Quick Tips on How to Create a Compelling Special Offer to Grow Your List
Creating a special offer can be a big task, and can overwhelm and paralyze people. And yet this is a very critical element to your business. In fact, you MUST have a special offer (numerous ones) to attract your prospects to you and grow your list.
I’m happy to say that now I have about 10 special offers that didn’t take me 35 hours to create. And you can too.
- Have a compelling title – This is what gets people’s attention. It can be the best special offer ever and get overlooked because it does not attract your market’s attention. Make your title be about avoiding a BIG pain or seeking a GREAT benefit.
- Have an attractive cover – Even though we are not supposed to, yes, we do judge a book (or special offer), by its cover.
- Give plenty of value – You would think this goes without saying, but the LAST THING you want to do is leave your reader feeling cheated – even if your offer was free. You don’t have to give away all your secrets, but make your reader feel satisfied with the information they have received.
- Be conversational – Be personal and conversational so the reader feels you are talking to them and that they are getting to know you.
- Create aesthetic appeal – Take the time to add white space, photos, quotes and other elements to add aesthetic appeal to your report.
- Grab their attention – Make sure your opening pulls the reader in right away by addressing the problem and letting them know what solution you will be providing in your report.
- Structure your report – First addresses the problem of your reader and the ramifications of that problem. Then address the solution and the benefits of that solution. Be sure to make mention throughout of how your products, programs and services provide the solution they need.
- Have a call to action – What steps do you want the reader to take next? Contact you for a consultation? Download another free offer? Invest in a program? Be sure to tell them what you want them to do next.
- About the Author – You can put this at the beginning or the end, but let people know more about you. Be sure to make the connection back to them and their needs.
- Consider putting your special offer in different mediums – Consider putting your special offer in audio or video form to add variety.
Tags: building your list, creating an offer, free offer, special offer
A Quick Tip on Easy Content Creation
We’ve all heard it said that ‘Content is King.’ It’s true, especially in our business.
The more our business is ‘relationship based’, the more our prospects and clients will need to get to know us before they will do business with us.
So how do we do allow our prospects the opportunity to get to know use before they buy our products and services?
By providing tips, tricks, strategies and resources in the form of ‘education-based communications.’ By speaking to them about their greatest needs, interests, and wants,we develop relationships that lead them to become our clients.
Content creation can be a real struggle for some people, but it doesn’t have to be for you. In the past I’ve suggested that you start building your content creation muscle by writing “tips.”
A tip can be as short as a 150-350 word ‘mini article’ that offers value in the form of strategies, resources, tips and how to’s that adress your target market’s needs, interests and wants. Tips can also be thought provoking and inspirational.
Tips are welcomed in your prospects’ and clients’ email boxes because they are quick and easy to read and provide value. And getting into the habit of writing success tips will make your other writing projects easier.
Here’s a simple way to format your tip:
Open by addressing the problem. Say that you have 1, 2, or 3 tips, tricks, strategies to address the problem (mention the problem) and provide a solution (mention the solution).
- propose solution/thought/perspective #1
- share one comment on that solution/thought/perspective
- propose solution/thought/perspective #2
- share one comment on that point.
- solution/thought/perspective #3
- share one comment on that point.
Close by reiterating that implementing these tips, the reader will eliminate their problem (mention it) and gain the solution (mention it). And viola! You have a tip!
But here’s even more good news.
By using this model, you can create a variety of other products on different topics, both large and small. If you want to create larger products like special reports or audio trainings, you can add additional solutions/thoughts/perspectives, and go deeper into each of them.
For example, you can create three tips on a particular topic such as stress reduction, weight loss, goal setting, communication, improving your golf game, or making money, add an intro and a close, and make it a valuable special report.
Take that same information and record it and you have an audio product.
Get started today creating content and writing your tips!
Tags: addressing client needs and wants, Content creation, Marketing to prospects, Writing tips
Content Creation Made Easy
If you struggle with staying in touch with your prospects and clients on a regular basis, join the club.
I hear from my clients that this is one of their greatest challenges. They worry, “Once I get a potential client on my list, then what?”
To address this concern, I encourage my clients to provide ‘tips’ in various forms (written word, audio and video) to their prospects and clients.
Tips are short ‘snippetts’ of information that provide value and are related to your target market’s greatest needs, interests and wants.
Tips are welcomed in your prospects’ and clients’ email boxes because they are quick and easy to access and provide value. And getting into the habit of creating success tips in various forms (written word, audio and video) will make your other projects easier.
Here are some ‘tips’ for creating your ‘tips’. 
1. Remember, a success tip focuses a particular problem and provides a simple solution. Simply put, it gives VALUE. It is not an advertisement and is not full of fluff.
2. Ask yourself, “What sort of tip can I offer to help people? What are they struggling with and what solution can I provide?”
Here are a few suggestions:
- reducing stress
- staying healthy
- controlling your thoughts
- being a better communicator
- eliminating conflict
- closing a sale
- being more organized
- setting goals
- providing better customer service
3. Format your tip like this:
- open with a short paragraph that addresses a problem.
- offer a solution (one, two or three brief points o address the solution), and
- close with a reference back to the problem and how using these tips are sure to help.
4. Put it into your email system, and send it to your list as a free gift.
5. Send one every 5 – 7- 10 days, and you will be offering your prospects and clients amazing value, plus you will be building strong relationships!
6. Place your tip on your blog site and you will have new content there on a regular basis.
Tags: Content creating, content for client attraction, Marketing to your prospects, Writing to attract clients
A Thanksgiving Challenge For You!
On days like today we have a tendency to get so caught up in the event that we forget what the day is all about.
So today I would like to offer you a challenge.
Are you up for it?
Today I challenge you to be conscious of your thoughts all day,
and only focus on one thing – THANKFULNESS.
No worries,
fears,
anxiety,
stress,
anger,
impatience,
intolerance,
judgment
or the like TODAY.
Nothing but THANKFULNESS.
So when a family member makes a digging comment
or your best friend cancels
or small children are running rampant in the house
or the stuffing doesn’t turn out the way you expected
or your favorite football team loses
or your siblings bicker
or someone forgets the dessert
or you drop the bag of flour all over the kitchen floor…
Be aware of your thoughts,
remember your challenge for today
and be THANKFUL.
So make this day
be filled with
THANKFULNESS and JOY
and nothing less.
Are you up to the challenge?
Blessings to you!
Kim and the Ready2Go Team
P.S. Like this post? Please offer a comment.
How to Never Run Out of Things to Say to Your Prospects and Clients
One of the most important things to do to grow your business is to always be building your list of prospects.
Education based communications, which are communications that provide knowledge and information, are the most effective way to grow your list and keep your prospects interested and engaged, and ultimately convert them to clients.
There are three types of communications that you can offer to your target market to attract, nurture and convert them to clients.
If you identify the topics that your target market is most interested in using these three categories, you will never run out of things to say to your prospects and clients!
And how would that feel?! Pretty good, huh?!
So let’s take a look:
1. Core topics are those that are at the top of your prospects’ list of needs, wants, interests and concerns. They are the topics that keep them up at night, that they are researching the internet,talking to their friends about, seeking answers to, and spending money on. You do not have to specialize in all the core areas on interest, but you want to specialize in some.
For example, say you are a relationship/parent coach. You have determined that your target market’s greatest needs are:
* Effective communication and conflict resolution
* Being in alignment when parenting
* Keeping their romance alive
* Managing finances and preparing for college/retirement
Given these needs, you may determine that you feel confident to coach them on the first three areas, but do not feel best equipped to coach them around their finances.This is completely o.k.
You have two choices – you can choose to not offer coaching around that topic OR you can bring in an expert to team with you in that area.
2. Complimentary topics are those that your target market have an interest in, but are not at the top of their list.
For example, you may be a weight loss consultant who can help people with their greatest issues of:
- The constant up and down battle, the frustration that come with it, and the hopelessness that follows
- How to eat properly, read labels and count calories
- Giving them the accountability they need to be successful
However, they may also be interested in cooking classes or healthy recipes. So this can be a complimentary topic that you speak on IN ADDITION TO the core topics. Again, this can be something you speak and teach about, or bring in someone else who is an expert.
3. Nice to have topics are those that your prospects and clients are interested in, but will not feel drawn to as strongly. These are the topics that they will invest in if there is nothing else currently pulling at their time and attention.
Be careful not to put too much of your effort here by creating products, services or education that do not create the ‘pull’ that you need to attract, nurture and convert your prospects and clients. These topics are completely o.k., but should not be your primary communications, or product and service offerings.
One of the biggest mistakes that business owners make when communicating with their target market is that they do not have a pulse on the needs of their prospects and clients. They cannot identify the core, complimentary, and nice to have topics, and therefore they often teach on what they ‘want’ to, instead of what their market ‘needs.’
If you are struggling with getting your prospects to respond to your offers, give yourself an honest check, asking which of your products, services and communications fall into these three categories.
Take some time to write down the core, complimentary and nice to have topics for target market. It will help in creating your communication strategy.
Here’s to your greatest success!
Tags: Building a List, Growing your business, Prospects, Selling, Target market needs, Topics
The 7 Foundational Elements of Business Success
As a business owner, you know the mountain
of marketing possibilities and actions necessary
to build your own business can seem
frustrating, overwhelming and exhausting.
We are pulled in many directions feeling like we have to implement every strategy that crosses our path. Audio, video, twitter, facebook, linkedin, blogging, article marketing, teleseminars, webinars, live events, and membership communities. Wow, it makes my head hurt! And these are only a few of the MANY strategies that are suggested we implement in our businesses!
The good news is it can be a lot easier. And one of the things that will make it a lot easier…
right away…is having a little help. So instead of focusing on 20 or more strategies to grow our business, it is helpful to know that there are only 7 foundational areas of business growth.
Those 7 foundational elements are:
1. Setting the foundation – crystalize what you want
for your business
2. Creating your brand – what do you want to portray
to the world
3. Building your infrastructure – website, free offers,
email system, etc
4. Target Market – identify, understand and access
your ideal market
5. Generating awareness – get out to your market
and grow your list
6. Product and services – create free and paid
products and services to attract new prospects, nurture
relationships, and generate income.
7. Communication plan – plan when you will communicate, about
what, using what formats, and for what goal.
Out of my own desperation and exhaustion I’ve created another way to help make doing business easier for me. It has brought me so much clarity which has turned into such great success, that I put it into a weekly action plan called One Step Forward To Success.
It’s a step-by-step, weekly action plan that takes you through the exact actions
you need to take to build your business in the most productive, results-oriented,
and profitable way possible.
And I’m so committed to helping you be successful, I am offering this program for free.
To get your free weekly action plan, go to http://www.TakeOneStepForwardToSuccess.com
Tags: Business success, marketing, One Step Forward, Overwhelm, tips
How to Incorporate Teleseminars into Your Business
Despite our resistance,
if we are working with clients
beyond our local geographical boundaries,
we must accept the fact that
we are in the internet business.
And the sooner we embrace this fact,
the more successful we will be.
At the end of the day,
people want to do business over the internet
with people they have a feel for -
people they can trust.
They want to know there is a real person
on the other end that cares about them
and their issues.
And teleseminars and webinars
(plus other audio and video training)
are a great way to do that.
Here are several important tips
to consider when incorporating
these types of trainings
into your business:
1. Keep in mind that it is always best
to speak to your market
about their greatest issues
and needs. Giving them a SOLID
(and that is the key word)
sample of you, your teachings,
your philosophies, and your solutions
to their needs will draw them to you.
And you can easily do that via
informational teleseminars
that lead them into the next phase of
engagement with you.
2. Not sure how to create a teleseminar?
Here’s what you do:
-Write down your target market’s
key areas of concern.
-Write down two to three solutions
to those key areas of concern
Here’s an example:
As a marriage coach of parents
with young children, your clients
mostly deal with:
- effective communication skills
- conflict resolutions skills
- keeping the romance alive
- co-parenting skills
In the teleseminar, you will cover
each of these topics briefly by talking about
a few things your prospects
and clients can do to address these areas.
For instance:
- for effective communication,
you talk to them about the importance
of their words, tone and body language.
- for conflict resolution,
you talk to them about active listening,
paraphrasing and clarifying questions
- for keeping the romance alive,
you talk to them about what’s realistic
to expect, the different phases of marriage,
and how to date each other again etc.
- Outline your presentation with
main points and sub-points
Obviously, you cannot go into great depth
within one hour, so you give them a way
to get much more information and
greater support from you in these areas
through your other offers.
3. Use this information and format
to create your teleseminar by delivering
a nice balance of information, combined with
questions, time for reflection
and time for sharing.
4. Use graphics where ever necessary as it
increases retention – HUGE!
5. Create a compelling title.
For example, a title like
“From Smoldering to Smoking -
4 Simple Secrets to Put the Romance
Back in Your Marriage” will probably get
your target market’s attention.
6. Create compelling copy to attract
their attention (use a copywriter
if necessary as it is ALL ABOUT
getting your prospect to your event).
7. Practice, practice, practice.
Nothing takes the place of preparedness.
8. At the teleseminar, let them know
how you want them to engage with you NEXT.
They don’t know unless we tell them.
I hope you find this information helpful. Tell us about
your experience teleseminars and webinars.
Tags: content for client attraction, free offer, introduction to services, teleseminars, webinars
The Power of a Good List
There has been a lot of discussion lately around the importance
of having an ever growing list of targeted prospects in order to build a successful business.
I want to take a moment and talk about the power of a good list, because simply stated, a good list is everything. It can and should be the core of all your communication and marketing activities.
A good list is filled with targeted prospects who have volunteered to engage in a dialog with you, to get to know you more, and to allow you to get to know them more because they see that you may have something of value that serves their needs. The people on your list are happy to hear from you as they are looking for the types of products and services you provide, and are interested in the topics you specialize in.
It is better to have a bigger list of targeted prospects, because only a portion of your list will respond to your offers. Consider for the sake of this example that an average of 10% of your list may respond to your offers at any one time. Converting prospects to clients when your list is 1,000 or 10,000 is much easier than if it is 100. Therefore, the process of growing your list should never stop. The more people you have on your list, the more people you have to market to. Because your true market is not your target market, but the prospects from your target market who are on your list.
Building the right kind of list is one of the most powerful assets of your business. It requires diligent effort, takes time, and has incredible long-term benefits. It gives you a list of targeted prospects and a continuous channel of people who are interested to get to know more about your products and services, will eventually convert to clients, and will become referral sources and life long friends.
Ultimately without a good list,
you don’t have anyone to market to,
and without anyone to market to,
you can’t grow your business.
—————
If you missed my video on
4 Simple Steps for Growing Your List
check it out here:
Also, be sure to check out my article on
10 Ways to Use Your Special Report
to Grow Your List.
Here’s to your greatest success, and please let us know
how we can support you in growing your business.
Tags: Build a list, Grow a list, Prospects, Selling, Successful Entrepreneurs, Target market
Getting Clients With LinkedIn
It’s likely you’ve been working on your
social media plan. We’ve talked about Facebook
and Twitter in the past, and this week our focus
turns to LinkedIn.
It is up to you to determine if you want to participate
in these networks, and how it fits into your developing
business plan, but they are definitely worth considering.
While I am no social media expert, I definitely like
and recommend LinkedIn. I think it is a network
that can indeed help you to grow your list
and make meaningful contacts without being a total time drain.
Because of this, I have a special bonus for you!
LinkedIn expert, Jane Morrison, sat down with me recently
to have an interview about the benefits of incorporating
LinkedIn into your business.
You can listen to the recording by clicking here: LinkedIn Tips for Business
I encourage you to consider LinkedIn as a viable strategy for your business.
Take some time to create a plan so you can get the most benefit from the time you spend on LinkedIn.
Your plan should include:
- How often will you visit LinkedIn and how much time will you spend there?
- What will you do with your time while on LinkedIn?
- Will you invite people to connect? (Use keywords to search individuals and groups who fit your target market
- Will you accept others’ invitations to connect? (Be sure to check people out before you accept their invitation. A targeted list is better than a list muddied with people who are not your potential clients and collaborators)
- Will you participate in discussions? (This allows you to create relationships with others in your network.) Think of these people as your future friends, colleagues, clients and collaborative partners
- Will you start discussions? (Think of topics that your audience will respond to that create healthy and productive interaction.)
If you are using LinkedIn, we’d love to hear about your experience.
Tags: Attracting clients through social media, LinkedIn, Social media for business
How to Write a Great Article Fast
Here is a simple, yet very effective outline
for writing your article:
1. Open - Address the problem and tell them
what solution you will provide. Here is an example:
“Do you sometimes feel like life
is controlling you instead of
you controlling it?
Like there is never enough time
to get it all done, and with no end in sight?
The evolution of technology
is supposed to make things easier and faster,
but instead we just add more to our already
overflowing plates.
Then at the end of the day,
we plop down with barely enough energy
to put up our feet knowing that
tomorrow brings more of the same -
scratching things off a never ending
‘to do’ list.
If this sounds like you,
and you are ready for a change,
here are 5 simple strategies
you can implement right away so your
‘to do’ list gets complete,
you feel ahead of the game,
and you have energy and enthusiasm
at the end of your day:”
1. Body - Provide the solution by sharing
a paragrah or two about each of the 5 tips.
Number or bulletize your tips.
2. Close – Sum up your article and give a call to action.
Here is an example of a close:
“By implementing these 5 tips
you will notice a dramatic difference
in your stress level, energy level
and happiness level. Afterall,
today’s technology and latest gadgets
are designed to make life easier,
not to add more things to your already
overcrowded plate. So make a conscious
effort not to replace one completed task with
more ‘to dos’.”
3. Bio - Add a paragraph about yourself, a
a link to your website, and contact information.
4. Title – Give it a catchy title, and you are good to go.
Often times when you are writing, your title
will magically appear.
5. Call to Action – You may want to add a simple
call to action that gives people another resource or tells them
how they can engage with you further.
Tags: Adding value, Business, Creating content, Entrepeneur, Writing articles
