your business made simple
If you’re struggling with your personal finances, here is a quick and easy spreadsheet that will get you on track. Whether your looking for a template to customize or wanting to update your existing budget worksheet, download this budget spreadsheet to get started.
We are working on a new product for our consumer clients in the home finance space, if you’re interested in getting control back of your household spending and start saving again, watch this space.
This week I handed over a new website to our client Rossini Architectual Products. They wanted a website which has the ability to convert leads and compliment their marketing plan (which we did).
Check it out, this site is driven by Wordpress and re-styled using CSS.
Rossini Architectural Products are design products which help Architects create a unique interior space. These include previously unseen products like ceiling tiles (which cleverly fit standard grid systems), wall features which are custom routed panels which redefines the term “feature wall”. Of course, there are the IceFx slumped acrylic products which Rossini design and produce which is a great and safe alternative to glass panelling.
Have a look at the new Rossini Architectual Design Products now.
I thought that you’d really want to hear about this. It’s a first for the Queensland Government. You don’t need to contribute anything to get this grant AND the government has absolutely simplified this grant process.
I’ve not promoted grants previously because of the frustration caused in going through all the paperwork and the long approval procedures.
But this is different. And I’ve tested it.
I’m working with clients right now under this grant. The application and approval processes couldn’t have been simpler and it was definitely no fuss.
If you want to improve your business performance then this grant will be just what you’re looking for. As part of the JobsAssist Program to tackle unemployment, the Queensland Government is providing grants of $8,000 with no contribution required by the business – it’s 100% subsidised.
And it gets better…
Just complete a one page application and grants are processed in about 2 weeks!
To be eligible you’ll need to:
There are other criteria but more about that later.
These grants are available now but the budgeted allocation is limited. Once the budget allocation is spent the grant will close.
Your next step…
These grant opportunities are rare – no contribution and a ‘no fuss’ application and approval process.
Call Achaeus on 07 3122 6022 for more information.
Merry Christmas from Achaeus, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
We hope 2010 brings you and your business growth and prosperity.
Our office will be closing on December 23, 2009 and we will re-open for business on January 11, 2009.
The biggest marketing mistake I see businesses making today is that they don’t combine traditional marketing (media advertising, client calls, events, etc) and online marketing (emails, articles, video, social networking etc).
You may think the internet is irrelevant to your business but you couldn’t be more wrong. The right combination of traditional and online marketing can drastically reduce your overall marketing budget and increase the frequency of contact with both your prospects and your customers.
Online marketing can help you build very strong customer relationships by supporting your existing marketing activities. It can be a bigger sales force than you ever imagined.
The Revolution Has Started
There is a revolution going on right under our noses. The internet is rapidly becoming the place to be. In any given month:
Google has over 7.6 billion visitors
YouTube welcomes 2.6 billion visitors
each day more than 60 billion emails are sent.
Internet marketing is booming. And for good reasons, executed properly it works.
I can hear what you’re saying…
“Yes, but I’m sick of all those emails and so are my customers.”
“That’s OK for people selling widgets but I have a more selective customer base.”
Just stay with me and read the rest of this eZone.
Here’s what’s happening in traditional media…
According to AAP, weekday newspaper circulation in the United States fell by 10.6 per cent in the six months to September 2009, compared with a year ago.It was the largest decline in the past decade.
Also classified ad use is down 51% in 2 years.
Following the Trend
One thing is for sure - today’s 20-30 year olds may not be your current customers but they certainly will be in the future. Understanding how this demographic is accessing information is vital to the future of your business.
Did you know…
- The majority of the group watch less than 1 hour of television a week
- They prefer to text rather than have voice contact
- They do not buy newspapers
- Avoid untargeted ads (print media, TV, radio) like the plague. This fact alone will change the way companies promote their businesses.
Traditional ad agencies are going broke, newspaper sales are declining rapidly, and television ad revenue is plummeting. And the reason why…the internet is replacing these forms of advertising.
Your customers won’t find you if you don’t have a strong internet presence.
The proverbial stone has dropped into the pond and the waves of change are coming your way. The question is - Are you ready?
Here’s the really good news?
Internet marketing is cheaper, more flexible and totally measurable.
The biggest opportunity…
INSTANT ACCESS to your customers. Customers today are carrying networks with them at all times, on their mobile phone. As marketers we’ve never had this sort of access.
BUT
There is a right way and a wrong way to go about internet marketing. We are all getting bombarded by unwanted nuisance emails. Clearly, most businesses don’t know how to use the internet successfully.
So here’s the GOLDEN RULE to successful internet marketing
“GIVE BEFORE YOU GET”
This is the wrong way
Most businesses get an email and start harassing the prospect with all sorts of information about how great the company is and all the details about their products and services. And it is never ending. It’s just blah, blah, blah. People turn off.
These businesses never stop to find out what’s really works when it comes to internet marketing. All they manage to do is to annoy the hell out of their prospects. Bad move!
The Right Way
Help your customers be more successful by giving them free and useful information. One of the most common forms is to provide free reports packed full of great content.
Here are some examples:
For a business broker:
“How to avoid the 13 most costly mistakes when you buy a small business”
For an air conditioning business:
”The 7 steps you can take to reduce the cost of servicing your air conditioners by up to 23%.”
For a Google expert:
“The 6 key elements to get your business on the first page of Google in just 2 weeks.”
Don’t worry about giving away all your secrets. Information alone does not get the job done.
Do not promote your business in these reports. That’s a fatal flaw.
The idea is to set your company up as the expert trusted adviser. It’s your opportunity to show how much knowledge your company has and how you can help your prospects.
Most of my clients don’t have time to prepare these reports and other forms of free information. There is a simple solution. And it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. I’ll cover this topic in my first eZone for 2010.
CALL TO ACTION
Here’s how you get started.
Find out (talk to a few customers) the biggest problem your customers have when it comes to XXX. For example, servicing air conditioners, buying a business, Google ads, etc. Armed with this information you can then get a report written. Keep an eye out for my first eZone in 2010. I’ll explain how to do that.
All the best for the Christmas season, don’t drink too much on New Year’s eve and, most of all, relax.
When email marketing is used effectively, the results can be astounding. An example of a successful email marketing campaign was one we ran for a home budgeting system called Home Budget Buddy. We sent 4 emails over 4 days and the result was $14,663 in sales.
We knew we needed a way to get people who were “on the fence” to cross over and finally make a decision to buy. To encourage the fence sitters to purchase, we put a time limit in place. That created a sense of urgency to buy the product.
Additionally, we were able to increase sales even more by offering a second product, debt reduction software, at 50% off the purchase price.
Case Study: Home Budget Buddy
Not only will the following case study show you the power of effective email marketing through great results, but it also details a strategy that you can use in your business. (provided you’ve done your groundwork)
We executed a “4 Day Sale” with Home Budget Buddy, a client that sells budgeting and debt reduction software.
I got the idea for the “4 Day Sale” from another marketer by the name of Frank Kern. One of the reasons I like is one so much is that it can be adapted to a wide variety of industries and generates consistently good results.
Here’s how it works:
You offer a limited-time sale to your email list with a deep discount plus extra bonuses for taking action. (This is what I meant about groundwork - you have to have a list. You are building a list, aren’t you?)
In the case of Home Budget Buddy, we offered the $98 Home Budget Buddy software for half price ($48.50) for 4 days only to create a sense of urgency.
Every day for 4 days we sent an email that built on the offer and stressed that the sale would end at midnight on Day 4.
Here are the results:
Day 1: 38 orders
Day 2: 42 orders
Day 3: 69 orders
Day 4: 101 orders
Total: 250 orders
(Look at that spike on Day 4 - that’s the power of a deadline)
Total sales from the “main” offer were $12,125 - not bad for 4 days. But we also added an exponential twist to ratchet up the profit…
Post-purchase upsell
After the customer finished the initial purchase, we offered a one-time offer on the purchase “Thank You Page” to order the DebtBuster software, also for a 50% discount ($23.50 instead of $47).
108 out of the 250 purchasers (43%) said “yes” to the upsell,
adding another $2,538 to the 4 days’ takings.
Total sales: $14,663
You could argue that although a lot of cash was generated in a short period of time, on the downside a lot of margin was sacrificed via the discount.
However, these prospects had been marketed to over a 4 month period without buying. Also, the product was downloadable software with a near-zero production cost. And the development cost was recovered years ago.
Can you employ a similar technique for your business?
Before you say, “but I don’t sell software - this won’t work for me”, perhaps you can think about crafting a “killer offer” and combining it with a short deadline to produce more or less the same effect? (Let me know if you want help coming up with an offer that pulls…).
This case study also underlines the importance of building a list, sooner rather than later.
The fastest way to build a list is to offer a special report or email course that is irresistible to your target market - then place it on your website as prominently as possible.
You’ll not only generate immediate sales activity but you’ll also begin to build an asset in your list that you can “mine” for future profits.
CALL TO ACTION
Fill in the form below to get the link to the vision 6 email statistcs request page.
One of the most amazing things about the technology of today is the ability to reach large numbers of people all at once. Podcasting is a very popular way of transferring interviews, discussions, and information to your prospects and customers.
We all have our own preferences when it comes to the way we want to get information.
For those who like to listen to recordings in the car going to work then podcasts are perfect for them. Podcasts appeal to people who like to listen to information.
A good quality broadcast will develop a successful following of listeners that can increase your web traffic.
What You Need
All you need to start podcasting is a computer, microphone, audio recording software and a podcast host. It’s likely that you already have most of those things and don’t even realize it.
Audio recording software can be downloaded at no cost and you can use free blogging and RSS feed sites to promote your broadcast. Find a reputable host for uploading your podcast and you are ready to begin the fun.
Example of free audio recording software: www.acoustica.com
Free blogging examples: www.wordpress.com or www.blogger.com
Technical Side
On the technical side of things, you will make an audio file of your broadcast and upload this file to your host site. Make sure the site has plenty of bandwidth. This is one time when you don’t want to settle for something less costly for the sake of saving pennies. If there isn’t enough bandwidth to support the broadcast, people won’t hear your message.
Once the file is uploaded, you will use whatever you’ve chosen for managing your podcast and RSS feeds to input the information needed to begin grabbing listeners. Some people use blog sites because they are inexpensive and easy to navigate. It takes very little time to set one up and create entries that showcase each broadcast. Name the blog what you plan to call your podcast. Each entry will share the individual titles of your podcasts. People listen to your podcasts simply by clicking the link you provide – the file will be downloaded to their computer.
A site like Feedburner.com is good for managing your RSS Feed and is fairly easy to navigate and understand.
Spread the Word
Once your podcast is all set up, and you are ready to attract listeners, visit some of the popular podcast directories and list your RSS feed. Be sure to place the appropriate RSS feed buttons on any website you manage. This will make it possible for people to subscribe and get updates whenever you post a new podcast file.
Submit your podcast to directories, including iTunes.com to gain maximum exposure.
Increase Sales
There are several ways to increase your sales using your podcasts. Don’t be afraid to get creative. The most important thing to remember is to create good quality podcasts that have something of interest and valuable information in each episode. The key is to bring back those listeners and have them recommend your podcast to their colleagues.
Your podcast should mention your main website URL helping to drive traffic to your site.
TIP – Create a Story
Create an ongoing story that catches the interest of listeners and brings them back week after week to see how it progresses. It might be a quirky product development story or how you managed to land a big contract. Whatever you write it needs to be information that is of VALUE to your listeners. Information that will help your customers be more successful.
Link It
Find web sites that share information about topics that match your products or services. For example, if you sell home décor find a web site that gives decorating tips and offer to trade links with them. You can place their web site address near your product and they place a RSS feed button for your podcasts on their site.
If your podcasts highlight your hypnosis business, find sites that would draw the people who find that topic interesting. This takes some research and a bit of time to connect with people, but the networking is good for business and could create a steady stream of new sales.
Sell Space
Once you get going and have a broad listener base, sell time to other websites and business owners and allow them to add their commercials into your podcasts. Not only will this increase your listener base and sales potential, but you’ll make additional money from the commercial fees.
CALL TO ACTION
Here are the basic steps to starting a podcast.
1. Develop an idea for a series or story that can be told over multiple podcasts.
2. Download Acoustica or other recording software for your computer and start recording your files.
3. Create a blog to host your podcast and upload your audio files so people can download. Set up RSS feeds to let people subscribe and submit your podcast to directories like iTunes.com.
I had to pass this story onto you. It’s soooooo true and, unfortunately so common.
This is Perry Marshall’s blog posted yesterday.
To introduce the story…
Perry sits on the board of a startup that has been funded with equity investment. They have a high profile board including Perry. He is trying to get them to do some market research. A subject near and dear to my heart.
Here it is…
Well somehow or another the friggin’ research never really gets
done. Why? Because even though I’m the champion of this idea,
it’s not like I’m getting paid to carry it out, meanwhile El
Presidente has a million distractions.To their credit, what they do have is hundreds of conversations
with people in their market. Plenty o’ trips to conventions and
meetings with vendors in that market. So it’s not like they
don’t know what people want.They are legitimately IN the market listening to people. So I
don’t scream too loud.By the way, we don’t have a product yet. The product was going
to be a paid membership website but mid-stream they decide to
make the membership and the use of the software free, then sell
other things to the members once they’re in the door.I decide that’s a good decision, a decision which 3 years later
I still think was wise.One thing that strikes me as a little odd is that there’s always
some Drama Queen contention going on somehow, somewhere.Like for example there’s this teeny tiny nothing of a company on
the east coast - I’m not even sure it’s even a real company -
who is bickering with El Presidente that we stole the guy’s idea
(not true) and he’s trying to reach a legal settlement with him
via threats of dragging us to court.The east coast guy seems a total crackpot but El Presidente’s
playing patty-cake with him anyway.Or for example there’s the company sales manager making $120,000
a year who so far as I can tell does absolutely nothing other
than try to sell banner ads to vendor companies, which is the
financial equivalent of holding a bake sale.Eventually the sales manager gets fired and then sues the
company for discrimination because the sales manager is 1/16th
American Indian or some such thing.Meanwhile every time we have a board of directors meeting, El
Presidente plies us to find more investors.There are two Financial Planners on the board and they know all
kinds of people with money and every month they seem to somehow
find someone who is willing to invest $25K, $50K, sometimes even
$100K of Angel Money into this company, which is burning cash at
a rate of $1 million per year.Meanwhile we still do not have a product and we still have not
proven in any way, shape or form that we can buy traffic for
$1.00 and sell them something for $2.00.So I endure these stupid board meetings and steadfastly resist
their efforts to get me to find investors.I stick to my instincts, which are: “Dude, when you can buy ONE
dollar of advertising and turn it into TWO dollars, you will
find all the money you need to make this thing grow. Believe me,
I know plenty of people who have enough money to put it into a
deal like that.”Well anyway, finally El Presidente decides it’s time to get some
traffic and he invites me to build them a Google campaign. Which
I do.I did something which I now teach: I started with ONE keyword
and spent 2 months tweaking ad copy, display URL’s and Content
Network settings.On the very first day we got sales leads - free membership
trials - at a Cost Per Action (CPA) of $14.00.El Presidente, by some MBA-ish sort of calculation, had
predicted and hoped that we could get membership signups at a
cost of $20.00 or less so he was quite happy about this. News
traveled ’round the company and among investors like wildfire.Well you know how we do things in Planet Perry - the first day
on Google is just an early, crude approximation. One week later
I had the CPA down to $6.00 and a month later, after adding the
Content Network and a bunch more tests, we had it down to $3.00
per signup.The traffic was coming in like an avalanche.
I forget the exact details but I think we got 30,000 new members
in a span of several months with a 16% signup rate on the
website. The cost of that Google traffic was far and away the
most productive $100K the company ever spent on anything.You’d think that victory would have bought me enough credibility
for them to hang on every word.Sorry, pal - not so fast….
I naively believed that if we were accumulating members at a
rate of many thousands per month, El Presidente would finally be
moved to follow my suggestions of how to actually SELL things to
this audience.The company was in an education related business and it was
painfully obvious that they could easily offer online courses.
Which as you know, I very much know how to put together.“El Presidente, see how I deliver training and education online?
We need to do exactly the same thing.”I would get promises and promises that we would. But we never
did.Instead, for some reason, the guy would go all over the country
like Don Quixote charging windmills, and he would put together
these crazy deals. He spent a year and nearly $100K putting
together an e-commerce website selling commodity products with a
15% margin that had ZERO chance of EVER being profitable.We would get into fights at the board meetings and he would
retort that my own training programs were unprofessional and he
would not dream of offering something so slipshod to his
customers. He said the customers would have his head on a stick,
their standards were much higher than those of my silly market
of ragtag entrepreneurs.As we have these conversations, the company is barely making a
dime and burning $100,000 per month.Every 3 months we have a Board of Directors meeting and he
presses us for more investors.One day last summer all us board members get a memo from Tom
asking us to increase our commitment to the company and pull
harder to get more investors and secure our future as the
greatest company in this space.I couldn’t stand it anymore, and I sent this email to everyone:
FROM: PERRY MARSHALL
TO: ALL BOARD MEMBERSThere is nothing you could do to convince me to ask any of my
friends or colleagues to invest in this company. In fact I think
to stand up in front of a group of people and pitch them on
investing in [ACME Corporation] is an irresponsible act of
deception.The strategy this company is using is a disservice to
shareholders and if it doesn’t change drastically, [ACME
Corporation] will fail.Two years into it, this operation still does not even qualify as
a business.Why?
Because we still do not have anything of profitable substance to
sell to our customers. No one has demonstrated that this company
knows how to “make one dollar.”That’s when the yogurt REALLY hit the fan.
I’ll tell you what happened next in Part 3…..
Here is a link to Perry’s site so you can check out Part 3 for yourselves.
I agree with Perry 100%. Find out who your customers are, what your customers want and then sell it to them. And that’s the order it must be done in. Not some random stab in the dark and if it doesn’t work then go and get more money.
Up until recently video was seen more as a distraction than a valuable marketing tool for businesses. That has all changed. People now spend more time on You Tube than on Google.
Now a lot of those are people just playing around. But, I believe that if businesses aren’t using video in their online marketing then they will be missing out on sales. The trend is very clear.
Today’s technology has made video creation accessible to everyone. Digital cameras are more affordable, and the process of creating and uploading a video to a sharing site is easier than ever.
All you need is a camera, some editing software, and an account with a video sharing site. These accounts are usually free, and the uploading of videos is encouraged because it supplies the site with constant material.
Video sharing sites like YouTube.com are popular places for people to share information. Most people, at one time or another, have visited You Tube.
Here are some sites to investigate…
www.youtube.com
www.vimeo.com
video.msn.com
So…
How do you use videos to promote and increase traffic to your website?
1. Create a ‘Preview’
Movie previews are used to promote a new film that has just been released. They hook the viewer, making them want to see the coming production. Create a ‘preview’ for your website or online business that will draw new viewers there by making them curious to see exactly what you are doing. If you’re selling something, use the trailer to give just enough information to make viewers click the link to your site.
2. Create your own Story
Think about making a creative series to bring regular viewers to your website. The key here is to link the video (on You Tube for example) to your website because that’s where you want people to go. For example, create a video series where you make offers of free content that’s available on your website.
3. Tell Your ‘War Story’
People love to look inside the development of a product or market. Even if you think it is of little value you may be surprised at the following you will get once you begin your short video story about entering a new market or the development of a new product.
Again, the key is to bring people to your website. Make something in your story to draw the viewer to your site. Depending on the content of your site, this could be simple or very involved. The choice is yours.
Tips to produce a good video…
1. Clarity
Be sure your video is clear and can be heard. By the way, voice clarity is more important than picture clarity. If the sound is clear then you’ll be forgiven for low picture quality.
The worst mistake is allowing poor video quality to distract or frustrate the viewer. But you can do these videos yourself. You don’t need a professional in a studio. Keep it raw and it is more realistic.
2. Humour
Some of the most popular videos on these video sharing sites are those that make people laugh. Depending on the content of your site, choose a form of humour to get your message across. Create a blooper type video or use some quirky events that happened during your marketing or product development.
3. Keywords
Choose descriptive keywords to help people find your video. Don’t limit yourself to single words. Create phrases that someone might consider searching the internet.
Just as keywords are important for your text content online, they play an important role in helping people find your videos once you publish them online. Though the viewer may not be searching for your exact video, once they get there you want them to stay and watch. Once they watch, you want them interested enough to visit your site.
CALL TO ACTION
Here are some considerations to make when getting started with online video.
1. Think carefully about your goals for using online video. Are you looking to increase visitors to your website? Establish a brand? Make sales? The reason for creating the videos will give you the starting point for what to create.
2. Play around with Windows Movie Maker (available free on most PC’s) to create short video clips. It’s very intuitive and once you get the hang of it, you can create some really professional looking video content.
3. Create a script or general idea for the video(s) you plan to make and get to work recording!
4. Edit your recordings and add special effects, web URL’s, and other information to encourage people to take action after watching your videos.
Have your say about this topic, write your comments below