Promoting anything you write and publish is a lot harder than you originally think.
You figure the masses will come seeking out your wisdom and creative genius. You figure people will be only too eager to open up their wallets and buy several copies of your masterpiece. You figure everyone who visits your site will subscribe after the first visit.
You figure wrong.
Which is why it’s imperative to find ways to leverage stuff well within your reach to help you in the process. Like leveraging your friends and their networks.
I recently posted this article, 10 Ways Your Friends Can Help You Sell More Books, over at Author Marketing Experts. This post was a lot of fun to write, and I’m eager to put to use all of the tactics suggested. You’ll need to read the full article to truly get the gist of it, but here’s a quick summary of the ten tips:
As a savvy marketer, you already know how important social networking sites are in the modern business world. We don’t need to remind you that 78% of corporate executives believe social media is critical for business success, as a recent CreditDonkey infographic reported. You already know all about how to use Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter.But, did you know there are hundreds of other social media websites out there? Most cater to smaller niches that the big players don’t pay as much attention to. If these niches include your target market, you could be missing out on opportunities to connect with them. Keep reading to find out about 10 social networking sites you aren’t using, but should consider signing up for!
I was a pitcher my Freshman and Sophomore years at Dallas Baptist University. A little known fact about pitchers is that when you’re not pitching, you’re running.
Which gave me an interesting perspective to add at the Against the Wind 5k blog. I recently posted the mantra that drove me through countless laps around the campus. Up the steep hills. From foul pole to foul pole. And through mindless laps around the track in the Texas heat.
Direct sales is a tool-driven business. Kinda.
It’s actually a people-driven business. The tools just help the people share the message consistently and confidently.
As you can imagine, much of my career working on the corporate side for direct sales companies has been spent focused on all kinds of tools. Magazines, mail-outs, emails, websites, social media, video, flyers, etc. I’ve done ‘em all.
Sure, I’ve launched some really bad tools. But I’ve also watched some great tools get so misused and misunderstood that they never get the credit they deserve.
If you’re a direct seller, you need to read this article I recently posted at Jen Fong’s blog, titled “6 Reasons Your Online Tools Don’t Work (and How to Fix Them)”. I go into great detail as to the reasons I typically see a distributor failing at using their tools. The great news is you can easily fix it.
Read the post now, and subscribe to Jen’s blog while you’re at it. It’s one of the best for direct sellers.
Social media has become one of the most important and effective tools for marketing today. With millions of users following these websites everyday, the task of marketing proves to be fairly easy and effortless. A social media promotion strategy is a good way to connect with people and at the same time make them aware of your services and products. It spreads faster than conventional website generated leads. Two of the best examples of social media are Facebook and Twitter.
Let’s talk about Twitter first. In Twitter, you just have to create an account and find followers. If you start to follow someone (even if you do not know that person) he/she will start following you as well. This way that person would be informed about any updates you make. At the same time your marketing purpose would be fulfilled. It is definitely one of the fastest ways of connecting to a larger audience isn’t it? And think it is for free.
As I was walking through a local department store, I stopped as this sippy cup caught my eye. I hope you see the humor in it as I did! I’m sure you can tell right away why it has been placed on the clearance side of the aisle. Okay, I had to pick up the cup, open it, check inside, and see if the top of the cup could be rotated to a more “acceptable” position. And, of course, it could not.
As I peeked around the corner, I saw another shelf filled with a well-known male character, but quickly noticed its straws were pointing in a different direction…and no, regardless of how I tried to turn its top, it would not set in the same position.
Editor’s note: this guest post by Jon T. Norwood is a little different than others you’ve seen on MiP. It mentions a specific product as a solution to a specific problem. The thing is, I think it’s something many of you small biz owners need to know about. There are so many options today in terms of cloud computing and hardware solutions. Technology is finally catching up with reasonable budgets, and this is just one example of that. Anyway, give it a read, and if it sparks any questions, be sure you follow up with Jon below. – bd
The logic is clear; imagine the cost savings of 30 users working on a single PC. Now imagine hundreds of them working on a single server and you have Ncomputing’s Office in a box. When a new employee joins a company, they have to be provisioned. This usually means a PC, monitor and all the trimmings. And that can cost thousands of dollars, even with discounts. The cost of this is becoming more of an issue as the need for technology increases throughout business.
An “Office in a box” starts with a thin client, which is a very small box containing only the hardware needed to display the desktop interface to the user. This includes graphic hardware and networking services. The desktop (Windows or Linux) becomes a user interface that is served up by either a normal PC or a server using virtualization systems. The result is that many users can use the same computer.
As the digital age continues to evolve, business owners have to keep pace with a variety of communication channels as a means of speaking directly with a fragmented and disparate market. It was not so long ago that consumers would buy all their wares from physical bricks and mortar stores. Today, with just a click of a button, an item can be dispatched from an ecommerce store in some far-off land. As a result, a disconnect between the business owner and consumer can grow without a moment’s notice and requires action if repeat business is to be sought.
There are all manner of highly accessible and popular social media sites to utilize with Twitter leading the field. So how do you increase your site’s audience whilst communicating effectively? The following guide should provide some useful tips to get you started.
Today’s guest post is courtesy of Nicole Rodgers. I come across a lot of prospective guest posts ideas due to some services I subscribe to, but Nicole’s title here intrigued me. Which made me think it would intrigue you. Keeping an eye on trends is muy important, and Nicole’s guidance here is extremely helpful.
The successful entrepreneur watches for trends that can be utilized and worked into the business. There are a number of different areas that many indicators are saying will have a great impact on the future of business. Getting in on the ground floor can help ensure the entrepreneur grabs a part of the trend as it pushes forward.
I’ve finally seen the light on the power and privilege of guest posting over the past month, and it’s been a nice perk getting to write on some really good blogs here lately. I wanted to share a couple of my latest guest posts for you in case you missed it:
