Practical Marketing :: The Unchained Entrepreneur

Archive for Practical Marketing

Copywriter Shares Secrets of Successful Print Ads

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

Copywriter Shares Secrets of Successful Print Ads

Have you ever spent hours struggling to craft the perfect print ad to grow your business, only to have it run and get no results? Or spent hundreds—or even thousands—of dollars on advertising and not gotten a single client, customer or sale?

If so, you’re not alone. I’ve met loads of entrepreneurs who struggled with creating effective advertising. And while one of the reasons may be that your not offering what your prospects one. Or that you’re not advertising in the right place. If you designed your ad yourself, it may be the layout that’s keeping you from getting the results you want and need.

That’s why today I’m sharing a terrific article from my good friend and fellow copywriter, Michele PW. Follow her tips to make your next ad much more effective!

Three Keys to Crafting Successful Print Ads

By Michele PW

Want to create print ads that get results? Below are three keys to get you started.

1. Write for the eye. Print ads are visual. Therefore, craft ads with the eye in mind.

Eyes are kind of picky, though. So, here’s a checklist of what eyes like and don’t like:

A catchy headline that encourages them read more.

Art, such as photos, illustrations, clip art, shapes, etc.

Eyes like art. When you create the ad, create words AND the visual at the same time. Words and visuals should work together.

Designed in an interesting, intriguing, attention-getting manner. Eyes like that. Remember, graphic designers are your friends. If you don't have training in graphic design, I strongly urge you to hire a graphic designer to create your ad. The results will be well worth it.
White space (blank space in the ad). Eyes like white space. Eyes don't like print ads stuffed with words and/or art. Those ads look way too difficult to read and comprehend. So eyes will skip over those ads and find other open, clean ads to look at. (And if they do, you might as well have never bought the ad in the first place.)

2. Write for the busy eye. Nobody is reading a newspaper because they want to see your ad. (Okay, your mother is the exception.) People are reading the paper because they want information. Reading your ad is an afterthought. So, they aren’t going to spend a whole heck of a lot of time on it.

A common mistake is asking print ads to do too much. To be successful, print ads must:

Capture the attention of your potential customers,
Encourage those potential customers to remember what you want them to do,
Then persuade them to actually do it.

That's a lot to ask for one little print ad.

Print ads should have one message and one message only. The more "extras" about your business you start throwing into the ad, the more convoluted the ad is going to become, and the less likely your potential customers will act upon your ad.

Now at this point you may be thinking "Okay. We need one message. That message should be to get my potential customers to buy something, hire my services, donate money, become a volunteer, etc. Right?"

Well…

For one thing, that's a pretty big leap for your potential customers. Getting potential customers to buy without first developing a relationship with them is, again, asking an awful lot for one little print ad.

You might be better off inviting potential customers to take one small step in the buying process. For instance, stopping in the store for a free gift, logging on to your Web site to enter a contest, putting their names on your mailing list, trying a demo version of your product, etc. Let them get to know you.

3. Keep your target market in mind. Your message should be focused on your customers' needs, not your own. Getting customers to buy your products and services is YOUR need. How your products or services solve your customers' problems is THEIR needs. See the difference?

That's why so many retail stores have sales. They’re effective because they're solving a need (saving customers money). But saving money is not the only need. There are many others.

You should also think about ways to add value without bargaining on price (this position can backfire). Contests, free gifts, free reports, free food — stuff like that.

Think outside the box. And use that value as a way to set yourself apart.

Learn by example

One of the best ways to learn how to craft successful print ads is to study what's out there.

Get out a newspaper or a magazine and open it. See where your eyes go. What ads attract your eyes? What ads drive them away?

Which ads have headlines that intrigue you? Graphics that capture your attention? Copy that encourages you to find out more? Why?

Now look at ads that do nothing for you. Why don't you like them? Are they too cluttered? Too difficult to understand?

Have a headline that makes you yawn?

Sometimes you can learn as much, if not more, from bad examples as you can from good ones.

About the Author

Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek), Your $Ka-Ching!$ Marketing Strategist, specializes in is writing copy and creating marketing campaigns that gets people to TAKE ACTION, whatever that action may be (signing up for your newsletter, buying a product, hiring you etc.).

Michele has mastered psychological and hypnotic techniques designed to persuade your target market to become your customers. She also specializes in warm Web 2.0 traffic strategies that will bring a flood of hungry visitors to your Web site who want to buy exactly what you sell!

Whether it’s online or offline you need, Michele PW knows how to Rev Up Your Results! Learn more at www.michelepw.com

What’s work for you when it comes to advertising? Thoughts on this article? Please do share by leaving a comment…

Share and Enjoy:

Categories : Build Your Business, Copywriting, Practical Marketing

Comments (0)

Using Inner Marketing to Enhance Your Visibility and Grow Your Business

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

I first met Therese Skelly a couple years ago at an event. Since then, we’ve bonded over a love of marketing, ballet and having a life while growing a business. I’ve seen her speak live, interviewed her, and regularly read her blog. I've even been her client! (That's me and Therese in the picture below…)

If you feel like you have a ton of value to bring to your clients, but you’re having trouble bringing the clients to you, Therese is worth following! Her combination of marketing expertise and inner-self insight helps people step past their own internal blocks and boundaries and create thriving businesses.

She’s my guest expert blogger today, and I’m going to be interviewing her on a no-cost call on 10/26. Read on to learn more…

Why You Have to Stand Out from the Crowd to Grow Your Business

By Therese Skelly

One of the biggest challenges you may face as an entrepreneur is in how to get known as a go-to expert in your industry or community. But what you may discover after being in the game long enough is this fact:

Your visibility is more important than your ability!

What that means is that your ability is second to your visibility. In the marketplace you could be the most talented, the most dedicated, and the most likely to do a good job for a prospect.

Being invisible means being hard to find, your business is hard to differentiate, or you have a marketing message that is even confusing to your target market. Because of this your competitor who is less skilled than you are can be scooping up your possible clients. And this can be extremely frustrating, or even seem not quite fair!

Yet it’s the real world of business. And in this ‘new economy’ where folks are much more discriminating buyers, it’s critical that you stand out from the crowd.

That’s why I’m now talking about ‘beyond being visible.’ Because we all know we need visibility. It’s just not enough to roll out a few emails or pass out business cards and hoping someone calls you.

The real trick is to know what makes you different. The question you have to answer for your prospects is, “what would make you the very best person to work with?” And how can you find that, own it, and weave it into your business in a really powerfully authentic and attractive way.

This is what I call INNER MARKETING. It’s the ability to address and really nail those harder questions. That’s the work you have to do as you grow and evolve and before you roll out your newsletters or programs.

Listen…The world needs what you have. There are clients not being served because they can’t find you! The problem comes when you have crazy-ability and crappy visibility.

Let me show you some signs you may need some more fine tuning in your ‘inner marketing’ process:

You notice that what used to work to get clients in the door no longer is effective
You have so many ideas, you don’t know where to start, so don’t move much forward
You have lots of pieces in place, but can’t see how they fit together in a profitable or more leveraged way
You’re not getting the right clients and so you are drained
You have hit a plateau at the level of income you are at and you know you are capable of earning way more (and that’s so frustrating)

I want to show you what’s in the way of getting that “Brilliance out of your blind spot” and out in the world in a really cool way. And the cost of hiding that brilliance, or worse yet…settling for sounding like everyone else.

And why is this so critical right now? Because your work is just too important to keep in hiding any longer!

Is your business stuck because you brilliance is hidden in your blindspot? Are you ready to use your unique abilities to start attracting more of the right clients?

Then you’re in luck! I’m interviewing Therese on Wednesday, 10/26 at noon PT/3pm ET on “From Sputtering to Soaring… Finding Money in your biz by finding your brilliance in your blindspot.”

Sign up here now and be on your way to using your strengths to effectively market your business.

Share and Enjoy:

Categories : Branding, Build Your Business, Entrepreneur Mindset, Personal Development, Practical Marketing

Comments (0)

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…

Share and Enjoy:

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

Comments (0)

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…

Share and Enjoy:

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

Comments (2)

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…

Share and Enjoy:

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

Comments (5)

Numbers Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know to Grow Their Business

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (2)

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

When I first meet with a client to talk about marketing, I always need to know a few numbers that are critical to making effective marketing decisions. So I ask questions like…

How many client, customers and/or sales do you need to hit your sales and revenue goals?

What’s your marketing budget?

What are your current gross revenues and expenses?

Unfortunately, more often than not, small business owners can’t answer these questions for me. They might have an idea of how much their business brings in each year. But most don’t have any idea what their expenses are. And far too many entrepreneurs don’t track even their revenues and expenses monthly.

The thing is, if you don’t know a few basic numbers related to your business and your marketing, you are flying blind. Because there is no way to know how much to spend on marketing, or what’s working and what’s not.

Plus if you don’t know where you are or where you’re going, the chances of ever hitting your business, sales or income goals (assuming you have some) are slim to none. While the chances of going out of business are pretty large.

If you don’t know your own numbers, don’t despair. As I’ve said, this is true for far too many entrepreneurs—particularly solo-entrepreneurs. And there are a host of reasons for not having a handle on this.

Maybe you haven’t really looked at the numbers because you don’t know what to look for or at…Or you’re a terrible record keeper…Or you’re simply afraid to see the true status of your business.

Whatever the reason is, there is no time like the present to get a clear picture of your business financials.

So I’ve put together a series of questions you should be able to answer about your business. If you’re new in business just do the best projections you can with the information you have available.

What are your current annual and monthly net revenues (gross revenues – expenses)?
What are your net revenue goals and are you on track to meet them based on your current gross revenues and expenses?
What’s your current marketing budget?
What’s been your most successful marketing tactic based on Return On Investment (ROI = Gross sales revenues generated – time & money costs of implementation)?
What’s the average value of one new client or sale?
What’s the annual value of a client or customer (average value of one new client or sale X average # of annual sales per client or customer)?
How many sales, customers or clients do you need to meet your goals (gross revenue goal / total average sale)?

Congratulations! If you’ve answered these questions you now have a much clearer picture of where your business is today, where you’d like it to be, and what you need to get you there. You also have a way to track the results of your marketing efforts so you can make good decisions and market your business effectively down the road.

I highly recommend answering these same questions every six months to make sure you’re staying on track.

To make this easier, try using bookkeeping software like QuickBooks to track your financials monthly. That way you can easily generate reports to show you exactly where your business stands at any time.

You can absolutely learn to do the basics yourself (invoicing, accepting payments, writing checks, etc.). But it’s best to have a bookkeeper set up your software and show you how to use it properly.

Then get out there, do some amazing marketing, and make your business soar!

Are you able to answer these questions? How has knowing these numbers helped you? Any other thoughts on this? Please do share by leaving a comment…

Share and Enjoy:

Categories : Build Your Business, Practical Marketing, Sales

Comments (2)

5 Things You Must Know to Get a Website that Grows Your Business

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Is your Website like a black hole on the Internet that prospects go in to but never come out? They just disappear as quickly as they arrived.

Does your Website do nothing but suck away your time and money on design, hosting and updating…Without making you any money in new clients, opt-ins or sales?

Have you spent seemingly endless dollars or hours trying to get a Website that actually grows your business, without seeing better results?

Chances are it’s because you’re making a big mistake right out of the gate…You aren’t really clear about what your Website needs to do, be and say to be effective at growing your small business. So it isn’t designed and built to do the job.

The reality is; most entrepreneurs don’t think about their Website design and planning from a strategic sales and marketing perspective. But it really isn’t hard to increase your online response rate by as much as 300% by making a few tweaks.

It all starts with the 5 things every entrepreneur must know to get a money-making, lead-generating, list-building Website. These are things you want to know BEFORE you spend any more time or money on your site.

And I’m going to be sharing those on a FREE 20-minute Business Success Café Webinar tomorrow, Thursday, September 15^th at 10:00 am Pacific.

This is really valuable info, not just a sales-pitch call. So if you’ve been trying to figure out how to make your Website work for you, reserve your spot now by going to the Business Cafe Webpage here:

http://tinyurl.com/3w64kdt

Be sure to stay on the Webinar to the very end too as I’ve got some special bonuses and deals just for Business Café listeners.

Share and Enjoy:

Categories : Build Your Business, News & Events, Practical Marketing, Website Marketing

Comments (0)

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…

Share and Enjoy:

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

Comments (0)

Which Marketing Tactics Should You Use to Grow Your Business?

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (4)

Thursday, September 1st, 2011

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are notoriously over-busy. We’re swamped by mile-long to-do lists that never seem to grow shorter no matter how many hours we work. Trying to market your business on top of everything else just adds to the stress and confusion.

Thanks to the advent of the Internet and all things online marketing—email, blogs, social networking, slidecasts, webinars, and the list goes on—it’s easier than ever to get overwhelmed by the options and do nothing. Or spread yourself too thin trying to use them all.

I think that’s why the questions I’ve been hearing more and more lately are “Where should I be focusing my time, money and energy when it comes to marketing?” And, “How do I know which tactics and strategies are going to work for me?”

Well, there is no simple answer to which strategies and tactics are going to work for any given business. Choosing the best ones depends on many factors including your target market, your budget, your skill set, etc. Though any time they’re designed to work together as part of an overarching marketing plan, you’re more likely to see success.

However, you can make good decisions—and get great results—by asking yourself the following questions…

5 Questions for Choosing the Best Marketing Tactics and Strategies for Your Business

1) Can I find and reach my ideal client or customer there?

If your ideal client or customer isn’t on Facebook, there’s no point in spending time and money on Facebook marketing. Know exactly who you’re selling to, and figure out where they shop and Web surf, what they read, and so on. Then find ways to reach them there.

2) Can I execute it on a consistent basis?

Great results rarely occur from one-shot marketing tactics…Especially nowadays when there is so much competition for everyone’s attention, not to mention their business. Instead you have to keep putting your message out there until your ideal client or customer finally takes notice—and takes action. If you don’t have the time, money and energy to execute a marketing tactic consistently, choose a different one.

3) Is it likely to help me achieve my goals?

All too often entrepreneurs choose marketing tactics because they’re cheap, easy, exciting or everyone else is using them. Unfortunately, none of those are good reasons.

Instead, you need to know what your main goal is (grow your list, get clients to call, get customers in your store, get someone to sign up or register, etc.), then choose the tactics most likely to help you achieve it.

4) Are the results measurable?

The only way to know if a marketing tactic is effective is to measure results. That means knowing how many people called, clicked, signed up, bought, emailed or whatever you’d like them to do.

So make sure everything you do has a call to action and a way to know if the action was taken.

This might mean using Google Analytics on your Website, or asking prospects how they heard about you. Or having them mention a particular code or name when they get in touch.

5) What is the ROI?

ROI, or Return on Investment, is basically gross revenue generated less expenses. It’s a number many entrepreneurs are totally unfamiliar with. And this is a serious problem.

I can’t tell you how many small business owners have told me a particular marketing tactic was successful…Until they ran the numbers and realized it was costing more than it was making them.

Unless it’s part of a larger strategy designed to recoup costs and make more money later, an ad that cost you $600 to run but only made you $200 in gross revenues needs to be changed or replaced.

Unfortunately, all too often entrepreneurs pay little or no attention to costs—especially time costs. Because the reality is, even free marketing costs you something in time spent that could be used to pursue other opportunities or make money.

If you don’t know what your marketing costs, or how much it brings in, there’s no way to know if you should keep doing it.

Now that you have these five questions in your back pocket, be sure to ask them anytime you’re considering investing your time, energy or money in marketing.

What marketing tactics and strategies work best for growing your business? How did you choose them? Any other thoughts on this topic? Please do leave a comment below…

Share and Enjoy:

Categories : Build Your Business, Online Marketing, Practical Marketing, Relationship Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Video & Viral Marketing, Website Marketing

Comments (4)

Cool New Blog and Twitter Marketing Measurement Tool from Dan Zarella

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

If you’re into social networking and online marketing, Dan Zarella (http://danzarrella.com/#) is a man to follow. He’s always got amazing data on what’s working and what’s not. Now he’s come up with a cool new tool that lets you measure how many people have retweeted your blog post.

Enter any blog post URL from the last two weeks and you get a report with stats showing number of tweets, most influential users to tweet your link and more. What a wonderful way to know what’s working and what’s not, and why.

Cool stuff!

Check it out at http://WhoReTweetedMe.com

Have you tried WhoReTweetedMe.com yet? Excited about the potential? Please do share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment.

Share and Enjoy: