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The Power of the Rule of Three in Marketing Your Small Business

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (4)

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

What, exactly, is the Rule of Three? It’s a rule that basically states that more than three “whatever” is confusing and overwhelming – either visually or mentally, or both.

That makes it especially helpful if you’re the kind of entrepreneur who likes to give too much…As in: too many options, too much rambling content, too many bullet points, too much info crammed into a speech, etc.

The Rule of Three is a fascinating thing. Why? Because it seems to apply in so many different situations. And many of these situations are related to effectively marketing a business. So if you’re an entrepreneur, it makes sense to understand how, when and why to apply it.

Oftentimes, the reality is less is more. The Rule of Three can help ensure you aren’t overwhelming your clients and prospects. That translates into more sales.

Below are seven ways you can put the Rule of Three to use in marketing and growing your small business.

1) Follow up. How many times should you follow up with a prospect? A minimum of (you guessed it) three times. More is better! How often do you give up after one or two calls or emails? If you’re not following up AT LEAST three times you’re definitely losing potential clients and projects.

2) Marketing tactics. I recommend my clients never try to implement more than three new marketing tactics at a time. It’s just too much because each one is going to require multiple steps to execute. Plus you need to track response.

While you might eventually have more than three tactics happening simultaneously, if you overload yourself in the beginning you won’t be able to execute any of them well or on a consistent basis—if ever.

3) Business cards. Take a look at a few business cards. Some look professional, clean and easy to understand. Others have way too much stuff crammed into way too small a space.

Chances are the best ones have no more than three blocks of information (whether that’s text or graphics) in the layout. For example, logo in the corner is one, name and title in the middle is another, and contact info at the bottom is a third.

Stick with the Rule of Three here and avoid distracting background images or the urge to squeeze every possible bit of info on one card. You’ll end up with a better result that makes a more professional first impression.

4) Fonts. Never use more than three fonts on a page – online or in print – (and your logo font does count as one). Having too many fonts looks juvenile and unprofessional. Instead, choose one font for body text and one for headlines or callouts, and leave it at that. You can always use boxes, bolding, underlines, colors and italics for emphasis.

5) Colors. Looking for new colors for your brand? Trying to decide on the colors for your Website? Or that new flier, ad or promotion? Again, the Rule of Three is your friend. Choose one color to be your main color, then one that compliments it, and one to serve as a highlight color.

More than that and your logo, brand and marketing start to look like a car wash poster made by high school students.

6) Speaking points. The human mind can only absorb and remember so much information in one sitting. So when you plan a speech, talk, teleseminar or Webinar, don’t overwhelm listeners with everything you know. Instead choose three points, tips or topics to delve into and save the rest for another time.

Not only do you avoid confusing or overwhelming the audience, but you keep them coming back for more.

7) Bullet points. Not sure when to use bullet points instead of a list in regular paragraph format? Rule of Three to the rescue again…If you’ve got more than three things in your list, it’s time to switch to bullets.

If you’ve got at least three things in your list, bullets are optional but allowed. Less than three and you want to stick with paragraph format.

So next time you’re working on any piece of marketing, branding, copywriting or advertising remember the Rule of Three. You’ll look more professional, be easier to understand, and make a much bigger impact that’s going to grow your business!

What do you think about the Rule of Three? Do you use it already? Are there other areas in your business or marketing where it can be used effectively? Please do share a comment…

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Categories : Build Your Business, Online Marketing, Practical Marketing, Systems

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Is Your Video Ready for Prime Time?

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (4)

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Thanks to the advent of idiot-proof video cameras that automatically upload your videos to the web, it’s never been easier to make your own videos for marketing, promotion, or education. Yet few entrepreneurs feel confident using videos online to market their small business.

Typically, if they’re even willing to make a video, they’ll be far too critical of the results. So they won’t post the video online because they want to make it “perfect”.

The thing is, nothing is ever perfect. And it’s the imperfections of self-made videos that make them so compelling and effective. They’re the antithesis of the slick, expensive videos big companies can afford.

But I get it. When it comes to making and publishing videos online, I find I’m my own worst critic. It can be hard to have an unbiased opinion when you spend the whole time staring at the “weird” way your upper lip lifts. Or the way your voice sounds.

The reality is, none of that matters to anyone other than you! As long as your videos are interesting, informative or entertaining people don’t even notice most of the details that bother you—or at least not in the negative light you see them in.

In fact, in one of my first videos I felt very critical about my hair. But the content was good so I put it online anyway. Within a day one of my friends commented and mentioned how great my new hairdo looked. Go figure.

The thing is, videos are a wonderful way to personally introduce yourself and/or your products or services, to people who visit your Website. They’re also a wonderful way to reach an audience who prefers to watch and listen than read. And they’re good for your SEO. So it really is worth the time and effort to make a few to market your business.

On top of all that, you can create an entire product based around videos. Or add them in as a bonus when you sell another service or product. But that’s a topic for another article.

The real question here is…

How do you know if your video is ready for prime time (especially if you are your own worst critic)?

Here’s a short list of questions to ask yourself:

Is the main subject of the video easy to see?
Is the audio loud enough to hear?
Have you made sure there isn’t anything overly distracting in the background or foreground?
If you or another person is in the video, are they dressed and styled appropriately for the intended audience and their expectations?
Are the people in the video smiling at least some of the time?
Is the video less than 5 minutes in length (ideally less than 3 minutes)?
Do you cover useful information in a way that’s easy to understand?
Do you stick to one main topic?
Do you offer 1-3 useful tips or tidbits?
Did you introduce yourself at the start, and sign off with an offer and call to action (even if it’s just to visit your Website for more helpful info) and your URL at the end??

If you answered yes to all of these questions, your video is good to go.

Does this mean it’s the best video you can possibly make? Of course not. You’re going to get better with time and practice.

But thanks to youtube, no one expects perfection. Again, they just want something that’s useful, interesting or entertaining (or all three). If you’ve also hit that mark then you’re video is worth sharing. So post it now.

Got more video tips? Thoughts on this article? Please do leave a comment…

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Categories : Online Marketing, Video & Viral Marketing, Videos

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A Simple Secret for Making More Affiliate Sales

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (1)

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Do you have an affiliate program yet?

If not, you should. And if you already do – or you regularly promote other entrepreneurs as an affiliate – then today’s article has a simple yet powerful tip to make your efforts more effective.

But let me backup here and make sure we’re on the same page…

In case you aren’t familiar with affiliate programs; they’re basically a simple way for others to refer prospects your way online and get credit for it. And they’re great for small businesses.

Typically, you set up an affiliate program using your shopping cart or other online tool. And you make sure to include a set affiliate commission (basically a referral fee) of either a dollar amount or a percentage of the price for anything you’re trying to promote.

Then you invite people to join who know, like and trust you and would be willing to promote your stuff to their community. Each person who joins gets their own, unique affiliate link. This lets you track who sends you each new client or customer so you can pay them their fee.

Once you have a few affiliates, it’s time to promote your products, events and/or services via your new affiliate partners. That means you’re going to put together emails, Facebook posts, tweets, ezine blurbs and more for them to use.

Now, here’s where it gets tricky…

In order for an affiliate program to be successful, the affiliate link included in each promo needs to send prospects directly to the page for that product, event or service. NOT to a generic products or events page, or worse to your home page. Do this and you WILL lose sales.

The problem is, every affiliate is automatically issued their own affiliate link via the system. And that link goes to one Website page and one page only.

So what do you do when you want your affiliates to send prospects directly to a specific page for a new product, service or event (Or when you want to promote a new product as an affiliate, but you only have the one link)?

You could set up separate affiliate programs for each item. But that’s a huge pain on your side. Plus then affiliates have to sign up to promote each one. Uggh.

Instead, here’s a cool little trick to customize affiliate links I learned years ago from my VA Erin Blaskie…

All you need to do is add this little piece to the end of the affiliate link (be sure to include the landing page URL): &u=www.URLHERE.com

So let’s say the generic affiliate link is:

http://www.myshoppingcart.com/app/?af=651317

But you want the link used to promote your new book, “Buy It Now” from buyitnow.com. In that case you simply copy and paste &u=www.buyitnow.com to the end of the affiliate link like so.

http://www.shoppingcart.com/app/?af=651317&u=www.buyitnow.com

Make sure there are no spaces between the original link and the bit you just added and it should work like a charm. Of course, be sure to test it before you use it yourself, and advise your affiliates to do the same. Then shorten it using a service like bit.ly or tinyurl.com for ease of use.

Simple. Effective. And sure to increase your affiliate-based sales.

Was this affiliate program link tip helpful? Do you know another way to do this? Please leave a comment below…

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Categories : Build Your Business, Online Marketing, Sales

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Marketing is 49 Percent Strategy and 49 Percent Execution

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (3)

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Every so often I run across an entrepreneur whose business is struggling, and who insists that this or that marketing tactic simply “doesn’t work for my business.”

It might be a flier or a sales letter, or social networking, or blogging or something else. Doesn’t matter what the tactic is, they’ve tried it, it didn’t work, and it never WILL work.

For me this is a huge red flag. Because I know that the vast majority of marketing tactics can work for the vast majority of small businesses – as long as they’re part of well-thought out strategy and executed properly.

The problem is, most entrepreneurs are trying to use all kinds of marketing tactics with no real idea of what makes them effective. So they aren’t executed properly. And they aren’t part of a bigger strategy.

On top of that, all too often entrepreneurs create ads, Websites, promotions and more with a very vague goal of “getting clients” or “making sales”. If you just want anyone buying anything you have to sell, your marketing is inevitably going to be very vague and generic.

In fact, that’s the kind of marketing you see most…Think ads that list a business name and logo, maybe what they do or sell, and a Website and phone number.

Unfortunately a generic ad, Website, sales letter or flier won’t do diddly-squat to actually grow your business. It just ends up seeming like more worthless clutter.

On the other hand, if you have a specific goal, you can be very specific in your marketing. Then it’s much easier to choose the best possible marketing tactics to implement your strategy.

It’s also much easier to create effective marketing materials. Because when you know the specific purpose of any piece of marketing you can write and design it to do the job. This is key.

Far more people are likely to take action when there is a specific offer and call to action to get one thing (as long as it’s something they want). As opposed to just stating what you do and your contact information and hoping prospects are going to put two-and-two together and take action.

So if you’ve tried one that didn’t work – ask yourself these 5 questions and you’re likely to find out why it failed.

And anytime you’re thinking about implementing a new marketing tactic ask these 5 questions and you’re sure to see more success…

1) What is the purpose of this marketing tactic?

2) Am I getting this in front of my ideal client or customer (someone who is ready, willing and able to buy)?

3) Have I made an offer that my ideal client or customer would not want to refuse, and that would help me achieve my goal?

4) Have I included a specific call to action that tells prospects exactly what to do to take me up on my offer (not sure what this is? Check my other article on Calls to Action here ).

5) Have I given them at least one good reason (usually a benefit or solution) to take action now?

If you’re not sure about any of these, you need to think your marketing choices through again. But once you get the hang of thinking this way, your marketing – and your business – are sure to soar!

Was this article helpful? Do you have more tips you can add? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment…

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Categories : Build Your Business, Online Marketing, Practical Marketing

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Tips and Tricks for Formatting Copywriting Content for Web or Print

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Clients regularly ask me how much text is enough versus too much. Often entrepreneurs are afraid to put too many words on a page since all we hear is that people don’t read anymore. And everybody wonders what the deal is with those long, online sales letters that scroll forever…How can they possibly work?!?

The thing is, content—and in particular written content—is king. And it always will be.

The text on your Website, or in your ad or sales letter, is what is going to hold someone’s attention. It’s also what is going to explain your products or services, answer prospect’s questions, deal with their objections, and convince them to take action.

Sure videos and audios are great. And a picture says a thousand words.

But not everyone likes to watch videos or listen to audios (I, for one, much prefer to read than watch or listen unless a demonstration is warranted). And a picture can be interpreted, or misinterpreted, any way you want.

Without enough copywriting, there’s no telling what someone might think of your business, products or services. Or what action they’re likely to take after visiting your site, seeing your ad or reading your letter. That means you need copywriting, and plenty of it, to effectively market and grow your business.

However, you can’t just stick a ton of text on a page and expect people to wade through it—let alone buy. The key to getting prospects to read every word of your copy—whether it’s on a Website, in an email, or on paper—is proper formatting!

These days most people skim before they decide to invest time in reading. So visual clarity is key. You need to make sure prospects can get the most important information at a glance.

Below are a few steps you can take to ensure prospects get all the info they need from your marketing materials to confidently take the next step…

1) Create a Hierarchy of Information Importance

You communicate the importance of different info via its size and color. Whatever is most important needs to be the biggest and boldest text on the page (think headlines, guarantees, offers, calls to action). The next most important info is still going to be called out, but it’s likely to be less bold and smaller. And so on.

2) Create and Follow Standard Formatting Guidelines

You don’t want to end up with a rainbow colored page, or too many things called out. Do this and the reader can no longer tell what’s most important. Instead, come up with standard formatting guidelines and stick to them.

So all headlines might be font size 20 and red or orange. Whereas subheads, which are a step less important, might be font size 16 and blue. And information that’s still important but not as critical might just be bold, or red or highlighted.

No more than three colors should be used for text, usually dark orange or red for headlines, guarantees and pricing, plus one of your brand colors for subheads and call-out boxes, and black for body text for best readability.

3) Create a Double Readership Path

A double readership path is a way for you to ensure skimmers get the most critical information from your marketing pieces. So once you’ve got your information hierarchy and formatting in place for all the really important stuff, go back and skim your text.

Now, use bolding, highlighting, bullets and call-out boxes to create a more complete story for skimmers. That way as their eye skims across the page it picks up enough info to create a pretty clear picture of what you offer, why they would want it, and what they need to do next to get it.

Remember, don’t overdo it. If you bold or highlight too much then you lose your information hierarchy and skimmers can’t tell what’s important.

A Few Final Rules of Thumb for Formatting Copy

Keep sentences short (21 words or less) and paragraphs short (no more than 5 lines). Giant blocks of text and super long sentences are both intimidating and hard to read.
Make headlines bold and at least 6 points larger in size than body text.
Make subheads bold and at least 2 points larger than body text.
Use red and bold for critical information.
Underline links and links only.
Use all caps sparingly. Too many words in all caps makes it difficult for the eye to skim. And online all caps are the equivalent of shouting.

Got thoughts, suggestions or ideas to share on this topic? Please do leave a comment…

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Categories : Copywriting, Online Marketing, Practical Marketing

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Making Facebook Work Better for Your Small Business

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Overwhelmed by Facebook? Not really sure how to use it, or what you can do with it? You’re not alone. Facebook has become one of the most popular social media sites for marketing small businesses, yet so many entrepreneurs flail around trying to figure out how to use it. Of course it also doesn’t help that they keep changing it.

So today I wanted to share a terrific article by my friend and social media expert Natalie Sisson at The Suitcase Entrepreneur. She’s got some great tips for using powerful features that have existed on Facebook for a long time, but often get forgotten. Enjoy…

5 Forgotten Facebook Features to Revisit

By Natalie Sisson

There are so many changes happening in the major platforms right now, it’s like a Facebook vs Google Plus battle, where each is developing new features at the speed of light, and while poor old Twitter looks positively dull in comparison, it’s all proving a tad overwhelming.

For those of you finding it all too much and losing faith in your favourite social networks, even for the experts, then this month is all about putting the power back into our hands to enjoy using social media again.

Whether you’re a social media addict, a time-strapped entrepreneur, a freelancer with social media clients, or the marketing community manager in your firm, this post is for you.

Read the rest on Natalie’s Suitcase Entrepreneur blog right here…

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Categories : Build Your Business, Online Marketing, Practical Marketing, Social Media Marketing

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How to Use a Call to Action Effectively on Your Website

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (2)

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

Recently, I wrote an article on: “5 Steps to Creating a Call to Action on Your Website that Gets Results” (Read it here: http://theunchainedentrepreneur.com/?p=1801 ). In it, I explained exactly what a Call to Action is, why every entrepreneur needs to use them on their Website, and then gave 5 simple steps for writing one.

What I didn’t talk about was how and where you actually use them in your Website content. So today I’m going to share exactly that.

Now, just to recap quickly, a Call to Action is where you tell readers what to do next. Basically a “Do X to get Y” statement.

On a Website it might be “Call 206-200-7594 Now to Schedule Your ‘Website Effectiveness Assessment’. Or “Visit my services page (insert link) to learn more about…”

It could also be something like “Enter your name and email below to…(get a free ebook, register for a teleseminar, etc.).

Even a “Buy Now” button is a Call to Action.

The thing is you can’t just whip up a Call to Action, place it randomly on your Website, and expect to see great results. There’s a psychology to using Calls to Action effectively.

You have to put yourself inside your prospect’s head, tap in to their internal conversation, and understand what they want. Plus what they need to know in order to be willing to take the desired action.

If you just plop any old Call to Action anywhere on a Web page, and your prospect still has unanswered questions or concerns — or can’t yet understand why they would want whatever it is — they aren’t going to do anything.

So, how do you know where to use Calls to Action on your Website?

Follow these 5 simple steps to effectively using a Call to Action

STEP #1 Determine the main goal of your Website, and the goal of each of your main pages.

Do you want to grow your list, have people call you, get people to buy products, click a link to read more, something else? Your answers determine what action you want them to take on each page.

STEP #2 Make a list of all the questions or concerns that might stop prospects from taking each desired action. Then be sure you address them.

Keep in mind, if you’re selling a high-priced product or service, prospects are going to need quite a bit of information. They may want to look at videos, testimonials, case studies and more before they feel confident about taking action.

So your Calls to Action should be designed to move them through your site by clicking links to learn more before asking them to buy now or call you.

On the other hand, if you’re offering a free ebook, their main concerns are going to be: “Is the information of value to me?”…“Is this worth my time?”…and “Is my contact information safe with you?”

If you can address all that on one page, your Call to Action would be “Enter your name and email below to get…”

STEP #3 Create a site plan showing all the pages on your site, how they are linked, and how you anticipate moving visitors through your site to meet your end goal.

You can do this as a simple flow chart either on paper or on the computer. If you only have a one-page site, squeeze page or long-form sales letter, skip this step.

STEP #4 Insert Calls to Action where it makes sense.

Be thoughtful about where to place your Call to Action. And about what you’re asking prospects to do. Again, you want to try to tap into their internal dialogue Then put your Call to Action wherever it seems like you’ve truly made a convincing enough argument for taking that action.

STEP #5 Make it big, bold and obvious.

The last thing you want to do is hide your Call to Action by burying it in text. Make links bold and a different color from the body text. Make Buy Now buttons big and bright.

Calls to Action aren’t just for Websites. You can apply this same process ads, promo emails, tweets, Facebook or ezine blurbs, or any other marketing pieces—both online and off—to increase response and results.

The bottom line is…Having clear, obvious Calls to Action on your Website—and in all your marketing and advertising—is one of the keys to small business success.

Because if someone doesn’t know exactly what to do next—and how to do it—they probably won’t do it. But if you make the right offer to the right people at the right time—and you’ve given them all the info they need to take confidently take action—they probably will. That’s good for everyone!

Do you use Calls to Action on your Website or in other marketing materials? What works best for you? Please do share your thoughts on this topic…

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Categories : Copywriting, Online Marketing, Practical Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Website Marketing

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5 Steps to Creating a Call to Action on Your Website that Gets Results

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (5)

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

Why do you have a Website for your small business?

Sure, a big goal is getting the attention of your ideal client and letting them know what you have to offer. And getting your name out there is always good too. But just doing that is not enough.

If you’re going to invest all that time, money and effort, you want to get clients or customers too, right?

In other words, the real goal of any marketing—including your Website—is to get people to take action…

Whether that’s visiting another page on your site, calling for an appointment, registering for a call, signing up for a freebie, or busting out a credit card and buying something right now.

The thing is, most entrepreneurs forget all about this when they’re working on their Website. So they spend a ton of time and/or money creating a (hopefully) professional site that is basically just a bunch of company info.

They talk about who a company is, what they do, how they do it and who their clients are. Then add a contact page and wait for something to happen.

Only it never does. Or if it does, the results are nowhere near what they’d hoped for.

Chances are their site simply wasn’t planned, designed or written to move people through the sales process and get a response.

That means there is something important that probably missing. And you can add to your Website—and every piece marketing and advertising you create—to dramatically increase response rates!

It’s a “call to action”!

What, exactly, is a call to action?

Fundamentally, it’s where you tell someone exactly what to do next if they are interested in what you are offering. A perfect example can be found on any infomercial. It’s where the announcer says “Call 1-800-buy-this within the next 30 seconds to get your super juicer and the special, bonus slicer-thingy for just $9.95”

In a print ad, it might be “Visit www.dogtricks.com to get your F*ree report 7 Fun Tricks You can Teach Any Dog”

On a Website, it could be as simple as “Visit my services page (insert link) to learn more about what I can do for your business…” Or “Call Jennie at 867-5309 and mention this offer to save 50% on your first consultation”.

Even a “Buy Now” button is a call to action.

Why is a call to action so important?

“If you don’t tell someone what to do next, there’s no telling what they might do.”

Life is busy and full of interruptions. Even if someone is ready and willing to buy, they might not be sure what to do next if you don’t tell them. Or they could end up going to the bathroom, answering the phone, or clicking to another Website as easily as calling you.

It’s up to you to know what action would make the most sense—both to meet your customers’ information needs and your business goals. Then let prospects know how to take that action.

Five steps to writing a powerful call to action

STEP 1: Decide exactly what you want someone to do after they read each page on your Website. Then write your copy to lead them to the decision that taking that action makes good sense to them.

STEP 2: People need a good reason to take action. So make them a specific offer they can’t refuse. These days, a f*ree consultation isn’t enough. A lot of folks think this will just be a pitch-filled waste of time. Ditto for just saying sign up for my f*ree e-newsletter. Who wants more random stuff filling up their inbox?

STEP 3: Tell them exactly what to do to take advantage of your offer. IE: Do X to get Y

STEP 4: Make it painfully easy. Put the phone number, link, sign up box or BUY NOW button right there. Don’t assume they’ll take time search for it.

STEP 5: Whenever possible, add incentive with limited availability (only 10 left!), deadlines, or special sale prices. People are busy. The more reasons you can give them to take action now, the more likely they are to do so.

That’s it. Give ‘em a good reason to take action, tell ‘em what to do, and make it easy as pie to do so. You’ll be amazed at how many people do.

Got thoughts on this article? Questions? More suggestions? Please do leave a comment…

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Categories : Build Your Business, Copywriting, Online Marketing, Practical Marketing, Website Marketing

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Five Ideas for Creating More Ezine and Blog Content More Easily

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

You already know the money is in your list. Because it’s far easier to sell to people who already know, like and trust you. And hopefully you’ve been working on building a list of people who in some way have raised their hand and said they’re interested in learning more.

One of the easiest ways to do this online is by offering for something of value or interest on your site in exchange for visitor’s emails. But in order to get people to your Website, you have to be found on the search engines. If you want to get found more, it helps to post plenty of fresh, relevant content—particularly via a blog. Then push it out to the world using social networking.

But simply getting site visitors and building a list isn’t enough. You have to communicate with them on a regular basis and share information that’s useful, valuable, informative or entertaining. Otherwise they’re gonna forget who you are and why they wanted to hear from you in the first place. Then all your hard, list-building work is going to go to waste. That means also publishing an ezine/enewsletter or print newsletter.

Of course, if your to-do list is already a million miles long, the idea of coming up with content regularly probably sounds about as realistic as having the tooth fairy loan you money. But it really doesn’t have to be that difficult.

Below are five simple ways to generate newsletter and blog content fast:

Share a link – find an interesting article on someone else’s blog or Website? Write a couple sentences about what it is and why it’s worth checking out, then share the link.
Post a guest article – Nobody ever said you had to write everything yourself. You can republish an article by another expert offering complementary products or services. You can have guest writers who create content for your site regularly. Or even use articles from one of the online article databases or a source like bloggerlinkup.com. Just be sure to give proper credit and a link back to their site if required.
Record and post a podcast – Even if you’re a total technophobe, recording podcasts is a piece of cake. You can use a no-cost teleconference service like freeconferencecall.com to record a 30 second to 10 minute audio using your phone. Then download the MP3 directly from their site.
Post transcript excerpts – If you like to script out your podcasts beforehand then this is a no-brainer. Otherwise you can have any podcast, live event or teleseminar recording transcribed on the cheap. Then post excerpts or edit into multiple blog posts or articles.
Write a series of short tips – Blog posts and email articles can be longer articles up to about 750 or more…but they don’t have to be. Short tips one to three lines long can be a terrific option too. Publish one or a few at a time. You can even have guest experts submit tips for publication.

Do you have other secrets for writing more content? Thoughts on these tips? Please do share by leaving a comment…

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Categories : Content Marketing, Online Marketing

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Are Flash Sales a Good Way to Market Your Business, Products or Services?

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Friday, September 9th, 2011

Not too long ago offering deep discounts via social coupons like Groupon and Living Social became all the rage. For a while now it seems like all kinds of small businesses have been using them generate buzz and a surge of new business.

However this tactic has proved to be more profitable for some types of small businesses than others. Partly because often it’s a loss leader—in other words, you might lose money on the promotion itself. So you need to make it back later on repeat business. And partly because not all businesses can handle the sudden influx of customers or clients.

Now it appears there is a new kid on the social networking sales block: Flash Sales. These are super short term, juicy offers that encourage people to get a great deal before it’s gone. Of course, there are pros and cons to this new tactic as well that every entrepreneur should know before they jump on the bandwagon.

Learn all about it in the simplyzesty.com article The Next Social Media Trend: Flash Sales

What do you think about flash sales? Have you bought from one? Have you used this tactic to market your business, and if so, how’d it go? Please do leave a comment…

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