by Angela Taffs | Sep 11, 2017 | Sales and Marketing
Are you struggling to grow your email list and don’t have a big budget for Facebook ads or other marketing?
Read on for a few ideas on how to grow your list without a big budget.
Create a freebie
Create a freebie and promote through your social media channels in exchange for an email address. Add this email address to your list for future newsletters.
Write a blog
Start a blog. Provide interesting, valuable content and then have a sign-up form at the bottom. If people love what they are reading they will happily sign up to read future articles.
Put a sign up on your website
Have a sign-up form on your website. And not just one. You could have one at the top of your web page, at the bottom, on the sidebar or as a pop-up. Make it interesting and engaging.
Run a promotion
Run a promotion or online contest which people have to give their email to take part in. If you attend events/trade shows etc, run a competition for the day. Gather email addresses to be entered into the competition.
Have a sign-up button on your Facebook business page
Easy to do and if people like what you are posting they may well be happy to join your mailing list.
Use Video
Use video to engage with your audience and then invite them to join your mailing list at the end.
Host a webinar
Host a webinar on a subject close to your ideal client’s hearts. To be able to join the webinar they will have to give their email address.
Ask!
Put out posts asking your social media followers to join your mailing list. It’s surprising how well this simple action can work.
Have a subscriber-only area on your website
Offer special promotions or access to a secret part of your website in exchange for an email. The secret part of your website could have resources only available to subscribers.
Run a survey
This gives you valuable market research information and lets people know they will receive a thank you such as a freebie or entry into a draw to win a prize for leaving their email address
by Angela Taffs | Jun 19, 2017 | Sales and Marketing
There are 4 key points when creating any sort of marketing message. If you work through these one at a time, in the end, you will have a crystal-clear message to attract your much-needed clients.
Who are you talking to and what problem do they have?
Describe your ideal client and what problem they are having. What keeps them awake at night?
You really need to get your ideal client clear in your head. Who are they? Where do they hang out? What interests do they have? What age and gender are they?
It is through this clarity that you can then nail down what problem they are having (which they may not yet realise themself). Do they need more time, money, easier way to do something? What exactly is it?
How can you help them solve this problem?
Once you have identified your ideal client and what problem they have, the next step is to describe simply and clearly how you can help them solve this problem.
Really dig deep as to what the end result is that will make a huge difference to them. Will they be healthier, happier, and more confident? Get clear on the benefit of the client working with you rather than taking no action at all and carrying on as they are.
Why should they believe you?
Moving on from who your ideal client is, what problem they have and how you can help them, you need to explain why they should believe you.
Don’t be vague on this. Be specific. What results have you gained in the past? How many people have you helped and what results did they get? Do you have glowing testimonials from happy clients? You need something tangible here so that will start to trust that you can make a difference in their lives.
Why should they act now?
The final part of your marketing message is why should a buyer act now.
Think about what is going to happen if they delay their purchase. Why should they buy now and not wait for another six months? How can you create a sense of urgency?
Now you need to put this all together to create your full marketing message. Remember the 4 key points:
- Who are you talking to and what problem do they have?
- How can you help them solve this problem?
- Why should they believe you?
- Why should they act now?
You don’t need to write a novel here. Keep it short and sweet and attention-grabbing.
Write it out and post over in the Facebook group with the tag #Feedback and I will take a look and give you some feedback.
by Angela Taffs | May 17, 2016 | Sales and Marketing
The difference between features and benefits
The difference between features and benefits is the difference between your ideal client sitting up and taking notice of your marketing message or ignoring it and moving on.
All too often small business owners fail to attract their ideal client because all they talk about are the bog standard facts, or features, of their business. They fail to engage with their prospects on an emotional level that makes them sit up and take notice.
To gain interest from a prospect you need to make them feel that you are talking about them, that you can understand the pain point or problem they are having and that you have the resources to help them out (the benefits).
First and foremost, you need to know who your ideal client is and what problem they are having that you can solve. Once you know the pain point of your ideal client, to attract their interest you need to make sure you can explain clearly the benefits of your business and not just the features. If you can’t, your business isn’t thought through well enough and prospects won’t understand what you can do for them or why they should engage in conversation with you.
Remember to get across quickly and clearly what pain point you can solve for them and how it will change their life for the better by using your products or services.
As the saying goes
‘Features tell, benefits sell’
People don’t buy a bed. They buy a good night’s sleep.
People don’t buy books. They buy a way to expand their knowledge.
People don’t buy wellington boots. They buy protection for their feet from mud and water.
People don’t buy diet pills. They buy a way to lose 30 pounds in 30 days.
What is a feature?
A feature is a factual statement about the product or service.
But people don’t buy features. They buy benefits.
What is a benefit?
A benefit answers the question “What’s in it for me?”
Here are a few examples
Sun cream
Feature: SPF Factor 30
Benefit: Allows you to stay out in the sun for longer without getting burnt
Feature: Self-tanning properties
Benefit: A safer long lasting tan all year round
Feature: Once a day application
Benefit: No more chasing the kids around and stopping them having fun having to apply every hour
Handmade jewellery
Feature: Handcrafted
Benefit: Each piece is unique so no one in the world will have the exact same item as you
Feature: Gemstone jewellery
Benefit: Higher quality, will not cause skin irritation or discolour
Fitness instructor
Feature: Fully qualified
Benefit: Trust that they know what they are doing and are not going to leave you injured
Feature: Tailored exercise and nutrition program
Benefit: Results driven to help you lose weight, avoid heart attack and prolong life
Business coach
Feature: Online coaching course
Benefit: Learn from the comfort of your own home without time and cost of attending full day event
Feature: Qualified, experienced support
Benefit: Time proven advice to gain more clients and make more money
Go write down all the features you can think of relating to your product or service. Then alongside each of these write down the benefits. Start to use the benefits in your marketing messages so that your ideal client really understands what’s in it for them by doing business with you.
Remember, if you just talk about the features of your product or service and fail to talk about how you are going to solve issues for your prospects, you will miss out on valuable future clients.
by Angela Taffs | May 10, 2016 | Sales and Marketing
Are you struggling to attract enough quality prospects to your business?
Follow my top tips to start to get those ideal clients queuing up to find out more about you.
Create a plan – don’t just work ad hoc
Fail to plan, plan to fail. I use that adage a lot as it is so true. If you just stick your finger in the wind and hope something will work if you throw enough out there, you are likely to waste an awful lot of time and effort. Have a structured plan of exactly what you want to achieve over a specified time period. You can then prepare the right number of messages to the right audience in the right marketing channels that will significantly increase your chance of success.
How many prospects do you want?
If you want to gain 5 new clients this month and you know you gain one client out of every 5 calls you make, then you need to speak to 20 warm prospects. And then if you know that you get 1 warm prospect out of every 5 prospects you engage with, you will need to find 100 new prospects this month.
Now you have a clear number to aim for and plan to achieve rather than just aimlessly trying to get as many as you can.
Where do they hang out?
Where do your prospects hang out or go to find a solution to the problem you can solve for them? Is it online or offline, or a mix of both. Wherever it is, you need to find out and be there with your message.
If it is social media, are you sure which channels you should be on? Rather than just blindly follow the crowd with the major players such as Facebook and Twitter, do some research on others such as Snapchat and Periscope and see if your prospects are hanging out there and asking questions. This could be a better use of your time than trying to break through the ‘noise’ of over saturated options.
Create messages that talk directly to your prospects
You need to be talking in the same language that your prospects use. By this, I mean using the same keywords and phrases that they use as if they see these in your marketing message, they are more likely to resonate with the words and take notice. Start to join in groups and forums and take note of how questions are asked and what words and phrases are used. Use questions as a starting point for your marketing message by creating a message that helps answer it or gives tips as to how to solve the problem posed.
Be consistent and persistent
There is no point putting your message out there a couple of time and then giving up because you didn’t get a response. It takes time, particularly online. You need to be persistent and consistent to raise your visibility. Just because your post something in a Facebook group or on your page and you know it is there does not mean that many others will see it. There are hundreds of thousands of other messages out there and if you prospect isn’t reading at the right time, your message may easily get missed as it will have dropped down the news feed.
If you are networking face to face people will take time to get to know you and find out what you are about. You can’t expect to go to one meeting and sign up new prospects immediately. They will want to see that you are there for the long run and not about to disappear after just one session.
Get prospects to engage in conversations
Once you have the attention of your prospect, get them to engage with you in a conversation so that you start to build a relationship and trust. Ask questions to get to know them better and find out how you can help them, whether online or offline. Ask them to complete a survey, again to find out more about them and to help identify a solution for them. Offer some free advice to build trust and awareness of what you can do for them. This way you keep them engaged and interested in talking to you so you can build a future relationship.
Stick with it
Following on from being persistent and consistent, allow your marketing to take time. You may be surprised just how many people are quietly watching you and taking an interest. When the time is right, if your message and offering is right, they will get in contact with you or engage in a conversation. But if you give up too easily, they will soon find someone else to take your place.
