Create a Legend in Google's Mind

Whether you agree or not, Google has become the most dominant marketing presence in the world. But the real question you should be asking yourself, does Google think you are a legend?

When someone goes to Google and searches for you, are they finding an overwhelming amount of information about you, including useful information that makes them want to do business with you? Or are they finding a picture of you from the first grade that your friend tagged you in?

With the slowdown in the economy and the increasing cost of traditional marketing and rising media costs, wouldn't it be better to let Google establish you as an expert in your field. It may sound difficult, but it's as easy as hiring the right writer to create a legend for you, in Google's mind.

When it comes to websites, the more traffic you can get, the more likely you are to sell something. It doesn't matter if it's a service or a product. For most business owners, the purpose of the website is to sell something. However, marketing is changing, and as a business owner, you need to change with it.

Website marketing is now becoming more about providing information and expertise to your potential customer than it is about automatically selling your customer something. The term is called pull marketing and it's changing the way businesses do business.

AN EXPERT OR JUST A SALESMAN:

Sales people have never really been thought of as experts in their respective fields. Sales people are charged with selling their company's products. Some of the best sales people though, don't actually sell. Rather, they provide information to their potential customer. Then, they let the customer decide whether they want to do business with an expert or take their chances somewhere else. In effect, they make the buying process about buying information and experience, rather than about product.

Ideally, as a small business owner, you want to be considered the expert that people go to first and then subsequently purchase from. But how do you establish your expertise?

BUILD A LEGEND:

One of the quickest and guaranteed methods of creating expertise is making sure you are found, when someone searches for you on Google. Start with a search of Google, to see if you even show up. If you aren't on the first page, then it's time to build your legend.

Legend building starts with deciding what information you have to offer your potential customers that will help them out, but will also drive them to request more information, specifically from you. To do that, you have to become findable.

THE QUICK:

The quickest way to be found is to hire a professional writer to collaborate with, to create more original and interesting content for your website, your blog, and about you. Most people find it incredibly difficult to write their own experiences and expertise. Even though they experts on the topic, they can't seem to write interesting copy. The solution, hire a professional writer to do the heavy lifting. Once these pieces are written, start putting them up on websites, put them out to the public. Remember, once something is out on the Internet, it can never be put back in. That's why you should consider a professional writer to provide the content for you. It's as easy an interview and the writer does the rest.

THE DEAD:

Of course, there are wrong ways to go about this as well. Again, consider once something is out on the Internet, there really isn't a way to get rid of it, at least not without a whole lot of work. So, before you consider just writing and publishing, consider that if it's bad, it might do more damage than good for your legend.

So, start by finding a good writer, then Google them, read their articles, check their samples and read their content. If you don't feel comfortable that this writer can tell your story compellingly, move on to someone else. Writing interesting content is an art form. Find a specialist, it will be worth it.

Read More

Simple List Building Guidelines For Beginners

All successful online or offline businesses know that the easiest and most profitable people to sell to are those customers who have bought products from them before. Existing customers will in all probability buy further products from those businesses they are familiar with and more importantly trust.

There are numerous ways to develop a strong customer list, some are simple to put into action, others take some time and effort, it's not really imperative to apply every technique, just select the methods that you consider are appropriate for the product that you are promoting or selling.

How do I start to build a good responsive list of customers you will purchase from me again and again is a question asked by many beginners.

To begin with, when building your customer list you are going to require an inducement to encourage your potential customers to sign up to your list, this means offering something for FREE, which can be anything you want. eBooks or a simple report are very easy and quick to acquire or produce for this particular exercise.

Merely asking potential customers to sign up to your list, just because you think you have a fantastic product that will solve their problems will not persuade many of these likely subscribers, however offering them a FREE gift can help to boost the probability of them joining your list.

Don't fall into the trap of waiting until your list has grown in size before starting to market your product. This is a mistake often made by those new to list building. There are no hard and fast rules about the size of the list or when you should start promoting your product to that list, in other words start immediately even if you only have a few subscribers on your list.

Creating a strong successful list of potential customers does take time and a lot of effort, and certainly won't give instant results. For the list to be of any benefit to you in a business sense it has to be nurtured and cultivated over a period of time.

Once a potential customer has subscribed to your list, make sure you e-mail them on a regular basis with good relative information that's connected to the product you are marketing or selling. Remember it's about relationship building and your prospective customers will need to trust you and like the information that you are providing before they commit themselves to buying any products.

Each time you send out an e-mail to your list, ensure that the information that is delivered is helpful, informative and more significantly connected to the FREE e-book or report that first drew their interest. if the subscribers think that your free information is not relative to their needs, there's little chance that they will buy your product.

Do not forget the more time and effort you put in to building a strong and responsive list, the greater opportunity you have of your business thriving and making a profit.

Read More