The 10 Second Rule

It doesn't matter how you get the traffic to your site.  Whether by search engine or referral or direct link, there is one truth that still applies.  You have about 10 seconds to capture their attention and keep them on your site.  How do you do this?  Give them the information they need to know that they are in the right place and have found what they are looking for.

1.  Visitors want to know right away that they have come to the site they were looking for.  They don't want to spend time searching your site for the information that will tell them who you are.  Your name or your company name and your logo need to one of the most visible parts of your website.  They should be visible on every page, preferable in the header.

2.  Visitors are searching for your website for a reason.  They have a need and they are searching for a solution.  Again, it doesn't matter if they are simply using a search engine or they have been referred to your site from someone else.  When they get to your site, they will want to know one thing - how can you help fill their need?  Your website should make it obvious what types of products or services you offer and how it will benefit your visitor.  And this needs to be explained quickly and clearly.  Once you have captured your visitor, then you can provide him with additional information further into your site.

3.  Unless you are involved in a cutting edge industry, chances are you are not the only one able to meet your prospect's needs.  Your visitor will want to know - quickly - why he should stop here and do business with you instead of continuing his search.    Next, visitors to your site should be able to easily see why you're good at what you do.  Awards. recommendations, testimonials - whatever it is that proves why your visitor should choose your business over your competitor needs to be easily visible on your site. 

4.  You have his interest and he is ready to make his choice.  Don't lose him now by not telling him what the next step is.  Whether you want him to buy, or subscribe, or register, or download, make your call to action obvious and explicit.

5.  There are many legitimate businesses on the internet.  There are also a few rip-off artists.  Your visitor will want some assurance you are "real."  You can help set his mind at ease by making it easy for him to contact you.  At a minimum, you should display your business phone number, a physical address (not a post office box), and an email address.

6.  I still remember the day I was searching for some information and found a site that seemed to provide all that I needed.  I registered for their newsletter and within days, was inundated with so much spam that I had to close my email account and open a new one.  This is what prompted me to open an email account just for newsletter subscriptions and such.  Now I look for privacy policy information right up front.  And I am not alone.  So be sure your visitor knows right up front what will happen to the information he provides. 

Giving Up My Shoulds

It's "Give Up Your Shoulds Day"!  And you are invited to be part of it!  For one day, you are invited to give up a certain "should" that leads to stress, guilt, misery, or any sort of sadness.  What a perfect day to give up some of those shoulds that are holding you and your business back!
I should be making more money.
I should get a "real" job.
I should do more prospecting calls.
I should do more advertising.
I should do more social media marketing.
I should publish a blog.
I should publish more articles.
I should attend more networking events
I should do more____
I should....

Many people starting a business think they "should" be doing this thing or that thing to be successful.  When I started my business, I would sometimes work late at night or early in the morning.  But I began to get criticism from some of my friends who would  get emails or faxes from me at all hours of the day and night.  They felt that if I was going to be taken seriously, then I "should" work  9 - 5 like most "normal" business people.  I let them persuade me that this was true and tried to change my schedule.  But I am a night owl by nature and forcing myself to change my natural rhythm caused stress and made me very unproductive and irritable.  By giving up this "should" and working when I feel at my best and most creative, I am actually more efficient and productive - and much easier to get along with!  Yes, it's true that I do have to be available during some portion of "normal" business hours to interact with clients and prospects.  But much of my business is not restricted by time so why should I place this expectation on myself?

There are certain things necessary to be successful in business.  You have to have a viable product or service.  You have to promote yourself and your products or services.  You have to earn the trust and respect of your customers.  There are many ways to do these things.  There is no one way that "should" work for everyone.  You should do what feels right and works best for you. 
And so today I invite you to give up your shoulds.  Take a look at your business.  Make a list of all the things you are doing because you should.  Now review your list.  Is there anything on the list that you are doing that is not effective?  That causes you stress?  That you are only doing just because you "should"?  What would happen if you stopped doing it?  If dire consequences would not result, I encourage to consider giving up this action.  Try it just for today. 

I "should" work longer today.  But I'm not going to.  It's a beautiful day and I am going to take Bob and Austin for a walk.  What should will you give up today?  I'd love to hear.  Feel free to share in the comments. 

Are You a Good Marketer?

Are you a good marketer?  Recently, I was on a coaching call with Linda Johansen as part of my Passion to Profits coaching program. During the call, we talked what makes someone a good marketer.  We came up with two simple rules.

1. Understand your prospect

Understanding your prospect is the number 1 rule in marketing.  It was one of the first concepts they taught in my marketing classes in college.  It is one of the first things mentioned in every coaching, mentoring, or training program I have been part of since.  You need to know who you are selling to.  If your client is looking for ways to increase their online presence, then your latest ebook on offline marketing techniques is not going to interest them.  Readers of my blog on pet travel are probably not interested in how to make money blogging.  Understanding your prospect is the key to offering him a product they want and will buy.

How do you find out what your prospects want?  Ask them.  They will tell you if you listen.  Sometimes they will actually tell you what they want, as when a client asked me to show her how to set up a blog on Blogger.  Other times you will have to sort through the information being given to find out what is wanted.  For example, my friend Ruth has repeatedly mentioned to me that she is unhappy with her job and wished she could find something else to do.  Although she never asked for my help directly, when I mentioned my beginning business coaching program, she was immediately interested and signed up on the spot.

You and also use surveys to gather information.  I recently conducted a survey asking what my next project should be.  From the survey results, I discovered that many baby boomers still don't understand how to use social media to market their business.  They had joined Twitter and set up Facebook pages and were on LinkedIn, but they didn't know how to use these to promote their products.  And so our next project will be a teleseminar on social media marketing.

2.  Give them what the want, not what they need.

I know this sounds ridiculous.  If you are in business to help your clients solve a particular problem, then it makes sense that you should sell them what they need.  But this is not always the case.  For example, the first product I ever sold was The Boomer's Guide to Making Money with PLR Content.  I had many clients who were looking for fast and easy products to sell.  So I thought teaching them how to use PLR products make money was a perfect solution.  In fact, it was a huge flop.  They didn't want to learn how to use someone else's info to make products of their own.  They wanted a ready made product that they could just market and bring in some money.  They were, in fact, looking for information on affiliate programs.  But I wanted to do something different because there are already hundreds of guides to affiliate marketing and thousands of affiliates for almost every product out there.  I wanted them to have what I thought they needed - a way to create a somewhat unique product of their own.  And I was wrong.

Are you a good marketer?  Are you getting to know your prospects?  Are you giving them what they want?  If not, now is the time to start.  Listen to your prospects.  Get to know them.  Find out what they want.  And then give it to them.

Facebook fanatic? Tweet-aholic? Mad for Pinterest? Tell Us Why!

Social media - whether you love it or hate it - is here to stay.  Everyday, it seems like a new one springs up.  First there was MySpace.  Then Facebook and Twitter.  Google+, Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, and Tumblr - and probably dozens more I can't even name. 

During a lunchtime meeting of my mastermind group, the subject of social media came up.  It seems we all have a favorite.  I am a huge Twitter fan.  Linda loves Facebook.  Jessie's new passion is Pinterest.  And Mike prefers LinkedIn and Google+.  What I found most interesting, though, is not that we each had a particular favorite, but that much of our reason for preferring one over the other actually had very little do with which one was best for our business.  We all use social media to help build our businesses, but few of us could actually tell which of our clients, customers, and subscribers actually frequented the same social media sites we did.  Sad, isn't it?  But it led us to an interesting research project.  Each of us has decided to use our blogs and/or websites to get some information on social media.  Something may come of it - a report or at least a blog post.  But mostly, we just want to satisfy our own curiosity.  How many others favor a particular social media site for reasons other than it's the best one for your business? 

So, here goes: Which social media site do you focus on for your business and why?  Answer by leaving a comment.  Maybe you can help coach the coaches by showing them why your favorite platform is the one we should also be using - because it's best for our businesses and not because we like the fact that interactions are limited to 140 characters!

How to Get That Link Love

I have just recently completed ProBlogger's course "31 Days to Build a Better Blog" and I am already seeing results.  The increase in traffic has been dramatic, to say the least.  And that's what inspired me to do some research to see if I could gain some further insight on gaining more exposure - and hence more readers - to my blogs.

And insight I did find!  The information I found was so helpful, I couldn't resist sharing. 

One of the blogs I read actually talks about gaining "blogferrals" or "link love".  It seems the most popular blogs are the ones with the most links.  Which just makes sense.  More links = more readers.  Check out "Would Your Blog Win a Popularity Contest?" by Heidi Richards Mooney for tips on how to get those all important links.

Incoming links are priceless, but you can also use outgoing links to help to get your blog noticed.  I used this tactic quite a bit when I first started.  And I found an article that very clearly explains how it works and how to make it work for you.  "Using Outbound Links to Improve Your Blog" by Steven Snell is a must read for anyone serious about building their own blog readership.

Did you realize that the design of your blog could cost you readers?  Me either.  Or at least not until I read "5 Ways to Improve Blog Readership with Simple Design Changes" by Tia Peterson.  Although I do think she should have stuck with her original title for this post! 

If you're new to blogging or maybe just thinking about it but haven't started yet, you must read Lee Odden's post "How to Increase Business Blog Traffic, Readership, and Community".  In it, Lee offers 5 tips designed to improve the performance of your blog.

Travis Campbell's post "10 Ways to Increase Blog Readership" give both offsite and onsite ways to build your blog community.   Here you will learn how to use blog alliances and comments to drive traffic to your blog.

We all use social media to promote our blogs.  But are you using it correctly?  If you are not sure, then you need to read this post on Technorati - "Improve Your Blog Readership Via Social Media and Simple Tips".

I hope you find this information as helpful and interesting as I did.  And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to put my new found knowledge into action!  Happy blogging!

Enough Is Enough - Or Is It?

My college marketing class taught that the average customer needed to be exposed to your product/service at least 7 times before they would decide to buy.  Years later, when I was working as a marketing representative at a biotech company, we still adhered to that rule, making sure we contacted prospective customers at least 7 times.  But never any more than 7.  Any more than that and you risked becoming a nuisance and alienating prospects. 

But times have changed.  Perhaps the internet, while making the world more accessible, also makes it harder to tell a reputable company or a reliable product from junk and scams.  Or perhaps society has just grown more skeptical as a whole.  Whatever the reason, I am finding it often takes more than 7 contacts before a prospect makes the buy from me.  Sometimes many more.

I know I am much more careful before spending my money than I used to be.  After falling prey to a couple of scammers and purchasing some outright crap online, I now make sure I do all I can to learn as much as possible about a prospective purchase before I make it.  I may visit their site or their store several times.  I may compare prices and features online.  If I am buying online I may try to contact the person or company to see if they respond.  And if I have already received multiple communications from you, you are that much further ahead of the game.

Many of my clients hesitate to make repeated contact with their market.  They are afraid they might be accused of spam.  They feel they might annoy people if they contact them too frequently.  But think about it.  I need quite a bit of time - and contact - before I make a buying decision.  Most of my customers require the same.  I'm willing to bet you do also.  So why would your customers be any different?  If you are keeping your name in front of them in ways that build value, they will welcome contact from you. 

Are you doing everything you can to keep your name in front of your market?  If not, now is the time to get started.  Design a marketing plan that includes a system for making repeated contact with your prospects and customers.  Not one time.  Not 7 times.  Not 10 times.  As many times as it takes.  Make sure you are creating value for them so you are considered a resource and not a bother.  Your market will thank you.  And that means cash in your pocket.

The Ideal Business

"What business should one concentrate on when one has several skills and experiences. The one providing the most, and immediate income, the one where there is a constant present and future market, or the others where the heart is and not the wallet?"

This question was posted recently on Boomer Business Ideas.  I was curious what other experienced business people thought and so I put the question to my mailing lists and posted it on several social networks.  The results were mixed, which is really not what I expected.  Several responses did state that they were altering their input a bit based on the fact that the individual posing the question was 60 years old and wanted quick results.  But still I truly did expect to see that most experienced business people would overwhelmingly choose the same focus.  All I did was once again prove that what is right for one person may not be right for another.

It also supports my opinion.  The best business to focus on is the one that meets your needs and will take all aspects into consideration.  I assume you are starting a business to make money.  Therefore, your choice must be something that has a "present and future market."  If you start a business that has no market, that's not a business, that's a hobby.

Your business also needs to have a way to generate some income quickly.  Again, most businesses are started to make money.  And most people starting businesses are not doing it hoping they will make some money in 2 years or 5 years.  It needs to be generating some income now!  So now you are looking for a business that has the opportunity to generate some immediate income and a market where there is continued room to expand and grow. 

This is why you also need to have some experience in your chosen field.  I have a client who makes a very good income buying and selling or "flipping" houses.  Can I do what she does?  Maybe.  But I would have much to learn first.  Putting your own skills and knowledge to work is much faster.

But wait!  Your business has to be something you are interested in; something you are passionate about.  Starting a business is work.  Hard work.  There will be setbacks and failures.  If you are not passionate about what you are doing, it will be easy to get discouraged and quit.

What business should one concentrate on?  One that you are interested in, that you have some skill or experience in, that can begin generating income within a short period of time, and has potential for future long-term growth.

This could still give you a wide range of choices.  For help narrowing it down to just one choice, and then turning that choice into a viable business, enroll in our next BoomerBiz Startup Class, starting September 16.  Registration opens September 8.  Watch for further info!