Notice anything different about the newsletter this month? The end of the year is always a busy time for everyone – no matter what your religious denomination is. Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza, the holiday season is a festive one and a busy one.
One of the things I do at the end of the year is reflect on all that has happened over the past 12 months. Added to my list this year is to look at my business. (As if I didn't have enough to do already!) I decided to look at some of the renovations that I've implemented this year and see how I could make them better.
The premise of Marketing Made Simple has always been to take the "chore" out of marketing and make it fun. I'm feeling fun with the new layout! I think it now sets up a better picture of how I see marketing and how I hope you will as well. There are going to be many more changes in store for Marketing Made Simple, including monthly drawings, special tele-classes for subscribers only, and more. Stay tuned so you don't miss out!
As we bring 2005 to a close, take some time (when you can find it) and reflect on your business and your marketing plan. What can you implement in the upcoming year? What's working? What's not? Do you have goals for the various marketing efforts you have in place? Now is the time to get those goals in place for the upcoming year. Without them, how do you know if you're growing?
Continue educating yourself on the various aspects of marketing and getting your name out there! Do you have a newsletter? Do you have a blog? Are you writing and submitting articles? Are you networking? If you're not telling people about what you do, they'll never know!
How do you continue to educate yourself on marketing? Beginning in January, I'm going to be doing more product reviews in order to help you weed through the plethora of marketing stuff out there.
You may think I've been quiet this month, not seeing me pop up quite as much as normal, but it's simply because I'm preparing for 2006 and all the wonderful things that the New Year will bring. I have so much more in store for Valley Virtual Assistants, as well as the other aspects of the business – all things that I hope will help you succeed, as well. I can't wait to share them with you!
From my family to yours, have a very Happy Holiday and a prosperous New Year!
Until next time… 
The Importance of a Signature Line…
The very first tip in Making Dollars Out of Cents: 101 Tips for the Frugal Marketer is using a signature line – whether you're posting in forums or sending an email. Many of us take our signature line for granted. It's just there. Everyone else does it, so we do, too. Do you realize how important that signature line is?
In November, I was researching various places I could advertise the book and found a local publication that caters to small businesses. I found their email address and dropped them a note. It simply said, "I'm interested in advertising in your publication. Could you please provide rates, ad specifications, and any other pertinent information?"
The response that I received included the information that I requested as well as a question about my business.
Hmmm...I never told her what I did, so how did she know? The answer is quite simple. She noticed my signature line, and as a result, I have a new client.
Still think it's not important?
When you look at your website statistics, where are people coming from? If you have your link in your signature line, I'm willing to bet that many of your visitors are coming through a signature link from a message board that you post on.
If you'd like to track the times that someone clicks on an email signature link, direct them to a specific page on your website. You'll then be able to see how many times people are clicking on the link in your email signature line. I bet you'll be surprised when you see how many people actually DO click on those links!
Use your signature line wisely. Don't try to sell something in your signature line, just get them to your site. Use your site to do the selling! Keep your signature line short, sweet, and to the point. Highlight your newsletter or a special you have running. Use buzz words to get their attention. Are you more likely to click on a link that says "Visit my online store for great products" or "Click here for up to 50% off name brand merchandise"? These phrases are just examples, but think about the links that you click on while you're surfing the net. What makes you click?
Your signature line is important!
Take some time this week to evaluate your current signature line. How can you make it better? How can you get more people to your site with your signature line? Set up a tracking system. If it's not working, then change it up. Use your signature line to your advantage!
Happy Marketing!
courtesy of SmallBusinessTown.com
The Pope and Chicken
A guy from Tyson Foods arranges to visit the Pope. After receiving the papal blessing he whispers, "Your Eminence, do we have a deal for you. If you change The Lord's Prayer from 'give us this day our daily bread....' to 'give us this day our daily chicken....' we will donate $500 million dollars to the Church". The Pope responds saying, "That is impossible. The Prayer is the Word of the Lord and it must not be changed". "Well," says the Tyson man, "we are prepared to donate $1 billion to the Church if you change the Lord's Prayer from 'give us this day our daily bread....' to 'give us this day our daily chicken...." Again the Pope replies "That is impossible. The Prayer is the Word of the Lord and it must not be changed". Finally, the Tyson guy says, "This is our last offer. We will donate $5 billion to the church if you change the Lord's Prayer from 'give us this day our daily bread....' to 'give us this day our daily chicken....'" and he leaves. Next day the Pope meets with the College of Cardinals to say that he has good news and bad news. "The good news is that the Church has come into $5 billion". "The bad news is that we are losing The Wonderbread Account"
Special thanks to Pam at Delaney Imaging for her graphics help, Amber at Smart to Finish for taking over updating my blog, Laurie at Working Wisely for taking some work off my plate so I could get this newsletter out and Julie of Helping Hand Office Services for giving it a look through and catching all my mistakes!
Extra special thanks to my coach, Dale Noles of VATraining.com who (a) puts up with me, (b) helps me formulate my ideas, and (c) helped me with many design flaws of this new format! |
