Sandra Martini's Success Strategies

Is it a right or a privilege?

As my ezine readers are aware, I recently moved to a new service and a new format for my weekly ezine The Martini Advantage.

It's gotten fabulous reviews (thank you!) -- if you don't yet receive it and wish to, you can sign up on the left.

It's also led me to ask a fundamental question:

In today's world, is receiving someone's ezine a "right" or a "privilege"?

While I'm still debating the answer for my business, I'm leaning towards it being a "privilege".  Here's a few reasons why:

[SmarTiniTip] Is Your Writing Doing MINIMUM Triple Duty?

When it comes to the online marketing of your business, one of the best things you can do is write and distribute articles.

While many business owners are writing (think of all the ezines you get), many are only doing half the work when it comes to distributing their articles.

There are three main types of distribution:

Gmail and Your HTML Newsletter

I wanted to make you aware of a recent problem with Google's gmail accounts.

Take a look at the snapshot of my ezine from yesterday below - this was sent to my test gmail account...all the line breaks (spacing between paragraphs) are gone which makes it pretty ugly and hard to read.

 

Google's gone and done something to the gmail code so that your html (pretty with pictures and formatting) ezines will appear this way for anyone with a gmail account unless...

[SmarTini Tip] Expert Credibility: How to let your clients give it to you

If you've been around the "online world" a while, you know that "content is king" -- after all, it's generally expected that you should:

* publish a weekly/biweekly email newsletter

* "touch" your clients in offline ways

* post 2-3 times a week to your blog

* host your own teleseminars and be guests on others

* contribute daily to Facebook and Twitter

and the above is all *at a minimum* and we haven't even discussed videos.

Assuming you're here to connect and build relationships with others in a true and meaningful way (and if you're not, you may as well stop reading now) and aren't in it for the "quick sale", where do you find all the information to post/send out?

After all, the quickest way to build your expert credibility is to share "expert" information with others.

So how do you "know what you know" in order to share it with others who are looking for that very info?

Here's one of my favorite strategies. . .

Integrity -- Has It Lost Its Meaning?

From www.Dictionary.com, the word "integrity" means:

1.	adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2.	the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.

3.	a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.

Looking at the first definition only and then PAYING ATTENTION to several online businesses, I have to ask, has the definition changed?

For example, one online business recently promoted that there were only X number of a physical product available so "get it before we run out".

Subsequent emails trying to get us to buy and showing how many more were sold (plus other calls the business owner was on pitching the product), added up to almost double the original "get 'em before we're sold out" quantity.

The issue for me -- aside from the blatant untruths -- is that this business owner, like so many others out there, preaches and teaches the concept of integrity.  It's become a case of "do what I say, not what I do".

This is just one example, I could easily cite many more.

You could ask, so who's being hurt by the above scenario...particularly if it's a good product/service/whatever and has the potential to help many people.

My answer is simple: All of us. 

After all, there are better, more honest ways of doing business and if someone is willing to lie (let's stop dancing and call it what it is) about something as small as "how many widgets" they have to sell, what about the bigger things?

I'd love to hear your thoughts as I have some pretty strong opinions around this topic and I know they may not resonate with everyone.

What do John Cena & Wrestling have to do with your business?

My 15-year-old nephew is a fan of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and of John Cena (one of their stars) in particular. 

This weekend, while flipping through stations, I kept seeing an ad for WWE's Extreme Rules pay-per-view and pictures of Cena wearing a t-shirt with "HLR" on it.  So last night, when WWE was coming on, I hopped over to see what the "HLR" was for.

Turns out it's for Hustle - Loyalty - Respect -- these are the tenets by which John Cena's character lives.

Think about that for a second: Hustle, Loyalty and Respect.

Pretty good, wouldn't you agree?

While I never would have thought my business had anything to do with wrestling, it absolutely does.

Here's how I incorporate those words into my business and life:

Hustle -- Implement and take action quickly, as if your life depends on it because, quite frankly, your business life DOES depend on it.

Loyalty -- Remain loyal to your business by remembering that YOU are its owner and responsibility for its success or failure rests with you and remain loyal to your clients and customers by treating them with the utmost...

Respect -- Your clients are people, not a tribe, not a herd, and not dollar signs.  They are real people who each have a unique gift and your *job* is to help them fully impact the world by using YOUR gift.

So how will you incorporate H-L-R into your life, starting today? 

Is your ezine going the way of the dinosaurs?

Would you prefer to listen to this article?

If so, just click the PLAY button above. Note: If you can't see the audio controls, you can Click here to listen. . .

We all know why we should put out an ezine, after all, marketing gurus have forever told us "the money's in the list" and the list needs an ezine, but my question is "Why should anyone choose to get your ezine?"

Let's take a look at things as they are today:

• Studies show that if you have an ezine, you're likely to have a blog and post regularly to it so readers can get your thoughts there.
• You're probably submitting your articles to article directories to further build your exposure and spread the word so readers can get your articles there.
• If you're staying current with marketing, you're out on Twitter and Facebook and are linking your articles and blog posts to each of those so readers can keep up with you there.

WOW. . .sounds like I'm making a pretty compelling argument that we shouldn't be putting out ezines -- after all, why do all the work if readers can get the information elsewhere?

Truth is, that's not my thought at all. Email newsletters or "ezines" are a fabulous way to maintain contact with your peeps and are a great place to share things that you're up to.

However, given all the other places your clients and potential clients can read your information and hear about what you're doing, your ezine needs to offer something special, something different that they can't get anywhere else -- essentially a reward for them to keep receiving, and opening, it each issue.

Make It Real: My Request to You

What can you do starting with your next ezine to "up the ante" and ensure that when your clients and potential clients are clearing out their inbox, your ezine is never even considered for unsubscription?

Here are a few ideas to ponder:

• Offer "reader only" teleseminars
• Offer to showcase a different reader's business each issue in a "spotlight"
• Offer to review something from a reader each issue (just be sure this is within your expertise)
• Offer "reader only" incentives -- extra bonuses with products, etc.
• Break out of the standard ezine mold and do something a little different with yours -- for example, I like to share information about my clients in every issue -- what can you do?

So what are you going to do differently from here on out to ensure that your ezine is consistently opened and read?

I'd love to hear your thoughts (just hit "reply" and send them over). . .

Marketing Mess of the Week

I was recently debating about attending a very high end workshop this spring and, in reviewing the sales page, noticed several things:

1. There were 2 different prices within about 3 inches of space and all related to the current day and time (so "no", I wasn't reading a "regular" versus "early bird" price).

2. When I clicked to purchase the full-pay option, there was a THIRD price, so just for fun, I clicked on the multi-pay option and, you guessed it, a fourth price not seen before emerged.

3. There were two sets of conflicting dates on the site and the event location was given very broadly so I had no real idea WHERE I'd be going (I understand and agree with not listing hotel info, but I do need to know what city I'm flying into when determining cost).

4. I tried to call the business owner to give her a heads up, but couldn't get through on any of the extensions given on rather long, and very "insurance company corporate" sounding voicemail.

I made the decision pretty quick not to attend.  After all, I couldn't reach a live person, I didn't know what city the event was in, there were conflicting dates on the site and I didn't know what the price was.

Why am I sharing this with you?

It's not to embarrass the business owner (reason I'm not providing name or website).  It is however to ask you to take your time when putting an offer "out there" and either double check the information yourself or hire a team worth their salt to do it for you.

All of the above has resulted in my not attending (or promoting) a pretty expensive workshop and possibly signing up for more programs as a result.  After all, if this sales page was THIS sloppy, what does it say of the rest of the business?

Do you want to take that chance with your prospects and clients?

Increase the Professionalism of Your Constant Contact Ezine With This Simple Change

Chances are, if you're using Constant Contact for your ezine, you have THEIR logo with a little "try it free" phrase on the bottom right of your ezine.

Want to increase the professionalism (and appearance) of your ezine?

Simply email their support (from within the Help & Support menu) and ask them to remove the logo from your account. 

After all, you want your ezine to brand YOU, not your ezine service provider.  :-)

Marketing Overwhelm: A Curable Disease

It's Monday and you get an email indicating that writing an ezine is THE way to get new clients. You drop everything and start working on an email newsletter.

It's Tuesday and your friend calls and says that he heard the best way to get publicity is pay-per-click. You drop everything and sign up for a Google Adwords account.

It's Wednesday and you heard that someone made a million dollars selling info products. Everything else waits while you work on your first million dollar product.

I once had a client who would tell me he figured out how to "fix" his business and what he needed to do to succeed. Unfortunately, he did this DAILY. Each day he had a new marketing strategy that he would drop everything else to implement. It was exhausting as well as counterproductive – for both of us.

Does this sound familiar? You have no real plan for your marketing strategy and so you jump from one idea to another based on what you hear or read is the best or quickest way to get more clients and increase sales.

Or, do you find yourself agreeing with colleagues who are constantly agonizing over this, that or the other in their business – all trying to outdo one another with the amount of work they have?

If so, you’re suffering from marketing overwhelm!

I have good news however – this IS a curable disease. . .no shots necessary!

There are thousands of different things you could do to move your business forward. And, most likely, any one of them will do the job.

The problem. You start one thing, stop, start another, stop, start a third, stop. . . . At the end of the day, you're left with frustration and overwhelm. And nothing done, your list the same size (or smaller) than yesterday.

The solution. If you see a little of yourself in this scenario, it's time to create a strategic marketing action plan. One that resonates with you and that you can stick with.

Step 1: Create a marketing action plan -- make a list of the marketing activities you are interested in doing and then select the three to five which resonate most with you.

Step 2: Take action -- start implementing the activities on your plan and stick with them until they are done.

Step 3: Evaluate -- review what you've been doing and what results you're getting. If the results aren't what you were expecting, you may wish to try another strategy, but only AFTER you've given the first time to work.

It's important to remember that good marketing is about two things:

1/ educating your community (prospects made up of your ideal clients) about what problems you solve (note that I didn’t say “about what you do”) and

2/ building a relationship with those in your community.

Do these two things and do them consistently and you will reap the rewards as your business success lies not in hyperactivity, but in well-thought-out plans and implementation.

My Request to You

I request you take a step back and think about which marketing activities you've had the most success with or, if you're a new business owner, which ones appeal to you the most. Now jot them down and add some dates by which you will complete them (if one time activities) or begin them (if ones to be done consistently).

POOF! You have the beginnings of a strategic marketing action plan. You’re well on your way to recovery!

And if you’re feeling too overwhelmed to begin? You’ll want to learn more about “Strategic Marketing – Sandy Style and having a customized strategic marketing action plan “done 4 you”.

For the past 5 years, Sandra Martini has been showing self-employed business owners how to get more clients consistently by implementing processes and systems to put their marketing on autopilot. Visit Sandra at http://www.SandraMartini.com for details, compelling client testimonials and her free audio series “5 Simple and Easy Steps to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot”.