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Inbound Marketing Explained and Compared
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Al Zibluk
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Using Inbound Marketing as a means of promoting your Company's Business and Website.
Inbound marketing is a way of promoting a company through blogs, podcasts, video, eBooks, e-newsletter’s, whitepapers, social media marketing.
Other forms of content marketing, lead pages, Search Engine Optimization which serve to attract customers through the different stages of promoting one’s own company fit “hand in glove” with the social engagement systems that is so prevalent in today’s market
In contrast, buying attention, cold-calling, direct paper mail, radio, TV advertisements, sales flyers, spam, telemarketing and traditional advertising are considered "outbound marketing" and seem to be having a secondary role in a Company’s marketing activities.
Inbound marketing refers to marketing activities that bring visitors in, rather than marketers having to go out to get prospects' attention. Inbound marketing earns the attention of customers, makes the company easier to be found, and draws customers to the website by producing interesting content.
Many companies are now realizing that their technical documentation, often considered a "necessary evil", is now considered a way of producing authoritative and trustworthy content that can become a Company’s most effective inbound marketing channel, generating more than half of overall site traffic and over half of lead generation.
Once a website has been constructed and the content optimized for the chosen key words, the main objective or strategy of a smart webmaster will be to submit the Website to the Search Engines and obtain as many Social Inbound Links.
One-way Inbound Link is an external link pointing from social accounts to your website from another site. You need not reciprocate; in other words, you do not have to link back to that website. On the other hand, in Reciprocal Linking, to obtain an external link from another site pointing to your website, you have to link back to that site or reciprocate with a link from your website.
In recent times One-Way Inbound Links have received a lot of prominence and smart webmasters are spending their time, effort and energy in obtaining more One-Way Inbound Links rather than Reciprocal Links. The stampede to obtain One-Way Inbound Links is understandable once you know the facts and the benefits of having these links.
The Search Engines have begun to realize that many Webmasters have started adopting various ruses to artificially increase their link popularity and the page rank of their websites. Many website owners started manipulating the system to their advantage such as purchasing high PR links and adopting certain Black Hat techniques. This approach can be very detrimental to one’s business in the long term
Hence the Search Engines have now begun to consider One-Way Inbound Links superior to Reciprocal Links because, if a website links to your website without obtaining a link back, it clearly indicates that your site is a site of quality and that it is popular with a lot of other sites.
If your website has many One-way Inbound Links, especially links that are of quality and relevance then your website will be ranked higher than those sites with just reciprocal links. So it stands to reason that the more number of quality and relevant One-way Inbound links you obtain the greater and faster your chances of increasing your link popularity and page rank and the higher your site will rank in the searches for your keywords.
Smart webmasters soon began to realize the importance of one way inbound links and started adopting certain strategies to obtain them such as:
1. Submitting the website to high page rank quality social sites and to Niche or specialized directories.
2. Writing high quality articles displaying their Company’s expertise and submitting these articles to article directories, article banks and article distributors, thereby creating a viral effect with webmasters picking up these articles and publishing them.
4. Submitting articles to Social Bookmarking Sites. Most of these sites have a high page rank and are a valuable source for inbound links.
These Strategies not only help Webmasters boost the link popularity and page rank of their websites but also help the websites to rank high in the Search Engines for their keywords.
In addition to the above, Targeted traffic will soon start flowing from hundreds or even thousands of links in the Resource boxes of these articles, from Directories, Forums, Blogs and Social Bookmarking sites.
These are actually visitors searching the Internet for websites, products and services like yours or admirers of your expert articles who could end up as customers or members of your list.
Acting smart and adopting your strategies to suit the changing algorithms of the Search Engines is the best way to move forward and be ahead of the competition.
The ultimate goal is to obtain good Link Popularity, High Page Rank and substantial Traffic to your website. It appears that for all practical purposes, One Way Social Inbound Links have come to stay and the stampede to acquire these links will continue.
Article by:
Brian Walters SEO
Skype: tuneup_bj
Brian Walters MarketHive
Markethive Promotion
http://brian-walters-online.com/
Al Zibluk
Consider the competitive advantages of an online retailer. Customer service is usually not the first thing that comes to mind, right?. Many eCommerce websites, even the large well-known store, are infamous for impersonal, mediocre customer service practices. And yet, the few internet retailers that differentiate themselves on service become well-known case studies in client care. In this article, I'll share some of the best-practices I've seen over the years that serve to differentiate companies on customer service.
Upgrade Your CRM Tools: Proper technology can go a long way to improving customer care. At the very least, ensure that your staff has the ability to view the history of previous interactions with a customer. It's very frustrating when you have to repeatedly explain the situation to a representative.
Hand-written thank you on Packing Slip: Most packing slips are dull, impersonal, and useful only if you need to return the merchandise. On rare occasions, I've received orders where the packing list featured a hand-written, personalized thank you from a staff member. While this may not be practical for every order, it is a great way to impress select customers. Another idea might be to include the business card with contact info for a manager.
Assign Personal Customer Service Reps: Along with the order confirmation receipt that you send to your customers, also automatically assign each customer a personal representative that will field their questions. Send the email from this representative's name, and include their contact info. Customers will be impressed that they have a "personal" representative assign specifically to them.
Call Customers Who Abandon Orders: When a customer starts an order but doesn't finish it, follow up with a phone call to find out if there were any problems. Customers appreciate the gesture, and you will likely save many sales in the process.
Follow up surveys: Consider sending a survey email out with every order confirmation. While not every customer will complete it, your customers will know you care enough to ask their opinion.
Extensive FAQ Knowledge Base: Surprisingly, one of the easiest ways to improve your customer satisfaction may be to prevent needless customer interactions in the first place. No matter how friendly your call center representative, no customer will be pleased if they have to call you in order to answer a simple question like "how do I return a product?" Prevent situations like this by maintaining a searchable FAQ knowledge base that answers every reasonable question.
Live Chat: Many customers dislike the thought of sitting on hold for even a few minutes. Offering a live chat option can be an inexpensive way of answering questions for your visitors, and reducing the call volume for your call center. Improve
After Hour Call Center: If your business employs a 3rd party after hour call center that is off-site, make sure you frequently monitor the quality of care they are rendering. Make sure they are empowered to serve your customers as effectively as possible. If your primary call center is 3rd party, seriously consider bringing it in house. While this is not always the most affordable option, it's necessary if you desire to give your clients your absolute best.
Free Upgraded Shipping: Surprise select customers by upgrading their shipping to 1 or 2 express. If you do this, be sure to send them an email letting them know they have been upgraded. This strategy was pioneered by Zappos.
Same Day Shipping: Most websites have a policy of shipping orders 1 or 2 business days after they are placed. If possible, selectively ship some orders the same day. The speedy delivery will be appreciated, though not expected by your customers.
Prominent Customer Testimonials: Place customer testimonials on more than just the "testimonial" page. Zappos features them right on their main customer service page. A word of caution applies here though. If you're going to "brag" so to speak about your service, make sure you follow through!
Human Touch: Many online shoppers struggle with trusting an online merchant due to the lack of face to face interaction. Mitigate this weakness by showing pictures of your customer service staff. Christian retailer C28 shows the picture of their customer service manager on the Help page as well as on every order confirmation email. In addition, below the picture is the manager's direct contact info. Something like this can go a long way to instill trust in your company.
Detailed Product Pages: Answer questions before they are asked by always having thoroughly detailed product pages. Include all the relevant info a customer would want to know about your products. For more ideas on this topic, checkout my previous post on 25 ways to improve your product page.
Automatic Price Protection: Always honor sale prices of items that were previously purchased by customers. They need to be able to shop with this confidence. Better yet, automatically notify customers when items they have purchased in the past go on sale. Offer to apply the price difference toward a future purchase or just refund the amount. Sound crazy? Maybe, but it's small cost that can win a customer for life.
Lenient Return Policy: Make sure your return policy is not unnecessarily complicated or rigid. How many times have you shopped at a certain retailer because their lenient return policy gave you the confidence you needed to buy? (Think Costco vs. Walmart!)
Thank You Calls: Call select customers and thank them for ordering. This personalized gesture will blow them away.
Thank You Emails: Email certain customers and thank them for their business. Be sure to include something personalized in the email that will convince them it's not just something generic sent to everyone.
Do More than Fix Your Mistakes: When your business makes a mistake, be sure that you exceed your customer's expectations when fixing it. If an item was mistakenly left out of a shipment, don't just a apologize, offer that item for free. Many businesses find their most loyal customers result from a highly satisfying resolution to a problem.
Fix Other's Mistakes: If a shipment is delayed or lost due to the fault of the shipping carrier, don't just blame UPS, offer a solution. Offer to promptly re-ship the item, or at the very least, offer to take care of the problem with the carrier so the customer doesn't have to.
Guaranteed Email Response Time: Most customers expect an email inquiry to be answered within at most 24 hours. If you can, guarantee a response time faster than this. Also, acknowledge the receipt of an email inquiry by employing an auto responder.
Secret Shopping: Used extensively by brick-and-mortar retailers, secret shopping is a great way to identify problems and keep your customer service staff on their toes.
Customer Centric Slogan: Show your dedication to customer care by prominently featuring a customer centered slogan that summarizes your company's practices. A great example of this would be Zappos' famous slogan on their home page: "We are a service company that happens to sell shoes."
Free Return Shipping: One of the greatest stumbling blocks to online ordering is the thought of having to return the product. Consider sending customers a pre-paid return shipping label in the case of a product needing to be returned. Because this is rarely done by e-commerce stores, you will certainly set yourself apart in the mind of your customer.
Personalize Everything: Always great customers by name on the home page, and offer them personalized product recommendations based on previous orders.
Increase Number of Service Reps: It goes without saying that if you have a higher representative to customer ratio, you will have the time to better serve your clients. While not every business can afford this, if you want to differentiate yourself with outstanding customer service, it's a must.
I once heard it said that "the enemy of good is not bad, it's mediocre." Too many online retailers struggle with mediocre customer service. Many businesses fail to realize their customer base is also powerful marketing machine. If treated right, they can become to most effective viral marketing campaign imaginable. Treated poorly, and they can become a PR disaster.
If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they show at the top of the page.
Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive
markethive.com
Al Zibluk
If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they show at the top of the page.
Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive
markethive.com
Al Zibluk
Creating content for a website seems to be an endless task. Often times, businesses outsource to writers who can do the job efficiently. However, the job does not stop there. Efficient content requires more than skilled writing to convert leads to clients. Timing and placing with the right social media strategies also increase the likelihood of converting these leads to clients.
These strategies all fit within the inbound marketing technique, which has been the guide to great online marketing strategies.
Customer attraction will turn strangers into potential leads. For businesses and blogs, enticing people to go to their website requires the following actions:
• Blogs – Opening a blog will begin the journey to attracting customers to the business website. Add insightful information that answers questions and increases the attentiveness of the potential lead. A great business marketing strategy begins with blogging.
• Using Search Engine Optimization ("SEO") — Clients will begin their search usually through online search engines. Using SEO techniques such as content building, link directing and finding optimal keywords and phrases will increase the overall inbound marketing strategy. Using SEO will help customers find out who a business is and make them the top of the search results.
• Customized Pages — Website fluency is important for customers. Businesses who create websites that appeal to their intended customers will see more results than those who do not. Creating a great website with a user-friendly interface will be great for online marketing strategies.
• Social Media Marketing — While great content will be the success of inbound marketing — social media marketing will help get this valuable content out. Social media marketing will help businesses succeed and — even better — it is one of the few free marketing tools. Engage with potential customers and post at times that will lead the business with the most results.
It is now important to convert these visitors to leads.
• Create Forms On a Website — Website forms will generate enough interest for a business to consider their visitor a lead if he or she fills out the website form. Usually name and email forms that popup on the website for a first-time visitor. Make this conversion process as easy as possible for visitors.
• Generate Interest Through Call-to-Action — Creating a website where a business must have good call-to-actions is ideal. A lack of call-to-actions detriments the entire inbound marketing strategy. Buttons and links to other places and to sign up for webinars, free products or other interesting links will be great call-to-action.
• Landing pages and contacts are also consistent in the conversion process. Now it is time to close the deal and turn potential leads to purchasing clients.
Turning leads to clients will be the "money maker" for the business. Through great content and conversion techniques, this step will be cake for most businesses.
• Customer Relation Management — Also referred to as CRM, this strategy helps keep detailed information about leads' contact information and when the best time to facilitate a sale with them.
• Use CRM to Figure out Team Efforts — Using the right reports, a business can see how well the marketing and sales team are working together to efficiently create a successful business funnel and great online marketing strategies.
• Keep in Touch via Email — Sending relevant, interesting emails to clients may persuade them to purchase from the website.
Next, a business must can use clients as unpaid promoters.
The next step is to get client feedback and persuade them to share a product with friends and families on multiple avenues, including social media marketing.
• Send Surveys — Surveying clients will provide a business with adequate feedback to ensure the customer is getting what they want.
• Updated Call-to-Actions — Personalize call-to-actions by presenting visitors, leads and clients with different, new call-to-actions varying on the buyers interest and step within the inbound marketing strategy. New call-to-actions increase the likelihood of turning one-time customers into long-term customers and promoters of the product.
• Monitor Social Media — It's important for a business to know what their clients are saying about them and their product. Using social monitoring, a business can get the true opinion of their product and customer satisfaction and use it to readjust to be a better company.
Inbound marketing helps by providing businesses with free marketing tools that will enhance the overall effectiveness of the business' success. Each step is meant to help mold the content and products/services being sold and will generate more viewership than previously.
If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they show at the top of the page.
Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive
markethive.com
Al Zibluk
Delivering a good Customer Experience is all the buzz lately. It's discussed in all fields of business and is the topic of many a staff meeting and board of director's meeting. But is there really a good understanding of what it is all about? The benefits of designing and crafting a good experience are vague to some teams. So, why, other than it seems to be the latest business "should do" are we striving for that good experience?
Increased Profits
Let's face it, when you create an experience that your customer truly enjoys — they'll pay you for it. Are you aware that 70% of your lost customers left ONLY because the experience provided by someone on your team was lacking? Someone treated them rudely, with indifference, or just merely pushed them through the system in your company? It has nothing to do with the product or service you provide or the price you charge.
Customers are willing to pay more for a product or service that they fully realize is not the best available simply because they know they will receive better treatment and customer service. Are you prepared to continue to lose customers and revenue dollars by continuing with business as normal?
Customer Engagement
Engaged customers are your best customers. These are the ones that view you and your business as partners and a resource for their needs. People do business with those that they know, like, and trust. By providing a good customer experience each and every time they do business with you, your customers will become more and more engaged with your business. They'll know what to expect and be pleasantly impressed when they feel that you are actively working with them to solve their problems.
They'll trust you. They'll share their ideas with you and give you candid feedback as to what it will take to keep their business. They'll share with you what they want to see you provide and what they really don't care for in the way you do business. When you've gained the trust of your customers by working in their best interest, you've know taken the relationship to the next level.
Customer Loyalty
When you give your customers the memorable experience they are craving, they'll return to you time and time again and you'll become their sole resource for the product or service you provide. Today's consumer wants to find a resource they can stay with over a long period of time. With the instant gratification gains in today's fast moving world, they don't want to waste time and energy shopping around. They want to find a business that values them, their business, and will do whatever it takes to gain their repeat business. As soon as today's customer finds that, they will stay loyal for as long as that business is willing to create the experience that centers around them and works to earn their business time after time after time.
Customer loyalty is really another word for continued revenue stream. Suppose you are the owner of a local grocery store and I walk in your doors and spend $ 100 per week in your store. Do you see me as just a $100 customer, or the customer that could spend $ 400 per month, $ 5000 per year? Or, to take it to a reasonable long term loyalty example… If I live in the same neighborhood that is close to your store for 20 years, you stand to earn $ 5000 for each of those 20 years. Now I'm a $100,000 customer. If you treat me well, smile at me, show me where the products are that I need, engage in small talk while I'm making my purchase, and thank me for my business, chances are I'll return to your store again.
It All Comes Full Circle
When you create that experience that is different than what your competition delivers, people notice. When you create that experience that is BETTER than what your competition delivers, customers will come back for more. They'll pay you to treat them well and make them feel good. They'll trust you and engage with your company and team. You won't be viewed as a commodity provider, but as a partner with a relationship that is working to make the lives of your customers easier and better by solving their problems. They'll reward you by not even thinking of going anywhere else and giving you their loyalty for as long as you are willing to work to keep it.
If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they show at the top of the page.
Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive
markethive.com
Al Zibluk
As an avid LinkedIn user, and as a member of the LinkedIn Open Networkers group (aka LIONs), it is a question I see being asked on LinkedIn and at other social media platforms and services on a regular basis. I actually think that the answer is more varied than simply the two options of "open networking" or "closed networker," and your individual answer depends on you and your objectives in creating a LinkedIn profile.
The reason that the question exists to the extent it does, is that LinkedIn has created an online network which at its basic level is fundamentally different to any other Social Media network. LinkedIn positively discourages members to connect to those that they do not know and have not met. They even enforce the systematic structure by making supporting statements in both their terms and conditions as well as their User Guidelines. This is in stark contrast to the social side of others online networks which most will be more used to in the form of Facebook, where chatting and connecting to people who seem to be much like you is part of the whole ethos.
But, and here's the crucial difference: LinkedIn users have an average household income of over $140k, with 80% over $75k, the spammers would see an open network as list building shangri-la! Further, when 60% are senior executives and 90% are college educated, it would mean that any affiliate or direct sale would inevitably come with a high commission return.
Hence from a market trust view point, making it difficult to connect is ensuring just that: consistent, believable and hence trusted online networking. Further, that is what LinkedIn's target audience want. They are not used to the fast moving and Farmville-powered coffee corner that is Facebook. They want something more akin to a select and stable club, where one can mix with like minded people, and then be introduced by acquaintances when mutual needs which are mainly business orientated arise.
So, what options are there between open networking and closed networking which can be adopted by LinkedIn users? Firstly, lets be clear here: there is no such thing as closed networking on any social network, including LinkedIn. If you choose to be wholly "closed" in your networking, then you wouldn't even have a LinkedIn profile, let alone connect to known friends whom you work with directly or meet with on a weekly basis. You choose to join a club or network and stay there because it gives you a professional marker post in a popular place, and opens up opportunity on both a personal, professional and business level.
But on the other hand, nor does truly open networking exist. If you were truly open, then you would accept every invite that any "profile" sent to you. The reason I mentioned those statistics about LinkedIn at the start of this piece, was because however difficult a systems designer makes connecting to others, those membership statics much like the challenge of stealing the British Royal Crown Jewels or the Mona Lisa from Paris will always attract ambitious opportunists.
While as a recruiter and CV writer I never encourage non-artiste job applicants to place a photo on their CV, in online networking one of the first signs of a spamming profile is the lack of profile image, or use of one that you may have seen once or twice before: its amazing how many photos of Rod Stewart, Bono and Sir Tom Jones are available! Then there are the names, most often three letters as that is the minimum LinkedIn will allow; or the incomplete profile records of both education and work history: one term at Harvard and a three months on Wall Street doesn't fool anyone!
So in reality, everyone is the same type of networker, but at different points along a line of how much trust they require to develop in others before they decide to offer to connect.
This is a quick list of social networking sites, which can be used for traffic generation, or just getting your name out there for marketing and credibility.
Facebook – This was developed for the collegiate market and later expanded to professionals as these people graduated from college. The interface is clean and crisp, without a lot of extraneous stuff. It allows people to connect with others in their own network. It offers a profile and several ways to market yourself to your friends, although you are not allowed to spam marketing hype on your profile or elsewhere. It has many applications you can add to boost your profile or add marketing features to your profile.
LinkedIn – This social networking site has a far more business-like and professional flavor. It is noted for helping people network to find new jobs or business opportunities.
Squidoo – This site allows you to define your brand and even promote and market products. It is more of a marketer's social network and is based on the creation of lenses that are focal points of interest that you want to highlight about your personal expertise or your business.
Twitter – A social networking site with minute-by-minute updates, if that's what you like. It's unlike the other sites, but hugely popular, particularly for mobile phone updates.
By the way, do you want to add a LinkedIn coaching program to your business? If so, join me in Markethive and I will introduce you to someone who provides training. There is no cost to either of these. Good luck.
If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they show at the top of the page.
Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive
markethive.com
Al Zibluk
In a shocking turn of events, professors and political science analysts are declaring that Donald J Trump could become the first person in American history to claim all 50 states in an election.
Admit it. Donald Trump is a volcano in a forest of Ronson lighters.
You’re not going to stop him. He may carry all 50 states.
The awareness of Trump’s invincibility is dawning slowly for several reasons. Nobody wants to be revealed as a fool if Trump flames out. Also, such a breathtaking prediction hates to be borne all alone. “Out on a limb” is a lonely place for a pundit to be. Then, too, a lot of heretofore wise observers are obeying the instinct to adopt a “business as usual” stance.
We put subconscious pressure on ourselves so that yesterday’s “clown-by-consensus” isn’t too abruptly hailed as the winner this absurdly long before the first vote is cast. The dreamers in the GOP are still reassuring one another that Trump’s domination is a “summertime thing,” and that come fall the public anger will be gone and the people will ask themselves, “Is this the kind of person we want in the Oval Office?” Dream on, Dear Establishment. People are already asking that question, and the answer is not just “Yes”; it’s “Hell, Yes!”
Eight years ago Americans decided to take a chance on a “community organizer” without one single discernable accomplishment, not even authorship of his own book! (Thank you, Jack Cashill!) Obama was editor of the Harvard Law Review — and never wrote a single editorial. And we elected and re-elected him.
And now we’re taking the measure of a billionaire 11 times over who’s boldly carved his signature in stone and steel and golf-course green around the world, written best-selling books and produced and starred in dazzlingly high-rated TV shows, and you’re trying to tell me this world-class accomplishmentarian is a summertime thing set to evaporate with the first fall chill? In a pig’s eye! Even his worst enemies agree that Donald Trump gets things done. Meanwhile, your community organizer is now a political kidney stone that will take 17 more months to pass. You don’t like Trump’s rhetoric, maybe? What’swrong with “I love this country and I want to make it great again”?
Donald Trump has ruptured every rule of nature and human nature, science and political science, and continues to sneer at the Law of Gravity itself as he personally and deliberately pushes every down-button while his elevator nonetheless continues up, up and up.
Sen. John McCain satisfies most people’s definition of a war hero. Here comes Trump mocking McCain as being a “war hero only because he was captured.” Some of those “wise observers” declared Trump doomed even at that early point. And what happened? Trump gained!
At the Fox News debate of Aug. 6, some sinister force that wanted to stick it to Trump led things off, not by obeying the natural and organic procedure of calling for all those candidates who vowed to support the eventual Republican nominee to please raise their hands. No. The moderator instead called for “all those who will not pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee” to please raise their hands. And whoever imposed that reverse wording got his wish. There stood Trump in the middle of the pack, all alone with his right hand in the air. And what happened? Trump gained.
Doesn’t our culture forbid us to hit a woman? Meet Fox’s rapturous Megyn Kelly, whose very appearance sets the syrups of the soul all a-sizzle even before her formidable IQ approaches the scale for a weigh-in. Kelly ticked off a litany of horrendous things Trump has uttered to denigrate women. Trump struck back hard. And what happened? Trump gained.
Aren’t we supposed to tire quickly in the presence of a braggart? Trump plunges with gusto and abandon into firestorms of self-praise, citing his fabulous fortune, huge achievements, the hordes of people who love him and his admittedly impressive record for “getting things done”! Trump unloads like a sportscaster whose son just scored the game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, as he shares the news that there was just a poll in Nevada, and “I came in first among Hispanics!” Aren’t candidates supposed to use subtle comments to smuggle across feelings likely to win them votes? Trump puts it all out on the front porch where the goats can get it. “And I’m going to take care of our warriors, whom I love! I love our wounded warriors!” Again, Trump gained.
Is Trump lying about the slump America’s fallen into? And isn’t it true that millions too few Americans are working, that our military has been eviscerated, that our allies distrust us, that our enemies no longer respect us, that we get beaten by smarter adversaries across every negotiating table? And isn’t it true that smart, gutsy leadership that knows what it’s doing could, indeed, make us great again?
If the anti-Trump rap weren’t so pitiful I’d be much angrier. Forever we’ve longed for a leader who didn’t have to mortgage himself out to fat-cats, a leader free to appoint the best people and not the best donors. Now we’ve got him.
During the Civil War a group of less successful generals complained to Lincoln that Gen. Grant was an alcoholic.
“Find out what he likes,” snapped Abe. “And send him another case.”
I don’t think Trump drinks.
Editorial comment:
I would not care if Trump got on a stage and called us all vile names, or turned around and spit at his employees. I do not have to like the man. ( even though I truly do like him ). We are not supposed to vote for people just because we like them. We are supposed to vote based on their past accomplishments, experience, and their ability to get the job done. Donald J Trump can do all of those things and more. When you compare all of the other candidates to Trump, it is almost laughable how pathetic the rest of the field looks.
They are the fools, liars, and crooks who have brought us to the brink of destruction.
This is the beginning of the Rise of the Entrepreneur!
Al Zibluk
Online Business Checklist
So the desire for starting a business online business is calling you.
You have some great ideas; have a lot of enthusiasm you’re ready to start. You’re going to make a large amount of money and be your own boss. Well wait a minute regardless of the claims of how easy it is to get rich off the Internet.
You will find starting an online business is no different than starting a business in the non-virtual world. Maybe you need to consider some things first to make this profitable and mistake free.
When contemplating starting an online business you need to take an honest look at yourself. What are your skills? What kind of interests do you have? Many people stared their online business in the fields that they worked. A graphic artist could start a web design company or produce custom graphics. You will also want to think of the type of jobs you truly enjoy.
Do your homework to start your online business. Do not make the mistake of putting all your efforts, money and time into a service you want and try and find a market for it. You cannot make people like your service or product. Instead find out what the consumer would like and then design a service or product to fit that need.
Risk
Also just like a real world business there is a certain amount of risk. By doing your homework you can lessen that risk by finding something people will buy and for how much. This allows you adjust your costs to make sure of a profit.
You also need to study your competition. Find out what they are doing and what works or what doesn’t work. The more information that you have in regards to the market and your competition the better chance of success you will have.
Starting your online business, you need to have a plan and follow it. What will it cost to start? Where will you get that money? If you are going to ask for a loan you will need to have a business plan to present to the loaning institution. It is a good idea to have a business plan even if you are funding your online business yourself. It will give you some set goals to look at.
To get your online business going you will need to make a time commitment and keep it. It will be difficult to keep a full time job and work on your new online business. You probably will not be able to accomplish that unless you set a specific time to work on it. Starting an online business and making it profitable enough for you to work full time on it does take some time.
You have done the required research, taken the time and made the commitment for your online business. You feel that now have a great product that the world wants and priced that they can afford and you make a profit. You have one more thing to consider marketing. Your customers need to be able to find your product so they can purchase it. This can be done online, offline, or a combination of them both.
You will need to continually study what works and what doesn’t until you find what works for you the best. However, remember what works today, may today may not tomorrow and be able and willing to change your approach to marketing as the consumer’s dictate.
A lot of business people pass through different trials during the period they are dealing with the launch and development of their company. Even if you are used to daily meetings, you will discover that for business meetings with clients and for signing contracts you need lots of strategies and abilities.
You have to collect supplementary information.
A simple phone call can anticipate the needs of your client. You have to learn more about them and prepare yourself for that face-to-face meeting learning more about the client’s company. Then create a list that has on it all the benefits your services will bring him.
The objective has to be realistic.
The experts calculated that a business meeting with your clients can cost you up to several hundred dollars, depending on the domain of the business and on location. So it is important for every meeting to be convincing for the client. If you are a public relations consigliore, for instance, a realistic objective for a first meeting would be the detailed presentation of the offer.
You must present quality products. Prepare your documents printed well on quality paper. You have to bring all needed, business cards, estimative graphs, brochures, presentation materials.
You must carefully analyze your client. All through the meeting, watch closely his behavior. It’s good to notice if he is approving of your ideas or if he isn’t. Pay attention to signals your client is sending and make sure to answer accordingly.
Any questions put must be well thought. A business meeting is an opportunity to discover your client’s needs and to present him with the solutions. If the discussion between you two isn’t equilibrated and you are the one that is doing all the talking, it means the meeting is a failure. It is important for you to put the right questions, but also to know how to listen carefully to answers.
You must always go for real cases and examples. True stories can demonstrate the fact that you kept in mind your client’s needs. Prepare for every quality and ability a demonstrative story. It’s preferable to tell a story that talks to the client about the benefits the rest of your clients and consumers have.
Provide efficient solution and act on time! Assuming you prepared very well and you used the observations efficiently, now you have reached the moment when you can ask directly the things you are interested in. This is important and it must not be missed. Some people organize great meeting but when it comes to closing the deal they leave home bear handed.
When getting to this, you must have the strength to act and go on with it.
Article by:
Brian Walters SEO
Skype: tuneup_bj
Brian Walters MarketHive
Markethive Promotion
http://brian-walters-online.com/
Al Zibluk
Press releases are a great way to get your content out there.
They can be used to announce a new blog, website, videos, or to be controversial within your content. They are a phenomenal way to ramp your business and get exposure.
The first thing you want to do is look at some good press release sites. One that is recommended is www.prlog.org. The one thing about this site though is they don’t allow you to sign up using popular email accounts. If you have a Gmail account, Yahoo account, or Hotmail, you can’t use that to sign up and submit a press release through their service. If you already have a domain out there and your own email, then you can use www.prlog.org.
Keep in mind that this is all about being a no cost program. So we aren’t asking you to go out and do any of that until you have generated some revenue. I do want to point out though that this press release site service is a good one. They offer lots of examples of content that people include in a press release.
The site gets lots of exposure; it is always ranked very high up in the search engines. It is a reliable free source to get your content on. Another really good site to look at, and you can’t submit here as it isn’t free, is www.prweb.com. If you go to the News Center, you will find all of the new press releases for the day. It is a really good way for you to find out what is going on and to see what types of current press releases are out there.
Then you can go from there and determine how to write your own press releases and the types of information to put in them. That is the value of www.prweb.com. Click the news center, and you will see there are lots of types of press releases. For example, one that I want to point out is a survey result. You can get those survey results for something in your niche market. You can use that information to create your own press release for it to share that information.
There are several sites I go to that actually help me to find free press release sites to post to. I go to www.google.com and type in Submit Press Release Free. This will give you a good idea of what is out there currently. Put in quotes around those words and you will get the best results. You will find several websites that jump out. You can get an idea here of what you can use.
Most of them are self-explanatory. You need to create a username and password. You can create accounts on a few of them and then you can set up your press release there. Some of them ask for a business name and a few more details. You can just tell them that you are in a certain niche market and that you are trying to share information with people about what your products are in that niche market.
The title of our press release should tell a story. It should encompass what your press release is going to be about. For example, Controversial Video Reveals 5 Ways that People Can Improve their Golf Game. A good summary should also be there to tell what your press release is about. At www.pressrelease.com, they give you a template.
You need a good introduction.
Again, I recommend you look around to see what a good press release should look like. It is very simple to get a press release submission done on most of these sites. Another that you may want to check out is www.pressrelease.com and you can get started there with creating an account and then posting that.
Many of these free press release sites do ask you for a company name and address. If you aren’t comfortable with putting in your name and your home address while you get started, don’t do it. You can just skip doing press releases for now until you get that all set up with an outside source. If you do want to move forward with it, you will need to enter what it asks for them to approve your account.
Your headline should be catchy and keyword rich for any press release.
Your body needs to say who, what, where, when, and why. It needs to have a call to action too such as a link to your website. Make sure you choose a free press release.
Some of the sites have different types that you pick from. You may be asked to list your keywords.
Make sure you stay within the guidelines of what the press release site allows.
Some of them are strict and you don’t want your press release to get declined. If you do it the right way, a press release can be a great way to get more exposure and more traffic.
Article by:
Brian Walters SEO
Skype: tuneup_bj
Brian Walters MarketHive
Markethive Promotion
http://brian-walters-online.com/
Another Press Release site
Al Zibluk