Written on January 10, 2012 by admin
I just read a post on Naaree.com about raising your fees. Blogger Elizabeth Purvis briefly mentions “the Fraud Factor.” It’s something that I’ve identified with, and want to discuss.
As an entrepreneur, do you ever feel like a fraud? What I mean is: do you feel like people are paying you, but you’re completely unqualified to deserve that money? I felt like that a lot early in my career at Egg. I simply couldn’t believe that people put stock into what I said and thought I was worthy of paying.
But you know what? They were right.
I am really smart, especially when it comes to marketing. I’m passionate about it, and I love helping businesses.
It’s one of those “fake it ‘til you make it” scenarios. Now I don’t blink when people sign up to work with my company. Of course they do; we’re the best!
If you sometimes feel inadequate as a business owner, just pretend that you don’t. Eventually, the positive feeling will stick!
Photo: Flickr user IsaacMao. Creative Commons 2.0.
Posted in Entrepreneurship | Comment Now!
Written on January 5, 2012 by admin
This is from my post on Lead411.
If it’s been a while since you worked on your marketing plan, what better time to update it than before the fresh start of a new year? Because technology, tools and pricing for marketing services change, it’s important to keep your marketing strategy updated continually.
Before you start sweating, your marketing plan doesn’t have to be a novel-sized document. It’s simply a couple of pages that explain your goals and how you want to market to reach them this year. You can find dozens of free templates for marketing plans online, and many are different from one another. Find the one you’re comfortable working with. Once you have a plan in place, it’s easy enough to update it each year.
To read the entire post, click here.
Posted in Marketing | Comment Now!
Written on January 3, 2012 by admin
I love my tradition of making New Year’s resolutions for Egg each year. It’s fun to look back and see how my goals (and my business) have changed over the years.
As always, I start with my 2011 Resolutions and determine how well I did. Ready? Let’s go.
1. Take a managerial role and delegate all assignments. I 100% achieved this one, and couldn’t be prouder. I started with one intern back in 2007, and as of this year, have four freelancers helping me turn out quality writing on different projects. I reached a point this year that I could no longer manage one major project, and I handed the reins over to one of my staffers, who has done an amazing job.
2. Increase revenues by 50%. Not quite. Revenues increased 22% this year. But still, work has gotten busier and busier, and in a down economy, I’m happy with that.
3. Move all documents to Google docs. Yes! I love using Google Docs, and I ask my writers to use it too, to keep projects easy to access. Surprisingly, several of my clients use it too, so that makes it easy to share with them.
4. Speak at 2 product or trade conferences. I got away from the product-type clients and moved more toward small business, but I did speak at at least two events this year.
5. Grow average client contract to 6-12 months. Yes. Now that we’re doing 99% writing, I’m seeing our client relationships lasting longer.
6. Have at least 3 product based clients. See #4. Early in the year, I realized I was leaning more toward the small business education area (helped hugely when I started blogging on Small Business Trends), and I’m really thriving here instead.
7. Hire a full time employee! I’ll keep this one on my list until it comes true!
8. Have more metrics to show clients on our success. Metrics? Not really. I think we’re not as involved in projects where we have access to them, so this doesn’t really apply anymore.
9. Attend 2 local events each quarter. I attended a few social media events around town, but didn’t feel like I was getting much out of them.
10. Have minimum of 10 inquiries a month. Not quite, but they’re steadily increasing by referrals.
My Resolutions for 2012
This year became a challenge when it came to thinking of resolutions. After all, I’ve come further than I ever thought I could. What could I possibly need?
1. Be able to take off 1-2 months a year for travel.
2. Increase revenues by 30%.
3. Afford my freelancers the opportunity to quit working full time.
4. Find 4 more small business blogging clients.
5. (Really) stop working at 3 pm each day.
6. Get paid to speak at 1-3 nationwide conferences.
7. Ghostwrite 2 business books.
8. Get another infographics writing client.
9. Hire a full-time employee.
10. Be recognized as a small business expert.
What are your New Year’s resolutions for your business? Share them with us!
Posted in Announcements, Entrepreneurship, Holiday Marketing | Comment Now!
Written on December 25, 2011 by admin
Hope you have a fantastic holiday week. Stop reading business blogs and go hang out with your family like I’m doing!
I’ll be back in January with my usual New Year’s resolutions.
Posted in Announcements, Holiday Marketing | Comment Now!
Written on December 22, 2011 by admin
This is from my post on Growth University.
Marketing. Sales. Promotions. Public Relations. Advertising. Branding. Aren’t they all one thing?
Not actually. Consider all of these a side of a hexahedron (a six-sided 3D shape; I looked it up!). They’re all related, but play together differently. Let’s cover branding today.
What Exactly is Branding?
While there are a ton of definitions out there for branding, my definition is that branding isthe way consumers feel about your company. It’s what you do to arrive at that emotional connection.
Think about these brands and how you feel about them:
- Coca-Cola: Maybe you have a history of warm, fuzzy memories surrounding the brand.
- Starbucks: If you’re like me, the brand makes me feel indulgent and safe.
- Apple: I feel hip when I use Apple products.
To read the entire post, click here.
Posted in Branding | Comment Now!
Written on December 20, 2011 by admin
In addition to sending your customers gifts and cards this time of year, now’s a great time to show your appreciation via email. Campaigner sent me these suggestions for opportunities to show your customers that you care:
Trigger #1 Sign up – Thank new subscribers to your list by using an email template that includes information about when customers will be contacted via email (new products, sale opportunities, discounts, etc.) and how often (monthly, bi-monthly, yearly.) Also include instructions for adding your company’s email address to an email address book or safe list to ensure delivery of emails.
Trigger #2: Click-throughs – Campaigner allows businesses to include clickable “calls to action” that take email readers to specific pages on a company website. Track page visits in order to determine which campaigns and offers customers find most interesting. Customer profiles can also be updated regularly to track interests and follow-up emails can be automatically sent regarding related products, new inventory or even new website content when updated.
Trigger #3: Purchases – Develop a short thank-you template for sales. Ask customers if everything was delivered correctly and completed to their satisfaction. This is also a good time to ask for additional customer information to help segment lists. Segments allow specific sub-groups of contacts to be defined based on demographic or other information.
Trigger #4: Comments - When a customer shares a review on your website, Facebook page or other social media site, use a template email to show appreciation for their point of view. Ratings and reviews are a form of social media content that attracts prospects and supports purchase research. Customers can even be invited to become part of your company’s social media network.
Trigger #5: Abandoned Shopping Carts – When a shopper leaves a retail store, a good sales clerk will say “thank you for visiting.” Why not do the same with your website? Have an email template at the ready for follow up that says: ”Thank you for visiting our site. If there is anything we can do to better serve you, please let us know.”
Do you have tips of where you can engage more with customers through email?
Posted in Customer Service and Loyalty, Holiday Marketing | Comment Now!
Written on December 15, 2011 by admin
This is from my post on GrowthUniversity.
I love reading books by people who are smarter than me in their area of expertise. I could definitely stand to learn a thing or two from author Julie Steelman, who wrote The Effortless Yes.
This book breaks down the selling process, and rather than focus on how to sell better, it spends a lot of time digging in to who your customers are, why they act the way they do, and how you should approach them.
Everyone Has a Different Selling (and Buying) Style
What I found unique about Steelman’s book is that she breaks down sellers and buyers by personality types. Stop me if any of her Buying Personalities sound like your clients!
- The Crystal Clear Buyer: knows what she wants and is ready to buy
- The Ruminating Buyer: is reluctant to make a decision and needs some pushing
- The Indecisive Buyer: slow to move and asks a lot of decisions
Steelman teaches you how to handle each of these types of buyers based on their personalities.
Read the entire post here.
Posted in Book & Product Review | Comment Now!
Written on December 13, 2011 by admin
I was scrubbing a pot the other day, using for the first time a Chore Boy scrubber. I’d been unsuccessful at getting my pots cleaned with scouring pads or brushes, so I was a bit weary of the whole category of pot cleaning. But then…
The scrubber worked. It just worked.
And I thought, “I’m now loyal to this brand.”
The Price of Loyalty
In this example, brand loyalty came at the price of something simply doing its job. I didn’t need the scrubber to sing to me, file my taxes or even call me to find out how I liked the product. I simply needed it to work. And now I won’t use any other type of scrubber.
Sometimes it takes a bit more for us to become loyal to a brand. For some brands, I want excellent customer service (Nespresso). For others, I want an occasional shout-out for being a loyal customer (Dell and PRWeb). What do you look for in a brand in order to commit to it?
And as a business, what can you do to get customers to become loyal? What value do you provide to ensure they’ll stay with you forever?
Posted in Customer Service and Loyalty | Comment Now!
