Increase Sales Instantly
May 4, 2009 by World Publish
Filed under Business
Every home business has the same problem of how to increase sales without a hugely expensive marketing campaign. By utilising the following simple ideas you will be able to do just that.
1) Use your invoices as an advertising tool.
Whether you get your invoices printed professionally or use the invoicing function on your bookkeeping software, ensure that you place some type of advertising on the form. This method provides positive reinforcement of what your business offers. An attractive invoice gives two huge benefits:- your customers are more likely to remember you next time they require that product/service and they will pay the invoice more quickly.
2) Have a business card.
Many small business owners think that they don’t need a business card because that is something for the “big boys”. Having your own card will present an impression of being professional in your approach. Even if you rarely deal with your customers face-to-face it is a good way to promote said professionalism to other businesses. An example would be a meeting with a new supplier. When asked for your business name and address, simply hand over your card. (Bonus tip:- only look smug on the inside.)
3) Use name tags.
Buy some name tags for you and you employees to wear. They are cheap to buy and can include the persons name, their position in the business and, of course, the business name. Consider having clothing with the business name on it. If you or your staff is in regular contact with customers, it makes sense to push your name forward at every opportunity.
4) Get a free ‘phone number.
Most major telephone companies offer a free ‘phone service. If your main source of new customers is by telephone, it can provide a significant increase in sales. Customer perception of your business is also improved.
5) Write a business newsletter.
This is a good way to let your customers know of any special offers or promotions you may be running. Don’t focus too highly on making it a sales letter, though. You should include advice not directly linked to sales. For example, if you sell garden products or services, include an article on how and when to properly prune roses. Your customers will appreciate your expertise.
6) Have an attractive window display.
If your sales outlet is a shop it is important to be able to attract customers through the front door. Even if you can’t afford the services of a professional window dresser, take a bit of time when you are next at a shopping centre and look at what the major chains are doing. They spend a fortune on getting it right so you are bound to pick up a few tips.
7) Offer free samples.
Everyone likes a freebie. Give your customers something for nothing. Don’t just offer something cheap as if you got it for free, but provide something of true value. Put a bit extra into the order box you send out or pop a couple of extra apples into the bag AFTER it has been weighed and paid for. People remember these little touches.
Use business vehicles as a mobile advertising poster.
Whether you have a van, car or a small fleet, make sure you have your business name and logo clearly displayed on your vehicles. You may not want to have a huge banner on the side of your car but you could consider the likes of a bumper sticker or a small sign in the back window.
9) Advertise on your faxes and emails.
Similar to your invoices in this regard. Most small businesses will have a letterhead on their stationery but will forget that a lot of customer contact nowadays is done by fax and email. Ensure that every communication you have with your customers has details of your business included on it.
10) Include a brochure in your letters to customers.
This is similar to a newsletter but what it allows you to do is much more “hard sell”. A newsletter gives a general feel of what you are providing whereas a brochure should be used to directly sell your business. Include details of prices, new lines or services and how to get in touch.
All of the above have one main purpose, to increase your credibility with all you come into contact with in your business life, customers and suppliers alike. Try using some or all in your business and you will find that they make a measurable difference.
Good directions to focus on your business efforts
May 4, 2009 by World Publish
Filed under Business
If you want to succeed in your online business, there are some very basic tips that will apply to any type of online venture. A home based business required a lot of self discipline, but it also requires a good direction to focus your efforts. These should help you get started.
1. Take care of your potential customers - Any communication you receive from a potential customer should be answered promptly and courteously. That first communication from a customer is almost like an audition. They may have a question, but they are also testing you to see if they would like to do business with you, not your company, but you. They want to know who is behind the web page.
2. Be persistent - Be determined to make your business a success. You will likely encounter set-backs, but keep working to overcome them. If you chip away at the walls that appear in front of you, you will eventually tear them down.
3. Don’t expect instant success - It will take time and effort to make your online business a success. Work hard and take the necessary action to make your business work. In the end, your hard work will pay off.
4. Create a budget for your business - It is very rare that you will make your business a success without spending some money along the way. Set up your plan for how much you will spend in any given area, so you do not overspend without realizing it. Don’t be afraid to rethink your budget allocations if you see that they need to be changed.
5. Promote aggressively - The only way you will make money in your business is if people are aware that it exists. You have to spend a majority of your time and energy marketing and advertising your business. Do your research and try out different ideas, then put more effort towards the ideas that work. Your goal is to make sure as many people know about you as possible.
6. Never stop learning - Every day is a chance to learn how to do thing more efficiently. Keep your eyes open for news ideas and strategies to implement. Look for tools and techniques that will help you.
7. Communicate - If you have business partners and employees, communicate with them often. Talk to them about decisions and the direction of the company. Also, talk to them about any idea they may have and look objectively at their suggestions. They may see something you have overlooked.
8. Believe in your success - If you believe that you can do this, you will inherently work harder. You will set high goals and standards for yourself. You will not give up easily.
Remember, by following these steps, you will greatly increase your chances for success. You can do this. Grow your business!
PPC Advertising - What is pay per click?
April 29, 2009 by World Publish
Filed under Pay Per Click
PPC Advertising - What is pay per click?
Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is a way of advertising through search engines. An advertiser pays for each click that sends a visitor to the advertiser’s web page. The PPC search engine offers top positions among the sponsored search engine listings for the particular keywords or phrases you choose.
The idea behind PPC bidding is such that you buy/bid on keywords that are relevant to your product or service. The highest bidder gets placed at the top of the sponsored search results, the second highest bidder gets the next listing and so on. Every time someone clicks through to your website, you pay the amount that you bid on that particular keyword.
How it can increase traffic, leads, and sales?
-Pre-Qualified Traffic
Bidding on keywords that pertain to your product or service, actually pre-qualifies the people that visit your website. You determine how much you are willing to pay/bid for each click and you only pay when someone clicks through to and visits your website. This suggests that PPC search engines can cheaply lead qualified visitors to your website.
-Instant Exposure, Immediate Profits
Generally, it takes search engines weeks and sometimes months to put up your website. If it is difficult to get to your website via search engines or if you would like to get the fastest results from the search engines, then PPC is the most efficient and cost-effective option.
Most PPC search engines will have your website live within a couple of hours, which means that the your site traffic and sales increase immediately.
-Consistent Top Listings
PPC is the classic method of getting your website at top of sponsored search results for free. All you have to do is choose keywords that are related to your website and place them within your web pages.
As easy as this sounds, for an average webmaster this is usually a quite daunting and arduous task without any guarantee on the success.
It takes a watchful eye and quite a bit of maintenance. PPC with Cherryone Web Design http://www.cherryoneweb.com enables you to focus on operating your core business while we manage and optimize your online advertising campaign. We have the ability to monitor and maintain your advertisements’ stats 24 hours a day, to ensure its effectiveness and cost efficiency.
Give The People What They Want
March 7, 2009 by World Publish
Filed under Pay Per Click
If you want real visibility but don’t want the hassle of paying top dollar for PPC listen up - there is a quick solution. Its easy to forget that there is literally unlimited real estate when it comes to marketing yourself on the Internet. That means endless pages of sales copy, video testimonials and many more ways to get the customers attention.
If you were to compare prices then it is a no brainier - online marketing wins every time. You couldn’t afford to run multiple full page ads in a niche periodical without feeling the burn of high costs. Even though you can run all of your teaser sales copy online I am surprised at how stingy business owners are when it comes to self promotion. Instead of embracing the idea of wide open spaces I see a lot of business people rewriting over the same five pages. This defeats the purpose of creating real brand awareness on the web.
Give The People What They Want
I am often surprised at the great contrast of aggressiveness on the PPC side as opposed to your standard web pages. Many people forget to put their selling messages into the title of their pages. A consistent mistake I see a lot of business owners make is to brand every web page with the same information, (EX: Welcome To Fisher’s Air Conditioning Systems). Not only is this a dumb thing to do but it also offers nothing to the surfing consumers who could be visiting your site.
Your customer wants to see something for free. Information is the number one thing people are looking for. Remember to sell the sizzle but not the steak. PPC ads sell a lot of sizzle because they don’t have enough online real estate to do much else. There is a very tight formula that they must stick with. You must remember to do something similar on your own pages.
I was going through a weekend issue of USA Today and smiled as I hit the classified section. Every Friday I can count on many businesses opting for my attention. Some of the ads are very believable and all of them are incredibly blunt. They get right to the point about what they want to say and they manage to put in a call to action in under 5 lines of copy. I must add too that these are very short ads.
Create Grabbers
Encourage people to steal from you. Put white papers and downloadable content that people can outright pick up and steal. Post articles on your site and encourage people to come and take a look at them. Allow people to steal the whole article and place them on their sites. Create in roads to your order page by creating an elaborate web of online traffic. This is something that you can actually control. It is very time consuming so make sure you know what you want.
Joe Vitale has said to look up under keyword searches and find out what is popular. Then based on that you can create ebooks and white papers to draw traffic to your site. Now there is an art to doing this and you will need to learn a few key things about search engine optimization, (SEO) before you actually do it. But this is a pretty interesting strategy. Think of the many ways you can create a steady flow of the right kinds of people to your site.
Online ebooks are fairly simple to make and you can create a considerable flow of visitors with the right bait. This is going to take a little finesse on your part. Remember that people hate to read and they like a lot of visuals. You can use embedded audio and video in your ebooks and private web pages. Take advantage of the fact that people have 1/3 of their brain dedicated to audio and visual learning. You can take this to a new height with niche focused content and material.
You can still get the attention that a typical PPC ad can bring by changing your approach. This is a powerful strategy that you can employ in your online campaign. Creating prospect funnels to your site is art form. You have to know what they might want to grab. You can make your content enticing by giving it away for free. I like to use a lead capturing device on these types of sites. In addition to getting information you will want to make sure there is an automated responder tied into this function. This alerts the customer and lets them know you are paying attention to them.
