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What everybody needs to know about marketing advice

By Jim Connolly | March 4, 2015

Pro development topics r

If you’re currently following marketing advice, yet your business isn’t achieving the results you need, this post is just for you.

The problem with general marketing advice

I’m fortunate to work every day with clients worldwide. Since starting my business in 1995, I’ve worked with clients in over 40 countries. This has given me a wonderful insight into the differences, when it comes to successfully marketing in various parts of the world.

What I have found, is that some very popular marketing publications and marketing blogs are either unaware of the differences or they choose to ignore them. Instead, they tend to offer general advice, which is provided as THE WAY to do something, when it’s often totally unsuitable for many of their readers.

One very often repeated piece of bad advice is, “the best time to publish your newsletter, blog post or social media updates”. There is no general, one-size-fits all answer to this.

Here’s the thing: Different countries have different working cultures. For example, my American clients usually start work earlier than my European clients, however, my European clients often work later. So, if your business is in Europe and you’re reading a marketing blog for American businesses 9or vice versa, any information on the best time to publish something is incorrect.

Equally, even within the same countries, different industries work different hours. For example, designers, developers and those in the hospitality industry, often work later than other industries. So, using generic advice on the “best time to publish”, even if it’s from a locally-based marketing expert, is a waste of your time and money.

There’s more

I see equally inaccurate information shared on content marketing blogs. No distinction is made between the kind of copy required to sell expensive, professional services — and the kind of copy needed to build an affiliate website or sell low priced items. A very different approach is required for each of these. As a result, I get emails from professionals with terrible blogs, newsletters and websites, who want to know why their readership isn’t growing and why they get few if any enquiries.

(Note: To find out what happened to one of my readers when she took that kind of advice, read this.)

Those examples of non-specific, general advice are sadly typical of what I see many hard-working small business owners waste time and money on. So, before you use general marketing advice, make sure it’s applicable to your business. If it isn’t, that free advice could lose you a fortune.

How to get people to respond to your marketing, in just 2 steps!

By Jim Connolly | January 12, 2015

marketing tips, marketing ideas, sales

Are you tired of prospective clients or customers, who don’t get back to you when they say they will? If you are, then the following short post is just for you.

The biggest lie in business

When that person said they didn’t have the time to meet you, return your call or consider your offer… they were lying.

They had the time! They had time to do all the urgent or important things. They also had time to do the things that interested them or captured their attention. What they lacked wasn’t time.

What they really lacked was the motivation to do whatever you requested. It wasn’t important enough to them. It wasn’t a priority. So, it didn’t get done.

2 Steps to get people to take action

To get your prospective clients and customers to take action, you need to do the following:

  1. Make your offer as attractive as possible. Look at what you’re asking people to do and make it more captivating. More interesting. More motivating. More curious.
  2. Give them a deadline. Deadlines focus the mind. This is why so many kids do their assignment the night before it’s due.

Nothing inspires people to take action more than a highly compelling offer with a deadline. Get those 2 steps right and you’ll find the marketplace will always have time for you.

The secret behind Jim’s Marketing Blog

By Jim Connolly | December 20, 2014

Jims marketing blog

It’s been a great year for Jim’s Marketing Blog. It achieved it’s largest ever annual readership growth and was quoted in even more newspapers and respected websites. It also saw Search Engine Journal, rank it as their top UK marketing blog:

“There may be another blog in the UK that could top Jim Connolly’s impressive resume – but we weren’t able to find one!”

— Search Engine Journal

Now I’d like to share what I believe to be a key factor, which has given me a massive advantage over other blogs.

My secret sauce!

The single most common feedback I get about Jim’s Marketing Blog, is from readers who appreciate the brevity of my work. They value me using as few words as possible when I share ideas. It means they can read every word, rather than skim read.

However, although readers love short, information-rich posts and articles, they are very rare. I believe this has given me a huge advantage over the years.

Here are the 3 main reasons why so many blog posts are way too long.

1. Lots of bloggers write for SEO first

Google’s extremely limited algorithm isn’t smart enough to work with short blog posts. So, if you’re all about getting traffic rather than engaging readers, you need between 500 and 2000 words in your posts. This number depends on which SEO expert you listen to. It also depends on what Google is rewarding currently. A key challenge of writing for Google is that they change things all the time. What works today could hurt you tomorrow.

I’ve already written about the danger of writing primarily for search engines. I recommend you read this: Stop writing for Google. Really. Stop it!

SEO is a valuable part of building a blog or website, especially in the early days when few people are sharing your work. But get the balance right. Write for people first. Otherwise, search engine traffic will arrive on your site, find a wordy, keyword-stuffed piece of crap and leave again!

2. It takes more skill to write with brevity

It takes longer to condense an idea into fewer words. It’s a skill you need to develop. I learned it back in the mid 1980’s, studying the legendary David Ogilvy.

Ogilvy famously said: “Don’t say it in 10 words if you can say it in 5.”

In broad terms, it’s twice as easy to write a 1000 word post on a topic, as it is to write a 500 word post. When you have fewer words to work with, there’s no room for waffle. No space for fluff. This means you end up with information rich content, which is far more valuable to the reader.

It’s important to remember that your readers are busy people. They’ve never had so many things calling for their attention. They want the key information and quickly. If you can provide them with what they need, without the waffle words, they will come back for more… and more.

3. It takes courage

It takes more courage to write short articles and posts than it does to write long ones.

Why?

Because with shorter content, you can’t possibly cover every angle. You can’t make every point. You can’t answer every question that every reader may have. As a result, you leave yourself open to criticism like “what you totally failed to mention is…”.

Having written thousands of blog posts and articles, I’ve found that no matter how many words you use, some people just won’t get it. If you try and write for those people, you will end up writing child-like junk. Don’t even try! Write instead for your target readership.

I hope you found this useful. More importantly, I hope you borrow some of the ideas for your own blog or website.

Stop dumbing down your marketing. Really. Stop it!

By Jim Connolly | October 13, 2014

solve problem, make opportunity, opportunities

It’s tempting to dumb down your marketing message. Surely, if you dumb it down enough, everyone will understand it. Everyone will have their questions answered. Everyone will be happy.

The challenge is, you don’t sell to everyone.

No one does!

So, you’re marketing to the wrong people.

The most effective and powerful marketing messages are those, which your prospective clients or customers understand. Messages that are highly relevant to them. Messages that speak to them directly. Messages that inspire them to take action and motivate them to hire you or buy from you. You can’t achieve that by dumbing down for the masses.

If you’re not making enough sales or attracting enough clients, I have a suggestion for you.

Target your prospects, not everyone

Instead of trying to appeal to everyone, focus exclusively on motivating your ideal profile of client or customer.

True, not everyone will find it appealing. However, your prospects are massively more likely to realize that you’re exactly what they’re looking for. And that’s exactly what your marketing is supposed to do. Right?

Here’s why I refuse to SEO my blog posts

By Jim Connolly | October 7, 2014

blogging, blog tips, content marketing

Following last week’s post about how to make your blog stand out and build a great readership, a number of you asked the same question. You wanted to know why I chose not to bother about Google. Why I decided not to SEO my work.

Here’s the answer.

Broadly speaking, there are 2 ways to build a blog:

  1. Do what’s expected. To obey all the so-called rules of blogging — such as focusing on SEO.
  2. Refuse to do what’s expected.

I very deliberately chose the second option.

Here’s why

As a marketing professional, I knew it would be extremely hard to stand out if I used the same approach as other marketing bloggers. So, I decided to ignore SEO when I write.

How does this improve my work?

Think of it like this: Just imagine how terrible your favourite book would have been, if every page had been SEO’d. Think how dreadful your favourite love song would have been, had the singer SEO’d their feelings, instead of expressing them. That’s what happens when you write for SEO robots, rather than people.

A business lesson too

In business, just as in blogging, there are 2 broad approaches. The first way is to do what’s expected. The second way is to refuse to do what’s expected.

Guess which group finds it easiest to get noticed?

How to make your blog stand out and build a valuable readership

By Jim Connolly | October 2, 2014

blog tips, blogging, content marketing

I recently updated the “about” page on this blog, to include a number of achievements and accolades. Soon after, I started getting requests from people, asking what I thought made my site stand out. There are a number of things, but I think the following is as good an answer as any:

I don’t chase Google for search traffic. Instead, I write exclusively for people. This gives me the freedom to write the way I want to. It also gives me a huge advantage over the vast majority of marketing bloggers, who SEO their ideas, rather than write directly for the reader.

Allow me to explain.

Google rewards over-long content

The problem with that, is that your readers value brevity! They are busy. They want to get the key information they need, quickly. They want you to get to the point. However, Google’s algorithm needs lots of words in order to work.

The guys at Buffer recently suggested 1600 words was the sweet spot and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were right. Others say 1000 words. So, bloggers are taking an idea which could be epxlained perfectly in 300 words, and stretching it out so that it’s 4 or 5 times longer than it should be. That’s why there’s so much over-long content out there. So many waffle words. So much fluff.

Google rewards the over use of so-called keywords

To make it possible for Google’s algorithm to have a clue what you’re writing about, it needs you to repeat certain words over and over again. More often than you would normally. You need to put them in the title, in the subheadings, in the image alt tags, in the body copy, in bold, in italics.

Of course, that’s not part of natural writing! It’s jarring to the reader. It weakens your message as readers wonder why you keep repeating certain words too often. Google may like it. People don’t. As it’s people who buy from you or hire you, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.
[Note: That’s why I wrote this. Stop writing for Google. Really. Stop it.]

Sure, Google’s algorithm is super-easy to game. People, however, are harder to convince. They look for value… insight… generosity of spirit. These are all human elements.

In short: If you’re struggling to build a connected community of readers, write for people, not an algorithm. If you sell ads and need page impressions, write for Google. If you think you’re writing for Google AND for people, you’re not doing either as effectively as you could be.

Is this common mistake scaring customers or clients away?

By Jim Connolly | October 1, 2014

How easy is it, for a new client or customer to switch to you?

Many business owners make a very good case, for switching to them from your current provider. They get prospective clients and customers fired up. Motivated. Money in hand… however, they make switching to them too painful, so they lose the business.

Here’s an example of what I mean, based on my own situation.

Microsoft Surface Pro and my pain

I’ve been considering switching my main production computer, from a Mac to a Microsoft Surface Pro machine. I was a happy Microsoft customer for decades. However, in 2013 I bought a MacBook Pro and fell in love with it. I went on to buy the MacBook Air I’m writing on right now, plus a new MacBook Pro. I love the Apple hardware, but miss having a touch screen computer. I also miss all the software, which is available only on Windows.

The problem I have, is there’s a lot of pain involved in switching to Microsoft’s device.

For example:

  • I’ve invested thousands in Mac hardware and software over the past 2 years. This will be largely unused if I switch. As a result, there’s a lot of pain associated to relegating the equipment. If I sell it I’ll lose a fortune. If I keep it, it will just sit there depreciating in value. Ouch!
  • I have lots of data that’s incompatible with Windows. The pain of converting file formats is considerable.
  • All my peripherals are Mac. So, I’d need to buy everything again; a Surface Pro keyboard, compatible external hard drive, stylus, shoulder bag, etc. There’s hundreds in additional costs there, adding to the financial pain.
  • Then, I’d need to invest a day of my time, setting the new device up and connecting it to all my accounts etc. More pain.
  • … and there’s nothing meaningful that Microsoft do, which comes close to helping me (or anyone else) with all that pain.

So, instead of switching to the Surface Pro 3 being a simple decision, I’m not going to do it. I’m too locked into the Apple universe now. Switching back to Microsoft would be too painful.

Where’s the pain in switching to you?

This raises 2 important questions for you and your business:

  • What are the pain points a new client or customer will encounter when switching to you from their current provider?
  • How can you reduce or eliminate their pain?

By focusing on making the transition to you as painless as possible, [then communicating that clearly], you massively increase your chances of winning new customers.

Consider the whole picture

Even if there’s an upfront cost associated to making the switching process painless or less painful, weigh the cost against the lifetime value of a new customer. Sometimes, a short term cost can turn into a hugely profitable investment.

For example, if Microsoft offered an attractive trade-in program for Apple users, to help offset the cost of people switching to them from Apple, they’d attract far more customers. Within 24 months, these new customers would be buying a new Surface Pro at full retail price. They would also have spent 2 years buying additional Microsoft services.

If you already have processes in place to make it easy for new customers to switch to you, make sure you are getting that message across. Explain that switching to you is a breeze — that your team will handle the process, etc.

A great place to start is to learn the lifetime value of your typical client. This makes it easier to figure out how much you can invest, in motivating them to switch to you.

What everybody ought to know about The Small Print

By Jim Connolly | September 26, 2014

marketing tips, marketing ideas, sales

Have you noticed something about the small print we find in marketing and on packaging?

The small print is small for a reason

They don’t really want us to read it! It almost always tells us that the advertising message isn’t as good as it sounds or that the product we’re buying doesn’t look as good as it does on the packaging, etc.

Here’s a thought…

How would you feel, if you read the small print in the marketing or on the packaging of a product, and found that it actually confirmed that the product was as good as they said, in the LARGE print?

How would your prospective clients or customers feel, if YOUR small print did the same — if it showed that you were telling the truth, with nothing to hide in the small print.

Think about that for a moment! There’s some real magic there.

Something to ponder

Could using the small print in a positive way, help you massively improve the impact of your marketing? [Hint — Yes. Yes it could.]

Don’t let this guy destroy your marketing

By Jim Connolly | September 11, 2014

marketing

So, who is that guy?

He or she, is the person who doesn’t ‘get’ what you’re saying. They can’t see the value. They can’t see your point. They frustrate you with questions that show zero understanding of your message.

Why that guy is different

Here’s what makes that guy different, from a prospective client or customer who needs clarification:

That guy is not in the market for whatever you are offering. Their questions come when there’s nothing wrong with the value you provide or the way you explain your value. The problem occurs because that guy is the wrong audience for what you have to say, but they haven’t figured that out.

They’re puzzled. They’re confused. And even though they will never be in the market for what you provide, they feel the need to ask you a series of confusing, frustrating, irrelevant questions.

I found that guy on a blog today

I was prompted to write this, after reading a series of comments left on a blog post. The blogger wrote a compelling, well reasoned piece on the value of building a community. The commenter totally missed the point. He asked the blogger to explain things, which were crystal clear.

The commenter was totally baffled, regardless of how hard the blogger tried to explain her point. He was a fish out of water, the wrong audience for the blogger’s message, yet he insisted on asking half a dozen frustrating, off-topic questions.

So, how can that guy ruin your marketing?

To avoid questions from that guy, there’s a temptation to dumb down your marketing, so as to address every possible misunderstanding. This fails you on 2 counts:

  1. By dumbing down your marketing in anticipation of that guy, answering every potential question in advance, you end up with vague, over-long copy. This massively reduces the power of your marketing message. Brevity sells.
  2. By dumbing down your marketing, you write for that guy and NOT your prospective clients or customers. This is the exact opposite of what marketing is about.

Whether you write the marketing content for your company, are a blogger or a newsletter provider, resist the temptation to write for that guy. Write for your target market. Always.

Clarity is the key

The most effective marketing, is marketing that inspires people to take action. It compels them to buy from you, visit you, hire you, call you or email you. This can only be achieved when you write with clarity, for your ideal profile of client or customer.

Trying to anticipate and answer every misunderstanding, in advance, which that guy comes up with, will detract from your message. It will destroy your marketing. It may also drive you a little crazy.

Does email marketing work?

By Jim Connolly | September 9, 2014

email work

Yes, email marketing does work… so long as you do it correctly.

Allow me to explain

Last month, my friend Irene sent an email marketing message to the community of newsletter readers, which we have nurtured for her lighting business. I’ve been helping with her marketing and was delighted, when a very impressive 18% of her readers made a purchase.

I was even happier for Irene, when within 9 days, she’d generated just over $32,000 in sales, with an average profit margin of 55%. The business is just 11 months old.

When email marketing doesn’t work

Most small business owners handle their own email marketing. They buy lists, when they should be building a community. They then send a marketing message to their list, which they write themselves. Their home made marketing message fails to inspire their readers to take action. It fails to compel their readers to make a purchase or hire them.

Of course, it fails the business owner too. An average list, coupled with DIY content, produces predictably bad results.

In a nutshell: Email marketing works, so long as you handle it correctly. If you have lots of money and even more time, you can learn how to do it yourself. If you’re not wealthy and you can’t afford to waste more time, get expert help.

An important message

By Jim Connolly | September 4, 2014

I receive around 30 important marketing emails every day.

Of course, none of these are important to me. They are not even of interest to me. They are only important to the people sending them.

Before you invest in your next piece of marketing, remind yourself who it’s supposed to be important to… you or them.

Tip: Here’s how to get it right.

You don’t launch a successful blog. You build it.

By Jim Connolly | August 29, 2014

Content Marketing, copywriting, coppy, writing

Katie found this out 9 months ago, when she invested almost $8000 on the design and launch of her new business blog. The blog is still floundering and Katie emailed me, to ask if I thought she should relaunch it.

Here’s my answer. I also share how to build an extremely successful blog or newsletter, based on what is proven to work.

The razzmatazz is just the starting pistol

I attended a wedding some years ago, which cost a fortune. Just to give you an idea of the scale I’m talking about, they hired Earth Wind and Fire to play for the guests!

Sadly, the marriage lasted less than a year.

Here’s the thing: You don’t launch a successful marriage. You build it. It’s only what happens after the razzmatazz of the big day, which matters. The same is true of a business launch, blog launch or newsletter launch. The launch is irrelevant — it’s what you do, day in and day out, which matters.

[Note: Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Google were built, not launched. Think about that for a moment.]

It’s all about commitment

I started Jim’s Marketing Blog just over 6 years ago. There was no launch. No press release. No razzmatazz. Today, it’s one of the most popular marketing sites in the world.

I’ve learned that the key to developing a commercially successful blog or newsletter, is commitment.

It works like this:

  • You need to commit the time required to regularly write useful posts or articles. I invest an hour or more every day, writing for you and responding to emails. For the first year, I often invested 3 hours a day on the blog. I’d wake up extra early or go to bed extra late, because I was committed to it. Every top blogger I know has done the same.
  • You need to commit to leave the masses and stand out. One reason my blog grew so quickly, is that I marketed it extremely effectively. Most bloggers and newsletter providers use the same strategies as one another. They follow the same general advice that’s regurgitated on popular content marketing blogs and copywriting blogs. This is a BIG mistake! It is impossible to succeed in any meaningful way, using the same approach as millions of others. It makes you invisible.
  • You need to commit to do the work. Period. I have written for you when I’ve been tired and when I’ve been sick. I’ve written for you when I had deadlines to meet and when I was on holiday. When you commit to do the work, you find a way to make it happen. When you’re not committed, you find an excuse.
  • You need to commit to learning. Maybe one of the greatest rewards of writing regularly, is that it forces you to learn. You can’t write every day unless you’re feeding your mind every day.

In short: Instead of investing your time, money and energy on the launch, focus on building something you’re proud of. Make the commitment to do what’s required and see it through. No, it’s not easy — but that’s why so few people do it AND why the rewards are so amazing.

How to write great content every day!

By Jim Connolly | August 22, 2014

Content Marketing, copywriting, coppy, writing

If you find it hard to write articles, blog posts or newsletters, I have a quick tip for you. It will help you write more frequently and in a way that people will understand.

Drum-roll please…

Write the way you speak

Think about it: When you talk, people understand you. They listen to you. You engage them.

You don’t get talkers-block either!

So, don’t treat your written words differently from your spoken words. Just type them, rather than speaking them. This is the approach I used when I started as a writer and it has never failed me. And yes, the more you do it the better your writing will become.

The challenge with this approach is that it robs you of any excuse not to write more frequently. Sorry :)

Tip – Read this: Bloggers: Are you 1 question away from 10,000 daily readers?

How to grow your business in a uniquely valuable way

By Jim Connolly | August 11, 2014

word of mouth, referrals, sales leads, enquiries

You are the biggest asset your business has. Those are not just kind words. They are based on fact.

Allow me to explain.

The Internet has presented business owners with a series of benefits and challenges. One challenge, is that it is now extremely easy for competitors to discover and copy one another’s best ideas. It’s little wonder then, that providers in just about every industry now offer an almost identical range of services.

Today, I’m going to show you how to overcome this challenge and build a massively valuable marketing asset for your business.

How to stand out in a meaningful way

Some things are easy to copy. For example, if a local restaurant starts opening an hour earlier and then attracts an extra hour’s worth of profitable trade, it’s simple for competing restaurants to do the same.

However, some things in business are extremely difficult to copy because they’re based on unique, human experiences. A wonderful example of this is the use of a newsletter or blog, to showcase your expertise and knowledge.

Here’s why it works

You are unique. You have a unique collection of life experiences, which your unique mind processes in a unique way. When you write (and speak) your communication style is unique too.

This uniqueness allows you to stand out from the pack and connect with your future clients!

Here’s an example of what I mean. Both Seth Godin and I write about marketing, yet we write very differently:

  • Seth grew up in a very wealthy family and was educated at Stanford — along with the CEO’s of many of the world’s leading companies.
  • I grew up in extreme poverty, the son of penniless immigrants.

It would be extremely difficult for either one of us to write like the other. For instance, when Seth thinks about being broke, he (thank God), won’t recall his mother begging for food to feed her children, the way I do.

So, when Seth and I write about business owners experiencing hard times, we will see the hard part extremely differently. This is reflected in what we write and how we write.

Your unique voice

Your life experiences will cause you to write very differently from your competitors. The only caveat here, is that you need to allow your personality to shine through your writing. If you try and sound like someone else, you lose your unique voice — the very originality that will allow you to stand out.

Now, compare that to the generic approach most business owners take with their newsletters and blog posts. Instead of delivering useful, valuable information from their own unique perspective, they churn out a series of thinly-disguised sales pitches. They then wonder why it isn’t working.

Allow your unique voice to communicate value. These brief tips may help:

  • Learn about the challenges facing your marketplace. A great way to do this is to connect with them on social networks and listen. [Compare this approach, to the typical service provider who uses social networks to broadcast.]
  • Provide answers to the most pressing challenges facing your marketplace. This positions you in the mind of your prospective clients, as a source of expert help and advice.
  • Share case-studies of how you have helped people, who had similar challenges to your prospective clients.
  • Turn up regularly! Treat your newsletter or blog as a high priority business activity. If you think it’s hard to write regularly, remember that writing is a lot like speaking — and you speak every day.

The unique connection these prospective clients form with you, is a massively valuable marketing asset.

Think of it like this: Who are they going to hire?

  • Some stranger they find on Google.
  • … or you, someone they feel a connection with and whose expertise and knowledge they already know about.

Yes. You win!

PS: This will help you — How to get more clients from your newsletter or blog.

Internet Marketing: Aim for meaning, not traffic!

By Jim Connolly | June 21, 2014

Content Marketing, copywriting, coppy, writing

Would you like to turn your website or blog into a massively valuable asset for your business? If you just answered ‘yes’, it’s entirely possible you will need to change the way you think about Internet traffic or visitors and page views.

Allow me to explain.

The thing about traffic

Here’s what we know:

Internet Traffic doesn’t buy from you or hire you. No. It’s engaged people, who buy from you or hire you.

The challenge here, is that almost every blogger or small business owner is fixated with traffic. They have not yet figured out that 10 engaged readers, are of more value to their business, than 10000 people who only visited their site because of a click-bait headline or the latest, meaningless infographic.

As a result, we see people writing blog post after blog post, with titles like, “50 Magical Facts You Probably Never Knew About Marketing – number 17 will make you cry!”, etc. People click the title, then leave. These bloggers then wonder why they get traffic, but no connection… no sales, business leads or subscribers. They think they have a conversion problem, when it’s their whole, traffic first approach, which is screwed.

There’s a place for list-based blog posts. I use them myself. However, they should be part of what you do — not the whole picture. Yes, you absolutely should write attention grabbing titles or headlines, but they must then be supported by content that fulfils the promise made by the AMAZING title.

In a nutshell: List posts and sensationalist, keyword-weighted posts and articles attract clicks… but without substance, they do not attract clients.

So, what is the answer?

Aim for meaning, rather than traffic!

Take a look at the titles below. They are the 10 most recent posts on Seth Godin’s blog – which is also the world’s most influential marketing site.

  1. There are Kracos.
  2. In search of meaningful.
  3. Most likely to succeed.
  4. The panda and the bicycle.
  5. Micro marketing and the called bluff.
  6. Worldview and stories.
  7. Even better than an app?
  8. Are you solving a problem or creating a problem?
  9. What if you could love what you get paid for?
  10. It’s not about you.

You will immediately notice that the titles are interesting, not sensational. They are honest titles, which treat his readers with respect. Paradoxically, the honesty of those titles makes them stand out among an ocean of click bait titles. And yes, the posts are always of value, which causes his readers to return and share his work with their friends.

What do you want from your site: Traffic or business?

It’s important to have goals for your website or blog, which are consistent with your business goals. For example, would 1000 more drive-by readers a day actually help your business in a meaningful way?

If what you really want from your site is a regular stream of high quality sales or client inquiries, stop trying to attract drive-by traffic with drive-by content.

Instead, aim to be useful and engaging. Showcase your expertise to your marketplace, by sharing valuable information in a compelling way. They will share your work with like-minded people, helping you reach more prospective clients or customers. Your readership will grow. You will be building a community or tribe, which increases in value all the time.

That’s where the value is — not chasing drive-by traffic!

A tested, proven way to attract more sales leads

By Jim Connolly | June 17, 2014

marketing tips, marketing ideas, sales

Today, I want to help you attract more high quality sales leads and referrals, with a tested and proven idea.

I need to start by asking you an important question: How easy is it for people to describe what makes your service special?

Here’s why this question is so important.

Make it easy to spread your message

If you want people to spread the word about your business, you need to make it as easy as possible for them. You also need to ensure they share the correct message, so the marketplace gets the right impression of what makes your business remarkable.

Whilst many small business owners develop an elevator pitch, a script they can use to quickly describe their business to a stranger, very, very few create a script for their clients or customers. As a result, it’s hard for people to know what to say about you. They may tell their friends that they value working with you or that they recommend you, but that’s way too vague.

What you need, is for people to have a very short, powerful script that inspires interest in you. Something that will motivate people to check you out!

A very different kind of script

I’m not talking about handing your clients a script and telling them to recite it to their friends.

No.

I’m talking about creating a 4 or 5 word script that follows your work. Something that is printed onto your packaging, added to your emails and featured prominently on your website or blog.

Do not confuse this with one of those generic mottos or tag-lines you see some businesses using! It’s pointless to say “we try harder”, “we’re obsessive about quality” or “we always go the extra mile”. EVERYONE makes those claims.

  • Your script needs to be specific to you.
  • It needs to be relevant to what makes your business different from your competitors.
  • And, if you want it to spread, it must be easy for people to remember and say.

This is an example of how to get it right.

A finger lickin’ good message

Here’s how an international brand used this idea with huge success:

The team behind Kentucky Fried Chicken wanted to give their diners a simple way to describe how tasty the chicken was. So, they made it super simple. They placed a short, powerful script on all their packaging. It described their food as, “finger lickin’ good”. Those who ate and enjoyed their chicken, now knew exactly what to tell their friends. Moreover, they were delivering an amazingly powerful, professionally written script!

Regardless of what you happen to think about deep-fried chicken, the mental imagery conjured up with that script is powerful. The idea of people enjoying their food SO MUCH that they licked their fingers, would surely motivate their hungry friends to give KFC a try.

And that’s what happened. Millions of times. Worldwide.

Your script

Take some time to think about your business and what you would like people to say about you. Then, spend as much time as necessary crafting a powerful, extremely short script that captures the key benefit of your product or service. You may find it helps, to research the scripts already used by successful brands in different industries to your own.

If you don’t have the time or expertise to get this right, pay for a professional to do it for you. Just don’t miss out on great word of mouth referrals or targeted sales leads, because people aren’t sure how to recommend you.

Tip: Here’s some advice and examples, on how to attract word of mouth referrals – Why your business needs a story.

Are you giving your business the sunshine it needs?

By Jim Connolly | May 14, 2014

business development, business growth,

What single investment would result in the biggest improvement for your business?

For example:

  • Hiring an exceptional copywriter to rewrite all your marketing material, so people take action when they read it.
  • Moving your business to a better location.
  • Working to a professionally developed marketing strategy, which lets you build the kind of business you always wanted.
  • Getting your website redesigned, so that it looks amazing and instantly gives your business a professional image.
  • Improving the customer service offered by every member of your team.
  • Hiring a better accountant. One who can help you improve the profitability of your business, rather than just count the beans and keep you compliant.
  • Developing a great new product or service for your existing clients.

I’m sure you can find examples, which apply far better to your business, but you get the idea. Now pick one… and put a plan in place to make it happen.

We wouldn’t expect a seed to grow without sunshine. Equally, we shouldn’t expect a business to grow without giving it the resources it needs.

Don’t let this mistake crush your business!

By Jim Connolly | May 8, 2014

professional development,

There is an extremely common marketing error, which is ruining small businesses. Right now, I’m going to explain what it is and also show you how to avoid it.

I was prompted to write this after being contacted by a personal development coach with a marketing problem. She explained that she’d hired several copywriters over the past year, to rewrite the pages on her website, which sold her products and services. On each occasion, the results were the same. Very few inquiries and even fewer new clients or product sales.

Why didn’t it work?

Simple: The problem wasn’t the copywriting. Allow me to explain.

Focusing on the wrong thing

She told me a bit about her business and it was clear that the problem isn’t the copy she is using. The problem is with the predictable nature of what she offers. Her services sound just like hundreds of thousands of other personal development coaches.

So, when someone sees what she has to offer, there’s absolutely no reason why anyone should hire her, rather than one of the others.

Here’s the thing: If your marketing messages are not generating enough inquiries, clients or customers, it could be a sign you need to invest in creating a better (more valuable) service, rather than a better marketing message.

Market demand

There’s no demand in the marketplace for a provider who offers something, which is just a little better, bigger, smaller, faster or less expensive than the competition. That’s not enough to attract your prospective client’s attention or interest.

As a marketing professional, I spend lots of time with business owners, helping them make subtle changes to what they provide, so that it becomes distinctive and massively more attractive. I suggest you do the same, especially if you work in a competitive industry.

Tip: This will help you. It shows how to make your product or service stand out in a competitive marketplace.

4 Tips to attract more clients and customers from your website

By Jim Connolly | April 21, 2014

marketing tips, marketing ideas, sales

Is your website a lead generating machine for your business? If not, here are 3 places to focus on for better results.

  1. Your web designer may have created a beautifully designed site, but left out key elements, to make the design easier on the eye. I regularly see wonderful looking sites, which have all the main conversion elements missing or in the wrong place.
  2. Did you write the content yourself? If you did, the great news is you can probably improve your conversion rate by hundreds of percent, by hiring a proven, expert copywriter. I can help you.
  3. Do you sell, sell, sell? Stop that. Seriously. Use your site to showcase your expertise and experience. Aim to be useful and approachable. Remember, people skip through the ads. Put the marketing pages of your site where they can be seen. Link to them, from pages or posts, which provide lots of free, useful information. If your site is largely just selling what you do, people will leave just as soon as they arrive.

I hope there’s at least one idea there, which inspires you to improve the effectiveness of your site.

Tip: Are you one question away from 10,000 daily readers?

How to build a extremely valuable list, without a newsletter

By Jim Connolly | April 19, 2014

list building, newsletter

If you want to build a huge, extremely valuable list, this post is just for you.

I get emails every day from people, who thank me for my free marketing newsletter. Some of you will find that odd, as I don’t publish a newsletter.

So, why does this happen?

Simple: I give people the option to read this blog, via a free email subscription. As a result, thousands of people get an email with the content of my latest blog post. These emails look and read just like a newsletter.

I suggest you consider doing the same.

Here’s why!

There’s a reason Seth Godin, the world’s most read marketing expert, also uses this approach rather than a newsletter. It’s an extremely powerful way to build a great, super-connected community of readers.

For example:

  • The blog (online) version of your posts get shared on social networks. Yes, this is technically possible with newsletters, but shares of blog posts are far, far more popular. People can then see your work and subscribe to it, knowing exactly what to expect. Newsletters are often little more than thinly disguised sales pitches and people are savvy to this.
  • The blog version of your posts get crawled by search engines.
  • Your blog posts can be found using search engines, when people need the information you provide.
    • These Top Marketing Tips attract traffic from search engines all day. A subset of these readers subscribe to the email version of the blog. It’s a list-builder all by itself, which grows the list all day every day. Again, because it shows people exactly what to expect, a far higher percentage will subscribe, than if I offered a newsletter.

Which is the best route for you?

If your newsletter is mainly special offers and promotions, a dedicated newsletter, marketed via your blog is a better option.

Otherwise, I strongly suggest you consider the benefits of offering a high quality, email edition of your blog posts instead.

  • It costs the same as a newsletter costs to send.
  • It’s a quicker way to build your list, for all the reasons already mentioned.
  • You don’t have to invest time writing a newsletter.

BONUS: It may also motivate you to publish blog posts more often, which will help your reputation, your reach, your authority AND your reader list… to grow!

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Hi! I'm Jim Connolly and I help small business owners to increase sales, boost their profits and build amazing businesses. Read more here.

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