"Bring in Customers with Winning Promotions" makes debut

I completed the Bring in Customers with Winning Promotions e-book.  While this e-book benefits my clients and readers, you have to understand that it is part of my marketing strategy, also.  You see, I want to provide content that is relevant for my clients.  After all, that is what my business is about -- providing marketing advice.  

Similar to you, I have to continue to produce while also marketing my other services.  Yes, it is very time consuming.  But as I say, if you don't do it, you won't have a business. It took well over 20 hours to research and write.  But as a business owner I have to "make the donuts".

Are you interested in creating content to distribute to your clients?  It is a good way to engage them and brand you as an expert in your field.  I will be doing a blog on that soon.

If you choose to get the e-book, I hope you find useful information in it. If you want an e-book that has promotion ideas, a handy 12- month listing of special days,  and events that you can use to develop your promotions, then this e-book is for you.  Also, I have examples and resources you can use.

Want to get it?  Click here

If you sign up for the VIP Marketing Academy, you will get a free download.

When will they learn?

When I was reading the link I have included below, it made me say "sho' you right!" It really hit home and says what I tell entrepreneurs and small businesses all the time: The money you pay someone to do what you are trying to do will actually bring in MORE money.  

And while the link speaks about a content strategist, it could very well speak about marketing specialists, website developer, social media specialist in general.  

The article just reminded me of a client that wanted to nickel and dime every little thing and then say, "I can do this myself". It's sad because they are doing it and they are in the same place they were in four months ago.

So, here is the link:

http://www.startupnation.com/grow-your-business/market-your-business/not-hire-content-strategists/

Get sticky with me

You've put months into having your trade show booth designed.  Now it's finished or very close. You walk around your new booth like a proud parent when it suddenly dawns on you; you need promotional handouts to go with it!  Where to start, though?

The key to a great promotional handout for a trade show event is that it provides needed information about you and your business.  But for it to stick, in other words, not get thrown in the trash, it has to have something a little more than just information.

One of the very best ways to make sure your trade show booth handouts don't get thrown away but will stick is to put an offer or coupon of some kind on them.  Coupons that a person can use after the trade show event practically guarantee your handouts won't get thrown away.  After all, your customers will want to use the coupons!

Sweepstakes and raffle offers also work well and assure your handouts will be read, kept and, better yet, used.  To get someone's attention these days means you usually have to give them a little more than just information.  They want STUFF.  And so having a simple sweepstakes or raffle offer in your trade show booth handouts means that your handouts are more likely to be read and held on to.

And here's a great tip that many people forget.  By using this sort of trade show booth handout, you have the opportunity to gather names and addresses.  And it's so easy!  You can use them for follow up using direct mail, email newsletters and other marketing promotions long after the trade show event is over.  

So the last thing you want to do is think a trade show booth event is all you have to do to make a sale.  Use a sticky handout that allows you to gather contact information and by continually reaching out to those people who have shown an interest in you, you'll ensure they show a return interest in you!

Watch for my Promotions E-book this month! 

Sign up for the VIP Marketing Academy at Fluidcommunications.net

It's time to advertise

I've run into so many business owners who have analysis paralysis. (I have fallen prey to this too). But at some point we have to stop analyzing and DO something.  We have to make a decision.  And as an entrepreneur, you know that not all decisions will be the golden one.  But sometimes you have to get going.

Advertising has to be done. So, in order to give you a chance to exhale and make the decision, I put together the e-book Media Buying Insider   It will be a FREE download available to my VIP Marketing Academy within the next week.  It describes some techniques you can use when buying media, what media is hot and what is not, and how to target your advertising to your niche market.  And it is written so everyone can understand it.  Here is an excerpt:

"What you want to do with your advertising is place it where YOUR customers ARE. Your customers are increasingly on the internet – either on the computer or on their smartphones. The best answer is to use small business advertising that only charges the owner when and if it works. There are several ways of doing this.  You may have heard of pay per click advertising.

Pay per click is available with numerous online merchant sites as well as hundreds of newspapers across the country and the globe. Simply put, a small business agrees to pay a specified amount to the publisher, or the merchant site, for each ad that entices a consumer to come to the small business site. The price paid is generally an amount that the small business owner has bid on. This means they have bid on keywords that describe their business.  More and more newspapers are offering this option as they struggle to maintain competitive online with eBay, Craigslist and other pure pay classified and marketplace sites."

Remember, digital advertising is here to stay!

If you are not a part of the VIP Marketing Academy, sign up at www.fluidcommunications.net

Beware of junky information

Let me tell you, "junky" is a nice term. I have been in a marketing/advertising reading and writing marathon for the last three weeks.  I've been in what I call the "vortex" of developing my presence on the web so that I can share information with you, my dear audience and followers.  

Most everyone who writes on the subject about building traffic to your website will tell you you have to have lots and lots of content (blogs, stories and photos about your product and services), get listed on lots of site directories and social media.

There are a lot people who will tell you that you can do this quickly and easily.  They may even charge for a single format that will do this.  From what I can see, it ain't so.  Not that there aren't ways to get some of it done through individual sites but in general, you have to take time and go out there an enter information yourself.

One of the sites for content contribution is SubmitYourArticle.com  This site will take your articles and blast it out to other content publishing websites worldwide.  What this does is builds traffic back to your website.  In the coming weeks, I will put together an e-book with everything I have learned and give it to you.

My goal is to provide you with great information that will help you develop your small business into a powerhouse.  Saying, that, I found a really great article for you to look at this week:

http://www.wix.com/blog/2013/11/how-to-make-sure-your-business-is-found-on-google/