StevenageLocalBusiness: Creating a web presence with your Blog.

StevenageLocalBusiness: Creating a web presence with your Blog.: Here are some tips on how to create a Web Presence with your Blog: Write about Your Passion Do you have a passion or love for som...

Creating a web presence with your Blog.

Here are some tips on how to create a Web Presence with your Blog:

Write about Your Passion

Do you have a passion or love for something? That you would like to do instead of your day job them keep on reading and make this a reality it is easier than you think.

All you need to do is to start writing about your topic or services that you are passionate about. All people have a passion that they have and this can be formulated to create an Income online and start a Homebased business.

Start Your Blog Today

I started my Blog Work From Home Career 5 months ago to write about what I am passionate about. I was looking for a platform that was easy to set up and did not want to spend hours trying to build my blog, I was looking for a simple straight forward solution.

Help and Support Setting up Your Blog

I got referred to Sean Rasmussen from Learn How To Blog where you can set up your blog in 3 easy steps and be ready to post your first article within a couple of Clicks with your mouse. Plus if you want, Sean has a 12 month course teaching you in a step by step module format how to create your blog. If you are not a technical person you have step by step instructions on how to set up your blog and customer support if you get stuck.

All you need is someone to support you to setup your Blog and look for someone you trust and has good support if you need help.

Getting Traffic to Your Blog

If you are looking to get traffic and more customers to your website Blogging is one of the best ways to do this as Google loves new relevant content that adds value to people. Just by posting good relevant content on a daily basis you will soon be getting followers and a good ranking on Google for your blog posts.

Google has changed the rules and will penalise anyone who posts copied content and who has used to many Key Works in their blog posts to try and cheat the system. My Mentor Sean from Learn How To Blog says that you need to follow a common sense approach to blogging and then you will not get in trouble with Google which can affect your rankings.

The ones that are honest and ethical are the ones that are winning, so just be you and your Blog will soon be very popular.

Social Media and Social Signals

Integrating Social media called "Social Signals" on you blogs is key and this should be placed at the end of each blog post for your readers to share. This will help to spread the word about your products and services.

Write with authority and consistency on your topic and Google will reward you with your good work.

Let's recap what I have just discussed

·         Find your passion and create a blog and write what you do and add value.

·         Be an authority in your field even if you are just starting out, you have experience in your topic that people would like to learn from.

·         Write consistently everyday if possible with fresh original content to add value of at least 400 words.

·         Share your content on Social media this is very important and have follow buttons so people can follow you.

·         Find a mentor who can keep you on track with your blog and give you help when needed.

·         Look what other people are doing in your niche and learn from them.

Have fun and enjoy what you do and more people will be attracted to you and your blog.

Please share with others if you think this was useful.

David Ingham

Work From Home Career

Helping People Start a Career from Home and start a Homebased Business

Attracting Customers...

Last time I finished with the importance of Referrals, today we start with…

Relationships: If you are not in the relationship business you should be! People work with and buy from people they trust, so start building those relationships now!

Respond: You need to respond to enquiries, complaints and questions as quickly as you can! Today communication is instant and so is moving to another supplier if people don’t get back!

Social networking: There are many sites available to use for promoting your Business; amongst the most useful are LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Try them.

Strapline: A single memorable sentence which sums up your uniqueness; display it next to your logo for most impact.

Testimonials: Always ask for feedback and use it to encourage potential customers to your Business.

Up-Selling: Give your customers the opportunity to buy a bigger or different version of the product or an enhanced product. Every time you buy someone will try to sell you more so why not do it too?!

Website: Keep it up to date and attractive to customers as it can be your most powerful selling tool!

You Tube: Create an account and your own Channel to sell your expertise!

Yourself: Remember you are the best sales tool for your Business, so work on yourself and develop and hone your skills to that end!

Good Luck!

Malcolm 

http://www.stevenagelocalbusiness.com/

Attracting and keeping Customers...

Some more ideas to attract and keep Customers:

Press release: If you’re proud of what you do, tell people about it! It needs to be newsworthy so look at what type of news is published and adapt your news accordingly.

Product grid: Have a grid showing your products and services and a list of your top customers to make sure people know what you do and for whom.

Product range: As above but this time a complete list of your products and services so your customers can see the range and choice available.

Product samples: Do you / can you provide free samples of your work?

Professional groups: What groups are you / should you be a member of? Groups are a good way of meeting like-minded professionals and keeping an eye on the opposition!

Promotional gifts: Create freebies that get attention and keep your customers, and potential customers, aware of your business.

Radio: Get to know the local station(s), the presenters and programmes that deal with local interests; local radio is a great supporter of small business in the area, so use it!

Rapport: An essential part of customer relations is putting people at their ease, and it is often neglected. A skill you should work on!

Referrals: The most precious of all introductions! Do you have a system, do you ask? If not begin today!

As always, try these suggestions for your business, after all what’s the worst that can happen?!

More next time!

Malcolm 

http://www.stevenagelocalbusiness.com/

Getting and keeping Customers.....

Continuing our series on attracting Customers...

Networking: The single most effective method of getting in front of potential clients and impressing them! So join a group(s) and turn up regularly as it takes time to build trust and, as we know, all business is based on trust! See earlier Blogs on Networking.

Newsletters: keep in people’s minds by sending out a regular Newsletter; it works!

Offers: Have regular time limited offers to attract attention.

PDF Brochures: A good way to get over your message and, ensuring it is not altered; they should be available to download from your site.

Photographs: A picture is a very effective way to show your staff, products or happy customers etc.

Manners: being polite costs nothing and can do a great deal of good for your Company image!

Make sure all staff are “singing off the same hymn sheet”  and there is a Company style.

Postcards: These are a good and colourful way to keep in touch, say “Thank you” or provide information.

Posters: A great way to advertise! Give them to Customers to display. Some good ideas here: http://www.businessballs.com/freeonlineresources.htm

Do try at least one of these ideas and it should help you gain and retain customers!

More next time!

Malcolm 

http://www.stevenagelocalbusiness.com/

Attracting and keeping customers...

Further ways to attract and keep customers…

Guarantee: Always offer a no questions guarantee.

Headlines: They sell so make them good, ask questions.

Integrity: Goes without saying, and you’ll lose customers without it!

Keywords: These attract so keep a list of the important ones and use them in all your social media communications too.

Leaflets: These are a cheap way to keep in touch.

Letters: Especially “Thank you” ones for new customers!

LinkedIn: If you’re not on it you should be!

Listen: If you’re not a good listener, become one!

Lists: Keep all your customer lists up to date.

Logo: Does yours attract and encapsulate your Business?

Do try at least one of these ideas and it should help you gain and retain customers!

More next time!

Malcolm 

http://www.stevenagelocalbusiness.com/

More ways to attract Customers...

Here are some more ideas for attracting Customers:

1. Demonstrations: if you can show your product(s) it is a good way to get your customer’s attention.

2. Directories: Make sure you Business is listed to be noticed!

3. Dormant Customers: If you have customers who haven’t bought from you recently, why not get in touch via mail or Bulletin or even offer them a special discount to come back!

4. Mail: Send out regular mails to keep your customers in the loop.

5. Referrals: Include a call for referrals in your header or salutation; after all referrals are the best type of introductions!

6. Passion: Make sure you communicate with passion, because if you don’t who will believe you?

7. Social media: Consider Facebook for Business and Twitter as advocates of your Business – but always remember your Brand in all your postings!

8. Follow-up: Always, always, always follow-up!

9. Incentives: Offer incentives for loyalty, returning customers, new customers…

10.  Write: Offer to write as an “expert” for publications and fellow Businesses.

Again, try at least one of these ideas and it will help you gain and retain customers!

More next time!

Malcolm 

http://www.stevenagelocalbusiness.com/

Attracting Customers...

Try some of these ideas, adapted from Nigel Temple of the Marketing Compass, to attract more customers to your Business:

1. Advocates: people who will recommend you.

2. Articles / Blogs: write a useful article or Blog regularly.

3. Benefits: tell people what you & your Business can do for them.

4. Booklets: you are an expert on your business so write about it!

5. Brand: your Brand is your values, what you stand for.

6. Business card: you have one of course?!

7. Case Studies: show examples of your successes.

8. Copy: marketing words, write to sell, so make them compelling.

9. Cross selling: tell customers about what else you offer.

10. Customer service: under promise and over deliver.

If you just try one of these ideas it will help you gain and retain customers!
More next time!

Malcolm 

http://www.stevenagelocalbusiness.com/

Getting people's attention...

Having written out your 1.USP and 2. Your problem/solution statement...

3. Now write another sentence that explains the key points of how you deliver your solution. Your statement should be a very brief summary of the key features and benefits of what you are selling.  For example:

 “By writing the blog posts for them, I free up their time to focus on other parts of their business”. 

This isn’t a sales pitch, which would just turn off someone that you met in an elevator. It’s a summary of why your solution actually works. It shouldn’t give a person all the details of your business. Instead, it should create an opening for more questions from the other person. In other words, it’s a great way to get a conversation going.

4. Put it all together

Now that you’ve written the basics of your elevator speech, it’s time to put it all together.

• Practice saying it out loud
• Add other details to make your speech sound natural.
•  Try it out on someone else and get their feedback and reaction.
• Remember to time yourself to make sure your “little” speech doesn’t take more than about a minute.
• Take the time revise and revisit your elevator speech frequently, especially as your business changes.

Creating your own individual elevator speech is far more important than most people ever realise. You never know when you will meet someone that can be a help to you in your business, or who is a potential customer. This is the one liner you can use with friends who have no idea what you do or with business colleagues you meet at a conference “in the elevator”. It is your pathway  to opening the door to a new business relationships.

Some tasks now…

You’ve read how to craft your USP and turn it into an elevator pitch. Craft one for your blog. The wonderful thing about the elevator pitch is it helps you market not just yourself but also your blog, your ebooks and other aspects of your business.

Good luck!

Malcolm 

http://www.stevenagelocalbusiness.com/

How to get people's attention...

I get asked a lot about how best to sum up what you do in a few words or a sentence; indeed Ali Davis posed the question in a recent Tweet, "can you summarise what you do in one or two words"! Initially that might be a step too far but it is a great idea and a worthy goal; something I'm working on! 

If you're asked the question, "So, tell me what do you do?", what are you going to say? Well, over the next couple of Blogs I'll give you some ideas and tips that I hope will help.

 

What will you say?

People don’t want to hear a 15 minute blow by blow account of your business. They don’t want a potted history of how you started your business to change the world and 15 years later you’re still trying. In fact they don’t even want to hear more than a minute about you and your business however fascinating it is to you. Remember, most people are not interested in you they are being polite or breaking the ice and really want to talk about themselves! 

So, how do you describe what you do in an efficient and effective way? 

How do you finished that conversation without wishing the ground would open up and swallow you?

The Elevator Speech

Everyone needs to have a 1 minute speech prepared that explains exactly what their business is all about and why people should even listen to them. This is commonly referred to as an “elevator speech or pitch” since you should be able to say it in the space of an elevator ride. 

It’s a snapshot of you and what you do in your business.

Here are some ideas how to avoid that sinking feeling over coffee and how to craft the elevator pitch of your  dreams, the one that works for you.

The steps to crafting your elevator pitch (that works).

1. Outline your USP

What are the key points of your unique selling proposition (USP)?  

What’s different about you compared to your competitors? 

Write these down in a simple bullet point format. 

Then cut out irrelevant words and explanations. 

Edit your USP down to the bare minimum, the most basic essence of what you are offering people.

2. Write your problem/solution statement

Now put your USP description into one sentence. 

It helps to put it in terms of a solution to a problem, since this is the most important part of anything you are selling. It’s why people buy. For example,”I help people that don’t have time to blog or just hate it”. 

This doesn’t tell someone exactly what you do, but it intrigues them enough to want to learn more. 

I will tell you more about getting people's attention next time!

 

Malcolm 

http://www.stevenagelocalbusiness.com/

 

 

Setting up a network group..

If, like me, you have recently set up a new Networking forum, or you're thinking of beginning a group, you will appreciate there are problems and pitfalls! So I thought I would share a template I use.


Objective What are your personal objectives? To increase your profile, get noticed or simply altruistic.

Purpose Decide on the purpose Referrals, communication, training etc.

Target Members Who to target? Members of your network, clients, prospects, new contacts.

USP What differentiates you? The members, food, agenda, venue.

Hurdles / Barriers Are there barriers to entry: SMEs, large companies, self-employed, singletons etc.

Value Added What will they place emphasis on? Quality of presentations, referrals, membership.

Name / logo Explains the group. Not just "ABC Networking"!

Meeting place Decide on a central location or a "special" venue. Do market research and choose depending on numbers

Meeting time Research the best times. Early, lunch, evening or variable.

Meeting regularity What frequency will get most ROI? Weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

Structure Informal or formal format? Set a format and ask for feedback and adjust accordingly.

Benefits What's in it for them? Prospects, clients, community, Business Community, Training, Face 2 Face, problem resolution.

Mission A phase to capture the need. Try to encapsulate the essence of the group succinctly.

Numbers What is a good number? Be realistic, and build on it.

Meeting content Decide on a meeting format Informal, training, network, seminar.

Marketing To be done in - house or external? Maybe in-house initially then sponsored?

Revenue/Costs What will I charge? Compare with other local groups & ensure to cover costs!

KPI How will you measure success? Set targets and get regular feedback


The main thing is to allow plenty of time, be realistic and not be put off, as there will be set backs, but keep going!

I hope this is helpful and let me know of your successes and experiences!

Malcolm 

http://www.stevenagelocalbusiness.com/

Facts and Stories...

Facts and Stories.

Last time I talked about Elevator pitches and the need to think about the first 10 seconds as it will capture interest; this time I'm discussing the power of stories!
You may have heard the adage, "Facts tell whilst stories sell", well it is right, in any networking conversation, unless asked for, facts will simply bore and maybe will not even be heard! The beauty of stories is they can include facts, make a point and be interesting!

There's a story about a student who had this recipe for peach wine that he really loved. One day he decided he wanted to make some of this peach wine. So he bought some peaches, went to his parents' and got the equipment to make it.
He mixed up the yeast, peaches, and the rest of ingredients, and put it in his basement to ferment.
He checked it regularly for days to see how it was doing, but it was going too slowly for him! He got impatient and wanted to speed it along. So he put some more yeast in to help it along. Then he went back the next day to see if it had made a difference; he tasted it and found it was not the wine he expected but instead it was the best peach vinegar!

Sometimes there are things in life that you can't push. You can't make some things go faster. Instead they go bad and this is true in building trust!

A woman I know was invited to attend a 50th birthday party of an associate who used to belong to a networking group of which she also was a member. They'd had a long-term working relationship, and, therefore she decided to attend. However, when she arrived at the house and looked through the window, she noticed people were arranged in a semicircle, obviously listening to a presentation, and when she went in, it was very obvious the party-goers were being recruited for a business opportunity.
Although, she felt annoyed and resentful, she and the other friends found it difficult to remove themselves from the "birthday party," especially, as the only refreshment being served was the company's diet product!

Be honest, is it a party or a sales pitch? I'm sure the woman in question will find future parties less well attended!! If you falsify the reason for a gathering you will find that rather than increasing your circle of influence that your circle has reduced to one!


In conversations, I often use the counter to objections that Dani Johnson recommends, "I don't know about that all I know is..." and tell a story.
For example:

"It'll never work for me!"
"I don't know about that all I know is that I have been working with ABC Company for two years now and I'm making £2,000 each month."

Try it, what have you got to lose and, after all, it is a lot easier than trying to overcome objections with facts and it makes you feel better too!
I hope it helps.

Malcolm 

http://www.stevenagelocalbusiness.com/