Vol. II, Issue 4 – 9 January 2006
Editor & Publisher: Tracey Dooley
Welcome, to 123 new subscribers! Please help us grow together and forward this issue to any friends, peers and associates you think would benefit. Thanks!
In this month’s success-packed edition:
• Publisher’s Preamble
• 10 Business Resolutions to Guarantee a Better Year Ahead
• Business Makeovers that Make You Money?
• Online Predictions for 2007
• About the Word Doctor
• Free Ezine Content
• Reader Q&A
• Prize Draw – Your Input Needed!
• Business-building Thought
• Residual Income Made Easy
• Business-building Marketplace
My favourite time of the year is New Year’s Eve. No! Not scrabbling my way around the drinking holes trying to find somewhere where, a) I don’t feel like the only thing I am missing is the blue rinse (my birthday was just before Christmas and I am feeling old! BTW,
thank you for all the messages you sent following my announcement. I was overwhelmed by your support and I thank you from my heart for all your kind words), b) there isn’t a heaving mass of nonsense, c) people can actually stand up at, oh, say 9 o’clock in the evening (and, no, propping up the bar does not count, no matter how stylish you think you’re being), and d) you are not charged extortionate rates just to get past the doorman.
I mean getting together with family and friends around a cozy fire, with mulled wine and fine conversation and food. When each of us reflects back to on the year gone by and looks forward to the year ahead. When we forget old wounds, and forgive old ‘hurts’. When there seems to be something magical in the air. When there is something to look forward to…
Will 2007 be a good year for you? I truly hope so!
For me, personally, I want 2007 to be the most unforgettable year for everyone in this wonderfully diverse world of ours – for all the right reasons…
I hope to create the life of my dreams, and to help others achieve the business success of their dreams. And I promise in 2007 I will intensify my efforts to provide value for you, my CfS readers.
On that note, please be sure to take part in the one-minute ‘What Subscribers Want’ survey, below. As well as being the catalyst for making sure I continue to write about what you actually want to read, there is a special prize drawing for your efforts, too.
Where is Your Business Going this Year?
How was business last year? If you didn’t manage to hit all of your targets, be sure to check out this issue’s feature articles – you’ll find tons of tips and tricks for making this year a much better year all round.
Here’s to a prosperous and wonderful 2007!
Tracey
PS Have YOU sent in your free subscriber ad yet? Quick! There are only 1-2 free slots per issue. Send yours here. Please make sure you keep it to a maximum of 5 lines, 65 characters per line (including your URL or email address). Copy deadline for the next issue is 12 February.
PPS Please add ‘tracey [at] mediaminister [dot] co [dot] uk’ to your whitelist or address book in your email program, so that you always receive your issues!
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10 Business Resolutions to Guarantee a Better Year Ahead
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Having a few carefully laid plans can boost the pulling power of any business. Here’s what to concentrate on in order to put the 007 in 2007…
It’s at this time of year when numerous – and, quite frankly, often pointless – resolutions, goals and wishes are set for the year ahead. But over and over again they involve some kind of pain (going without chocolate?! Running before breakfast?!), ultimately leading to failure.
Time to turn the New Year resolutions on their head and get smart. Forget setting generalised goals and watching them go down the drain through lack of progress or faith in achieving them. Why not set specific, measurable goals that impact favourably on your business – and consequently you?
Here, then, are 10 to get you started:
1. Increase your ezine or e-newsletter subscriber list by 1,000 over the next 90 days. One way of doing this is to write and submit articles to online article banks. Read by thousands upon thousands of people looking for quality content, it’s a great way of creating awareness about what you do. Just be sure to mention your ezine – and give away something of value to your target market when they sign up – in your author bio or resource box, usually positioned at the foot of the article.
2. And if you don’t have one, start a newsletter, or enhance what you already have! Newsletter marketing is one of the most powerful ways to keep your name in front of your customers and prospective clients. Some ezines are nothing more than blatant advertising, so try to include as much valuable information as you can. It might be as simple as a local massage therapist regularly sending out a one-page update of case studies, or offers, or the complementary health market.
3. Make sure you know your ‘model’ customer inside and out. Creating an ‘ideal customer’ profile is a really useful exercise for any type of business and at any time of the year. By evaluating your customer base and determining which types of consumers or business you can best be of service to, you can establish which people or businesses to target. They are likely to be the most profitable, too.
4. It’s important to consider the types of clients you enjoy working with, or you run the danger of everything becoming a struggle. So let go of those clients you find it difficult to work with, say ‘no’ to prospects who don’t fit your profile and focus on attracting those you really had in mind when you went into business in the first place.
5. Create a mini-marketing plan. Perfect for testing an idea before making a commitment, a mini or condensed version of the standard marketing or even business plan can prove valuable in a number of ways – not least to analyse the year before, review where you are now and focus on what you wish to achieve over the next 6 months or year. By putting it in writing, you will identify tactics and strategies to help you with your business goals.
6. Make thyself be known. If you want more customers, more profits, more time for yourself, and a more enjoyable business, you have to make sure people know about what you do and offer! So get adventurous (or feign confidence!) and promote yourself or your business. Aim to write at least one press release every month or so, and publish it in places where your target audience is likely to see it. Or try sending postcards that act as vouchers to prospective customers.
7. Re-invent (or refine) your marketing wheel. Reach beyond your comfort zone, and try things you have never dared before. Try a new approach. Get support from a coach, mentor or business group. Just market! A business without marketing is without business. You need to do what it takes to make sure you don’t lose sight of your dream business.
8. And everyone should re-appraise their website to see how best they can convert more visitors into buyers. Don’t have a website? Get one, pronto – this is the digital age and most if not all businesses need an online presence.
9. Make this the year you expand your knowledge base. Learning something new can keep you feeling enthusiastic about your business and the path it is on – even during ‘down’ times.
10. Enjoy what you do. What’s the point of being self-employed or building that dream business if you’re not having fun along the way? So think of a few aspects of your business that you dislike – and stop doing them. If you break out in a sweat at the mere thought of tax returns, hire an accountant. If you find writing sales letters slightly less overwhelming than attempting the marathon, get someone else to write them… The point is by reducing your stress levels and enjoying what you can do, you’ll end up with a more productive business that you enjoy being a part of.
Don’t have time to fit all 10 in? Then choose just 8, or 6 or even 2! As long as you do one thing (no matter how small) every day, you will be closer to your ultimate goal for your business by this time next year – if you haven’t already achieved it by then!
(Copyright) 2007 T Dooley
Want to use this article
(or any tip in this newsletter) on your website, blog, a message board or in an ezine? Not a problem! But please give credit where it’s due. You MUST include the following:
Tracey “Word Doctor?" Dooley of MediaMinister (www.mediaminister.co.uk) is an experienced copywriter, editor and marketer. She has spent almost 14 years crafting compelling copy that successfully sells, informs, educates or entertains. =====>To sign up for her freebie business-building tips, marketing and publicity pointers, visit
www.mediaminister.co.uk.
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