Blogging Archives - Page 12 of 68 - Jim Connolly Marketing

Shocking news: Your prospective clients regularly read blogs

By Jim Connolly | December 8, 2017

Image: Danielle MacInnes.

It’s true. Your prospective clients visit blogs. And they visit them regularly, too.

I know, I know. They told you they didn’t visit blogs or you assumed they didn’t, but they do. However, they probably don’t even know it.

Allow me to explain.

Blog = website

A blog is just a website: A framework for delivering information. If a website is interesting, people will read it. Your prospective clients don’t care what framework a website is built on. They care about the content of the site.

As the name suggests, Jim’s Marketing Blog is very clearly a blog. However, many other websites built on the same WordPress blogging software I use, have less obvious names.

These include; BBC America, CNN, Time, The New York Post, Variety, USA Today, The Star Wars website, Sony Music, MTV News, The Walt Disney Company website, The Harvard Gazette, The New Yorker, The Mercedes Benz website and lots of other sites, read by hundreds of millions of people… including your prospective clients!

WordPress sites alone account for just under 30% of all Internet traffic. And there are many other blogging platforms. Think about that number for a moment.

What could this mean for your business?

The marketing potential from blogging is huge. And it’s getting better all the time.

Here’s one of the foundations of successful marketing: Be where their attention is. So, where is the attention of your marketplace?

Here are a few of the most common attention grabbers.

Facebook and other social networks. Blogs are designed to be easily shared on social networks. And that’s exactly what happens. Rather than buying Facebook ads, you can let Facebook users share YOUR site with THEIR friends.
Phones, tablets or computers. Modern blogs are designed to look great, regardless of what device you view them on.
Search engines. Blogs, especially WordPress, are designed to be easy for Google to crawl and index – making them easier to find on Google and other search engines.
Email. Blog posts (like this one) can be delivered via email. In fact, massively more people read my blog via email than on the blog itself.

In other words, blogging places you right where the attention of your marketplace is. And the value of that connection is hard to overstate.

For instance, client enquiries from my blog have increased year-on-year, every year, since I started blogging almost a decade ago. And it’s not just me. I work with people every week, who have seen the same pattern of results from their business blogs.

You can do the same

You too could be where the attention of your marketplace is (without spending a penny on advertising). You could be attracting client enquiries, rather than pursuing them. You could be order taking, rather than selling.

Tip: Here are 25 more reasons to start a business blog.

The tricky part?

Although our prospective clients DO visit blogs, they DON’T bother with the typical, dull, small business blogs. We need to be prepared to invest in our blogs the same way we invest in every other key area of our business. And that means taking time to deliver something, that’s as useful as possible, as often as possible. It means learning how to do it right – rather than following generic “how to blog” guides.

It means having a strong commitment to the community we serve.

Questions worth answering

Now you know your prospective clients regularly visit blogs, isn’t it time you reconsidered starting one?

And if, like many business owners reading this, you have a blog that isn’t working for you, is it time to start taking it seriously?

I can’t answer those questions for you. I can only let you know that a marvellous opportunity is staring you right in the face. It’s an opportunity, which increases in value every day. An opportunity, to benefit from the most powerful form of marketing I have ever known.

Do marketing gimmicks work? Yes. Here’s how!

By Jim Connolly | December 7, 2017

I think you’ll find today’s post really useful. I’m going to share some ideas, to help you understand how marketing gimmicks work and how you can use them, to massively increase the reach of your marketing.

How a marketing gimmick went viral

Some years ago, I discovered a business blog. The thing about this blog, was that the author cussed and swore. She didn’t just drop the occasional f-bomb. No. She took every opportunity to swear. It was a marketing gimmick, done for effect.

And it worked. It worked really, really well!

At the time, she attracted a lot of attention and interest. People were talking about her. Back then, it was rare for a business blogger to cuss in their posts. Many people emailed me links to her latest posts, dazzled by her profanity.

She gained a lot of visibility. Visibility that had the potential to help her attract a huge (and extremely valuable) audience.

And then… she vanished!

No, she didn’t literally disappear. But she did soon vanish from the radar of public attention.

Why?

Well, it turned out that all she had to offer her readership was her cussing. At her core, she was just ‘yet another’ business blogger. So although her marketing gimmick drew people in, once the initial shock value wore off, there was nothing to return for. It was a missed opportunity.

Marketing gimmicks: making them work

Make no mistake, marketing gimmicks work. That’s to say, they can help you to get noticed… and noticed fast, by a huge slice of your marketplace. Plus, if you use a little creativity, it can cost you pennies.

However, there’s a limit to what we can achieve with gimmicks alone. That’s because while a good gimmick can open a door for you, you then need to deliver something useful.

Here’s an example of what I mean.

Imagine you wanted to massively increase the audience for your newsletter, podcast, vlog or blog. You could use a marketing gimmick to get people talking about you, sharing your content and subscribing. But, to benefit from all that valuable attention, you’d then need to offer something of substance… helpful ideas, interesting information, useful insights, etc.

Marketing gimmicks: The bottom line

The bottom line looks like this: Marketing gimmicks will attract people’s attention. Substance will retain their attention.

Before coming up with a marketing gimmick, focus on what you ultimately want to achieve. Then have a process in place, so that the initial gimmick is followed-up with something of value. That’s how to attract people’s attention, retain their attention and earn their trust.

With the ongoing attention and trust of your marketplace, you can achieve great things for your business. Start with a marketing gimmick. But remember that the gimmick is only the start. It opens a door of opportunity. Nothing more.

Tip: If you found this useful, you can get my latest ideas delivered direct to your inbox, for free, right here.

How to build a massively valuable community, without Facebook or any other network

By Jim Connolly | November 20, 2017

What do Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Linkedin have in common?

They’re relied on by millions of business owners, as a way to connect with their marketplace.
Plus, these same business owners have zero control over them.

Think about that for a moment.

On Friday, the popular Unilad Facebook Page was removed from Facebook. It has over 34 million likes and reaches billions of people. The page came back after a couple of days, following a huge media outcry.

The whole thing served as a timely reminder. A reminder that outsourcing the communication channel between your business and your marketplace, to an unaccountable 3rd party, is really risky.

Of course, if you or I have our main social account deleted, there’s unlikely to be a huge media outcry. Click… and we’re gone, along with the community we built.

The answer?

The answer is to take control away from social networks.

How?

My recommendation isn’t sexy. It’s not fashionable. It’s certainly nothing new. But it works. And it’s of massive value.

I’m referring to email!

Sure, use social as a way to connect with prospective clients / customers, if you really want to. But encourage those people to give you permission to contact them via email.

Pushing ads isn’t community building

Many small business owners fail with email, because they make their emails little more than a series of advertisements. Every email should contain what I call Independent Value. This means the reader should get something of value, independent of whether they spend money with you.

So no, a series of emails from you all about special offers isn’t going to cut it. That’s advertising, not community building.

Here’s what works: Only contact people when you have something useful to share. Show up regularly. You’ll then be building your very own permission-based community (what Internet marketers refer to as “your list”).

Yes, make it easy for people to get in touch with you, when they want to hire you or buy from you. Just don’t make that the focus of your emails.

Get it right and you’ll never be reliant on any social network.

I don’t have the time, Jim

A couple of interesting things happen, when you no longer need to spend all that time every day, feeding your business’ social networks.

You’ll rediscover the time you lost. This will give you more than enough time to build your own email community. I’m a dad, husband and I run a successful marketing business with clients all over the world. Plus, I work out for over an hour every day. However, I spend less time on social networks than anyone I know. That’s not a coincidence.
You’ll also find it massively easier to focus. It’s difficult to concentrate on anything, when you’re being constantly distracted by social media updates.

These benefits combine to provide you with a far more productive working environment.

They also “gift” you the additional time and clarity required, to create useful content for your email community.

Business and personal

An important distinction needs to be made, between business and personal use of social networks.

I’m not suggesting you stop connecting with family and friends.

Far from it! I myself use Twitter socially. The vast majority of my contacts and tweets are not connected to my business. It’s a leisure activity for me, which I really enjoy.

My point is the importance of building your business community on a platform, which YOU control. It’s about highlighting the risks of handing the main communication channel between you and your marketplace, to a 3rd party, over which you have zero control.

How effective can building an email community be, when a small business handles it correctly? Well, despite Jim’s Marketing Blog being one of the most popular blogs in its niche, 12 times MORE people read the email version of the blog. My email readership is also, easily my biggest source of new clients and enquiries.

Outsourcing the communication channel with your marketplace, to any social network, is extremely risky. It’s also 100% avoidable.

Here’s what you need to know: This is a proven example, which shows you how to get it right. It includes how I helped a client build a massively valuable reader community. You can read it here.

How to get your marketing in front of people at exactly the right time

By Jim Connolly | September 27, 2017

When is the best time to market your services to someone?

That’s what today’s post is all about. I’m going to show you how to get your marketing message in front of people at exactly the right time. It’s based on my newest client.

I was prompted to write about this, after Jennifer joined my Marketing Mentor Program. Jennifer’s experience shows the importance of timing. She explained how she’d reached a tipping point. She wasn’t prepared to waste another year, working hard and making too little progress. So, she decided to get in touch with me on Friday and hire me.

There’s a lesson here for you and the way you market your business. And it becomes obvious, as you look behind Jennifer’s actions.

What does this have to do with timing?

Jennifer’s desire to own a better, more profitable business is what motivated her to take action. However, in order for her to consider me as the obvious choice, I needed to be where her attention was, at the point where she was motivated to take action.

You need to do the same. You need to be where your prospective client’s attention is, when they need what you have to offer.

Most small business owners only market their services intermittently. There’s usually weeks and often months between their marketing efforts. And because of the importance of being there precisely when their prospective clients need them, this stacks the odds against them.

If you’re getting low response rates from your marketing, you’ll already know exactly what I mean. Because no matter how great your services are, if you catch people at the wrong time, they won’t hire you.

Thankfully, this doesn’t need to happen to you ever again!

Here’s a proven, extremely effective alternative.

It works like this

Instead of seeing marketing as something you do occasionally, start treating it as an ongoing part of your business. This is how you ensure your name is front of mind, when a prospective client needs you. This is critically important, if you want people to hire you.

For example, Jennifer had been a reader of mine for months, before she hired me. She already knew who I was and she knew my work. So, she trusted me. Then, one of my posts landed in her inbox at the point when she was looking for help.

I became, in her words, “the obvious choice”.

Be there when they need you

Quit marketing like it’s a decade ago. Instead, turn up often, with something useful… not just a series of ads, offers and pitches. Consider newsletters, vlogging, blogging via email, podcasting etc, to share your expertise with your prospective clients. Demonstrate your knowledge. Share your passion. Build a connection with your marketplace.

If you do, you’ll be where their attention is, when they need your services.

IMPORTANT: None of those marketing suggestions cost you a dime, unlike; print ads, mailing lists, mail shots, networking groups, Facebook ads, Google pay-per-click, adwords etc.

In other words, so long as you do the right things correctly, there’s no financial barrier to continuously marketing your business. There’s no barrier to being where your prospective client’s attention is, at the point where they’re actively seeking the services YOU provide.

Think about that for a moment.

Is it easy? Yes. Once you know what to do and how to do it correctly, it’s extremely easy.

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10 Ways to create unstoppable momentum for your business

By Jim Connolly | September 12, 2017

Today could be just another day for you. Alternatively, you can decide, right now, to create some real momentum for you and your business.

Here are 10 ways to get started.

Find a decision you have been avoiding and take action on it. Indecisiveness leads to stress and destroys progress.
Start an idea journal. Capture your ideas and give yourself a set amount of time, every day, to focus on them.
Start reading a book today, which will educate you or inspire you.
Eat right and exercise. Building a successful business takes clarity and energy.
Set some exciting goals. Then take action on at least one of them.
Publish something on a blog, vlog or social network today, which will be useful for your marketplace and showcase your expertise.
Demonstrate leadership. Take the lead on something that matters to you.
Connect people. We live in a connection economy.
Invest in something today, which you know your business needs.
Encourage people. By encouraging others, you become the source of encouragement. Think about that: You become the source of exactly what you need, in order to achieve all your own goals and targets.

To keep the momentum going, do something progressive tomorrow. Then repeat.

Tip: Read this for lots more marketing tips.