1) Put your Web address on the front of your card

2) Make sure you email address is you@yourwebsiteURL and put that on the front of your card

3) Post something of value on your Website or blog (an article, white paper, tips sheet, audio, etc.) that folks can download in exchange for their name and email address.  Then include a bit of promo copy and Web URL that goes directly to your giveaway item on the back of your card

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Shhh, Here’s Five Secrets of a Great Customer Newsletter
by Guest Author Jim Palmer
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When I speak live I often refer the “magic of a customer newsletter” because a properly written newsletter can truly do magical things for a business. One of the big reasons is that newsletters are not perceived in the same manner as a postcard, a flyer or other forms of direct mail marketing. When people receive these or anything else that has a sales and marketing feel to it, their guard goes up and they think, “Uh-oh. What are they trying to sell me?”

Newsletters tend to be informational, making them more welcomed when they are received. As such they have higher readership than other forms of advertising. People also tend to be more receptive to what you have to say in your newsletter because newsletters aren’t meant to be sales tools. Rather, they are designed to be a resource.

In one of his No B.S. Marketing Letters, Dan Kennedy put it this way, “People are conditioned to be less resistant to reading information, such as articles, than they are advertising.” Since people are conditioned to be less resistant to reading information, which is exactly what a newsletter should be, most people read a newsletter with their guards down.

A customer newsletter is the strongest marketing and business building tool available—bar none. Newsletters open doors. I now want to share with you five secrets of a great customer newsletter.

Secret # 1 – Tell them what else you do. Many customers initially engage with a business by purchasing a single product or service. Over time they may do repeat business, usually reordering the same product or service, unaware of the other products or services that the company has to offer. How many times have you heard a client I didn’t know you did that,” or, “I didn’t know you also sold that”? Or, “I didn’t know you also sold that!” These are all missed opportunities to increase your revenue and profits. So, every month, tell your customers what else you do!

Secret #2 – Tell them what’s new. As business owners, we are always coming up with new products and services. A newsletter is a great way to get the word out to people who already trust you and find value in what you sell. This can often be done quite effectively by way of customer success stories and testimonials.

Secret #3 – It’s not about you. This is very important. Your newsletter is not about you or how many industry awards you have won. Your newsletter should be about what’s important, interesting, and entertaining to your customers and clients. Every month, if you inform, educate, and entertain them, with a big emphasis on entertaining them, they will look forward to your newsletter.

Secret #4 – Recognize the expensive real estate! The back page of your newsletter is not simply the mailing panel; it is the first thing your readers will see when the newsletter comes out of the mailbox. This is a great place to put important items that you want readers to see. Also, never have a back page article with the headline, “continued from …” as this is boring and not very appealing.

Secret #5: – Frequency trumps everything. Frequency is more important than the size of a newsletter, whether it’s color or black and white, or even the quality of the content! Yes, you heard me right – I would actually prefer a homemade cheesy looking black/white newsletter published monthly to a professionally designed newsletter done twice a year. You simply must have frequency to build trust and strong relationships with your customers and prospects. To learn more newsletter ideas, visit www.NewsletterIdeas.TV

Learn more secrets on how to use a newsletter to boost your business in my book, The Magic of Newsletter Marketing – The Secret to More Profits and Customers for Life.

Jim Palmer is known internationally as the ‘Newsletter Guru, the go-to resource for smart, effective strategies for maximizing the profitability of customer relationships. Jim is also the acclaimed author of The Magic of Newsletter Marketing – The Secret to More Profits and Customers for Life. Jim’s most popular ‘Done-for-For’ No Hassle Newsletter program is called Success Advantage 2.0.

If you’ve got a blog, be sure to add the Twitter feed widget. And connect your blog to as many of social networks as possible. Look for a link to add in your blog RSS feed info.

The more you can connect different sites together into one, seamless communications stream the easier and more effective using social media to market your business becomes.

Know of more helpful software or sites for managing your social networking? Please do let me know!

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely

My new favorite read…This book is right up there with Cialdini’s Influence, and a must read for anyone interested in the psychology of why we buy what we buy, or why we make some of the clearly illogical decisions we’re all prone to make. Author Ariely, a professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT, is clearly fascinated with this subject and his fascination quickly rubs off. He believes that most of our irrational is totally predictable. And though he’s often discussing his own research studies, the writing is anything but dull or academic. Ariely’s delivery is informative and entertaining—sometimes even laugh out loud funny (people do make the darndest choicest!).  Entrepreneurs, salespeople, and anyone who ever buys anything will benefit from reading this book.

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori and Rom Brafman

While not quite as good as Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational—perhaps because they rely on secondhand studies while Dan is writing about the results of his own research—if you’re at all fascinated by Behavioral Economics, and why we make the choices we make, this is a worthwhile read. If you’re an entrepreneur or a salesperson, it will give you insight into what might sway a prospect into buying from you. For everyone else, it’s an illuminating look at how irrational we humans can be.

Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a Small Market by Susan Friedmann

As more and more business start taking advantage of the marketing power of the Internet, competition grows. The solution is to become known as an expert in a particular niche! But how do you do this without losing out on all that “other” business? Friedmann breaks it all down into simple, manageable steps in this helpful book. Regardless of the size of your business, there are big lessons to be learned here. And while the small type and pages jammed with text can seem a little daunting at first, she does a terrific job of breaking everything down it bullets, numbered lists and bit sized pieces. If you want to make your business stand out from the competition read this now!

Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo

This is by far my favorite fiction book of the year…So much so that I keep feeling compelled to give it as a gift. If you’re looking for a good read that’ll make you laugh and think…This is a winner! Given to me by a friend before a long plane flight, I had few expectations when I cracked the cover. I was more than pleasantly surprised by what I found on its pages. Merullo is a skillful wordsmith; painting vivid pictures with surprising turns-of phrase that stick with you long after the page has turned. And he takes you along on an often amusing journey across the country, and into one man’s exploration of spirituality. Light reading with a deeper context—you can enjoy it as the often hilarious page-turner it is, or spend time contemplating the subtext. Either way you’re sure to enjoy it.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin

Read this book, and you’ll never again be able to deny the power any one person has to change the world. This is a true account of mountain climber Greg Mortenson’s quest to provide education to impoverished boys and girls in Afghanistan…Something he never set out to do. But after losing his way on the way down from an aborted summit attempt on K2, he spent time recovering in a tiny mountain village in Afghanistan. To pay back the villages hospitality he promised to return and build a school. Today Greg is co-founder of the Central Asia Institute, and has built more than 130 schools in the most remote areas of the Afghanistan and Pakistan. If you need a solid dose of inspiration, look no further.

Strangely, I’ve heard from several people in the last month that had acquired a computer virus and had lost all of their data.  This is a gentle reminder to remember to 1) back up your data regularly; and 2) if you have a PC, follow these tips to help protect your computer.  If you have a Mac, you may not be as susceptible to an attack, however it is still important that you protect your system.

1.    Use an Internet firewall.

Note: Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP with SP2 have a firewall already built-in and turned on by default.

2.    Visit Microsoft Update to verify your settings and check for updates.

Note: If you’ve installed the most recent version of Microsoft Office, Microsoft Update will also update your Microsoft Office programs.

3.    Subscribe to antivirus software and keep it current.  Some more reputable software names are Norton Antivirus and McAfee, that cost somewhere around $40/year.  Microsoft has come out with a new FREE download, Microsoft Security Essentials, for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

4.    Never open an e-mail attachment from someone you don’t know.

5.    Avoid opening an e-mail attachment from someone you know, unless you know exactly what the attachment is. The sender may be unaware that it contains a virus.

Keep your business (and personal) documents and systems safe and avoid the headache.

While his competition in those qualifying races wasn’t super stiff, you could still see the mark of experience…As well as how strong and fit he is going into this competition. In both of those early heats he calmly hung out in the back of the pack waiting for the chance to make his move.

Then, when that chance came, he made it in a big way. In the second qualifying heat he passed all five other skaters with one huge burst of speed…flying past them so fast he easily gained, and held, a half-lap lead for the rest of the race.

Pretty impressive for a guy who’s old enough—and medaled enough—to retire happily. Yet here he is again, past the age when most speed skaters retire, and he’s never been more prepared to compete and win!

In a recent Seattle Times profile of Apolo Anton Ohno (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/olympics/2010986192_ohno07.html ), Ron Judd said “In his 13 years in the sport, Ohno has become an advanced student of short-track. He watches race tape like a football coach. He studies other teams’ training regimens. He has soaked up all the sports-performance knowledge thrown his way in a decade of residence at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and used it to retool his body to compete with younger racers whose legs don’t scream as loudly at the end of the day.”

By now you’re probably wondering what all this has to do with marketing your business. Well, there’s a lot you can learn from Ohno’s example.

Here’s a guy who has been competing successfully since he was 14 years old, yet he’s still trying to get better. And he does it by studying the competition, seeing what others have done and are doing today, then changing his own training regimen as a result. And practicing hard.

When was the last time you truly studied your competition’s marketing? Or analyzed what worked and what didn’t in your last marketing campaign?

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, the answer to both of those questions is: “Never!”

What about training? What are you doing to make sure your next marketing effort is more successful than your last? If the answer is nothing, then the chances are good that you’re not going to be any more successful down the road.

If you want to grow your business you’ve got to practice, train, and frankly, do what most other entrepreneurs don’t. Below are three things you can do right now to help turn yourself into an Olympic caliber entrepreneur:

1) Watch your competition. Ohno regularly looks at other teams training regimens. Then he takes what he learns and applies it to his own skating.

Most entrepreneurs never take the time to see what their competition is doing. Yet that’s one of the best ways to figure out what you could or should be doing to grow your business.

So take some time to do a bit of Internet research and see what your competition offers, how they offer it, what they charge, and how they market themselves.

2) Study.  Marketing is one of the most important aspects of running a business. Because if you don’t market your business effectively, no one will know you exist or what you have to offer and you won’t have any clients. Without clients you don’t have a business.

Yet few entrepreneurs spend any time at all studying marketing. While you can’t exactly watch and analyze race tapes, you CAN review books filled with winning advertising and marketing campaigns. Many books written by Ad greats John Caples or David Ogilvy are packed with sample ads and breakdowns of what made them great.

3) Practice. Olympic athletes practice a lot…WAY more than most entrepreneurs for sure. Apolo Ohno practice three times a day. And even then he still doesn’t always win in competition.

Few entrepreneurs practice marketing at all, yet they expect to win all the time. And are discouraged when they don’t.

Need to write new content for your Website? Don’t expect to get it perfect the first time. Create many practice drafts, then edit until it’s the best it can be. If you’re planning to send out a sales letter, write a few versions and test them. Then refine them until you’re getting the results you’re after. 

Or should you focus on a small, specific group of customers?

If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ve probable heard (or read) people saying the money is in the niche markets. And that you need to focus on serving one, highly defined group of potential customers—those most likely, willing and able to buy from you.

Yet so many entrepreneurs run themselves ragged trying to market to everyone they can find or anyone with money…Or trying to be the “go to” guy or girl for all of their customers’ problems.

Typically this is because they are afraid that if they focus on one, specific niche they’re throwing away all that other potential business. So they try to be everything to everyone. Then they wonder why they’re struggling to make money.

Face it…These days most people don’t go out looking for a generalist. They want someone who has exactly what they need to fix their problem, fulfill their wants, fill their needs, or achieve their goals. In other words they want a specialist—and chances are they’re willing to pay more for one too.

This means it really is in your best interest to focus on one, specific niche market and be seen as the specialist or expert.

But how do you choose a niche that’s right for you? And what do you need to differently to market your business once you do?

Find out this month when I interview internationally-known speaker Susan Friedmann, author of “Riches in Niches: How to Make it Big in Small Markets” and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing”.

And the best part is, you can listen in for FREE!  Just go here to register:

http://www.success-stream.com/teleseminar-20.htm

I’m going to ask Susan exactly what it takes to grow a big business by focusing on small markets.  She’s promised to cover:

• What is niche marketing and why is it a necessity for your business in today’s economy
• How to pick the niche that’s right for you
• How to establish yourself as an expert in your area of expertise quickly and easily
• Why you should be a specialist rather than a generalist
• Common marketing mistakes that small business owners make and how to fix them
• Powerful niche marketing strategies that will put you miles ahead of your competition
• And much, much more!

Plus, as always, I’ll be opening the line up for live Q & A at the end. So you can have Susan answer your specific questions about niche marketing.

If you can’t make the live call I will be recording it.  But the only way to get the recording is to register:

http://www.success-stream.com/teleseminar-20.htm

Already have questions about niche marketing or choosing the right niche for you? Post them here in the comments and I’ll be sure we cover them on the call.

Got a success story or tips about choosing a niche for your business? Please do share by leaving a comment below…

The solution? Ask a few other people to review your site and answer—at a minimum—the following questions:

> What do I sell or do?
> Who is my target market?
> On a scale of 1-10, how easy it is to find and buy what you want, or take the next step towards hiring me?
> What’s the single, biggest idea or piece of information you’ve taken away from my Website?

You’ll be surprised at how often people’s answers won’t match your own beliefs about your Website. But armed with this knowledge you can make your site better.

Here’s why…

As humans, we’re egocentric by nature. We go through most of our day thinking about everything we have to do or want to get done… Whatever’s stressing us out…Basically our own wants, needs, problems and goals.

Sure, you might think about your family or friends, and how you can help them or meet their needs. But it’s still always going to be in the context of your own life, your own skills, your own needs, your own problems, and your schedule. That’s just reality.

Your prospects and clients are no different. So the best way to get their attention is to talk about what’s most important to them. Then show them how you can help them with their wants, goals, needs or problems.

All too often entrepreneurs create products, or write marketing materials, based on what they think is important. Or on what they think their prospects need.

The reality is, and I hate to burst your bubble on this one, what you think is important may not be that important to your clients and prospects. What always matters most is what’s important to them—not you. Because if you don’t give them what they need, you’ll never achieve your own business goals anyway.

So if you want to market and grow your business more easily, you have to take a trip far away out of egocentric land and into the mental landscape of our ideal clients and customers.

You’ve gotta know: Exactly who they are…What they’re thinking about…What keeps them up at night…What stops them from taking action…And what they’re dreaming about.

Understand what’s really on their minds and most important to them, and you can create marketing messaging that slips right into the conversation that’s already going on inside their head.

Do that and you come across as someone who really understands them and their problems, wants, needs and goals…Because you do! If you can meet their needs and speak their language, you’re going to be miles ahead of the competition.

After all, who doesn’t want to stumble across a business or Website that miraculously understands where you’re coming from AND offers solutions to your most pressing problems? We all do, of course.

Plus, once you understand what’s most important to your ideal client, you can design your products, services, payment options, offers, marketing and more to speak specifically to that.

What’s really cool is…You’ll start to function almost as if you’re a mind-reader. Then you won’t have to work nearly as hard to get new clients or sell your products or services because you won’t be guessing, or focusing only on what’s important to you. Love that!

On the other hand, try to shoehorn in your own message or agenda—or push something they don’t think they want or need—and you’ll be ignored at best. At worst, you’ll create a reputation for being obnoxious, salesy, pushy or annoying. And I promise you, your ideal clients won’t give you the time of day.

To help get started identifying your ideal client and what’s on their mind, grab a pen do the simple exercises below:

1) Describe your ideal client or customer as though you were describing someone (a single person) to a friend. Be sure to give them a name to keep your focus narrow.

2) List your ideal client’s top 5 major pains or problems. This is what’s keeping them up at night or what they share with only their closest friend. Be specific.

3) If you already have clients or customers, conduct a survey by phone, in person or via email (use a service like Surveymonkey.com) and ask them what their biggest struggle, worry or problem is that’s related to whatever you do. This way you’re not guessing.

Whenever you get ready to create a new product or service, or write a marketing or advertising piece, keep this information in front of you. Then speak directly to that one person and problem, and explain how you can help.

Basically, give ‘em what they want! Trust me when I say this is a way more effective way to market your business than taking wild stabs in the dark. Or creating marketing, products and services based on what you think people need.

To do that, make sure you:

1) Always include the http:// before the www.

2) If you include your link in a sentence or paragraph, make sure there is no punctuation following it. So if it’s at the end of a sentence, don’t put a period (or comma, or parenthesis, or anything else) after it or you risk having a computer include the punctuation as part of the hyperlink and it won’t work properly.

When possible, put your link by itself on its own line. This makes it easier to see, and reduces the chance of it being corrupted by punctuation.