Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

Want to Grow Your Business With Blogging? Here’s Your Quick-Start Guide

Guest post by Claudia Somerfield

One of the easiest and most powerful tools for growing your business is the business blog. Most marketing advisers suggest including a business blog as a sales tool. If you are a business owner, entrepreneur, or thought-leading professional and want to expand your influence with blogging, here is a quick-start guide that will have you up and running in no time at all.

Start with a clear plan

A common mistake that many businesses make when they start a blog is not having a long term plan in place. This applies to various aspects of the blog.

Consider these questions:

• What is the core purpose of your blog?
• How do you want it to look?
• What should be the writing style and tone of your blog posts?
• How openly do you want to position your blog as a sales tool?
• What kind of interface do you want to offer your blog readers to contact you?
• How do you want people to find your blog on a web search?

Having a clear cut strategy makes your blog much more focused, consistent and professional.

The web is often referred to as a fickle medium. If your blog readers do not find your blog of value, they will not return, they will not click through to your products or services, and they will not promote it by sharing it on their social networks.

At the end of the day, your reader looks for value, and your long term plan can help determine the specific nature and scope of the value you will offer.

Select your tool

The interface that you will use to upload and publish content on your blog is known as your blogging platform. There are several popular blogging platforms that you can choose from such as Blogger, Wordpress, and TypePad. While your web developer may provide you with a "home-made" interface on your website to create and add content to your blog, it is much easier and more efficient to integrate one of the more popular platforms. Take a look at what these platforms offer, and choose the one that appeals to you the most.

Create classy content

If you want your business blog to attract readers, and if you want the blog to become an integral part of your business strategy, you will have generate high quality content. You may want to employ the services of a professional blogger or content writer for this or you can do it yourself.

In the context of a business, there is no one who knows the nuances of the business better than you. However, you will want to keep in mind that it takes consistent posting of good content on a regular basis on your blog for it to grow in value.

Many business blogs make the mistake of compromising quality of content for quantity, over-using techniques like link building and search engine optimization to get more traffic to their blogs, but across time, they fail to engage the readers or to get them to respond to their call to action.

Promote

The key to popularizing your blog is to promote it. This can be as simple as sending out email announcements every time you update your blog, sharing it on your social networks, and notifying what are known as pinging services that will update web directories with your new content.

Social bookmarking sites are another commonly used promotion tool. The most popular social bookmarking platforms that are worth your time are Delicious, Digg, and StumbleUpon.

Network

Start building relationships with other business bloggers. Promote their work on your networks. This may seem counterproductive especially if they are your competitors, but it will establish you as a fair and open networker. This will also help you study other business blogs and learn the tricks of the trade. Study how they use interesting content to get their readers attention and how they convert it either into return visits or a click through to products and services.

Visit other blogs and leave your opinions in the comments section. As people take note of your opinion, you will find them wanting to network with you and your blog. As with everything in life, blogging for business has a certain amount of give and take involved. The more you give, the greater your chances of taking something back.

Business blogging is proven strategy that will help your business grow. However, for a blog to be noticed and acquire a reputation among readers and clients, it takes time and dedicated effort.

Study the basics of search engine optimization and keyword research so that you are able to bolster your content with the technical strength it needs to reach the top of search results. Make your content interesting and useful.

Remember that your blog posts are not direct sales messages, but rather high-value assets with which to build a community of interested readers who are your potential customers.

As you grow your dedicated readership, you will find that your blog has become a significant source of web traffic, leads, referrals, and new business.

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About the author: Claudia is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on luxury and technology. She recently read an article on a t-rex car that attracted her attention. Her next writing project involves a flying car.

As a marketing coach, I did some work with the owner of a catering firm who wanted to systematize his company’s sales and service operations by writing an easy-to-use, reader-friendly but detailed procedure manual. Not compliance or transaction-related, but just the day-to-day “how we do things around here” kind of manual. A snapshot of the cultural DNA, if you will.

So far, so good.

He saw immediately how this manual could raise the bar on everyone’s performance at his company and make smarter marketing, excellent customer service and savvy selling a consistent, always-on capability, and not a once-in-a-while accident!

When we started talking about the way his employees handled inbound telephone calls, he wanted to label that section, “Answer the Damn Phone” because so many of his people considered phone calls an interruption and they were always complaining about getting their cooking, prep, and delivery tasks done while “the damn phone” was ringing all the time.

Hmmm… can you see where this is leading?

You should worry a lot more about business that falls through your fingers than business that you don’t win.

It’s the missed sales opportunities that cost small businesses more money than the customers they compete for but don't close.

See if you can spot the missed sales opportunities in the following two stories from my colleague Ed Peters of the 4Profit Institute. (Hint: it won’t be difficult!)

Marketing News magazine made 5,000 telephone calls to Yellow Page advertisers requesting price information on a particular product.

Here’s what they discovered:

• 56% didn’t answer within eight rings
• 8% put the caller on hold for more than two minutes
• 11% couldn’t provide the price information requested
• 34% provided the price and then hung up
• 78% did not even ask the caller’s name

 Ask yourself:

• Have you ever studied how your phones are answered?
• Who is answering?
• What are they saying, doing, and asking on the initial call?

Here’s a missed sales opportunity up close and personal: A few weeks before Ed moved, he called six banks that were within walking distance of his new office. He told them he’d be moving two business and two personal savings and checking accounts, and two other accounts for his kids. He told them that he did not want marketing brochures but a personalized response to his specific business and personal needs.

RESULT: Only two of the six banks responded! And the two that did sent -- guess what -- their marketing brochures!

He needed a bank fast, so he called the two banks that responded. One promised to call him back but never did and the other one put him in contact with their relocation department (where he should have been referred in the first place). Guess who got Ed’s business?

Questions for you:

• Do you respond to all qualified requests for information?
• Do you respond promptly?
• Do you respond accurately and give a personalized response, or does every request get the same off-the-shelf response?
• Do you follow-up after every request?

What's been your experience with inbound calls and inquiries? Please use the COMMENTS section below and...

Guest post by Erin Blaskie

Does your business only have one income stream? Meaning, one way that you receive revenue from your paying clients?  

If so, please read this post as this marketing concept might very well change your business and your life!  

If you’re a one-revenue pony, you probably trade your time for money. This means that you probably sit at your desk (or on a couch or stand on a stage) and you do something in exchange for income. Maybe you provide a service or maybe you provide your insight and advice or perhaps you provide a speaking event. Whatever it is, you have one way to produce revenue.  

Now, let’s imagine that you have a cap of eight working hours in each day. I know you may have more or less but let’s just say eight for the purpose of this example.  

With eight working hours, let’s imagine that five of those hours produce you revenue whereas the other three are spent answering e-mails, creating proposals, entering expenses, etc. – all of the business stuff that no one pays you for.  

If you have five billable hours in each day, let’s figure out your earning cap. We all have one – this earning cap is the maximum we can possibly earn if we only do what we are doing right now for the rest of our working life.  

Five hours multiplied by your hourly rate is equal to your earning cap.  

Here’s an example:  

• 5 x $50/hour = $250 per day
• $250/day x 5 days/week = $1,250/week
• $1,250/week x 52 weeks/year = $65,000/year  

See?  You have an earning cap.  Most people who come to me say, “I want to earn six figures” but they have no idea whatsoever how much they would have to earn in order to actually MAKE six figures per year.  They just want that elusive figure.  So, let’s see how much someone would have to make per day if they wanted to earn $100,000/year.  

• $100,000/year / 52 weeks/year = $1,923/week
• $1,923/week / 5 days/week = $384.60/day
• $384.60/day / 5 hours/day = $76.92/hour  

You can use the equation above to figure out how much you need to earn per hour in order to hit your various revenue goals. This will help you to understand how much you really can make without trying to over extend yourself.  

Now, imagine that you had your five billable hours each day per the example above AND you had other revenue streams.  

Imagine what it would be like to see sales come in from other sources where you aren’t actively working. Imagine seeing sales come in at night, when you are spending time with your family on the weekends and while you are vacationing.  

Other revenue streams instantly boost your earning cap.  In fact, adding income streams to your business blows the roof off of your earning cap because there is NO earning cap when you have the potential to make income wherever you are, regardless of what you are doing.   

These other revenue streams can come from information product sales, affiliate revenue, group coaching and online training as well as membership sites and more.  

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NOTE: If you would like to destroy the revenue cap in YOUR BUSINESS, there's no better program to get you launched than the 8-week Product Development Toolkit program. Early Bird savings have been EXTENDED for this special offer and full details are online for you here: 

http://www.ProductDevelopmentToolkit.com - Join us!

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About the Author: Erin Blaskie, also known as the Bizinatrix, is in a hot, passionate love affair with the Internet. Whether she is leading her team of creative, outsourcing professionals or sharing information via the web, Erin brings to the table her enormous passion for tech, geek and the Internet

Guest post by Sandy Barris, Fast Marketing Plan

Marketing Concept: Start writing like people talk or even better the way your prospects talk:

1. Use plain talk when writing your marketing, advertising or PR:
Please don’t try to be your fifth grade teacher or your college English professor.

Forget everything you ever learned in school about writing.

Fancy writing (big word writing) only draws attention to itself and not to the benefits you are using to persuade.

2. Try using short sentences and vary their length:

Don’t try to stick two thoughts into one sentence.

Use two short ones instead.

3. Use simple language:

Use the familiar word to the far-fetched.

Use the concrete word to the abstract.

Use the short word to the long word.

Examples of simple language:

Instead of this: Use this

• Encourage: Urge
  
• Continue: Keep up
  
• Supplement : add to
  
• Acquire: get or gain
  
• Along the lines of: like
  
• As to: about
  
• For the reason that : since
  
• In order to: to
  
• In the event of: if
  
• In accordance with: by, under
  
• Prior to: before
  
• With regard to: about
  
• Accordingly: so
  
• Likewise: and, also
  
• Nevertheless: but, however

You get the idea. KISS

4. Use personal references:

Examples: names, pronouns & human interest words.

The best words you can use are… "YOU" and "YOUR"

5. DON'T USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

People recognize words based on their shape, not the actual letters in the words. All caps are harder to identify immediately.

6. Use a Headline

Your Headline is your Ad for the Ad.

The headline should invoke a "reflex reaction" from the reader.

Stop them dead in their tracks.

The reader should instantly understand what you're trying to say, and have enough information to qualify or disqualify himself from reading the rest of your marketing.

But hey, if your professionaly written and perfectly edited marketing is working, making you a small fortune, ignore this and keep doing what's working.

That's your quick marketing tip for now.

Use them and profit.

About the Author: Sandy Barris is the creator of Fast Marketing Plan which provides any business owner, executive or manager a simple, fast, easy and affordable online marketing and business management tool to create unlimited and complete Marketing Plans, Marketing Calendars and Marketing Roadmaps for use by almost any type and size of business.

"No great deed is done by falterers who ask for certainty."
– George Eliot  

"One must verify or expel his doubts, and convert them into the certainty of Yes or No."
– Thomas Carlyle  

The importance of “execution” is a business and marketing concept that has gained a lot of currency. At its core, it's pretty simple...

Execution is just a big word for DO SOMETHING!!  

In the old business world, the normal process for getting something done could be described as “Ready, Aim, Fire!”  With the quality movement and the other management fads that came and went during the 1980’s and 1990’s, the process became a little more involved.

Perhaps “Aim, Ready, Aim, Fire!” could describe the resulting corporate mindset: Document everything you Do, and Do everything that you’ve Documented.  That meant a lot of extra work and not much improvement in actual quality.

Then Tom Peters encouraged managers to adopt a new philosophy which he presented as “Ready, Fire, Aim” — execute on your ideas, and then refocus/refine later.  Today, successful corporate and entrepreneurial leaders need to be innovative, brave, smart, and fast.

Perhaps our new motto needs to become “Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire!”  

That means that “Ready” has to be built in - In the corporate world, it has to be built in to every department, every manager, every employee. In the startup and entrepreneurial world, "Ready" has to be built in to your venture - your ideas, your messaging, your services, your network.

"Ready" is the new status quo. And aiming is no longer a separate step.

Aiming is about creativity, scoping out the possibilities, and finding the next opportunity before the competition does.  Part of being Ready is, in fact, to always be aiming!

This is the only way that “Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire!” is ever going to work without descending into havoc.  

Yes or No? Fire!  

What do you think? Leave your comment below and... 

Case in point - a Philadelphia area communications and design firm whose list I have been on for more than 7 years. They have never - NEVER as in NOT ONCE - sent me a single solitary message that was relevant to me, my business, my marketing, my design needs, or my ANYTHING. Not a shred of value in sight. Zilch. Nada. None.

Every single flippin' email blast they send out is about THEM, THEIR awards, THEIR staff, THEIR media mentions. I mean it's over-the-top ridiculous. I could go on and tell you - but I'd rather SHOW YOU...

For some bizarre reason, I'm removing their name to protect the guilty. I dunno - maybe it's the holiday spirit of thankfulness that I'm not this big of an IDIOT myself. (See previous post on the Real IDIOT's Guide to Social Media for the backstory on this acronym.)

I've used green bold text to show each instance of "I, me, my" syndrome in this incredibly self-centered, years-long and completely ineffective email marketing approach.

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Subject: Good things come in three for IDIOT Design+Communications 

Good things come in three for IDIOT Design+Communications
25th Anniversary, ranked 7th and scholarship winner 

[Unnamed town], PA - November 21, 2011 - IDIOT Design+Communications (ID+C), a brand design firm, is proud to announce three major milestones for the company. 

ID+C celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2011.  What started as a freelance graphic design job in 1986 has grown into a full service design agency serving the Northeast corridor from Virginia to New York. Their expertise includes integrative brand campaigns that span internal and external audiences. Branding initiatives include brand touch points that create and spark perception of brand positioning. ID+C specializes in employee communications and internal branding. According to President and founder, Susan Idiot, "I would have never imaged owning my own graphic design and communication business. It is the support of long-term clients and friends that has allowed me to do the work I love and for that, I am grateful." ID+C built their reputation in the industry on strong partnerships and would like to take this opportunity to thank each of their clients. 

Ranked 7th Among Philadelphia Design Firms  In July, the company was ranked Number 7 in the 2011 Philadelphia Business Journal among Graphic Design firms in the Philadelphia region.    

[Blah blah Name Changed here too] Executive Scholarship ID+C wishes to extend a special thank you to Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) for their continued support and for awarding Susan Idiot the [Blah blah Name Changed] Executive Scholarship. Idiot used the opportunity to attend Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management's Executive Program on Branding. From elite scholars in marketing to an international contingency of fellow business owners and branding professionals, Susan Idiot gained invaluable insights into branding strategy. As a result, ID+C can assist its clients to discover and express their brands' positions and future direction in a dynamic, global marketplace.         

IDIOT Design +Communications
address block
website
phone number
Susan Idiot

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Questions for YOU:

• Is this the kind of email you would pass along to your best business colleagues?
• Would you be motivated to go through your database and see who else could benefit from such a terrific email newsletter?
• Would you rush to your web browser and immediately check out their site to see what OTHER valuable resources they have to offer you?
• Finally, would YOU give these people your email address so they could spam you with their accomplishments, awards, milestones, and anniversaries and spend nary a second in 7 whole years talking about branding, advertising, communications, or marketing ideas that might help you, your organization, or your career?

Yeah... me neither. Click. Unsubscribe. Bye, bye.

BOTTOM LINE: Don't let this happen to you.

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your thoughts on "I, me, my" Syndrome or share a success story of more prospect-centered email marketing! 

Today's marketing concept for you is simple - check this out:

Your marketing and sales process should be easy, effortless, and enjoyable.

Period. End of sentence.

If it is not - and if you're attracting difficult, high-maintenance or non-enjoyable prospects - here's another marketing concept for you:

If the dating doesn't go well, it won't get better once you're married.

As the great business sage, Donald Trump, once said:

"Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't do."

Amen, brother Trump!

5 Signs that Your Prospect is Giving You Too Much Bullsh*t

1. Agreeing to sign on and then backing off at the last minute or the next day to ask for references, birth certificates, blood tests, or guarantees.

2. Bargaining. Namely, asking for a price reduction with no corresponding reduction in services, terms, value, or relationship. (Asking for a price concession "just because" is a classic form of prospect bullsh*t!)

3. Undervaluing your services, track record, and expertise. "I could do this myself, I just don't have time..." or "We've outsourced this to several vendors and have never been happy..." (Run, my friend, run!)

4. Telling you upfront, "We're notoriously difficult to work with / a control freak / a perfectionist / highly demanding - but don't take it personally." (This means they've been fired by other service providers in the past and they're prepping you for the same eventuality while playing BOTH sides of good cop / bad cop. Nice!)

5. Using terms of false affection like "Big Guy'" and "My dear" or false compliments like "You are a great salesperson!" (Obviously, if you were a great salesperson, you would not be wasting your time with this narcissistic sociopath nightmare client from hell, would you?)

As poet Maya Angelou has so eloquently said, "When someone SHOWS you who they are, believe them."

Finally, a cautionary (and VERY funny) video to illustrate the point about Prospect Bullsh*t and how it looks in everyday life:

Grab your FREE copy of the Strategic Marketing eBook.

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

Every day here at Do It! Marketing HQ, we work hard to make sure the clients we love are extremely happy with our work and our results. At the same time, we work hard to keep OUT clients who will make us nuts, sap our energy, or for whom it will be impossible to do our best work.

In this spirit, here is today's marketing concept: Your Client GPS tool (Goofball Prevention Screening)

A client may well prove to be a Goofball if they…

1. Lack high standards of excellence – Good enough is good enough…
2. Don’t care about increasing their knowledge – Not committed to becoming valuable resources to their own clients and customers…
3. Refuse to work hard and commit to their own success – Lack persistence and are unwilling to try new things to achieve results…
4. Think they already know everything – And are unwilling to accept help in expanding their skills, expertise, or capabilities…
5. Resist investing in themselves and their business – They fail to understand that this is the best investment of all…
6. Operate from a mindset of fear and scarcity – They can’t make good decisions long-term because they are so risk-averse in the short term…
7. Won’t (or can’t) pay their bills – Their lack of financial responsibility spills over onto others in the form of late payment, non-payment, and endless excuses…
8. Exude negative energy – Negative self-talk, pessimism and cynicism repel new opportunities, new partners, and new ideas (all vital to success)…
9. Can’t commit to mutually supportive relationships – In business and in life, the most successful people don’t make it alone…

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

Welcome to the first in a series of powerful marketing concepts... you can call them riffs, sound bites, or guiding principles.

When folks come to us for marketing mentoring, marketing speaking, or our done-with-you marketing services, the first place we begin is to help them operationalize one or more of these marketing concepts.

If YOU try them, you'll be amazed with your results. (And when that happens, please stop by here again to leave a comment and share your success stories!!)

The first one is among the most powerful - and it's the marketing concept of overcoming inertia.

Marketing Concept: Get Started - Now!

Starting.

Moving.

Implementing.

Executing.

DOING!

As my motivational speaker friend Scott Ginsberg likes to say, "You don't need an idea - you need an I DID."

No matter how small the action - stop planning and start DOING. Only action creates results.

Scottish mountain climber W. H. Murray wrote:

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way."

Whatever your big idea happens to be - writing your book - launching your product - kicking off your new service - shipping your insanely great software - putting on your amazing conference - reinventing your career - birthing your awesome project - embarking on your new adventure...

Get Started - Now!!

As a speaker marketing expert and head honcho of an inbound marketing agency serving speakers, consultants, and thought-leading professionals, I often find myself with prospects who want to get involved in social media but - sadly - do not understand the intent, ideas, or influence factors that make social media an effective tactic in their overall marketing arsenal.

How can I put this? Ummm... well, they're idiots.

Relax... IDIOT is an acronym that stands for the 5 key misconceptions, faulty assumptions, and pillars of goofy thinking that prevent most thought-leading professionals (YOU perhaps??) from generating maximum results from your social media efforts.

Namely...

I: I, Me, My syndrome

D: Dumb it down

I: Information without invitation

O: Over-selling

T: Today vs. tomorrow focus

Let's take a look at each of these in a bit more detail:

I: I, Me, My syndrome. No, your social media postings do NOT need to be all about YOU. In fact, if all you talk about is YOU - your company, your book, your blog, your brand, your articles, your resources, your tools, your programs, your products, your services... people will ignore you, tune you out, and dismiss you for the self-centered idiot that you are. (Please remember - idiot is an acronym used throughout this post.)

Experts promote other experts. Experts are not insecure about shining the spotlight on others. Experts are curators and pointers-out-of-cool-things. Experts post book reviews BY other experts FOR yet other experts' books.

As long as YOU can be counted on to share interesting, relevant, valuable, sometimes even edgy content, guide your followers to the "good stuff" online, and position yourself as a reliable sherpa in your expertise, you'll get PLENTY of attention, love, and respect. Even MORE SO if you're not a mental weakling who is focused only on hyping your own crap.

Grow up. Step up. Be a real expert and learn once and for all - it's not about YOU.

D: Dumb it down This mistake comes from the fear that if you give away your VERY BEST ideas, strategies, tools, tactics, insights and other secret sauce (yes, the stuff you get paid BIG BUCKS for with your paying clients!) that you will somehow diminish the demand for your paid products and services.

So you "dumb it down." You post that second-rate article. You remove some detail from that tip sheet because you want people to buy your consulting services and not do it themselves. You post the video that only has 3 of your 10 key ideas because heck, if you gave all 10 ideas, they'd never hire you to keynote at the big industry conference - you've already "spilled the candy in the lobby."

Yep - you guessed it: You're an idiot.

The reality is - it works 180 degrees the other way. The ONLY way folks are going to pay you the big bucks is if they have a FIRSTHAND experience of your genius - if they feel it, taste it, touch it, and fully experience it. ONLY THEN will they want more. ONLY THEN will they share it with their colleagues. ONLY THEN will they call their boss over to look at your website or email them your link.

Do you want to be SHARED - or do you want to be SCARED? Your call - but you already know which answer will make you more money. Unless you're an idiot. 

I: Information without invitation  Social media sites are not a dumping ground for your old, outdated, crappy content from books you wrote in the 1980s or articles that you could never get published.

Even rock-solid, current, highly relevant information is NECESSARY but NOT SUFFICIENT to fuel your thought leadership platform and build your empire as an expert.

Here's a secret - the internet actually does NOT need more information posted on it. Not from you. Not from me. Not from anyone.

An effective social media campaign will share information of standalone value and then INVITE a two-way (or 5-way or 17-way) conversation around that information.

Ask questions, seek engagement, invite involvement. 

Offer value, seek opinions, spark conversation - and ask the most powerful question in sales AND leadership AND relationships: "What do you think?"

O: Over-selling One particularly idiotic individual told me that he wanted ALL his Facebook posts to have a hyperlink. Every. Single. One.

Hyperlink to where, you ask?

To HIS online store, HIS products, HIS books on amazon, HIS speaking page, HIS consulting page, HIS services overview. He said, "If you're not linking every Facebook post to a selling opportunity, you're just putting a lot of dead-end junk on Facebook and you'll never make any money." 

Wow - this guy is a WORLD-CLASS idiot.

Social media is not about posting "here's how to buy my crap" - it's not about creating an extra dozen or so sales pages for your products, services or programs.

If your goals are: Sell on Twitter. Sell on Facebook. Sell on LinkedIn. Sell on YouTube...

Your results will be: Unfollow. Unfriend. Unlink. Unsubscribe. You're done. Buh-bye. Idiot.

Lesson 1 for you to share with your idiots: Content comes before commerce.

Lesson 2 for you to share with your idiots: First you earn their attention. THEN you earn their money.

T: Today vs. tomorrow focus The final mistake is to think of social media in the same way that you might think of outbound sales activity.

Think about it: Cold calls. Email blasts. Direct mail. Do those things and the natural question to ask is - OK, how much did we sell?

You made 100 dials, you connected with 20 humans, you had 14 conversations, you qualified 5 serious prospects and then how much did you SELL TODAY?

You sent 10,000 postcards. Requests came back for 300 quotes. So how many widgets did you SELL TODAY?

Social media doesn't work that way. Social media is... well, social. It's about relationships and trust. Relationships and trust don't have an ON/OFF switch - they develop over time.

Transactions happen today from relationships you built last week, last month, and last year. The benefit of that - and the reason it's worth the "wait" is that social media gives you a permanent asset - TRUST.

Blog entries are forever. They continue to sell your expertise, your company, and your value day after day, week after week, year after year. LinkedIn recommendations are forever. People that wrote glowingly of you in 2002 are still "selling" for you and your reputation TODAY.

A voice mail? BEEP - gone. An email? ZAP - gone. A face to face meeting? DONE - bye. Those happen today and they're gone today. 

Sure, you have to sell today. You have to make your quota today. You have to feed your family today. But social media marketing helps you ensure that what you create ONCE today works and lasts and brings customers and clients to you for many years to come...

Not because you SOLD them like an IDIOT -- but because you built the trust and relationships that HELPED THEM BUY today, tomorrow and beyond!

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So... what do YOU think?

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!