July 22nd: Zach is so proud! Katya is not too sure what to think.

Last Tuesday, July 22, in the wee hours while you were probably sleeping soundly in your bed, I was in my room, pushing out our 3rd kid. I’ll spare you the gory details, but I will tell you this — being in labor for a total of 2h55m is nothing short of intense, violent and primal.

Being that it was such a speedy delivery (and my 3rd child in under 3 years), my body took a huge hit. The following 4-5 days were quite unbearable. Afterpains were fierce and I could physically feel my bones shifting back into place. Thankfully I didn’t have stitches to content with (but that DOESN’T mean no pain).

Fast forward to today. Jasmine is now one week old and she is an absolute angel. She’s so calm and easy-going, and very cuddly. She latched on like a pro as soon as she was born, so breastfeeding has been a breeze — which I am eternally grateful for. My body and emotions are starting to even out and I’m beginning to feel somewhat normal — although I still don’t quite recognize myself when I look in the mirror and I still have crying bouts. We’re slowly getting into a little routine. (Those that know me well, know that the “slowly” part is driving me nuts!)

My 2 older kids (it feels weird to say that about an almost 3 year old and a 16 month old) are slowly accepting that this little thing is going to be a permanent feature of the household.

Katya is finding it difficult (she’s still my baby), so we’re trying to give her as much extra time, love and attention as possible. Zachary is proud to be a big brother again and often asks to hold “my baby Jasmine.”

My mother-in-law stayed for 4 days and my husband is home until September 2nd, so I’m getting plenty of help and rest.

Of course, things will still be a little quiet around here for a while. But I won’t ignore you completely.

Want to keep tabs on me? Follow my updates on Twitter, Facebook and/or Plurk.

Thanks to all for your kind words so far, and I look forward to being up and about soon!!

Over on the Marketing Today site, you’ll find a neat little (free) tool to help you calculate your return on investment for any direct mail or email campaign. You can get there by clicking here: Marketing ROI Calculator.

Thanks to Lara Nieberding, The Data Digger for sharing this resource.

Which Road Do I Take? Setting a Goal Will Show You the Way

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. “Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to go?” was his response. “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.” — Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland

When your focus is on getting more clients, it’s not enough to say, “I want more clients,” or “I want to grow my business this year.” Those destinations aren’t clear enough, and you’re liable to end up wandering around your business aimlessly, until you get thoroughly lost and give up from exhaustion.

Having a sales and marketing goal gives you a destination for your journey, which makes it all that much easier to choose a road.

Notice I’ve used the word goal in the singular sense? That’s because I want you to stick to ONE goal – and an action plan to achieve it – for the next month. We entrepreneurs are often bombarded with messages, information, opportunities and potential projects, and we (myself included) often suffer from the Bright Shiny Object Syndrome.

These Bright Shiny Objects distract us, tear us away from our goals, dilute our efforts and pull us in many directions at once. Having ONE goal keeps you from being overwhelmed and frustrated, and will give you:

1. Focus: You know what you have to do each day so that stays in the forefront of your mind. Knowing you only have 28 days to achieve your goal will narrow your focus on marketing and help you ignore distractions.
2. Evidence: By regularly measuring your level of effort and comparing it to the results you create, you’ll get a constant reality check on your progress. You’ll know right away if you’re not working hard enough or if you’re spending marketing time on busy-work. You’ll also be able to gauge when you’ve done enough and can take a guilt-free day off.
3. Direction: For the next 28 days, you don’t need to ask yourself what you should be doing to get more clients – you already know, because you created an action plan to reach your goal. When you’re unsure of what you should do next, simply ask yourself “Which action or decision is most likely to lead me in the direction of my goal?“
4. Motivation: By posting your action plan in plain view, you’ll be motivated to challenge yourself: “How early can I complete my marketing tasks today?” Set up small rewards for finishing a project, for beating the previous day’s record or for reaching a certain percentage of your goal. Invent your own game – the more fun it is, the easier the next 28 days will be.

So are you ready for a tough question? What ONE goal would you like to achieve within the next 28 days? Make it a S.M.A.R.T. one – that means it’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed. Come up with one of your own, or choose ONE of the following:

In 28 days, I would like to have:

• _____ new clients
• _____ dollars in new earnings
• _____ listings
• _____ training courses scheduled
• _____ appointments booked
• _____ products sold

Based on the number you wrote, you can easily update and track your progress. And please don’t worry about getting it right. There’s no rule against changing your goal mid-month if it becomes unrealistic or was not enough of a stretch.

Now, choose a reward – not just for results, but for your efforts. If you worked towards your goal, you deserve a reward, even if you come up short.

My reward will be: ___________________________________

Great work! You have a goal and you even have a reward lined up for when you reach it. All that’s left is your action plan. Simply break down your goal into the small steps you’ll need to take in order to reach it.

So before you head down the road to build your business and attract new clients, make sure you’re clear about where you’re going. Set a goal for the next 28 days and take a break from distraction, overwhelm and frustration.

Copyright. Cristina Favreau. All rights reserved.

ABOUT CRISTINA
Cristina Favreau specializes in teaching independent service professionals who struggle with marketing, so they get more visibility, build their credibility and increase their self-confidence. Get her complimentary “12 Mistakes To Avoid in Your 30-Second Intro” ecourse at http://www.cristinafavreau.com/index.htm

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You’re welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered, including the “ABOUT CRISTINA” info above. Please send a copy of your reprint to web (at) cristinafavreau (dot) com.

Here’s an article my long-time colleague, Tracey Lawton, wrote last year which generated good feedback. She re-published it in her ezine today, so I thought I’d pass it along to you. By the way (she doesn’t even know I’m telling you this), I highly recommend you take a look at Tracey’s Complete Article Tracking Toolkit manual and workbook (it’s worth a whole lot more than the selling price of $47). Enjoy!

3 Simple and Low-Cost Marketing Strategies to Create Visibility
by Tracey Lawton

Marketing your business is one of the biggest challenges for any solopreneur – it’s a task we all find quite daunting, and are simply overwhelmed by all the information that’s available. Below I have put together some information on 3 simple and low-cost marketing strategies, which you can easily implement right away to create more visibility for your and your business. They all work well for me!

To help you decide which is the best strategy (or strategies) for you, I have listed the pros and cons of each one.

Create a Blog
Pros

• You can really show off your expertise by posting on a regular basis.
• Blog posts don’t need to be very long – approx. 200-350 words.
• If you have some important information to share, you can instantly create a post – no waiting for your next newsletter to make your announcement!
• If you use a blogging platform such as WordPress, this is hosted on your website. Each time you post to your blog you are creating fresh content for your website, which the search engines love!

Cons

• You need to post regularly – at least once a week – in order for this to be an effective marketing strategy.
• You need to feel confident that you will be able to write fresh content regularly.
• It can be difficult to build a direct relationship with your reader.

Publish an Ezine
Pros

• Unlike a blog, readers sign up to receive your newsletter so you already have a connection with them.
• You can build a relationship with your newsletter reader and encourage one-on-one communication.
• You can go into more depth in your newsletter article than you can with your blog posts.
• Your clients/target audience can get to know you through your newsletter.

Cons

• You have to make a commitment to publish on a regular basis, otherwise your subscribers will see you as unreliable, and may even forget about you!
• There is more work involved in putting together a newsletter than writing a simple blog post.
• You will need to subscribe to one of the ezine distribution services – I strongly recommend you do this and not send your ezine via your email client!

Article Marketing
Pros

• If you are already blogging or publishing a newsletter, you have your articles written.
• It is highly likely that once you submit your article to one of the article submission sites, it will be picked up and published on other article submission sites.
• Regularly submitting your articles will elevate you to ‘expert’ status within your field/niche.

Cons

• You have to write the articles if you’re not publishing a newsletter or posting to a blog.
• It takes time to manually research suitable article submission sites and submit articles.
• In order for this strategy to be effective, you have to submit your articles regularly – at least once a month.

Conclusion: You can just pick one strategy to focus on, or you can do all three! Whichever one you choose make sure it’s the right one for you. The key is to be consistent in your approach. If you decide to go with a blog make sure you have the time and motivation to add new posts regularly – at least once a week. Don’t start a newsletter if you know you won’t be able to keep to a regular publishing schedule! And for article marketing to be effective you need to submit articles on a regular basis.

WANT TO READ MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
Visit Tracey’s Article Library

© 2007 Tracey Lawton

Online Business Manager & Virtual Assistant Tracey Lawton, has been helping professional speakers, coaches, and authors operate an efficient, organized, and profitable business. Learn how to create an efficient and organized office in 7 EASY steps, and receive free how-to articles at www.VirtualSolutionsEzine.com

A few weeks ago my step-dad told me he wants to start a business selling log homes in Canada as an authorized dealer for a US company. The coach, entrepreneur and Devil’s Advocate in me perked up and started asking tough questions about how he plans to execute his marketing plan — is there even a marketing plan?

In no time, I brought up the target market factor because it’s an important one. My step-dad reasoned that, because the log home company doesn’t have Canadian dealers, the whole of Canada would be an open market and orders would come flooding in from all over the country.

Can you guess what he answered when I asked “Who is your target market?” You guessed it… “Everyone!” Amateurs (sorry, Kim).

I hated to burst his bubble (not really), but I had to lay it out for him. If you’re swimming in the great big ole Everyones-a-prospect Ocean, one of 3 things will happen:

1. You’ll get eaten by a bigger fish. (aka: Being acquired, outsmarted, eclipsed, or squashed by the competition.)
2. You’ll swim around aimlessly for hours, days, months hoping to find a fish — any fish — who wants what you’re offering — and frankly you’d settle for any aquatic vertebrate at this point… after all, you really need the business. (aka: spreading your time, energy, money and efforts so wide that you burn out, or give up from discouragement. “Nothing works. I’ve tried everything. What am I doing wrong?“)
3. Join a school of fish, because it’s just too hard being all alone in this great big sea. (aka:Throwing in the towel and (re)joining Corporate America, ’cause owning a business is just too hard and too much work.)

I told him it’s much better to be the big fish in a small pond, because you’ll stand out from the crowd. There are 2 main reasons for this:

1. You’ll have little to no direct competition.
2. Your target audience will see your business as more closely suited to their particular needs.

So how do you become the big fish? 2 ways:

1. Narrow down your niche and become the expert.
2. Share your expertise in any way possible.

He wasn’t entirely sold on the idea (“But I don’t want to exclude anyone.“), but I think I started getting through to him on the matter.

So, who are you swimming with?

In my last article, I helped you identify where you’re stuck in the marketing cycle. Now that you know what area you need to concentrate on (filling the pipeline, following up, getting presentations or closing sales), you’re ready to select and implement marketing strategies to get you closer to your goal of getting more paying clients.

You’ve often heard me share the first ‘secret’ of marketing: Choose a set of simple, effective things to do and do them consistently (easy, right?).

Here’s the second marketing secret: Gain the Know, Like and Trust Factor. Remember, marketing a service is NOT the same as marketing a product. A service is intangible; your clients can’t see the results until they are demonstrated. They have no idea how it will turn out for them, whether they’ll like it, whether you’re the right person for them, or whether it’ll work for their unique situation.

People need to know that you’re a “real” person with specific knowledge and experience of their unique problems. They need to hear your opinions and see your personality, in order to decide that they like you. As well, they need to trust that you have the solutions that will help them, that you work with professionalism and integrity and that you’ll do what you say you’re going to do.

Once they know, like and trust you, people will be far more ready and willing to shell out their hard earned money to acquire your services.

The most effective marketing strategies that service professionals can use to gain the know, like and trust factor are outlined in CJ Hayden‘s book, Get Clients Now! They are listed in order of most effective to least effective:

1. Direct Contact & Follow-up (o)
2. Networking & Referral Building (o)
3. Public Speaking (c)
4. Writing & Publicity (c)
5. Promotional Events (v)
6. Advertising (v)

The good news is you only need to choose 2-4 of these strategies in order to get more clients. Here are a few things to consider:

1. Comfort – Choose strategies that you feel drawn to and excited about (even a little bit frightened, which is often excitement in disguise). Consider your skills, talents, experience and personality.
2. Effectiveness – Remember that the farther down the list, the less effective the strategy, so try to spread out your choices.
3. Impact – Each strategy creates a specific impact – outreach (o), credibility (c) or visibility (v). Aim for balance so you achieve the highest level of impact for your efforts.

Take a look at what you’re doing now, both online and offline, and notice where they rate in terms of comfort, effectiveness and impact. From this perspective, commit to a new list of strategies.

As a service professional, you need to gain the know, like and trust factor in order to get more paying clients. If you choose a set of strategies that fit your needs and apply them consistently, you WILL see results!

Copyright. Cristina Favreau. All rights reserved.

ABOUT CRISTINA
Cristina Favreau specializes in teaching independent service professionals who struggle with marketing, so they get more visibility, build their credibility and increase their self-confidence. Get her complimentary “12 Mistakes To Avoid in Your 30-Second Intro” ecourse at http://www.cristinafavreau.com/index.htm

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You’re welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered, including the “ABOUT CRISTINA” info above. Please send a copy of your reprint to web (at) cristinafavreau (dot) com.

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Do you find out what your client needs before you start servicing him?

For example, if you were contracted for your letter writing services, would you get to work right away? Or would you conduct a preliminary interview with your client to find out:

• What style and voice does he want you to use?
• Who are the letters destined for?
• What is the end goal?
• Is this a marketing campaign?
• Has he done this before?
• What challenges has he faced in the past?
• What does and doesn’t he know about letter writing?
• etc…

In thinking about this subject it reminded me of getting a massage.

I don’t know about you, but I love massages. I’ve been to all sorts of massage therapists. Some are VERY good, some are VERY bad and others are just OK.

The very best are those who, the first time we met, sat down with me for 30 minutes to find out more about ME. What do I do for work? Do I have kids? How much stress is in my life? Do I have any health issues? Have I ever been to a massage therapist before? What did I like/dislike about them? What intensity am I most comfortable with? What are my expectations?

And, most importantly, where do I hurt the most?

Here are some things these questions indicate to me. The masseuse:

1. … knows what they’re doing.
2. … knows what they’re talking about.
3. … sees me as an individual and not just as another client.
4. … cares about my experience.
5. … is interested in creating clients for life, as opposed to making a quick buck.
6. … is worth what they charge.
7. … wants to tailor their service to my needs.

Let’s turn this around. When you get a new client, do you let your excitement get the better of you? Do you lump all your clients into the same boat? Do you offer a cookie-cutter service? Are you afraid of losing money by conducting an initial needs assessment?

If so, I urge you to change your mindset.

The extra time it’ll take you to unearth your clients’ individual needs is well worth the effort. Doing so gives your clients a sense of security, they get a taste of what it’s like working with you and they’ll feel heard. You’ll be seen as a serious professional and valuable resource to whom they’ll look to for guidance in the future.

Show your clients you care by getting in the habit of asking Where do you hurt the most?

This message was posted to members of a networking forum I belong to:

A recent study done by Internet Marketer Sheila Scofield has revealed some amazing information as to people don’t buy from her websites.If you are wondering why people don’t buy from your website, then click here to find out more details.

She also has a pretty cool solution to the problem on her site, which is not like anything I’ve ever seen before. If you’re already making as many sales from your website as you want to, then I wouldn’t bother with this.

Otherwise, it’s pretty much a must-read.

It piqued my interest, so, keeping an open mind, I clicked the link and attempted to read through the entire copy (10 scrolls, ouch). The story was interesting, but some of the text sounded alarms in my head.

The most blatant was the headline:

“This Secret Web Browser “Trick” Will Grab Your Visitors Back Right As They Try To Leave Your Web Site, Boosting Sales By 327%!”

And the very 1st paragraph:

“a devilishly tricky way to make our products sell like crazy.”

These statements, and a few others, raised serious issues for me on 3 levels:

1. The word trick tells me this product is somewhat deceptive or delusive.
2. Do I want people visiting my site to go through the aggressive, self-proclaimed, experience of being grabbed?
3. If I’m shopping (in an actual store) and a salesperson attempts a pitch (read grab ) me as I’m trying to leave, or worse, if I’m just window shopping… watch out, ’cause I’m gonna make your life a whole lot more difficult than it was 2 minutes ago!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for finding ways of encouraging visitors to stay on my website longer, as well as increasing subscriber rates and purchases, but not at any cost.

If someone’s looking for a solution and is ready to take action, but my site hasn’t succeeded in showing them I’m the best person to help solve their problems, no amount of persuasion or delaying the inevitable will make them change their mind. In fact any attempts to do so will likely turn them off even more. What’s more, if I’m creating a negative experience for my visitors, I can’t expect to see them again or give precious referrals.

This software goes against everything I teach about marketing.

Marketing is about getting your audience to know, like and trust you — it’s about building relationships, it’s about giving and sharing first, it’s about being unattached to the outcome, it’s about having a conversation.

It’s NOT about using pushy, intrusive, annoying, gimmicky campaigns to boost sales and lure one-time customers.

Do I think this software works? Yeah, I’m sure it works fine for those who are focused on a one-time sale or a product-driven site.

This software won’t help you make clients for life, it doesn’t encourage repeat business, it doesn’t incite referrals, and it certainly won’t help increase your credibility.

But hey, that’s just my stubborn opinion!! Tell me what you think. I’ve posted the link above. Read as much as of the copy as you can, see what the software looks like. Am I wrong? Does this work for you? Is this something that could work for your business? Or do you agree with me?

Don’t feel like reading this post? Listen to it here.

Today’s marketing tip is all about gaining customer confidence. What is THE most important element in marketing your service-based business? Your customers, of course! Think about it: How can you have a business without customers?

Why, though, should you spend precious marketing hours gaining the confidence of someone who hasn’t hired you yet? It’s true that, as you build a relationship with a paying client, your reliance on each other will grow. But the foundation of trust must already exist BEFORE they decide to hire you.

Remember: The most important element in your marketing is your customers. Those of you who know me, have heard me emphasize the importance of building the know-like-trust factor in you and your services. If potential clients DON’T know-like-trust you or your service, you WON’T get clients and you WON’T succeed in your business. When marketing, always keep them in mind.

You need to answer these questions correctly:

• What do my clients really want?
• What’s most important to them?
• How can my services address their individual and unique needs?

Here are 3 ways to help prospective clients have trust and confidence in you:

1. Highlight your successes. If you’re new in business, this could be challenging, but don’t let that discourage you. Here are 2 suggestions you can use to highlight your successes, even if you’re just starting off.
   • In anything and everything you do where you get positive feedback — whether you got paid for it or not — ASK for a written testimonial. A testimonial is tangible proof that you’ve helped someone real in your field, it’s not just theory or hearsay.
   • Use your blog and newsletters to tell a story; describe the typical client experience. Descriptively tell your audience what sets YOU apart from all the others.
2. Be image conscious. You never know who’s watching, so be acutely aware of how you present yourself in every situation. It’s entirely up to you to project a sincere, positive image of professionalism, expertise, masterful proficiency, reliability, customer satisfaction, responsibility or other values you hold dear. If you’re not sure what message you’re sending, ask someone you trust to give you honest, constructive feedback.
3. Clearly communicate the advantages of doing business with you. Give them solid, tangible reasons to do business with you. Let them experience what it’s like working with you — no strings attached. Do this by offering an introductory session, by regularly following up, by sending referrals, by offering solutions, ideas and resources. (A note about follow up: Don’t settle with sending emails every once in a while; pick up the phone and call them — let them hear your voice, your enthusiasm and your sincerity.) Be proactive in any ways you can think of. Another means of communicating your advantages is by productizing — or packaging — your services. Let’s face it, services are a hard sell. You’re asking your clients to pay for something where they’ll only know the end-result of AFTER it’s been done. By productizing your services, the benefits are more easily perceived, they become more tangible and your clients will know EXACTLY what they’re getting and for how long they’re committed to.

These are just 3 ways I could think of to increase your clients’ trust in you and your services, but I’m sure you can come up with more. Remember, if your marketing fails to inspire confidence, and doesn’t help establish yourself as a trustworthy, credible service provider, they’ll be hesitant to commit, and be more inclined to check out your competition.

What do you think? What’s worked for you? What hasn’t? What mistakes should entrepreneurs avoid? Are you facing challenges in the confidence-building area of your business?

I’m embarrassed to admit this challenge I’ve been having, but I’m at a loss as to what I should do. I’m hoping someone will read this and offer a practical solution or make suggestions.

Here’s the situation. My newsletter, The Journey is the Point, is sent to about 300 subscribers (in looking at my stats, I just realized my newsletter had it’s 1 year anniversary in April!). The average overall open rate (since April 2006) is 47.9%, which, to me, in itself is a horrible stat. Each month, the number is declining, but people aren’t opting out… I have a hard time believing spam filters are the only problem. I’m wondering what else it could be and what I can do to improve these numbers.

• I strive to offer quality, content-rich articles with little to no advertising.
• I avoid the obvious spam words (can anyone recommend a site that lists current spam words?).
• I’ve recently switched to a simpler design, with no graphics.
• The very first thing readers see is an “unsubscribe” link.
• I send it out the first Friday of each month (using Constant Contact).
• I don’t bombard my subscribers with additional emails.

What am I missing?

Not everyone has opted in twice, so I think it’s time to clean up my list, but how do I go about doing this? Keep in mind I’m not technically inclined…

I’m also considering changing programs (which is another can of worms), as long as it’s seamless, affordable and has all the features I need to continue growing my coaching practice. What’s your favorite program and why?

One of my goals this year is to double my subscribers, but I’d like to have the majority of them at least open up my newsletter.

HELP!!!