How to Reduce the Biggest Sales Barrier of Them All 28 June 2007

So you’ve written a killer sales web page, targeted the appropriate audience for your message, and are all set to receive orders…

But there’s nothing happening. Oh, there’s plenty of activity, with an impressive amount of traffic to the sales page, alright. And the statistics show people are handing around long enough to read your carefully crafted, compelling sales page. Still, no fish are biting.

If this sounds familiar, have you made sure you’ve included a risk-reversal message?

For example, towards the end of your sale message you could offer a
money-back guarantee.

You see risk-reversals in play in almost every piece of sales copy, or order page.

It’s there to do one chief thing: offset a perfectly natural barrier to sales – what if it doesn’t work? What if it’s not for me? What if it doesn’t live up to the claims?

When people buy products online, and especially if they have paid handsomely for them, they want to be sure that they can get their money back should things not work out.

So, if your sales page isn’t pulling in as many orders as you had expected, try adding a guarantee. It should help keep potential buyers’ anxiety levels at a minimum – and it might even boost order numbers.

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include at the end of the article.

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F*R*E*E* Intellectual Property Rights Seminar 26 June 2007

Slough Enterprise Gateway – part of Business Link Berkshire – is hosting this FREE event, taking place at the Thames Valley University on Wednesday 27 June 2007, from 6pm to 8.30pm.

Topics to be covered include:

• INNOVATION – The Cheese flavoured Cigarette Presentation.

• How to make the most of your ideas and how to protect them.

• Covering the new changed name from patent office to intellectual property office.

• Also the ‘new ideas’ tool from Business Link.

• An ‘information and discussion’ opportunity.

I believe tthere are some places still available, although I’m sure these will be going fast. So you do need to book if you want to secure yours.

To book, call Juliana on 01753 610043 or email Juliana.monserrate@businesslinkberkshire.co.uk

Please mention you heard about the event through MediaMinister’s MarketingMoment blog when booking.

Cheers!

Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include at the end of the article.

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Monday Motivation 25 June 2007

I’m experiencing one of those ‘Monday morning blues’ days… I aggravated my healing back (the one I broke earlier this year – well, I have only one!) and the pain and lack of sleep are making me feel a bit demotivated.

But I’ve just remembered some coffee that a kindly PR person sent me a little while ago. It’s called ‘Swiss Water Process Decaffeinated Coffee’. OK, granted, this is a bit of a mouthful to say, but the taste if fantastic. It really does smell and taste like ‘proper’ coffee should, and because it’s been decaffeinated using a 100% chemical-free process (around 78% of the world’s decaf involves chemicals), it’s actually good for you.

I’ve used up my yummy sample, so I’m off to Caffè Nero to grab a decaf before working on my next project. (Hey, I believe that if the brain thinks real coffee, it will be motivated by decaf just as much!)

Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company’s decaffeinated coffee is available at Caffè Nero. You can opt for a lovely decaf drink or you can buy 10 x 14g sachets from them for £2.95 for use in your home filter or espresso machine. Marks & Spencer also use it in their drinks sold via their instore cafes.

Want to use this quick tip in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include at the end of the article.

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The Importance of Appealing to the ‘Right’ Clients 22 June 2007

Many companies and brands today are seriously out of touch with their customers. Yet these same organisations seem surprised when their customers get upset and jump ship. (Well, hello! As all good marketers (and businesses) know, you really can’t ignore your customers’ needs and preferences.)

The main article in the latest issue of MediaMinister’s Communiqué for Success looks at the one thing you can do to avoid all this – and make sure you generate more targeted, effective marketing, while staying ahead of the competition.

Subscribe here.

The full line-up this month:

1. Publisher’s Preamble
2. Announcement
3. Sleep Your Way to Success?
4. Special Invitation
5. Engage the ‘Right’ Clients & Watch Your Business Grow
6. About the Word Doctor
7. New Web Service Slashes the Cost of Expert Legal Advice
8. Client Corner
9. How to Send Electronic Press Releases
10. Business-Building Special Offer
11. An Easy Way to Passive Income
12. A Guide to Promoting Your Business
13. Winning Brochures & FREE Photos
14. Business-building Marketplace

Plus, the winners of the ‘free marketing’ competition are revealed.

Click on the following link now to find out how you can get immediate access to all of this – and more – at NO COST to you:

http://tinyurl.com/cfs

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Book Review: A Guide to Promoting Your Business 21 June 2007

What I like about A Guide to Promoting Your Business is that there is no ‘fluff’ – Antonia Chitty just tells it as it is. And with that in mind, this workbook provides an accessible, easy-to-follow blueprint for busy professionals who have a message to spread to the world.

As a marketing professional who has helped clients through the PR maze, I can appreciate how overwhelming setting up and running your own PR campaign can be. Not everyone has the resources of a big corporation or extensive marketing experience. Which makes A Guide to Promoting Your Business all the more valuable a resource for the small business-owner or solopreneur.

Written in a clear and accessible style, it leads the reader through the key steps to gaining recognition and promoting his or her business.

Full of helpful examples and case studies, as well as exercises, resources and handy tips, both the beginner and the more experienced will benefit from this step-by-step guide.

Extremely practical for any business, regardless of size and position on the ‘PR ladder’.

Order at: www.mediaminister.co.uk/products.htm

COPYRIGHT © T Dooley, MediaMinister.co.uk, All Rights Reserved

Want to use this book review in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a resource box/bio to include at the end of the article.

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Avoid ‘Toxic’ Clients 19 June 2007

Today’s post is short (I’m beavering away in an attempt to get this month’s CfS out on time!), but not necessarily sweet…

Do not accept any work from prospects with whom you have personality clashes. Also, avoid those who don’t value what you do or sell, no matter how badly you need the work. These types of client will create more work and many headaches for you in the end. Believe me, I’ve been there, done that and threw away the T-shirt.

COPYRIGHT © T Dooley, MediaMinister.co.uk, All Rights Reserved

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How To Sell To Prospects 18 June 2007

It doesn’t matter what you sell, or how great a product you have, all your prospective customers will want to know three key things:

1. What’s in it for them. Your prospects need to know what you or your product does to make them more successful, more productive, happier, wealthier, and so on.

2. Why they should listen to you. You might think you’re a great coach or have the best new gadget on the market, but your prospects really want to know why they should give you their time and custom. You have to convince them that you or your product are a better option than that offered by the competition.

3. Why they should order from you now! Motivating prospects to act now is more difficult than it sounds. A great offer, or time-limited exclusive helps. But it’s down to what you’re offering and the words you use to emotionally connect with your prospects. One surefire way is to understand your prospects’ fears, and lay them to rest…

I’ll cover more in future posts.

COPYRIGHT © T Dooley, MediaMinister.co.uk, All Rights Reserved

Want to use this article in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a resource box/bio to include at the end of the article.

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The Difference Between PR & Marketing 13 June 2007

Question: “Part of my problem is I think that I don’t understand what the difference is between PR and marketing! Can you help?”

Answer: Don’t worry, many people don’t know there is a difference between marketing and PR!

While PR – also known as public relations – has recently grown in stature within the ‘marketing’ promotional mix, it’s most usually associated with relationships. Whereas marketing is about selling.

With marketing, your goal is to get some kind of action from your readership. You might send a letter asking people to send off for a free sample. You might send a postcard with a tear-off section that people can complete and return to you for a catalogue or voucher. And so on.

PR includes image building and management, unpaid media placements, and publicity, making use of press releases, media kits, press conferences, and such.

In this sense, public relations is a facet of marketing that is focused on promoting beneficial relationships with identified audiences (’publics’).

First, PR is all about relationships, mainly building them. We could be talking about a relationship between a chief executive offer and his employees. Or a relationship between two existing businesses. Maybe it is an organisation’s relationship to its investors. Whatever the case, PR seeks to create and then maintain positive relationships with its many publics.

Marketing, on the other hand, is concerned with the market (doh!). It is driven by consumers’ wants and needs.

So you could say that the first big difference between PR and marketing is the agenda of each discipline.

Secondly, PR creates a two-way communication between itself and its publics.

OK, all very well. But what if you need a plan of action, or at least an idea of where to spend your PR/marketing money?

Marketing should not be regarded as an expense, but rather as a financial investment – new customers are a return on that investment.

It is really a question of balance. At every stage of your business development, you need to assess how much to allocate to your marketing budget. It is not just a question of what you can afford. Rather, it’s more a question of what you have to spend in order to expose your business to your target market. Becoming aware of the different media options, as well as non-media options, such as word-of-mouth, is the first stage.

Need More Help Being a News Source the Media Will Love?

“Powerhouse Publicity (how to profit from the media and get FREE publicity)” shares the insider secrets of how to come up with newsworthy ideas for press releases, how to build your own personalised media list, and catch the attention of busy reporters who are sniffing out stories about new trends, products, brands and more:

http://tinyurl.com/2ybj89

COPYRIGHT © T Dooley, MediaMinister.co.uk, All Rights Reserved

Want to use this article in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a resource box/bio to include at the end of the article.

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How To Win Over The Media 11 June 2007

Getting free publicity by way of press coverage is one of the best things one can do for ANY business. As well as letting people know you exist, being in the media enhances your brand message (or helps you create one, if you don’t yet have a brand image) and is a potential source of leads.

The thing is, the media is literally bombarded with press releases every single day. So somehow yours has to stand apart from the pack.

One thing you can do to get the media on your side is to make their jobs easier.

No, I don’t mean volunteering to do all those niggling little jobs that no one wants to do. But rather doing things like letting them know you have background information that might help the development of their story. So when you next send a press release, let it be known in the ‘editors notes’ that you have an electronic or print media kit.

Another way of helping out the media is to keep your promises. You might have offered a media kit or some photos to back up your release, for instance. So be sure to send them!

Next, don’t become a pest. Following up on a release, once, or getting in touch to see how you can help, is fine. But journalists and editors are incredibly busy beings, so you don’t want to harass them. And what ever you do, don’t phone up to say, “Hi, did you get my release?”

For a start, they probably won’t have a clue what you’re talking about, unless you have something really unusual or valuable to offer. So remind them why your release is something to note, and offer any news tie-ins or other ideas for positioning the story.

That brings me to my next point – when a journalist says they’re not interested in your release, do not persist! Changing their mind is very unlikely, and you might be branded a nuisance if you try to argue over it!

Other ways to win over the media include turning up for an interview (or not cancelling an interview to which you have agreed), sending your release in the accepted journalistic format, tailoring your release to the appropriate audience, and proofreading your words.

Need More Help Being a News Source the Media Will Love?

“Powerhouse Publicity (how to profit from the media and get FREE publicity)” shares the insider secrets of how to come up with newsworthy ideas for press releases, how to build your own personalised media list, and catch the attention of busy reporters who are sniffing out stories about new trends, products, brands and more:

http://tinyurl.com/2ybj89

COPYRIGHT © T Dooley, MediaMinister.co.uk, All Rights Reserved

Want to use this article in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a resource box/bio to include at the end of the article.

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Stop Working With Deadbeat Clients… 8 June 2007

…and instead attract ideal clients while knocking out the competition, to boot!

That’s the theme of my all-spanking new special report.

Most people don’t bother (wrongly) to identify their ideal client. But the fact is an ideal client profile is one of those secrets that solopreneurs and small businesses can learn from the corporate world for greater business success. And it’s something that will give you a BIG advantage over your competitors, too.

The Ideal Client Worksheet is one of those powerful marketing tools that helps you bring focus to your business, enabling you to attract better clients more quickly and easily – and putting an end to wasted marketing budgets, time and efforts chasing the wrong type of client.

To find out more, or for immediate download, visit:

http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/products.htm

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