
Let’s start getting into some of the specific social marketing tips.
Welcome to Day 14 of the “30 Tips in 30 Days” holiday blogging special. If you’ve missed any of the previous posts in this series, go to the Business and Marketing Tips category on the right sidebar.
First, let’s talk about VIDEO MARKETING.
There’s alot to cover, but let’s start at the beginning:
What is the easiest way to make a video?
There are a lot of possiblities when talking about video cameras/camcorders. Everyone seems to have their favorite, so I will give you mine.
It’s also what I believe to be the SIMPLEST way to get a video uploaded on to You Tube by far.
The camera is called the Flip Ultra Camcorder, and you can find it at Amazon.com.
The Flip Camera costs about $125, although you can get some used ones for approximately $100. I would stick with the new camcorder.
It is extremely light… pocket size… and only weighs 12 oz.
It’s got a built in USB connector that plugs right into the USB port on my computer, and can directly download the video to my computer for further editing (recommended) or directly to YouTube.
Well, I’ll let the people from Amazon tell you the rest. This is their product description.
Pure Digital Flip Video Ultra Series is the next-generation line of highly compact digital camcorders to make it easier than ever for on-the-go consumers to shoot and share high-quality video. Slim-sized to fit neatly into any pocket, the Flip Video Ultra Series provides unmatched portability and simplicity for capturing, editing and sharing video – anytime, anywhere.The Flip Video Ultra Series is the newest member in Pure Digital’s popular Flip Video family of digital camcorders, the world’s first camcorders with on-board software to enable editing, organizing, and seamless video uploading to AOL, YouTube and other video sharing sites. Flip Video Ultra showcases Pure Digital’s next-generation video processing technology, which delivers stunning video and sound quality, even when played on large-screen TVs. The Ultra Series continues Pure Digital’s pioneering of a new category of camcorder that puts the power to instantly capture, edit and share video in the pocket of everyday consumers.The Flip Video Ultra Series incorporates a wide range of advanced new features, including a 1.5 inch transflective, no-glare display screen for clear viewing in even the brightest sunlight, next-generation video processing, and increased on-board memory.
I offer my highest recommendation to this product (I get NO affiliate commission for this recommendation).
Happy videotaping!
Bob
Take a look at our video channel!
December 14, 2008; Cresskill, NJThe Two Biggest Killers of Entrepreneurial Productivity
Distractions can kill your network marketing business. No doubt about it.
Welcome to Day 13 of the 30 Tips in 30 Days Blog Special.
Today’s topic is on DISTRACTIONS. It would be impossible to list all the distractions that can cut into your productivity as a budding entrepreneur, so I am going to limit this blog post to the TWO that I consider to be the most prevalent and most draining on your business.
You see, the people who make the most money in this industry are the ones who, among other things, are LASER FOCUSED on their business activities. They are masters at time management and, most importantly….
They run their business, their business doesn’t run them.
Think about that for a minute, and think about your present situation.
Are you managing your time effectively and getting the most productivity out of your day? This becomes even more important if you are doing your business part-time, where being organized is absolutely essential. When you only have 2-3 hours a night to work on your business, you damn well better make them count.
From my experience in the industry, the two biggest productivity killers are:
Email and Phone Calls
Be honest. How many people are slaves to their emails? How many of you check your email dozens of times per day?
I know I used to.
Not anymore.
Same with the phone. Whenever the phone rang, I would be the first to answer it. With the advent of Caller ID, I might be more selective, but if it was a business-related call I would ALWAYS pick up.
Again, not anymore.
Why?
Because in order to be productive, you need to block out significant blocks of time to work in any one area. That means no disruptions and no distractions. And the primary disruptions in today’s society and email messages and phone calls.
I was listening to a friend of mine and a top earner in the industry, Greg Davison talk about this very subject in a company webinar tonight. Greg had these guidelines about emails and phone calls that I would like to share with you.
- Go through your email messages only ONCE PER DAY, usually at the end of the day.
- Spend only 30 minutes at the most on email each day.
- Answer your email as succintly as possible, preferably in 3-4 sentences, and move on.
- NEVER pick up the phone unless you have scheduled a call back from a prospect or team member.
- Schedule a 30-60 minutes block each night, or every other night to return phone calls.
These are great tips from Greg and I follow them religiously.
They have effectively increased my producivity at least 10 fold.
Here is one more tip from Greg that I would like to share…. when you get your mail out of the mailbox each day, don’t open it. Scan through it, open only extremely emergent letters (which should be extremely rare), and put them on a shelf somewhere.
Open all of your mail once a week. Pay any bills necessary or perform any followup at this time.
Another great time saver.
Thanks, Greg for these great insights. And thanks to my loyal readers for all your great ideas.
If you have any other great time-saving tips, please comment so you can share them with everyone.
To your productivity!
Bob
December 13, 2008; Cresskill, NJAre You Getting Social Networking All Wrong?
Welcome to Day 12 of the ‘30 TIps in 30 Days’ Blog special — one Business or Marketing Tip for each day of the month of December. Today we turn our focus squarely on Marketing.
Sidenote: I am spending the day at a special workshop with Jay Kubassek, Aaron Parkinson, Dennis Karganilla, Jimmy Davis, and Howie Schwartz who will be doing one-on-one coaching with Rosemary and I. Yes, it WAS expensive, but we know that any money we spend taking advantage of this offer will be DWARFED by the financial returns we will see because of what we learn.
It’s all about INVESTING IN YOUR BUSINESS, guys.
Because we will be at this event all day (and then to the Carbon Copy Pro Holiday Party later tonight), I am going to make this short and sweet….
Are you getting Social Networking all WRONG?
Why do I ask this? Because I am amazed when I go to social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter how many people I see blasting broadcasts about their business. Just amazing.
You see, these people don’t get the point of Social Networking.
It’s NOT about selling your business products or opportunity.
It’s about BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS and developing TRUST.
So here is my Marketing Tip for the Day:
When using Social Networking sites, NEVER lead with your business. In fact, don’t even mention it. Start getting to know people on a personal basis. Develop a relationship OVER TIME, and the rest will follow. Don’t force things.
Everyone on these sites who are interested in “networking” have their own agenda with their own opportunity. Trying to force your opportunity down their throats will strictly result in regurgitation.
And you’ll generally have nothing to show for your efforts.
Here is the BEST VIDEO I have ever seen that explains how to market on Social Networking sites.
Check it out:
Until tomorrow, be healthy and happy… the weekend is almost here!
Bob
Take a look at my newest blog!
Get Out of Your Own Way
Welcome to Day 11 of the “30 Tips in 30 Days” Blog Special. I had originally intended at this point in the series to go right in to tips for using specific marketing methods. But a slight diversion first.
A few days ago, I wrote of the importance of developing the “millionaire mindset” in order to succeed in your home business venture. Today, I would like to take it a step further.
If you get nothing else out of this post, get this…
What goes on between your ears is more important than anything else in determining whether you will be a success or failure in anything in life.
Last night, I was listening to one of the top earners in my company talk about this very thing. He talked about “Getting Out of Your Own Way.”
David’s premise (and I agree with it) was that we have all been preconditioned to believe in certain ways. This conditioning has likely been taking place since your early years and is supported by experiences in your present day life.
Thoughts are more powerful than anything else in determining how you feel about yourself and how much success you will experience in your life. For the network marketer, thoughts like “I’m no good at this”, “No one wants to buy from me”, and “I’m not qualified to lead my team” translate into reality very quickly.
The subconscious mind is a very powerful thing. Once you plant these thoughts in your subconscious, they work 24/7 to make these thoughts your reality.
But there is hope!
David outlined 4 strategies for improving your mental conditioning:
1). Increase your knowledge every day. The amount of time you spend doing this is not important. It is the consistent effort, day after day that is important. Exercise your mind by learning something new daily.
2). Constantly question your realities and your beliefs. This is very powerful. When doubts come across your mind, question their validity. Are they REALLY true? How do you know? For example, if you are getting ready to speak to a prospect and your mind fills with the usual self-talk like “This person won’t be interested in joining my team”, STOP right then and there and QUESTION it.
How do you know this person won’t be interested? Is it really true that your prospect won’t value you or your opportunity? This constant questioning will begin to condition your subconscious to change the chatter going on in the background.
3). Structure a new social influence. Who you spend time with and hang out with is HUGELY important. It’s just as your mom and dad used to tell you. Who your friends are goes a long way to defining who you are. Take a good hard look at your social circles. Do these people have the dreams or realities that are consistent with yours?
I’m not saying that you need to dump all your current friends. Just be very careful who you spend time with. Don’t hang out with people who are “dream crushers”. If possible, find people who are “walking the walk” and getting the kind of results you aspire to in your life. This goes for business and personal results.
4). Read and/or listen to affirmations every day. First, make a list of your most dominating doubts, those that pop up at every turn to tell you that you can’t succeed for this reason or that. Every time you notice one of these doubts surfacing, stop and write it down. Question this doubt as in Step 2.
Write some positive aspirations to counteract these doubts. In the example I gave before, the self-doubt “I am not qualified to lead and coach new team members” should be reworked in to the affirmation, “I AM qualified to be a great coach and team leader.” Then to back it up, make it a point to learn something every day about being a great team leader (see Item 1).
Repeat this process with every self-doubt that surfaces.
Now, make some copies of this list and post it in places you will see throughout your day. Put a copy on your computer, on your refrigerator, on your bathroom mirror, in your car… wherever you are likely to see it. Then look at your list whenever you pass by. You don’t have to study it. Just acknowledge the items on the list.
Your subconscious will take care of the rest.
I strongly urge you to ACT on this post. Don’t just read it, put it into action.
Here’s wishing you only positive and productive thoughts!
Bob
December 11, 2008; Cresskill, NJThe 4 D’s of Establishing a Profitable Marketing Strategy
Welcome to Day 10 of the “30 Tips in 30 Days” Business and Marketing Tips blog series. The first 10 days have focused on organizing a new business and developing the proper mindset for running your new venture.
Today we will start talking about Marketing.
The first thing necessary to becoming a proficient marketer online and offline is to develop a profitable marketing strategy.
I have broken this process down into 4 steps:
Step One: Define Your Target Market
Who are you marketing to? You can’t begin to develop a marketing strategy without asking this fundamental question. Think about your target market. Really take some time and define this niche. Get into as much detail as possible. Ask yourself questions like:
- What do they do for a living?
- How old are they?
- What do they do for fun?
- Where do they live?
- What sites online do they visit?
- What are their likes and dislikes?
- What do they wear?
- What are their habits?
Ask any other relevant questions to more closely define your target market and record them in your business journal. This is the first step in developing a viable and profitable marketing strategy.
After all, if you don’t know who you are selling to, you’ll just be shooting in the dark with your marketing.
Step Two: Declare Your Marketing Goals
What are the goals of your marketing plan? Again, be specific and record everything in your business journal.
- How much money are you looking to ultimately make each month?
- How many leads will you need each week to meet these goals?
- What would you do with this kind of money?
- How would your life change?
- Visualize that life in as much detail as possible.
Step Three: Determine Your Marketing Budget
Put quite simply, how much are you willing to spend each month to reach your financial goals?
Are you willing to spend some money upfront to get your marketing strategy going on the right foot? Are you willing to invest in training that will help you move your business forward?
Be honest here. If your marketing budget is limited, it’s okay. There are ways to market and build your business on a shoe string budget.
Check out these FREE VIDEOS by Mike Dillard of Magnetic Sponsoring for ideas on how to market on a limited budget .
But as a general rule …
The more money you can invest in your marketing, the faster your business will grow.
Step Four: Decide HOW You Want to Market
There are plenty of options here:
- Online versus offline marketing
- Direct mail marketing
- Purchased leads (not generally recommended)
- Pay-per-click advertising
- Social networking
And many others.
The keys here are to determine what you like to do and how much money you have to invest in your business. For example, purchased leads, direct mail marketing, and pay-per-click advertising tend to be more expensive forms of marketing than lower budget options such as blogging, social networking sites, and article writing.
Deciding what you like to do, and accessing what you are good at will go along way to determining what your marketing strategy should be.
For example:
- If you are good at writing, you will want to obtain leads with article marketing.
- If you like making videos, than YouTube will be for a great way for you to gain business exposure.
- If you are very analytical, then Pay-per click will be right up your alley.
You get the idea. Match your talents with the type of marketing that best suits you and will help you achieve your business goals.
So there you have it.
The 4 D’s of Developing a Profitable Marketing Strategy.
Determining your marketing strategy up front BEFORE you start marketing will save you a lot of money in the long run.
To your unlimited prosperity!
Bob
Check out my Primary Business Opportunity and my New Blog!
December 10, 2008; Cresskill, NJLIVE COMMENTS
Latest on Thu, 03:08: Mary.. let me know my error... let's discuss!
: I think, that you commit an error. Let's discuss. Write to me in PM, we will communicate.
: Sweet blog. I never know what I am going to come across next. I think you should do more posting as you have some pretty [...]
: Hey doc, right on! Need more people like you on the planet
: I was just introduced to your site through CCPro Forum. My initial question - how should one define "TRUTH"? (I love word-studies and that's a [...]
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