Tag Archives: Marketing plan

Tweet Your Own Horn

If you’ve followed this blog at all, you know I’m a firm believer that self promotion is part of the game of Twitterbusiness. The difference between business success and business failure often has more to do with effective self-promotion than with technical competence. If you want recognition, you must start promoting yourself.

So how do you promote yourself in a professional and sophisticated way?

One way is to deliver something of value.  ( Your ideas and professional expertise, of course.)  And one of the very best ways to do this today is using Twitter to tweet your own horn.

As Ron Miller points out: Your Business Needs to Pay Attention to Twitter

Over the past year or so, Twitter has become a full-blown communications phenomenon. For those of you who don’t follow every social networking trend. Twitter is a micro-blogging site where you enter your thoughts, whatever they may be, in 140 or characters or less. Experts say if you aren’t paying attention to Twitter, your business may be missing out on more than you think…

I’m a recent convert to using Twitter and am just trying now to set up a system myself to use it in a strategic way.

So let me turn to an expert, Michael Stelzner, and give you what I think is a stunning and very compelling  example which Michael used in How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business on practical ways to use Twitter. Trust when we say your tweets can capture the attention and interest of top level people in your field, so best to learn how to do it:

“The Twitter Plan

Cindy King, an international sales specialist, saw a huge boost in business inquires by implementing a strategic Twitter plan.

“Following the right people on Twitter was key. There are some people very gifted at building relationships on Twitter. As I followed these online community builders, I realized that some of them are also excellent direct response copywriters. They get their Twitter followers to take action,” said King.

“Light bulbs went off, and I spent a weekend putting together a tweet marketing plan and entered in 6 weeks worth of tweets, 5 a day, using TweetLater. I used a mindmap, created categories, varied times on tweets and used BUDurls so I could track results and improve my tweet plan the next time around. That was a month ago,” explained King.

When King finds a spare minute between projects, she logs into Twitter and watches what folks are talking about. When she Tweets, about 90 percent of the time she presents useful information and resources to her followers. The remaining tweets are surveys and questions. Following this strategy, King saw an 800 percent increase in inquiries about her business after she setup her Twitter campaign.”

And another example:

“Getting In Front of High Profile People

B2B copywriter Terri Rylander took a much different approach. At first she was very skeptical of Twitter. “I looked at it but couldn’t figure out why people would continually send out messages about the size of a text message, unless they were a teenager. Twitter was for sending updates they said. I don’t have time for updates, and besides, who would care?” said Rylander.

She later came across a peer in her industry that was using Twitter and suggested Rylander follow her on Twitter. “That’s when I discovered Twitter as a business tool. I’ve been in my particular niche for over 10 years and know who the players are (though they don’t know me). When I checked who she was following on Twitter, there they all were! It read like a “Who’s Who” list.”

Rylander joined Twitter and began following and interacting with the people she respected. “Other than a cold call on the phone or e-mail, I would never have the chance to get my name in front of vendors, industry analysts, and industry experts. I’ve had a number of Twitter conversations that have also led to personal conversations.”

To stay top of mind with experts, she offers interesting links, responds to tweets, and posts her thoughts for conversation at least a few times a day.”

Michael Stelzner also offers a number of very useful tools for your Twitter Toolkit, and I suggest you go to How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business to collect them all.  That’s what I’m going to do.

You can follow Michael here on Twitter .  When I get my Twitter plan up to speed, I’m going to ask you to follow me on Twitter also, and I’ll follow you.  Some of the Top Tweeters have 10,000 people following them.  But they all started with just a few.

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Best Way For A Startup To Earn Revenue? – Entrepreneur Poll Results

Advertising on Times Square, New York City

Image via Wikipedia

AdvancingWomen.com believes the top responses in the following poll capture the basics of how to make it through tough times.

First, tough times are the worst possible time to think of cutting your marketing/ad budget.  Don’t do it.  That’s where your prospects come from.  Second, remember most prospects don’t convert into buyers on their first or even their second visit.  You have to keep in touch with them and keeping chipping away at that wall of reserve or objections or whatever is holding them back from buying your product or service.  A series of auto-responder messages can help expand your marketing reach and free up more of your time to speak or meet personally with serious buyers.

Evan Carmichael, Blog Manager for  YoungEntrepreneur.com shares the results  from their latest Entrepreneur Poll,  Best Way For A Startup To Earn Revenue? – Entrepreneur Poll Results.: What Is The Best Way For A Startup To Earn Revenue? The number one answer that came in was:

  • Focus On The Sale

- The number one thing to focus on is your first sale. A lot of businesses fail because they spend their time on letter head, furniture, office space, etc. What really matters is getting in front of your customer, finding out what they need, and providing that service/product. It really is that simple but is by no means easy. Sales is hard work and is a required skill for every entrepreneur. If you have no sales or marketing experience I recommend you get a sales job before going out on your own.

- Hi there, The best way to earn revenue for a start-up is at some point stop setting things up and just start SELLING. Sales is a life blood of any business and the sooner you start the sales the sooner the money comes in.

- This is the only logical answer… The only way to generate revenue is to sell your product or service. There is no need for a poll or a survey… just sell.. thats all you need to know!

- Easy…Start selling a good product as soon as possible. Receiving revenues right away begin to offset the cost of a startup. There are those who want to read, research, plan, etc. all day, but it’s those who take action that succeed in this society.

- Earn revenue by having great sales tactics–selling while not getting caught up in the backoffice work and creating sales methods. Finding a smart way to have sale prices often, showcasing your products or services through sales, or adding some extra incentive or package pricing for the client. Also teaming up with a business that targets your audience. The key is also making sure keep expenses level while selling–so gross margins and profitability ratios don’t get messed up.

  • The second most popular answer was: Create A Marketing Plan

- No one will know that the business exists if it doesn’t launch a marketing effort soon after the ink is dry on the business plan. Create a clear and concise message and repeat it at every exposure avenue visited by your targeted audience.

- To create a marketing system that can attract customers easily. First, you need a way to make sure customers will come back again for your products. Subscription based works well. 2nd, you need to come up with a reason for them to buy. Maybe a one month free etc.

- Put together a marketing plan based on your projected cash-flow needs. How much money does your business need each month to cover costs and stay afloat? How much will it need to begin making a consistent profit? Now look at what you sell. How much business do you need to do each month to bring in that required revenue? Then build a marketing plan based on bringing in that amount of business for the lowest possible investment. And create incentives for customers to act now. There are two big mistakes small business owners make when starting out. One: not paying themselves, which forces many to give up too soon. And two: taking on all the work themselves instead of running the business. A healthy business can pay you a salary, and is scalable enough for you to bring in workers when needed, while you concentrate on running (and growing) the business.

  • The third most popular answer was: Advertise

- You have to spend money to make money as a new business. Advertise!

- Hi Evan! Good to see you on this forum. I believe that to get a business up and running successfully, you have to do a combination of the things several of you are saying: advertising and selling. Your advertising has to be very smart at first, being sure not to waste a dime. Many things can be done for free now, even if you’re a brick and mortar business. Get involved right away in the Chamber of Commerce in your area. Be evident at fundraisers and work your elevator speech into conversations somehow. Use your kids to pass out flyer’s. Do co-op advertising with local businesses. Just be a positive role model in the community and you’ll earn respect; which goes a long way in business. I think when your business is just getting going is the time you really have to be frugal with any money that you can get your hands on.

Other answers from our member were:

  • Don’t borrow if you don’t have customers
  • Rent ad space on your website
  • Networking / referrals
  • Use a blog to promote your business
  • Cut expenses
  • Put profits back into your business
  • Implement your business plan

For more of this post go to YoungEntrepreneur.com Blog » Best Way For A Startup To Earn Revenue? – Entrepreneur Poll Results.

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