Robert Beadle's Social Media Marketing Blog

*Are you a small business owner and find yourself struggling to find customers?

*Have you poured a small fortune into ads and direct mail marketing that didn’t cause more than a tiny “blip” in your sales?

*Are you exhausted by painstakingly chasing down your leads one-by-one, only to have your phone calls and e-mails ignored, leaving you demoralized at the end of the day?… Instead, would you love to reach hundreds of “hot and ready-to-buy” customers all at once?

If you have found yourself nodding “yes” to any of the above questions, then you are going to LOVE the secrets I’m about to share with you today!

REVEALED: THE “SECRETS” OF OVERNIGHT SUCCESS STORIES

You’ve seen it before. A small business receives a glowing feature story in the newspaper, on TV, the radio or the Web, and the next day it is flooded with customers, ready to buy!

But what if I told you that I have discovered a way to duplicate the process, step-by-step, and transform your business into a success story too?

Now you can learn the closely guarded secrets of these overnight successes and know precisely how to mine your business for news “gold” that will get you featured prominently in the media and drive customers straight to your door.

NO, YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN INVENTOR OR A GENIUS TO BE FEATURED IN THE NEWS!

For 10 years, I have been helping average, “boring” businesses capture journalists’ attention and get their stories published over and over again!

In this one-of-a-kind introductory workshop, you will discover my proven step-by-step techniques for how to reveal the type of stories already hiding in your business that will entice reporters to feature YOU in their next big article!

These methods are proven to work for almost ANY small business, even if you are in a highly competitive market and have the same menu of products and services as everyone else.

HERE’S A SMALL SAMPLE OF WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS WORKSHOP


*The 7 Success Secrets that you can use to mine your business for news “gold’ that will earn you thousands of dollars worth of FREE publicity and drive customers straight to your door!

*The 3 Types of Publicity – a simple system you can start using TONIGHT to plan your stories and get your business featured in the news in a matter of weeks!

*The 5 Keys to a “newsworthy” story that will grab the attention of local reporters and get them calling YOU for more information!

*A secret tool that only the publicity experts know (and that a PR agency won’t dare tell you about!) that acts like a “fortune-telling crystal ball,” which reveals to you EXACTLY what stories journalists are looking for so that you can swoop in and save the day with your pitch at precisely the right time!

*And much more!

CHECK OUT MY UPCOMING APPEARANCES

I am giving this seminar around the Northeast, so check out my continuously updated tour schedule at http://www.northeastpr.com/seminars.php for an event near you!

BOOK YOUR PRIVATE WORKSHOP TODAY!

Would you be interested in having me provide a FREE educational workshop to your business group, network, club, team, organization or professional association?

For more information, send an e-mail to seminars@northeastpr.com and we will be in touch with you right away.

When giving a presentation, I like to talk about the Air Force as being one of the experiences that has shaped my life and business.

Sometimes, an audience member will come up to me afterwards and say, “I could never be in the military. I’m free thinker and I don’t take orders from anybody.”

I smile because they are missing the point about what the military has to teach us about business.

The U.S. military is one of the largest organizations in the entire world with about 3 million people charged with the defense of our country.  Thanks to our military, we can go outside and not worry about being shot, bombed, stepping on a land mine or crawling through barbed wire on our way to work.  I’d say the military has being doing a fine job since 1775.

How does the military maintain such a great record?  There are two reasons.  First it utilizes a system.  Second, it creates effective leaders.

Every procedure from the most complex, such as launching a missile, down to the most mundane, such as filing a personnel record, has a set of proper protocols.  If one member is injured or killed, another member can fulfill the duties left behind.  Do the systems breakdown? Of course, but there are systems for managing breakdowns too.

How are the systems working in your business?  Do you have a system for attracting leads, converting them into customers, managing the relationship and getting repeat business?  Do you have systems for how to deal with breakdowns, such as complaints and refunds?  Or are you just winging it?

The second lesson the military has to teach us is leadership.  No one starts out as a general.  Everyone has to first learn how to be a good follower before they can expect to lead effectively.  Therefore, learning how to follow instructions and implement a system is necessary to the team function.

Even if you are the top dog in your company, you success will be determined by how well you can follow a system and the instructions of those who have gone before you.  Your leaders are comprised of other successful business owners, particularly those who now teach the craft you strive to master.  If you learn how to follow, learn and implement their systems, you will achieve your goals.  If you decide to “wing it” or pick and choose from the system you are given, you will probably only achieve a much smaller measure of success, if you meet your goals at all.

Take a moment to reflect on your business.  Where do you need to install a system to manage a process?  Who are the leaders in your local business community or on the Web who have achieved what you want to accomplish?  What are you doing to learn from them?

If you are looking for a mentor, I offer several training programs on how to get more customers.  E-mail me for information at robert@northeastpr.com

Let’s face it – we live in a world of constant interruption.

Interruptions and distractions are massive productivity killers.  While it may feel as if you are being productive throughout the day when responding to e-mails, making phone calls, tweeting and going to meetings, you are really in what experts call “reactive mode.”  However, we only make the real money during our proactive time.

Here are some tips for reclaiming that lost time:

1) Exercise.

It may seem counter intuitive, but exercising first thing in the morning actually provides you with more energy, focus and mental clarity throughout the day. Exercise adds fuel to your reservoir of willpower and gives you the necessary boost to complete your most important and thought-intensive tasks.  Add a balanced breakfast with protein to this routine and you may become unstoppable.

2) DO NOT check your e-mail first thing in the morning.

Checking e-mail first thing is the morning triggers your “reactive mode,” and once you are in it, it is hard to pry yourself out of that condition for the remainder of the day.  Experts suggest that maximum productivity can be achieved if you check your e-mail only twice a day – once at noon and once again at 4 p.m.  If this is not possible, make sure the e-mail stays off until you first have accomplished your most important project.

3) Install a blocker on your Web browser.

Are you curious about how much time you are burning with non-work related Web browsing?  The Safari browser has an available plug-in called Waste No Time which shows you which sites you have been viewing and for how long.  The plug-in also has a feature to block those sites which seem to suck you in for hours per week.  You may also turn off your Web access for specified periods of time to remove your temptation to cheat.  Other browsers have their own plug-ins such as LeechBlock for Firefox.  Run a search on Google to find them.

4) Designate 50-minute blocks of uninterrupted productivity time.

Buy a digital kitchen timer and set it for 50 minutes, which experts recommend as the optimal time to focus on a project in one sitting.  Do not use the timer on your phone which will tempt you to become distracted.

Next, turn off your phone and e-mail.  Block your browser, unless these three conduits are essential to your task.  Get water or coffee and a healthy snack and close the door to your office.  Start your timer and work on your most important project until it rings or buzzes.  Take a break (away from your desk) for 10 minutes. Repeat.

Your first block of time should be devoted to your marketing, sales and new business projects.  Marketing is your highest priority task because it is the one that ultimately brings in the money.  Therefore get it done first thing every morning before you start your administrative tasks.

5) Train colleagues to know when you are busy and not to be interrupted.

Inform colleagues that your early mornings are reserved for accomplishing your most important business and that you do not wish to be interrupted.  There are very few things in this world that cannot wait an hour, so let go of your desire to respond to everyone immediately.  Set up an e-mail auto-responder and your voicemail to politely remind people of your availability.  After a few attempts to reach you, your colleagues will soon learn and adapt to your schedule. If meetings are unavoidable, try to schedule them in the afternoon.

When small business owners approach me to help them figure out why they are struggling to find customers, often I find the problem is in their website copy.

Most owners are sensitive about being too pushy or “salesy.” The answer to this challenge is to write benefit-oriented website copy that promises a solution to a prospect’s problem or desire, followed by a clear call-to-action.

Why do you need persuasive, compelling website copy in the first place?

You often only have ONE chance to make something happen with your prospect.  It’s a statistical fact that the vast majority of your prospective customers will only visit your website once, never to return.  Therefore, you must get them to take an action while you have their attention or risk losing them forever.

How do you write effective website copy?

Effective marketing copy follows several rules:

1)  Start with a compelling, benefit-oriented headline.

A common marketing error is to focus only on “features,” or worse, the business itself and how great it is.  Remember, prospects care about the results you can produce for them, not how many bells and whistles your product has.  Therefore, your headline must clearly state the benefit you are offering to your customer.

If you are new to writing headlines, a good way to start is with the phrase “How to…” followed by the benefit or result you offer, minus the pain or frustration they are feeling.

Read the headline to this article again and you’ll see this formula in action.

2) In the lead paragraph, show the prospect that you understand his or her problem.

The next step is to frame the problem or desire your prospects are experiencing in a way that demonstrates you understand them.

When you are having difficulty writing a powerful lead, try the “If, then…” approach.  Here is an example of a lead from a sales training program:

“If you’re a speaker, trainer, coach, consultant or anyone using a presentation-style sales approach, you’ve probably been giving your ‘heart and soul’ to provide amazing value to your audience. But if you’re frustrated because no matter what you try, you still can’t convert more than 10% of your prospects into customers, then you are going to love the secrets I’m about to share with you today.”

3) List the benefits you offer in bullet format.

A powerful way to demonstrate the value you offer is to list the benefits of your product or service in bullet format.  Create at least a dozen bullets that focus on solutions to problems, specific benefits and results.

Here’s an example of a bullet from a productivity training program:

*Learn three techniques for clearing off your “mental desk” and consciously letting go of things outside your control – things that are robbing you of energy and mental focus.

4)  Close with a call-to-action.

For many businesses, the ideal action is for your prospect to buy from you.  For those of us who have slightly longer sales cycles, the action should be something that allows us to engage our prospects.  For example, you might collect the prospect’s name and e-mail address in exchange for a free informational report that helps them solve a problem.

Whatever the action may be, it must establish a communication channel between your business and your prospect so that you can “nurture” them until they are ready to buy.

However, never assume your prospect knows what you want them to do.  Spell it out for them and give clear directions to “click the buy button” or “fill out your name and e-mail address.”

Right now, take a moment to go through the copy on your website to see if it includes these four principles.  Then reword it or seek the expertise of a trained copywriter to make your marketing work for you!

As small business owners we all need customers to survive.  So where do we find them?

Here is a simple three-step process to get you started on the path to growing your business.

Step 1: Understanding Your Customer

The first step to finding customers is to understand the type of customer you seek.  The more time and focus you put into this effort before you market your business, the easier it will be to find your ideal customer.

Separate your potential customers into marketing segments, according to the particular challenges they face and the solutions available to them.  This requires a shift in thinking.  Your business no longer has a single generic marketing program, but rather a series of mini-marketing programs that address the needs of each customer market individually.

For example, an interior designer may have corporate customers and residential customers.  Within the corporate customer market, there may be banks, law firms, and accounting firms.  The interior designer must strive to understand each group and its specific challenges in order to create custom marketing materials.

The more we understand about our customers, particularly their problems and challenges, and the better we have segmented them, the more equipped we will be to meet their specific needs and earn their business.

Step 2: Attracting Prospects

If you have done the work in step one, you should now understand the nature of your customers, into which market segment they belong and what specific challenges they face.

This approach forces a fundamental shift in your thinking.  You must take off your “company hat” for a moment and become an educator.  If you were a teacher, and your prospects were your students, what would they need to know to solve their problems?  And what are the ways in which you could reach your students?

You might offer classes, workbooks, videos, articles, e-books, podcasts and many other elements that help resolve a challenge which your prospects are facing.

Let us revisit our example of the interior designer.  If that person wanted to attract law firms, they might offer a free seminar called “How to Improve Your Law Firm’s Value & Image.”  Next, a personal letter might be sent to the senior partners at each law firm in Rhode Island with a compelling invitation to attend.

Step 3: Converting Prospects into Customers

You might be asking yourself, “What? You want me to give away my valuable expertise for free?”

Yes I do.  Give away some truly valuable gems of knowledge.  Why?  Because you will fill the room with dozens of well-qualified prospects who are itching to learn what you know.

When you have delivered an hour’s worth of great information, many of your well-qualified prospects will want to know more, particularly about the implementation phase of what you are offering.  That is when you present them with a “special offer” for your products or services.

Many businesses unwittingly drop the ball at the end of their seminars by not giving their prospects a clear course of action.  Once people leave your seminar, the memory and excitement of the experience will be forgotten in a matter of days.  Therefore, the key to attracting new customers is to present them with explicit instructions about how to either buy what you are selling or to continue their relationship with you in other ways.

Robert Beadle is President of Northeast Public Relations and Small Business Success Training & Coaching. To learn how you can attract more customers or to attend his upcoming free seminars, contact him at Robert@NortheastPR.com.

If you haven’t heard the news this month, Apple has released a new program to make it easier for educators to create visually stunning textbooks.

While originally intended for the educational community, this program opens up a whole new world for marketing your business – namely in the creation of your free reports and e-books.

Have particular knowledge on a subject your customers keep asking about?  Create a free report with iBooks Author, save it as a PDF and post it to your site.  Or offer your free report in exchange for an e-mail address.

You no longer need a designer or expensive page layout software to create professional looking reports and other marketing materials.

iBooks Author is free and can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store.  However, you must be running Apple’s latest operating system (Lion 10.7) to use it.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

*Are you a small business owner and struggling to find customers?

*Have you tried advertising, but don’t seem to be getting any results?

*Tired of looking for business in networking events where everyone tries to sell you something and no one is buying?

*Fed up with spending days at expensive trade show exhibits that generate few to zero sales leads?

*Confused, frustrated or just don’t have the time to experiment with social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter?

*No one seems to be buying during this never-ending recession?

*Is your spouse putting pressure on you to close up shop, start sending out resumes and get a “real” job?

If you fit any of the above descriptions, you’re going to love this…

In this one-of-a-kind business success group, you’ll learn the secrets to attracting a steady stream of customers and how to finally put an end to your financial worries forever.

Running a small business can be time consuming, confusing and frustrating if you’re going it alone. I know because I experienced many of the very same problems you’re facing right now. But I realized I needed to try something else, so I sought out the advice of the most respected experts in the fields of marketing and sales. Then I went from zero business to generating thousands in extra income per year with just a few simple changes to my marketing strategies.

You DON’T have to figure everything out by yourself.  I want you to help you find those loyal repeat customers, just like I did.

WHO WE ARE:

Our group brings professionals from all over Southern New England together for FREE interactive workshops on a range of topics from newer social media strategies to powerful traditional marketing tactics, all tailored for you, the small business owner. We meet at a convenient location in Providence, Rhode Island, with plenty of parking.

HERE’S A SMALL SAMPLE OF WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EXCLUSIVE GROUP:

*The 7 most common mistakes that small businesses make in their marketing tactics that actually repels customers. (Make sure you stop doing these immediately…)

*The 3 places your customers are actively searching for the products and services you offer. (Are you marketing there?)

*A 4-step strategy for unlocking and tapping secret markets your oversized competitors have completely overlooked.

*Exactly want to say in your marketing materials that will generate an irresistible desire in your customers to buy from you right now.

*And much more!

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

Go to our Meetup page at http://www.meetup.com/small-busines-success/ and subscribe to this group right now by clicking the “Join Us!” button at the top of your screen. You will receive e-mail updates for our regularly scheduled events and workshops.

Then, RSVP for the next workshop on our calendar and start growing your business right away!

If you understand some basic buyer psychology and know how to tap into your market at just the right time, you can enjoy a boom in your business.

2012 is right around the corner and millions of people will be making their New Year’s resolutions.  They all want to change themselves for the better by setting fitness goals, getting out of debt and growing their business, just to name a few.  Check out a top 10 list of New Year’s resolutions here: http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/holidays/tp/resolutions.htm.

So how can you help them?

If you’re in charge of attracting members for a credit union, how you can help someone climb out of debt or save more money for retirement?

If you looking for small businesses to hire your Website design company, how can you advise entrepreneurs on how to grow their business?

If you are looking for more customers for your restaurant, how can you advise people on how to eat healthy and lose weight?

Nearly all businesses can plug into the New Year’s resolutions season and provide useful advice to potential customers which will generate some positive PR.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Determine what expertise you have which can help someone who is embarking on a New Year’s resolution.  Learn from your existing customers by asking them what they want to know.
2. Write a short, easy-to-understand report with all the steps someone should take in order to accomplish their resolution.  Include your company name and contact information.  Save it as a PDF.
3. Upload the PDF to your website and Facebook page (you have a company Facebook page, right?).
4. Send out a news release to your local media via the wire service of your choice to drive traffic to your website.

The increase in Web traffic and positive PR you get from your free report will generate a boost in your sales.

If you would like more information about how to tap into the New Year Resolution Season or would like me to help you with your free report, e-mail me at robert@northeastpr.com

In the shadow of social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter, many online services often do not get the attention they deserve from businesses.  If you’re looking to get customers quickly, especially if you’re a small shop and don’t have a lot of resources, I recommend you take a closer look at Meetup.com.

If you’re unfamiliar with Meetup.com, this service is designed for bringing people together who have similar interests and wish to meet in the real world.  This is NOT the place to set up a virtual community or get people to follow your brand.  This is where you get to meet your customers face-to-face (the best way, in my opinion).

To illustrate how Meetup works, I’m going to use an example of Jim, a financial planner.  If Jim wanted to reach out to more people who were looking for advice on how to manage and invest their money, he might go to Meetup.com and set up a group called “Weekly Money Discussion Group.”

Meetup is paid by organizer fees, but it is free to anyone who wishes to create an account and look for meetings to attend.  If Jim buys a six-month “organizer” subscription, it will run him about $12 per month.

Jim builds his Meetup group’s custom website with compelling copy that highlights the problems most of his clients face.  After a few days, Meetup automatically advertises his new group to the online community by sending an e-mail to all the members in his city.

His first few members begin to sign up for his group.  Then Jim organizes his first Meetup discussion event and promotes it via e-mail to his new members.  His first group draws a handful of people and he proceeds to assists them with their financial questions.  He might even charge a small fee in order to pre-qualify his members.

After running several months of events and some good PR, Jim is able to grow his membership to respectable size.  Jim begins to get inquiries into his financial planning service.  After all, Jim is now recognized as the local expert in his field and he is the first person people talk to when they need financial advice.

Meetup is a great tool for larger organizations too.  For example, if a credit union is running a series of home buying workshops, it can create an “organizer” account on Meetup and attract more attendees for its seminars.

Take a look at Meetup.com and tell me what you think.  As always, if you have any questions or would like me to help you set your Meetup group and write your sales copy, contact me at robert@northeastpr.com.

I recently attended “Feeling Ignored by Editors?” a meet-the-media Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) event held in Providence, R.I., on September 27.

The media panel included:

Sue Areson, The Providence Journal
Artie Tefft, WJAR Channel 10
Andrew Gobeil, WPRO Radio
Scott Pickering and Patricia Resende, Patch.com

Here are some of my notes and comments from the discussion:

• Editors want “real” people – As public relations professionals, we have a role as connectors, but we are NOT the story.  Especially for interviews, reporters are interested in talking to the people who are the focus of the story.  For example, if your company is participating a children’s charity, have some kids available to talk to the reporters.

• When to send – Your news release or media alert should be delivered on a schedule that pays mind to the type of outlet you are targeting.  A good practice is to send your release out ahead of the event by one month, two weeks and one day.  The exceptions include magazines which require much longer lead times (often three or more months).  And while it is a good idea to notify broadcast media well ahead of an event, they don’t actually set their schedules until the day of, so don’t bother pitching a story far in advance.

• Social Media - The editors seemed divided on the use of social media for pitches.  For example, newer online publications such as Patch.com, heavily rely upon social media for story leads.  However, older more established publications, such as the Providence Journal, still rely upon e-mail as their preferred method.  It is a good practice to check with the editor or reporter you wish to contact to see which method they prefer.

• Providence Journal Schedule – The Monday paper is the smallest, so you will be competing with fewer stories if you aim for a release in that edition.  The Sunday is the biggest and most of the stories are planned around Wednesday for that edition.

• Multimedia Press Packages – The consensus among the editors was to spend more time on the quality of your story rather than dressing it up with lots of multimedia (video, audio, etc.).  A TV station will NOT use your video on their broadcasts, unless they specifically ask for it.  But a video might help them visualize a story during the pitch.

• Experts - Editors are always on the lookout for experts who can add perspective and credibility to their stories.  Think about who in your company might be able to provide an expert interview on a topic that is relevant to the interests of their audience.

I am a member of the Southeastern New England Chapter of the Public Relations Society of American and I recommend you see what they have to offer www.prsasene.org.