Jim Connolly Marketing

Move along… there’s nothing to see here

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Marketing forward

Their social media presence is a familiar, dull mix of quotes from famous people and self promotion.

Their branding is really average.

Their pricing is pretty-much the same as their competitors.

Their range of services is boring and formulaic.

Their customer service is nothing special.

Their marketing promises are utterly predictable.

And as a direct result, prospective clients ignore them. There’s nothing worth paying attention to. So people move along… and a competitor gets the client enquiry.

Don’t be like them. Seriously. Just don’t

If you want people to care about what you have to say. If you want people to care about what you offer… give them something worth caring about. Then communicate it effectively.

Here’s a question worth asking, “What’s your story and is it attracting the attention of your marketplace”?

This will help you get it right: Why storytelling is the cornerstone of successful marketing.

How to build a massive and valuable list

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Hold onto your hat – I think you’re going to love this!

If you want to build a large and extremely valuable content marketing list, today’s post is exactly what you’ve been waiting for.

I was inspired to write this, after a reader emailed me. He explained that he had just read this post. Then he made an excellent point. And it highlights why most small business owners fail to get the content marketing results they want. Here’s what he said, along with my response.

He said that if his newsletter had lots of readers, he’d make time for it. he’d take it a lot more seriously. He’d publish regularly. He’d invest in a professional newsletter distribution service. He’d make it a high priority business activity. But he can’t justify the time now, because his readership is too small.

Overcoming the biggest challenge with list building

Every small business owner with a newsletter, podcast, blog or vlog started off with a tiny audience (or list). Just them and their friends. Mine started off with 6 readers. And one of them was me! However, there’s one massively important difference between those who build a huge list and those who don’t.

  • Those who build a huge list put the time and effort in, in advance, so that it grows. They do their best work and turn up regularly, when they have just 10 people. Because they know that’s the only way to build an audience of 1,000 people or 100,000 people.
  • Those who fail to grow their list, also start off with enthusiasm. But their enthusiasm drops, if their list isn’t growing as quickly as they expected. So, they commit less time to it. And things slow down even more.

The cornerstone of building a great list

The only way to successfully grow an audience or list, is to treat your work as if you already had the numbers you wanted. I wrote with as much passion, commitment and energy when I had 6 readers, as when I reached my first 10,000 readers. And I write with that same commitment today.

From day one, you need to invest the time and effort required. Here are some examples of what’s needed, plus a few tips.

  • Put in the effort. It’s work… not something you fit in around work. Put time aside specifically for developing and publishing.
  • Turn up often. If you have a newsletter, which you only publish once a month, it will take a lot longer to build your list, than a weekly newsletter. If you have a blog and you only publish once a week, it will take a lot longer to build your audience, than if you publish several times a week.
  • Learn what kind of information your marketplace needs and wants. A great way to do this, is to look at questions they ask in relevant forums or on social media.
  • Learn how to become a better (and better) communicator. Whatever content marketing channel you choose, learn from the best.
  • Make your work easy (and interesting) to read / watch / listen to.
  • Make it easy to share. This is essential if you want your list to grow.
  • Never add anyone to your list. Seriously, don’t. That’s not content marketing. That’s spamming. And spamming sucks.
  • Avoid content marketing tricks. Tricks have a predictable habit of backfiring. Just commit to doing the work. That has a predictable habit of succeeding.

I know what you’re thinking. That sounds like a lot of work. And it is. However, the rewards are disproportionately huge if you’re willing to commit to doing the work.

Here are a few more posts I’ve written on this subject.

How blogging can help you attract new clients.

How to earn trust with your content marketing.

The death of blogging.

Content Marketing: Is this useful?

I hope you find this useful. More importantly, I hope it inspires you to improve your content marketing, so you achieve the outstanding results you’re capable of.

21 Tips to build a better business

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business tips

In no particular order:

  1. You don’t have any clients, customers or subscribers. They’re not yours. You simply borrow them. This means there’s no room for complacency. You need to earn and then re-earn their custom, attention and trust.
  2. People buy what they want. Not what they need.
  3. People buy for their reasons. Not yours.
  4. The word ‘Webinar’ carries a huge amount of negative baggage. It’s purely toxic. If you want to use video marketing, call it something less sleazy.
  5. When you want to generate high quality cash flow fast… find new products for your existing customers. It’s far quicker and a lot more profitable, than finding new customers for your existing products.
  6. Your brand is either working for you or against you. Tip: If you haven’t intentionally created a brand for your business, it’s working against you. It’s losing you money. Fix it. Fast.
  7. Low quality customers or clients are the unavoidable result of bad marketing.
  8. Keeping your promises is a proven way to build a great reputation.
  9. Everything your business does, is marketing. The way you answer the phone, your payment terms, the suppliers you choose, they way you reply to emails, your location, the way you write, the design of your website, your prices or fees, your guarantees, your social network updates… it’s all marketing.
  10. Build an email list of prospective clients or customers. Don’t rely on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter or any 3rd party, for your communication channel. It’s like building a house on rented land. Attract people via 3rd party platforms. Then, encourage them to subscribe to your email list.
  11. A confused mind always says no. So keep your marketing as brief and clear as possible. Fewer options. Fewer words.
  12. Businesses with a small marketing budget tend to go broke. They dabble with DIY marketing, whilst their savvy competitors eat their lunch.
  13. The most powerful marketing is permission based. When people subscribe to your list, your message is treated very differently, than an unsolicited email from a stranger.
  14. Don’t lower your prices or fees. Increase your value. Here’s how.
  15. Stop waiting for the right opportunity. Make it happen. Create it.
  16. Learn how to make your marketplace curious. Why do prospective clients call you or email you? It’s because they need to know something and their curiosity motivates them to get in touch. So, you get a sales lead or client enquiry. And a chance to convert them into a new client or customer. Don’t explain everything in your marketing, unless you want very few sales enquiries.
  17. The more your services or products resemble what your competitors offer, the less visible your business is.
  18. Embrace brevity. Shorter messages are more powerful. Most marketing I see is at least 75% too long.
  19. Avoid using buzzwords. Those who don’t understand them will be confused. Those who do understand them, will cringe.
  20. Tell the truth. It’s the easiest, least stressful way to build a great business and your marketplace will respect you.
  21. If your business isn’t attracting regular sales leads or client enquiries, your marketing is broken. The very thing that feeds your business isn’t working. It’s costing you a fortune. Needlessly. Why are you allowing this to happen? Think about that for a moment.

Turn your website into a client generating machine

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marketing niche, marketing ideas

Is your website a sales generating machine for your business? Well, it should be and it could be! Here are 3 things to focus on, if you want to quickly improve your results.

1. Does your website look professional?

When people arrive on your website, what they see is either building trust in your business or destroying trust.

Think of it like this: A powerful marketing message on a poorly designed website, is like a beautiful meal served on a dirty plate!

Your website is creating a powerful, immediate impression in the mind of your prospective clients. Get it right and prospective clients will hang around long enough for your content to connect with them.

2. Did you write the marketing content of your website?

I’m talking primarily about the sales pages, where you want people to take action; to hire you, buy from you, call you, email you, etc.

If you did write these pages yourself, I have some great news and some bad news for you.

  • The great news is you can improve your conversion rate by hundreds (or thousands) of percent, by hiring a professional copywriter to write your marketing pages correctly.
  • The bad news is that it’s losing you a fortune in missed sales or client enquiries, every day that you delay.

If your site gets visitors, but very few convert into customers or clients, the answer is simple. Hire a proven professional to make your marketing message as irresistible as possible.

Problem solved.

3. Do you sell, sell, sell on your website or blog?

If you do, stop it. Seriously.

Here’s why: If your website is largely just selling, people will regard it as one big advertisement for your business. And people don’t like ads! That’s why we skip through the ads on TV. It’s why people pay apps like Spotify to remove the ads.

Instead, use YOUR website to build trust. Use it to provide education, related to your services or products. Use it to provide useful information.

In other words, use your website to position you as an authoritative expert… by showcasing your knowledge, experience and the value you provide.

Tip: Put the marketing pages of your site where they can be seen. Link to them from pages or blog posts, which provide free, useful information (like I do in the final paragraph of this post).

Finally, I hope you find this information useful my friend. More importantly, I hope you make 2018 the year you get serious about the potential of your website.

Make no mistake, it can be a sales or client generating machine for your business, so long as you market it correctly.

Let’s make your marketing totally irresistible

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marketing copy, content marketing, copywriting

If you want to enjoy massively better marketing results in 2018, you’ll find this really useful. It starts with an important question.

Do you ever wonder why some businesses push dull sales messages at you, over and over again?

The answer is simple: It’s because they are getting a poor response. Then, rather than improve the quality of their message, they increase the volume. Their thinking looks something like this: ‘Maybe if I send another marketing message out, SOMEONE will respond?’  They get another poor response. So they repeat the process.

We need to be smarter than that. You see, more volume isn’t going to help. In fact, it usually does the total opposite. Allow me to explain.

The volume problem

It’s not that people can’t hear what these small businesses are saying. The challenge is that the message isn’t interesting enough. It doesn’t motivate prospective clients to get in touch. It doesn’t grab people’s attention or interest. It doesn’t get people eagerly telling their friends about the product or service. And it’s losing these businesses a fortune.

Increasing the volume of ineffective marketing isn’t just ineffective. It’s also toxic! That’s because it not only fails to generate business, it also damages the reputation of the sender.

Overcoming this challenge

Here are some better places to look, when people are ignoring your marketing messages:

  • Check that your message is reaching the right people. Know who your ideal client or customer is. Then focus your message exclusively on what matters most to them. Don’t try to be of wider, general interest. That will make your marketing message way too vague. And vague marketing won’t motivate anyone to buy from you or hire you.
  • Make sure your database is up to date. Always use clean data.
  • If it’s an advertising message, check that you’re using the correct medium and media.
  • Then, before you publish your next marketing message, be certain that it’s motivating enough. Ensure it has the power to inspire the reader to take the action you require. Without a powerful message, nothing will happen. This is true, no matter how great your product or service is.

The message here is simple. If you want to massively improve your results, increase the quality, not the volume.

Alternatively, I can do it all for you. And do it really, really well. Here’s how it works.

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

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marketing help, marketing advice

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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