Happy 2009!

Congratulations,

We have not only a new day but a new year. Another chance to plan, as I am sure you have heard fail to plan, plan to fail.

Well this new year I am making my usual resolutions even though they include some things that have been on my list for a few years already, but I'm not about to give up on me achieving those things. But this year I'm adding two new strategies that I want to share with you.

(1) Along with my list of want to achieves I also am going to make a list of things I am leaving behind in 08, some regrets that I have carried around, some whining about mistakes or circumstances, I'm going to stop whining about these things and accept these things. And plan from here in the circumstances I find myself in today.

(2) I'm going to start at the end being December 31, 2009. I'm going to plot and be strategic and imagine where I want to be this time next year, and work backwards from there.

We only get one go around in this life and I want to make it worth it and live up to my full potential as I define it.

Pat yourself on the back for all you have achieved in 08. Keep up the good work.

Please post your opinions, your strategies and plans for 2009.

Four Super Quick & Effective Marketing Tips

Here are four quick & effective ways for you to market your business, maximize your marketing budget, and obtain quick and effective ROI.
This is a complimentary four part series:
' Marketing Tips for Today's Economy '

This four part series will help you to maintain your existing customers, attract new customers or clients and give you the inside scoop on how to expertly use these four strategies to market your business creatively in todays economy.

# 1. Have an Online Presence
Boost your credibility! Having a website shows your customers you have a serious commitment to customer support in the information age.

Maximize your online presence
Having your website is ONLY the first step. Now you need to promote that site, firstly make sure your website address is listed on all of your business cards and or other advertising. A website refers customers to ALL of the information they need when they need it. Secondly, update your site regularly, this helps keep your site visitors engaged and helps your site gain a higher search ranking. Tip: Consider including a page with frequently asked questions as most savvy consumers normally research before purchasing, put effort into the information you present which will convey to your new customers your commitment to your product or service.

Sneak Peek - In the coming series we will be addressing: Do you have the right type of website? and what methods can be used to promote your website without spending a dime!

Websites can generate additional sales of products or services directly to customers you never could have reached through traditional methods, in turn attracting new customers.


# 2. Brand - Using Print

First impressions are lasting, once you present your customers with your marketing tools, weather its your business card, folders, post cards or proposal documents an impression is made about you and your business.

The image you project with your marketing documents can be the difference between a customer choosing you or a competitor.


# 3. Promotional Products

Promotional products imprinted with you logo is a proven tool to brand your business and once the right products are chosen you can stay in front of your customers 24/7. There are a wide range of products that match every budget.

Promotional products can be used to:
+ Improve traffic at trade shows
+ Motivate staff
+ Customer incentives
+ Thank a customer
+ Employee appreciation
+ Build brand awareness

Sneak Peek - In the coming issue we will detail how to choose effective promotional products and how to plan a promotional marketing strategy that maximizes your ROI.

Click here to browse some product ideas.

# 4. Reach your Customers Effectively

Communicate consistently with your customers and prospects. Send great-looking, professional email newsletters and announcements. Track which customers are opening your emails and what links they are clicking on. Build and manage your email addresses.

Tristate Business Solutions has teamed up with Constant Contact®, the leading email marketing service for small businesses, to bring you a new and exciting way to stay in touch with your most important audience, your customers. Email marketing is easy, affordable, and effective.

Give it a try!, Its FREE for 60 days. You've got nothing to lose, except repeat visitors and customers!

Email Rules / Free Marketing Tips

Recently I did a marketing test, I emailed 38 people who recently paid to place an ad in a community business journal, I simply emailed them telling them that I found their ad in The Hills Magazine and wanted to know if they had a website. I made no reference that I was a business or any reference to my web design business, just a simply stated email. Only 12 people out of 38 responded to my email. And all 12 sent an email that went like this... No, we do not have a website, or No we are just a small business, or No sorry we don't have a website we have been meaning to get around to it or No I don't have a website but I should have one. Not one person even referenced in any way what they do in their email.

Hmmmm There is so much to be learned from this and here are the morals of this story...

(1) Never ever waste your time and money placing an ad anywhere if you are not even going to check or respond to emails. This may even turn people off from visiting your store, as many people search online and then buy off line at the storefront.

(2) Never, ever say the word NO to a customer or potential customer!
If you don't have it you find out where you or they can get it. Your response should go something like this...

Response #1
Hello, Thank you so much for contacting us here are Tristate Business Solutions, we provide high quality, affordable marketing services and offer free marketing consultations and would gladly set up an appointment that's convenient to you, we also have a special for all new clients to receive 250 business cards free! I have also attached some information on some of our services. Please feel free to call us at 201-203-0750. Many Thanks.

This response gives the customer all the information they need including a way to get in touch with you, detailed information on your product or service as well as an incentive for them to contact you and not be distracted by the fact that you don't have a website.

Response #2
Hi Karen, thank you for getting in touch with us for your printing needs, I did some research and here are two companies I found that offer the product that you are looking for, let me know if this works out for you. By the way we also have a spring special we are offering promotional pens at half price this month, I have attached some more info. Take care and let me know if you have any questions.

This response keeps the customer your customer. If you could not find a way to offer the customer the product your self and needed to do a referral, you want your customers to know you will go above and beyond to support them, hence why you made one or two calls or a quick Internet search to give them the info, and in turn you will gain loyalty and they will support and refer you.


(3) Always (PIMP) what you do always no matter where you are there is always a chance to promote your business. Sell your product or services to everyone. Someone sends you their ad you respond, thanking then for offering you the special and mention what specials you may have coming up. Every email you send out to a potential customer or client should mention the product or service you sell. This also increases your branding and image. Cost $0.00


(4) Use your signature in all your emails its prominent real estate and ITS FREE!
Always have a signature at the end of all your emails stating your business name, something like this:

Nikki Auguste
Tristate Business Solutions
High Quality, Affordable
Business Marketing Solutions
Phone
201-203-0750
Get 250 Free Business Cards this Month
Visit us online www.TristateBusinessSolutions.com
Mailing Address:
PO Box 8848
New Haven CT 06532

So even if you didn't mention what you do or the name of your business in the body of your email it will automatically be there in all your correspondence, you could also put a line like this saying "Get 15% off this month sprint special!" This is highly important, if the person reading wants to contact you they don't have to go looking for your phone number or wondering if you have a website etc.

(5) GET A WEBSITE, its more than saying I have a website its

Your Credibility
The Effectiveness of your Advertising -
Improved Customer Service -
Reduced printing costs
Increase your sales
Generated leads
To read more about the benefits click here
(6) GET A PERSONALIZED EMAIL ADDRESS MATCHING YOUR WEBSITE I.E JOHN@TRISTATEBUSINESSSOLUTIONS.COM....gone are the days to send out a business email from AOL, MSN or Yahoo! Again your credibility and you professionalism is at stake.

All of the above can help to either make or break the next deal you get.

How (And Why) To Create Your First One-Page Sales Web Site

How to Create Your First One-Page Sales Web Site
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Donna_Gunter]Donna Gunter

Most one-page web sites (also called one-page sales letter web sites or mini web sites) have only one purpose -- to sell a product. My conversion to the one-page web site strategy has been a reluctant one, as I hate reading all the sales copy. However, the facts don't lie -- one page web sites written like a lengthy sales letter are one of the most effective ways to sell you product online. Most people don't actually read anything online. Instead, they scan a page, seeking out info that is bold, in a larger font size, in a different color, or in a bulleted format. Consequently, Internet marketers have discovered that the most important information about your product needs to catch the reader's eyes as they scan the page.

Get a one page sales letter web site for only $199.

Here's what you need to get started:

1. A niched product for an easily identifiable target market. One-page web sites work best if you have a product for a very specific niche market, like an ebook on how to teach a parrot to talk, an ecourse on how to start your own bead jewelry making business, or a set of CDs on how to teach yourself to play the piano. You need to be able to identify and describe your target market, from determining what the target market needs and what they'll pay for (as well as how much they will pay) to what publications they read, what groups/associations do they belong to, and where they hang out both on- and offline. Make sure you know something about your target market before proceeding to the next step.

2. A domain name. The domain name for your one-page site should mirror or closely resemble your product name, or a prominent feature of your product. So, for example, if you are a hypnotherapist and you have a podcast that you're selling on how to use self-hypnosis to lose weight, then you'd want to try and get a domain name like LoseWeightFast.com. Try and get the .com version of your domain name if possible, but if that's not available, seek out the hyphenated version of the .com domain name.

If you have an existing web site, your domain name can be forwarded and masked to an internal page of your website so that it appears like a separate website without having to pay for additional hosting. UltranetDomains.com is where I purchase all of my domains, and they offer domain forwarding and masking as a part of their domain registration service.

If you don't currently have a web site, you need to determine what your online business needs will be in the next few months to determine what type of hosting and website services you might need.

Get a one page sales letter web site for only $199.

3. A give-away. You have two goals for your one-page web site: get the contact info from your visitors and convert them into paying customers. The best way to obtain contact info from a visitor is to create a related information product (ebook, electronic tips booklet, special report, podcast or other audio file, ecourse, video, etc.) in which the content is so compelling that the visitor gladly parts with his/her name and primary email address to obtain the free giveaway. You can also create a special offer, say a trial period for $1, and offer access only to those who will give you their contact info. By giving you their contact information, they have become a warm lead and you can start to develop a relationship with them.

4. Your product. There are any number of products you can create to sell online. The ones that are easiest to create and require little investment (other than your time to create them) and are available by an electronic download include an ebook or special report, a podcast (audio recording of an interview or telelcass), or an ecourse. Of these, you probably have almost everything you need to create an ebook. I recommend that you format in ebook in a word processing program, like Microsoft Word. You'll then want to format it into a locked PDF document so that it's more difficult to illegally copy. I also encourage you to use a PDF program that allows you to create clickable links in your document so that your buyers can easily click on web sites from your ebook. I prefer the Adobe Acrobat program to create PDF documents, as Adobe PDF has both of these features, but there are a number of low-cost or free programs available that will permit you to convert basic word processing files to PDF format.

To make your product more appealing, you need to have a cover created. This cover can actually serve as the cover of the virtual product, and you can use it as an icon in emails and in your shopping cart as a visual representation of your product. There are a number of graphic artists who create ebook and other product covers, and there are several pieces of software you can purchase to create your own. I've never been too happy with the results from software, so I hire Heather Colman of CustomDesignCovers.com, who does an incredible job.

5. A merchant account. In order to collect payments, you need to be able to take credit card payments online. I use and highly recommend Practice Pay Solutions, http://www.practicepaysolutions.com, a company that works with many coaches, consultants and speakers. Your merchant account company needs to offer a "virtual terminal", which lets you enter and process transactions online and interfaces with your shopping cart program. The most commonly used virtual terminal is that provided by Authorize.net. If you don't want to invest in a merchant account, you can begin by using third-party processors like PayPal or ClickBank, but they offer less flexibility than a full merchant service.


6. Shopping cart software. Ultimately, your shopping cart software will be a workhorse for you and enable you to automate many functions of your online business. The cart that I highly recommend is KickStartCart.com, http://www.kickstartcart.com, which offers a great deal of flexibility in how you list and bundle products, gives buyers a 24-hour download URL for downloading your electronic product, has built-in autoresponders so you can automatically follow up with your buyers, and an email broadcast function so that you can send out special notices to the customers or prospects on your list.

7. A squeeze page. A squeeze page offers the visitor access to some piece of information in exchange for the visitor parting with his name and primary email address. The information has been "squeezed" out of the visitor, hence the name of the page. On this page you'll want to have an attractive graphic, compelling headline, a short list of benefits that the visitor will receive if the visitor gives you his contact info immediately, and a form for the visitor to fill out to receive the information.

Get a one page sales letter web site for only $199.

8. The sales letter page. This is the primary sales page of your one-page web site, containing a long sales letter with benefits of your product and testimonials of others who've used the product, There's a formula for writing an effective one-page sales letter site, and I use a program called Instant Sales Letter Generator, http://www.ebookgenerator.com that helps me by asking me a series of questions that will enable me to create the copy for the page. The formula for a one-page sales letter web site is generally an attention-getting headline, a strong opening statement, body of the letter that outlines the features and benefits of what you're offering, the actual offer itself, and then asking for the sale. Most pages are constructed very similarly. If you look at any of the web sites of the major Internet marketers, you'll find this style used again and again.

9. Follow-up auto responders. The ability to continue to reach out and "touch" your prospective customers is key in developing a relationship with them so that they move from a prospective customer to a purchasing customer. I usually create a series of 6-10 or so autoresponders that are sent out over the 3 weeks following a purchase to check in with the purchaser, or to interest the purchaser in another item. The shopping cart service I use has autoresponders built in. Other reliable autoresponder services include Aweber.com and GetResponse.com.

10.. Traffic to the site. Because your site is only one page, it will be virtually ignored in the organic search engine ranking process. There's simply not enough content to warrant a high ranking on any keyword you might choose. The easiest way to drive traffic to a one-page web site is to purchase keywords, or pay-per-click advertising. Google's Adwords, http://adwords.google.com and Yahoo's Search Marketing (formerly Overture) http://www.yahoosearchmarketing.com are two of the best-known pay-per-click advertisers. Google is probably the easiest with which to start.




Completing a one page web site won't happen overnight. However, with a bit of research, great copywriting, and a marketing plan in place, a one-page web site can easily become a profit center for your business.

Get a one page sales letter web site for only $199.

Copyright 2006 Donna Gunter

Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed service professionals learn how to get more clients online at http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.GetMoreClientsOnline.com Read about running an online biz at our blog, http://onlinebizcoachingcompany.typepad.com/online_business_coaching_/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Gunter http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Create-Your-First-One-Page-Sales-Web-Site&id=201014

Building Brand Awareness

Making the most of the Web to let consumers know you are in business

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You ARE an Expert!

ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU ARE AN EXPERT IN YOUR FIELD.

WHAT is an Expert?
An Expert is a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field; specialist; (per dictionary.reference.com)

WHO is an expert?
You are an Expert in your field no one else has the expertise that you have...your unique experiences and skill sets which make you an expert in your field!

WHY is it important to establish yourself as an expert in your field?

• Help someone else with your expert advice,
• Establish your self as a knowledgeable go-to person,
• Refer back to yourself to clients as the person to get more info from and in turn get more clients.

HOW Start a newsletter, blog, or publish a website with tips relating to your field!

And you can always contact www.TristateBusinessSolutions.com for help with setting up or managing a website, newsletter or blog!

Words of motivation!

Feel free to share your own motivational thoughts with our community!

- Believe it can be done...believe in the power of thoughts and action and watch your desires manifest..never let another take your power of belief or the trust in your faith of success away"

Submitted by Phil Bellamy, Plan Investments


We look forward to reading your own motivational thoughts.

Accomplish & Learn at least one new thing everyday!

Accomplish & Learn at least one new thing everyday!

Take it a step further and write down what you have accomplished and learned each and every day!

You've come a long way!

If you take a look at THEN & NOW in your business you will see how far you've come...track back to emails from exactly a year ago... check out who your clients and projects were, who your new clients are now and see your progress and achievements.

This is a good practice to do perhaps quarterly to review your accomplishments.

Take a breath and say ahh... Look at how far i've come!

Can you answer these questions!

Why are my clients paying me?
What am I trying to accomplish?
Is there another way?

Who are you selling to?

1. Know who your customer is - Visualize exactly who is your customer.
2. What is your customers intent when he or she is doing an online search.

Why - so can meet his or her needs when he gets to your main web pages.

Remember those Resolutions?

Remember those resolutions we made oh about 7 weeks ago...are they starting to fade? Are you starting to fall off track? Hopefully you wrote them down... nows the time to pick em up read them remember all the things you said you would do... dont give your resolutions time to collect dust!

Get back on track, keep on track!

Commit to your TO DO LIST - Its the ONLY way!

Ok my friends on my off days (which I think we all have from time to time)...the #1 way I've made those days a success is by...

1. Creating my to do list of my most important phone calls, emails and tasks to accomlish.
2. Committing to achieving at least some (if not all) of your most important high piority tasks.

The Result!

1. You will feel a high sense of accomplishment and achievement.
2. The people depending on you will be assured of your sense of commitment and dependability!

Commit to your to do list! Its the ONLY way!