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I wanted to publicly announce that this blog has been abandoned due to changes in my business goals. Please follow Quality Business Writing instead. Thanks!

What's In It For Me?

One thing I've read in my Internet marketing training from the gurus over the years is that you should never fill your front page with text that's all about you. The front page is the first thing your visitors see, and unless they know you personally and are looking to learn more about you, they're not going to care why you're in business or how you got started - at least not the second they enter your site. I know that sounds brutal, but let's be real.

you enter a store in your town... do you want to hear why the store is there, how it came to be, who owns the store, etc.? No! You want to know what the store has to offer you. WIIFM is KEY. What's In It For Me. Makes us all sound like a bunch of self-centered egoists. :o)

But - whether we like to think about it or not - this is a proven marketing strategy that will make a tremendous difference in your business.

You don't have to totally eliminate your "About Me" page! It's great and serves a purpose of its own! It turns you into a real person to your website visitors. But move it to a page of its own and put text on your front page that lures your customers in and makes them want to buy from you. After all, isn't that why you put the website online?

Don't SHOUT!

Ask some people how they would describe someone from Texas, and they'd say LOUD! Well, I'm from Texas... does that tell you anything?

Often, in my excitement, and my literal deafness (I have no hearing at all in my right ear), I get loud, and it's almost as if I'm shouting. There are times when that "strong" voice comes in handy, but many times it's a curse.

Did you know that when you're typing something that will be read online - be it an email, a forum post, Website content, etc., that typing in ALL UPPERCASE (not the occasional uppercase for emphasis) is considered shouting?

It is!

So, remember to type in MiXed CaSe - NOT uppercase. Mixed case uses capital letters where appropriate (at the beginning of a sentence, for proper nouns, etc.) and makes the copy MUCH easier to read, but it's "talking" in a normal voice and not too loud.

Uppercase is great for added emphasis, but when an entire message is uppercase, it's the equivalent to SHOUTING. And no one likes to be yelled at, do they?

Build Your Business with Free Samples

Looking for a new way to promote your business for little cost? Try using free samples, commonly called incentives.

Incentives are an excellent way to generate extra sales for your business. They give targeted prospects a "taste" - sometimes literally! - of what you have to offer, and let repeat customers try something they might not have bought from you before.

If you own a candy wrapper business, create several full size candy bar wrappers using your latest design and send one to each of your former customers and current prospects - with a candy bar inside, of course!

Do you make crocheted baby blankets? Offer a miniature version as an incentive.

Sell balloon bouquets? Include a free pack of your top quality balloons with orders over $X amount.

Teach scrapbooking classes? Give your students a tag, a small pack of eyelets, or a few punchies with their purchase.

Are you a beauty consultant? Include a fragrance or lipstick sample when someone buys a new eye shadow or compact from you.

If yours is a service business, you can still make use of incentives.

Consider:

• Free distribution with a press release for business writers.

• Submission to 100 extra sites for website promoters.

• A complimentary bookmark design for desktop publishers.

• An extra web page when designing a website.

The list of possibilities is endless, but whatever you decide, make use of samples and incentives to build your business and generate more and repeat sales.

Beat a Sales Slump

Sales slow? Try using your regular working hours to promote your business!

• Submit your links to directories online.
• Submit free ezine ads wherever you can.
• Find link swap partners and get your link listed all over the place.
• Write short articles and submit them to ezine publishers and websites to use with a live link to your site.
• Send out a note to your previous customers offering a 20% discount for any order placed this month.
• Ditto above with a 20% discount for referring a new customer.
• Print some simple fillers and send them out to other business owners who will swap fillers with you. (If you're a Mom, find over 8,000 by joining The Mom Pack.)
• Print some color flyers and post them on bulletin boards and in windows ALL over your town.

These are some proven techniques for getting your name in front of people. And that's the best suggestion I can offer when sales are slow... tell more people about your business!

P. S. If you need help creating a flyer or fillers, Quality Business Writing can help - and at a great price!

Make Your Links Clickable

I've said this before on many forums and to many people, but because new Internet users continually come online, I'm sure I'll say it again... if your link is not clickable in your signature (sig) file, you're losing traffic needlessly.

I am too busy (and sometimes just too lazy!) to copy and paste a link to a website to "drop by" when I know that if you will add http:// before the www.sitename.com it becomes clickable to me. If I won't visit your site because of this minor detail, there are others who won't do so either and you're missing out on traffic.

And before you say it, I know that for many email programs the http:// isn't needed to make a link clickable. But I use Outlook or Outlook Express (depending on which computer I'm on). These are two of the most popular email programs, and my versions DO require this. So, why take gamble. Make your link clickable, even if it gets you only 1-2 added click-troughs a week.

What is a Press Release?

You may be familiar with the term, but not certain what a press release (PR) is.

A PR is basically, a news tip. Ideally, it's short and sweet. And it's sent to editors of magazines and newspapers, and to production managers of radio and TV stations to inform them on an interesting piece of news. That's why they're sometimes called News Releases. A PR must contain full contact information - first and last name, address, phone, email. And no, the paper won't publish that information. It's for the editor to use to contact you if he or she wants to know more about the story you sent them.

A PR is not an article. It can be used as a full article by the publisher if written well, and if an editor is only looking for a "filler." But that's not the intention. The intention is to grab the editor's attention and get them to contact you to do a full story. A good PR could lead to a full page story. It happens often! That's why the PR is short - ideally, a page or less. NEVER over 1.5 - 2 pages. Your PR should leave an editor wanting to know more.

A PR is also not an ad. It's news. The personal aspect is what typically interests the editor. Your background and how you got into business is news, not the fact that you sell jewelry from Mexico - unless you focus on the fact that it's jewelry made by Mexican artisans who are struggling to feed their 12 kids. But then the story becomes the artisans, not you.

When you send out a PR, send it to all the papers in your area and surrounding areas, as well as local TV and radio stations, and a few places online to get the greatest visibility.

Using a PR is a fantastic way to get your company name in print and get your business noticed. It's much more effective than paid advertising if done right. But don't gamble with a PR... if you can't write one well, hire a professional. It can make the difference in your PR making the paper or making it only into the trash.