Do Your Customers Love You? January 24, 2007
Posted by Christine in Blogging, Business, Online Marketing, marketing.add a comment
Do your customers love you this much? If they do, then you are likely already as big as Mac, or well on your way. If they don’t, then it would be great if you can design your product such that they do! There is nothing like word of mouth: it is free, it is technically advertising and it is more convincing than the most expensive marketing company can cough up.
Search Marketing January 23, 2007
Posted by Christine in Business, Online Marketing, marketing, tools.add a comment
Has anyone tried search marketing? Probably… it has been quite popular on the www for some years now and businesses tend to get mixed results. Reason for this is the same as any other strategy giving mixed results: either it is not the right choice for your product or target audience, or the strategy is not optimally executed. First steps towards success is to get yourself informed, a Search Marketing Blog can be a start there and give you some direction.
What is it I can do for you? January 23, 2007
Posted by Christine in Business, Hiring a writer, Online Marketing, hire a writer, marketing, writing.add a comment
… is a question I always ask indirectly, but rarely get an answer to. Good writers also depend on good clients, and that statement can be generalized to almost any profession. When you speak to the people handling your marketing campaign, whether they are designers, writers, or photographers, make sure they know what they can do to personally contribute to making you happy.
Just communicate, and everyone will be able to do the job faster! Most revisions I see in business are necessary because parties did not effectively communicate in the first place.
Scheduling? January 23, 2007
Posted by Christine in Business.add a comment
I was supposed to be in a meeting today, but when I arrived there were two different groups already present. Both had scheduled the same meeting room for the same time. How this could happen? No idea…
This was not really a big deal, but both groups lost twenty minutes and the company looked unprofessional. Granted I am not a client, it still does not look good to appear disorganized. In this case some scheduling software would have come in handy.
Business Opportunities January 23, 2007
Posted by Christine in Business, General Interest.1 comment so far
If you are still “looking for The-One” (business,… not partner in the romantic sense), consider what you are really passionate about.
I am reading a book about putting your passion into print… but this can easily be translated to business: just like you should write what you love, you should sell what you love as well. I sell a variety of things, articles, reviews, marketing materials but mostly I sell experiences. When people read, they either become more informed, motivated to take a particular action or purchase a product. If a writer does his/her job successfully, they are not selling the actual “thing”, they are selling the experience.
Tonight, make a list of the things you love. What are your hobbies? If you are trained to be an accountant, but you are passionate about wine then I can predict in what type of business you will be more successful. Email me if you don’t get it…
I actually think any business can succeed, and anyone can sell anything as long as you are really passionate about it.
As with anything: know your target market, go after it, make money.
What Are You Worth? January 20, 2007
Posted by Christine in Business, Hiring a writer, marketing.add a comment
If you calculate your hourly wage, what are you worth? $50, $100, $200 per hour? However much it is, compare this to the amount you would pay to get some of those really annoying little chores (e.g. accounting, copy writing) done by someone who loves to do them. It’s simple, if you are a real estate agent and you calculate you make $100 per hour when you are showing homes to clients then it does not make sense to do chores yourself that cost less than that. In other words: if you could be out there making $100 an hour, why sit inside to write your own marketing material and only save yourself from paying a copywriter $90 per hour? You are actually “paying” and additional $10 per hour just for the “privilege” of sitting at your desk doing something you may dislike. At the very least, you are spending more money this way, not just because you would be earning more doing what you are good at, but also because you may not maximize your ROI since marketing is not your expertise.
If you are not good at it, don’t do it. If someone else will do it for less, let them take care of it. “It” here could be anything, whether it is copy writing, cleaning your house or doing your taxes.
Value your time, and you will be more profitable!
Anthony Davis wrote a similar article related to this concept, read it here.
Video Conferencing for Business January 18, 2007
Posted by Christine in Business, tools.add a comment
Although I live and work in the 4th (to my knowledge) largest city in North America, 90% of my clients live anywhere but here! This leaves me with a lot of telephone meetings and email discussions. I have to admit, face to face conversations tend to run more smoothly and are generally more pleasant than the constant teleconferencing I’ve been bound to.
I know I’m not alone in this. Millions of professionals have to communicate with colleagues or clients across the country and across the world. It’s not always necessary or logical to physically fly to the respective locations for a meeting. Here is where modern technology can really make a difference: video conferencing.
You may either get excited by the idea, or you may brush it off as “ah, so what… it’s just as good as using a regular telephone”. If you think the latter, then I have to disagree with you. Although intonation says a lot, it is not the same as also seeing someone’s face. If anything, you may not need to ask for your conversation partner to repeat what he said if you can also see what he is saying.
Video conferencing is something I’ve started using, and it may be worth looking into.
To Incorporate/not to Incorporate January 14, 2007
Posted by Christine in Business.add a comment
Because I am involved with developing some marketing campaigns before the business around it really comes off the ground, I am also asked questions entirely unrelated to my field. Sometimes I can answer them from pure experience, and sometimes I cannot. One example of this is “to incorporate, or not to incorporate“:
(Prospective) Business owners tend to get confused on whether they should be incorporated, form an LLC or another legal entity. What are the differences, benefits and drawbacks of each of these options? The sad thing is, I can’t even tell you the distinct differences or benefits of these entity options, as they vary greatly from state to state and country to country. For example, in Arizona a LLC is governed under slightly different rules than in Canada.
So what should you do? Incorporate yourself/your business, or form a Limited Liability Company (LLC)? The best way to find out what suits you and your business best is to get the proper information from a lawyer.
