Face it, if you’re an entrepreneur chances are you have far more to do than there are hours in the day. In most small businesses that means something on that never-ending to-do list isn’t going to get done. And there’s a good chance that something is your marketing.

Because, chances are, you simply don’t have the time and money to keep running new ads and creating fresh promotions and marketing materials. And that’s assuming you have the know-how to start with.

But if you’re not marketing your business it’s not going to grow. So what’s the overworked entrepreneur to do? Find ways to do more with less…Either by reusing and repurposing what you’ve already got, or by creating marketing materials that can be used in a variety of ways.

Luckily there are loads of ways to effectively repurpose, reuse and recycle your marketing materials. It just takes a little thought and planning.

Personally, I love the challenge of helping my clients figure out how to best leverage what they’ve already got to market and grow their business with WAY less effort.  Over time, I’ve discovered a number of ways to do this, but one of the best options I’ve found—hands down—is to repurpose articles.

Whether you write them yourself, or you have someone else edit or ghostwrite for you, a well-written article is the ultimate multi-purpose marketing tool.

Think about it…Articles can promote your products or services, drive traffic to your Website, and increase your search engine rankings.

They can highlight your knowledge and expertise, and help you become more well-known.

You can use articles to stay in touch with your clients, or attract new ones. The list goes on and on…

Rather than make you reinvent the wheel, here are 10 different ways you can put one single article to work marketing your business for you:

1.    Even if you aren’t a professional writer, as long as you have something useful to say—and a clear, readable writing style—you can often get your articles published in a local magazine, journal or newspaper.

2.    That same article can then also be published in your own newsletter (Keep in mind that many print publications want first rights, and won’t use an article that’s been published anywhere else. But you can typically republish it after the fact.).

3.    Other businesses are often looking for content, so offer to let them publish your article in their newsletter. All you need to do is include a simple blurb at the bottom of your article that says “Want to republish this article? Feel free as long as you include the following…” Then include your copyright info, a short bio or promo blurb and your own Website URL.

4.    Anything you write for your ezine should also get posted to your Website or blog. The more fresh, relevant content you have on your site, the higher it ranks in the search engines.

5.    Edit/rewrite your article by about 30% then submit it to free, online article databases that have other quality articles relevant to your target market. This creates incoming links pointing to your Website, gives others the opportunity to use your article and spread your name, and can also drive people directly to your own site.

6.    Give your article away as a handout at networking events. Be sure to include your Website URL and ideally an offer and call to action at the bottom.

7.    Mail a copy of your article (especially if it’s been published) to your own clients, prospects and/or contacts.

8.    Build your contact/mailing list by turning one or more articles into lists of helpful tips. Then give these tips away for free on your Website in exchange for reader’s names and email addresses.

9.    Expand upon one article, or combine several, to create an e-book to sell or give away.

10.    Put all of your articles and tips together to create a print book or tips booklet you can sell to customers, give to clients, or offer for sale at speaking engagements.

Keep in mind that if you really want articles work for you, each one needs to be informative, well-written and carefully targeted to your audience. It also helps to include keywords in both the title and body of the article so it gets found when folks search online. And be sure to include your Web address, and ideally a “call to action” directing people do something—sign up for your newsletter, call for more info, or visit your Website—at the end.

When it comes to marketing, entrepreneurs tend to be a bit scattershot to start with. And social networking has only made it worse. If you feel like you have to be 20 places at once and it’s driving you crazy then I have a suggestion…

Spend more time focused on getting fewer things done. So rather than trying to keep up with five or ten social networks and spreading yourself too thin, pick two or three and participate regularly. And rather than trying to do every marketing tactic you hear about, pick a couple that seem most likely to get you in front of your ideal client and focus on doing those consistently.

Focusing more time on fewer tactics is a terrific way to both get control of your time, and get more results from your efforts.

If you’ve heard the frightening statistic 90% of all small businesses fail within the first year, you probably didn’t feel overly hopeful?

Well there is a big ol’ glowing ray of hope.

A few years ago, the SBA has updated their statistics to 44% of businesses making it past four years. That’s a failure rate of only 56%.

Still not great odds, but certainly good news for all us entrepreneurs (We must be doing something right!).

Of course, it’s still critical to understand the reasons why almost half of all businesses go belly up. Because you might as well learn from others mistakes instead of having to make them on your own.

One of the top four reasons businesses go under is a failure to focus enough attention on marketing.

However, there are plenty of business owners who put all kinds of time, energy, and money into their marketing—and they fail anyway. Oftentimes it’s because they don’t have a realistic sales and marketing goals.

So they greatly overestimate the number of new clients they can get, or sales they can generate. And they underestimate the amount they’ll need to earn to make their business a success. This cn quickly lead to closing your business.

So this week I thought I’d provide you with…

*****
Seven Business and Marketing Statistics Every Entrepreneur Should Know
*****

1) It takes approximately seven times more time and money to get a new client than it does to turn a past client into a repeat or regular customer.

2) On average, a person has to see your ad at least seven times before they even notice it.

3) Your ideal customer has to see your ad or hear your offer approximately 16 times before they will even think about taking action (IE: placing an order, calling for an appointment, requesting a free report). And that’s assuming you’ve done a good job of targeting the right customers, offering something they want, and creating messaging that speaks to them in a powerful way.

4) Only about 4% of cold calls are successful. That doesn’t mean they result in actual sales, just that you are successful in moving the prospect to the next phase of your sales cycle, like, say, making an appointment to meet. So be prepared to experience at least 24 no’s before you get even one yes. Again, that’s assuming you’re well prepared and well practiced.

5) A 1-2% response rate is considered quite good for direct mail. In other words, for every 100 postcards or sales letters you send out, you can expect 1-2 people to respond…If, again, you’ve done your homework, sent your mailings to people in your target market, and written copy that makes them take notice—and take action.

6) When you look at email response rates, you have to look at two main factors: open rates and click thru rates. Typically, if you’re doing well, 15-20% of your list will open your email. Then maybe 10% of those will click thru and 1-2% who click thru will take action.  That’s why it’s so important to focus on growing your list.

7) According to BizStats.com, the average sole proprietorship can expect to make about 21% in net profits. So for every $50,000 you bring in, you should end up with about $10,000 after all expenses. Think about that when you are setting your rates and prices.

Now that you know all these statistics, take a step back and ask yourself whether or not your goals and expectations are realistic.  If not, you probably need to rethink your business and marketing strategies to take these statistics into account. By doing this, you tip the odds for success in your favor.

“Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves–
to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.”
- Stewart B. Johnson

When you make every minute count, you will OPTIMIZE your limited time and MULTIPLY your results. Your time can be wasted away in distractions, interruptions and preoccupations, or it can be put to its highest and best use. Time doesn’t care one way or the other. If you want to get more of what you want from every minute, you must STOP indulging in activities that waste your time and START making every minute matter. Choose wisely today.

Source: Donna Amos www.solopreneurs.org