These are some of the best marketing techniques that will enable you to get better sales from your digital platform, even if you’re not an online marketing guru.
This is part of a whole section of my free resources of amazing tools to help transform your business and life through training videos, recordings, info graphics, worksheets and other cool things.
Tip 1: Email Marketing is King!
When I first started my business, I didn’t see the value of email marketing until I studied the psychological reasons why you should have an email database. Although, when starting out email marketing is a very slow process, you need to see it as you are building your customer database.
The benefits are:
When starting out, Email Marketing is slow, but you have to see it as building your customer database. Don’t buy a list and make the opt-in form simple and being clear that you will not be sending spam.
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Rules of the Game: It’s better to have a small-engaged list than a large, unengaged list with a low click through ratio. Email etiquette is one of the main factors that affect your technical email marketing statistics.
1. Install an Opt in Form: Choose an Uncluttered Area of Your Site and install an opt-in form.
2. Select Email Frequency: It all depends on your ideal client, when starting out every week/two weeks is common. The key is consistency.
3. Permission: Never ever add unsubscribed people to your email list.
a. It is just rude and your emails will be regarded as spam.
b. Ask people for permission to contact them via email with useful tips and special offers.
4. Content is King: Make sure you only offer valuable content to your subscribers. Nobody likes to be sold to, (ie. “Buy my book, buy my product”), but they are looking for content that will bring value to their businesses/lives. Remember: The unsubscribe button is one click away!
5. Opt-in: You can offer an ethical bribe which gives value to your readers such as a worksheet, training video, or ebook in exchange for their basic contact detail: name and email. Asking anything more than this reduces the chance of them signing up.
6. Shareable: If you want your readers to share, have a clear “Call to Action”(CTA) for your readers to forward your newsletter out, share on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Linkedin. You might want to say “If you found this information useful, forward this to a friend who would also benefit”
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Tip 2: Marketing does not need to be Expensive!
I studied marketing ten years ago at college, and worked in a Fortune 500 company where we had 2.5 million dollar marketing budget. But marketing has changed; Internet, online payments, VOIP, mobile apps, virtual assistant and a whole lot of other tools have shaped the way we learn, and how small businesses operates.
91% of buyers research things online before they buy anything, which means you need to Play the Digital Game OR you are going to be missing out like crazy.
Here is a whole info-graphic designed to let you know 10 Effective Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Site:
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There are small companies with small marketing budgets, making millions online in sales, because they are able to cannibalize their niche online in all kinds of areas from weird collectibles, to beauty products and tech gadgets.
Tip 3: Become A Giver!
We live in a digital age. The average adult spends 13 hours a week online, so that’s where they go to find information.
You can benefit from this by learning how to capitalize on that. So to get started:
1. Revisit who is your ideal target market: read more about the two pillars of business and get to know the customers you want to serve.
2. Find out what your target market needs: List 10 common questions they all face.
3. Offer Value: whether it’s through your blog, vlog, podcast, or worksheets, get interviewed… the key is to consistently offering your prospects value.
By consistently looking at way in which you can offer value, you will get to build a value website that converts traffic into prospects while giving your prospects the opportunity to purchase your product or services form you.
This will help differentiate you and your business from the competition, but it will also help you to generate more sales leads and attract new clients.
Every week I write about various digital marketing + lifestyle design ideas, techniques that have worked for my customers, and many of my readers share the information, because they find it valuable. Some even decide to hire me when they are looking at revamping their digital strategy or when they want to invest in building their virtual office to get more leads.
Maybe you’re thinking:
Who is going to buy from me if I give all this stuff away from free? Well, look at Harvard Business Review, Oprah, Ellen, – they give a lot of things for free but guess what, they run multimillion dollar operations.
You have to realize that there are 3 kinds buyers:
– The browsers: who don’t buy anything;
– The try everything once (TEO): will try it themselves and then will hire an expert when they are not getting the results that they want;
– The rock stars: who value their time and would rather have an expert help them do it properly for them because they would rather get results faster.
Your content marketing and thought leadership builds trust and will enable you to get the TEOs + Rockstars to invest in you.
Tip 4: Take Your Online Brand Seriously!
Remember 91% of buyers check things up online, so if you want to be taken seriously and demand higher prices, you need to invest in building your brand. If you want to charge $2,000, $3,000 or $10,000, your brand needs to be reflected accordingly.
Your website is a unique opportunity because it can be your 24/7 virtual sales shop. It also reflects a part of you and your uniqueness. Your online brand can help you scale or break your business quickly . Quality of design and content of your website matters. Prospects should be able to trust you and see you as a professional.
You don’t need to invest more than $100 dollars to look professional. Here’s how –
Price breakdown:
Website:
$15: Buy your domain name and your host through hostgator
$5: If you don’t know how to install WordPress, you can just hire someone from Fiverr.
Design: Use Fiverr
$20: Logo design (Order four logo design packages to have a choice)
$20: WordPress header (order four headers so that you have lots of options since this is something you want to get right)
$5: Newsletter header design for Mailchimp (Use Mailchimp.com because it’s a free software and after Tip 1 you know why this is important)
Website Template:
$39: Elegant Themes (70 Templates) or
$20: Themeforest (1 Theme)
Email:
Set up a professional domain-based Gmail email address (to send and receive emails to you@yourdomain via gmail). Nothing shows unprofessional like a gmail.com, Hotmail or something else.
If you want to increase your game, receive more high quality leads and sales from prospective clients, you might want to contact me to invest in having a professional designed website that is search engine optimized designed by one of our SEO experts.
A professionally optimized website will help you boost your online brand equity and make it easier for your prospects to find you. If your marketing has not given you the results you want, you think about your customer and how you are helping them solve their problems. If you are looking to grow and revamp online presence, do get contact us at info@transpiral.org
Tip 5: Build Your Brand Social Proof
A massive amount of products are designed every day, and even more killed every day. We are all creatures of habit. Most of us buy from brands we trust; that’s why businesses pay hundreds of millions of dollars every year for celebrity endorsements, marketing, brand management. Because they want their clients to continue to trust and respect them.
When we see our friends try something we are more likely to try it too. If no one tried it, we become skeptical of whether or not we should use it. Building social proof helps tackle that by having endorsement by people or companies who are well-respected. Therefore, showcasing the logos of where your brand has been featured an endorsed is a good channel.
In marketing you might want to do this through joint ventures, where you both parties benefit. This affects you, because it’s like getting your joint venture partner to give you their professional and personal endorsement. In my previous company, SABIC, we wanted to build our brand in China, so in order to do that we built a strategic partnership with China’s largest government owned oil & gas company, Sinopec. This JV helped built our brand in China, opening many opportunities as a result.
Now in the online marketing world, you could do this by getting endorsements and shout-outs on other people’s email list, online magazines, websites, or blogs and through asking their social media followers to check out what you are doing.
For my website, I have been featured and interviewed both online and offline for major TV stations such as Channel News Asia, Today, Under30CEO, Cleo, Her World, Simply Her and more. Essentially, these brands are telling my potential clients that I am an expert.
Tip 6: Find out What Your Competitors is up too
Competitors are awesome. If competitors exist that means there is a market for what you are offering. This article can give you a more in depth understanding of why it’s important to get to know what your competitors are up to.
If there are no competitors doing what you are doing, be careful (unless you have the cash to burn through), because maybe there is no market, maybe its too early, or maybe you could hit the jackpot. Even with major platforms like Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg didn’t come up with the idea of social networking – he just improved MySpace, and MySpace just improved hi5.
My little brother and his friend had all these ideas for new apps. I asked him if there was competition on the app store when he compared his ideas they were basics to some of the other apps he found. Imagine if he went off to build an idea and it was mediocre compared to the rest; he would’ve wasted his time and money.
The more you know…. the more you know what you can do better.
If you are able to find out what you are fighting against and you can differentiate your services by focusing on adding value to your target market, you have pretty much won.
Tip 7: Attract Customers, Don’t Chase Them (Make it shareable)
Most ladies hate selling. It’s because we hate the idea of being rejected; it’s the same reason why we don’t ask a guy out for a date. We prefer to get approached rather than to go after someone.
The same applies to marketing: Instead of push our services to prospects, why not attract them instead? So in the case of your business, why not attract your prospects attention and generate interest?
I remember one of my first jobs in college doing cold calling for the university appeal. Everyone expected the call to be a sales one and just like I do now, I didn’t even bother paying attention to listen.
Now, how many brands can you think of who use attraction techniques? Think designer bag brands such as Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, think of technology brands like Apple or Samsung. They don’t focus on the pushing their products; they attract you to their brands.
This also applies to attracting prospects through digital marketing!
So, if you are offering useful content for your target market, they will recommend it and forward it to their friends, colleagues and network. Then these new people do the same, and the cycle continues. Your email marketing goes viral.
It has been so effective that now, when I go to a networking event where I meet a prospect, I will send them some relevant articles that will help her with her unique problem. I don’t pitch to make a sale. I invite her to subscribe to my email list if she is looking for weekly tips and tools to help her grow her business online.
As a result, there are hundreds who know about what I can do for their business.
I haven’t spent any money, but I am able to attract prospects through my funnel. Now obviously, if you are bigger company, you can also invest by paying for online advertising such as pay-per-click, affiliate marketing or anything else). Most people think you need to always be chasing clients. I have done the cold calling, and it totally sucked. How do you think it feels like when you get emails from prospects who are asking for you for support?
For me, it feels Ah-Mazing!!!
How many of you rather chase than follow through to your letters of inquires, emails, calls or leveraging off your current clients?
Tip 8: To Scale means more prospects – List Building Essentials
I shared the importance of email marketing, and adding value through content. But like any business, just because you build it, or write about it, your prospects will find you. No – you need to work on building your lists.
More prospects = more clients = more money = more freedom!
Tip 9: Pricing Should Represent Perceived Value Created
If you are going to demand higher prices, you have to be able to offer more value. If you are struggling to figure out how to raise your rates, then this article might help.
I love the example of the Ritz Carlton and a hostel. If you were paying hostel rates of $20 a night at the Ritz Carlton, it seems like you are attracting a whole different demographic. Thus, charging the wrong rate sends mix messages.
Now you can’t charge for premium goods at basic prices. People will devalue them, just like spending $20 bucks to the stay at the Ritz Carlton will make it less attractive to the right clients in the long term. In the end You Get What You Pay For.
If it’s too cheap to be true, high chances are that is. Position your products and services to the perceived value you want it to have.
Tip 10: Build An Influential Network
Many entrepreneurs shy away from their highest potential because they believe that you have to start off with a huge network. But that’s not the case. Few successful entrepreneurs started with an instant network, but rather with a small group of influential people.
In this case, size doesn’t matter, but rather influence. The commercial value of your network is affected by the influence of your network, not the size.
Connect With the Right People
My favorite technique to get connected to the right people, is to deliberately target them at networking events.
The reason why few people see results from this forum, is that everyone is there to sell to everyone else, rather than buying from anyone. In truth, you will find very few well-connected, influential people at these events.
When I go to networking events, I do it to network; talking to people, finding out what makes them tick and seeing where there is opportunity for synergy – that’s what I’m there for. It’s a time-consuming exercise, but if you truly care and spend the time getting to really know people, and show them that you care, it pays off.
How To Target Influential People
1. Make a list of the top 10 influencers in your market
Consider introducers who can recommend you to the right people; potential prospects, and anyone else who could be of value to your business.
2. Earn their attention
Spend the time putting together a plan to help you earn their attention.
Being connected to the most influential people in your market is crucial to becoming a successful entrepreneur and influencer, too. It might be a step out of your comfort zone, but it will most definitely deliver spectacular results.
Tip 11: Strategic Ventures
I’m a true believer that success comes from co-operation, not from competition and that’s why I’m a huge proponent of J.V.s, or Joint Ventures. The key to a successful joint venture is to find another company that offers something non-conflicting to the exact target audience that you are after. As an example, think of the baby magazines (that target mothers with babies). Companies that sell baby products, such as diapers, lotions, bottles and clothing, have the exact same audience. What better way to promote sales for both, than to offer a free sample or coupon for the baby product in the magazine?
Just a word of warning: You’re bound to receive JV offers via email. Check the companies out carefully before you agree to a JV.
Tip 12: Analysis is Key
I’ve seen it time and time again: Most often, the owners of successful businesses work less than those of less successful businesses. It doesn’t make sense, but when you look deeper, you see why. If you waste your time with the wrong activities, you’re not going to make money and become successful. Busy does not necessarily equate to success.
STOP all the busy-ness right now and spend some time working on your marketing strategies. I suggest you go through this report from the beginning again and start doing whatever you are not doing yet, because these strategies work.
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