Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Email marketing and blog marketing – A quick tip!

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If you use email or blogging to market your services, I believe you will find the following information really useful.

It’s all about the importance of avoiding certain words or phrases in your emails and blog posts, which could get them blocked from reaching your readers.

Whilst there are many different things that can lead to an email getting trapped in someone’s junk mail or spam filters, I’m going to focus on just one of them; the words you use in your blog titles and your email subject lines.

What does blog marketing have to do with email filters?

Many people subscribe to blogs via email.  For instance, around 40% of this blog’s RSS subscribers read it via email.  So, if the title of one of my posts contains words or phrases that email filters are looking out for, there’s a good chance the post will get trapped in either the readers junk mail folder or it may never reach them at all.

I wrote a post last Friday, which had a title that was essentially a “toxic” phrase.  The title was “REVEALED: The fast rack to wealth.”  You can see the post here.  It also had the opening word written in caps, which is another, lesser, junk mail trigger.

I was curious to see how many people opened it, compared to an average post.  There was a drop of around 25%, pretty much what I had expected.

So, whilst it’s a great idea to use blog titles that will capture people’s attention – you need to also ensure that your titles are email friendly (if you offer the option for people to subscribe via email, which I believe you should.)

Email marketing and filters

Titles are also a key element in getting your marketing emails and newsletters past filters and in front of your readers.  On my marketing newsletter, I opt for a very simple title: The Jim Connolly Newsletter.  Keeping this very basic title format does 2 clever things.

  1. Because it’s familiar, it immediately alerts my readers that the newsletter has arrived.  If I used different titles every time, it would be harder for my newsletter to get noticed for what it is.
  2. It contains nothing that’s likely to get trapped in a junk mail filter.

As I said earlier, there are a number of things, which can lead to your marketing email’s getting trapped in filters.  Here’s a simple email marketing tip, from one of my first blog posts.

Profits are better than wages!

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This is possibly the most valuable information I have given you via this blog!

That’s quite a statement, but I’m about to show you a business model, which you can use in order to secure your financial future.  It’s based on how I earn the vast majority of my income and how every wealthy person I know has secured their future.

My life changed when I heard my mentor, Jim Rohn say;
“Profits are better than wages!”

You see, I thought I owned a business, but I didn’t.  The reality was (and this might sound familiar), that I simply employed myself.  I worked really hard and was making a lot of money – but when I stopped working, the money stopped too.  That’s because I was essentially earning a wage.  It was more like a job than a business!

When I explain this idea to young entrepreneurs, I put it like this:

If Bob relies on wages for his income, his income will stop when he’s not working.  Bob’s income will drop or stop when he’s ill.  When Bob retires, his income drops too – even though he needs more money when he’s retired, because of all that time he has to fill and those additional bills (such as medical bills etc.)

However, if Bob relies on profits rather than wages, he will generate money when he’s asleep or at the gym or taking his dog for a walk.  If Bob becomes ill, he makes just as much money.  When Bob retires, his income continues just like before.

This approach is sometimes called passive income.

Passive income

No matter what line of business you are in, I STRONGLY recommend you develop some passive income streams.  Today, I have over 20 passive income streams, which means I earn money on a daily basis, without having to exchange my time.

For example, I sell a massively popular audio program which I recorded for businesspeople and entrepreneurs like yourself.  It sells all over the world, 24 hours a day.  I get up each morning, check my paypal account and see how much money I’ve made while I was asleep.  That’s passive income in action.

No matter what line of business you are in, there are many opportunities to develop sources of income that will work for you, while you are doing other things.

Financial freedom

My passive income streams are what allow me to spend so much time doing what I love (like writing this blog post for you.)  I also get to pick and choose how many hours I work, who I work with and where I want to live; (here in the relaxing Yorkshire countryside rather than a crowded city.)

It also allows me to pursue my passion, as a marketing coach helping small businesses, that would never have been able to afford my services if I relied on that income for my livelihood.  I’m able to work with people and help them do the same as me, and I can do it for peanuts – because I subsidise my time, to pursue what I love!

In stark contrast, exchanging your time for money has a number of non-financial pitfalls.  For example, just look at the experts we see online, who seem to spend half their life away from their families; travelling to their next speaking gig.  Many of these hard working men and women have young children and I’m sure would rather be with them, than getting on the next plane or giving their ‘talk’ to the next group, miles away from home.

My income streams

For the best financial security and quality of life, I believe it’s important to move away from that form of time-based income and exchange it for passive income.

Here are a few examples of passive income that I use:

  • Licenses: Companies pay me annual license fees, to use marketing and sales material, which I produced for them.  This is my single largest passive income stream.
  • Audio product: People buy my Motivation Master Class mp3, then download it in seconds onto their computer. I have no stock or dispatch issues to deal with, so there are no limits on how many I can sell.  By the way, it’s brilliant!!
  • Affiliates: I have a number of affiliate products that are linked to me, via various websites and blogs, like the Headway theme I use to build / develop this blog.
  • Investments: I have certain investments, which pay me an income.
  • Land: I receive income from renting land that I own, which pays me a recurring income.

There are stacks of other ways to attract passive income, such as; referral fees, software licenses, advertising, ebook sales, MLM residuals and book royalties etc.  The key is to find one to begin with, which suits you and then to develop it and add to it.

Is it easy?

No, I don’t think it is easy – otherwise everyone would be doing it, right?  I spent years mastering the skills required to develop and then market my products.  There are people that sell books on the subject, that make it sound like all you have to do is spend 20 minutes developing a product or filling a website with ads and links and BOOM – magic money.

That’s BULLSHIT!

But it sells get rich quick books, often written and read by people who work 16 hours a day, so they can “make money while they sleep!”

Most passive income requires 3 key elements:

  1. Courage
  2. Research
  3. Marketing

I believe people (especially those that read this blog) have the courage required.  However, very few people take time to fully research what passive income streams to use and even fewer bother to learn how to market them effectively.

Those income streams are also why I don’t to spend half my life away from my family speaking at events, like many business bloggers!  That’s because the vast majority of my income is based on profits and not fees.

Your marketing check list!

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Here’s a marketing check list, for those of you who want to start seeing some fast, measurable marketing results.

Your answers to the questions of this simple check list, will give you some idea of just how ready you are to successfully compete for business, in today’s highly competitive marketing environment.

Ready? OK, let’s go!

Marketing check list

  • Do I have permission to market to these people?
  • Is there a genuine reason why they should buy from me, rather than their current provider?
  • How motivating is that reason – Is it powerful enough to compel them to switch?
  • Will my marketing message REALLY stand out among the avalanche of marketing offers being directed to these people right now?
  • Am I going to use a strategic approach, where a series of preplanned messages are delivered in order to generate a compound effect – or will I ‘just try’ some one-off marketing emails, mailshots, ads etc ?
  • If people decide to check out my website or blog after receiving my marketing, will it project the kind of polished, professional image required to gain their confidence and their business?
  • Will the message they get from my site compel them to want to take action; to call me, email me, visit my premises etc?
  • If not, should I think about getting my marketing copy writing written by a professional?
  • Do I have a social media marketing strategy, which will attract bankable results, (rather than just follows / adds / friends etc?)
  • Do I have a way to effectively measure my marketing results?
  • How worried would my competitors be right now, if they knew my answers to the above questions?

Now what?

The point of this simple check list, is to help you identify how prepared you are.  It’s not enough to ‘just’ work hard on your marketing; you need to ensure you are working hard doing the correct things for what you want to achieve.  Whatever you do, don’t be like the masses of small businesses, that look to the future with their fingers crossed – hoping things will somehow “just work out”.

If you are looking for marketing ideas, this post contains links to dozens of marketing ideas and 2 articles on how to develop your own marketing mix.

If you plan ahead and work smart, you can make this a breakthrough time for you and your business – but don’t leave anything to chance!

6 Marketing tips – Good timing!

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Great marketing and great comedy have at least one thing in common: Great timing!

Of course, the opposite is also true.  A comedian with bad timing isn’t very funny and poorly timed marketing isn’t very effective.

With this in mind, here are SIX timing-related marketing tips, to help you improve your results.

Marketing your events

If you are thinking of hosting any kind of event, Google the date you have in mind and check if anything that’s likely to cause a problem is happening on that day. I spoke with a UK based business owner once, who unknowingly picked (and advertised everywhere) the same date for his company’s open evening, as England’s opening game in the football World Cup Finals.

The end result? He was the only person there.

Planning your marketing

The time to start planning your marketing strategy for 2010 is NOT the first day of January – it’s NOW!

Just as you wouldn’t wait until the day you set off on a round the world trip, to start booking accommodation and flights, the same applies when planning your marketing for the year ahead. Leave yourself enough time to plan ahead properly.

Mail shots & follow-up phone calls

If you are sending out a mail shot, which you intend to follow-up with a phone call, send the mailing so that it arrives on a Tuesday.  This way, you can make your follow up calls on Wednesday and Thursday.  If your letter arrives on a Friday there will be a weekend between your prospective customers reading your letter and you making those first follow-up calls.

That’s a long time for your prospective client to remember your letter. Equally, you don’t want to be making follow-up calls on Monday mornings; when your prospects are often at their busiest.

Industry specific timing

There are times of the year where it’s pointless marketing to certain industries and professions.  In the UK, for example, the accountancy profession is extremely busy in January.  As a result, you are far less likely to be able to meet with or even speak on the phone with accountants in January, than you would be in February, March etc.  Of course, US based accountants are busiest on the lead-up to the 15th April rush.

Companies selling training courses and seminars usually find it harder to fill venues during the summer holiday months, than the rest of the year.  That’s because organisations are much less likely to send employees away for a day, when they are already short of people because of holiday cover.

The key thing here is that whatever industries or professions you target with your marketing, make sure you are aware of their busiest months and focus your efforts accordingly.

Email marketing

Whenever possible, I strongly recommend you avoid sending out your email-based marketing on a Friday afternoon.  If your email isn’t picked up that afternoon, it will be stuck in the bottom of their inbox, under a whole weekend’s worth of junk mail, when they check their email again on Monday morning.  This makes it unnecessarily hard for YOUR email message to get noticed.

You have an entire working week to send out your email marketing, so even if it ‘just’ helps your response rate by 10%, it’s got to be worth avoiding Friday afternoons.

Investing your marketing time correctly

My final time-related marketing tip is simple: Don’t waste major chunks of your marketing time, on minor things.  There are only so many hours in a day and only so many of those, which you can invest in your marketing.

For example, I see people waste weeks researching what type of email software to use – and then use it to send hastily written marketing emails.  That’s all wrong.  I see people wait months before they start blogging, doing hundreds of hours of ‘research’, and they still end up repeating the exact same mistakes that most new bloggers make.

Don’t let this happen to you.  Use your marketing time as effectively as you can.

Okay – now it’s your turn

What do you think?  What time-related marketing tips do you have? Share your feedback!

An 800% increase in sales from 1 small change

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Here’s some GREAT news for anyone who needs to see better sales results in their business right now.  You can massively boost your sales, by making just minor adjustments!

marketing newsletter marketing blogsThat’s right, you can improve the success of your marketing enormously, my making tiny changes to what you already do.

For example, you can increase the success rate of a mail shot by 500-900% or more, by improving the headline, (sometimes called a strap line by trendy marketing people.)

A brilliant headline will encourage more people to start reading the letter, and the more people who read it, the better it’s chances of success.

A quick 350% increase, right here!

I recently changed one small thing on this blog and have achieved a huge, 350% increase in subscribers to my marketing newsletter.  What did I do? I added that small rectangle box at the end of each post, which lets people know they will get a free ebook from me (10 secrets of success) if they subscribe to my newsletter.

I also used that box to ask people to subscribe to my blog’s RSS feed. Guess what? Yep, a 120% increase in RSS subscribers too!

I once suggested to a business owner, that she changed the sign outside her store, so that it had the words; “come in” added to it. She reported an immediate increase of around 8% more people coming into the shop.  This, over the space of a year, equated to hundreds of ‘new’ customers and tens of thousands in extra sales.

If you are looking to boost sales significantly, here’s a suggestion.  Before you go and spend a ton of money, make sure you’re not missing something simple, which could boost your sales and profits massively.

Your experiences

What small changes have you made to your marketing or seen others make, which has produced great results?  Share your feedback with is!

Free marketing can cost you everything!

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The message behind this post can save you from years of frustration and help you dramatically improve your future sales results!

I received an email yesterday, from someone who has occasionally emailed me for marketing advice over the past couple of years.  This person (who will remain nameless for obvious reasons), is one of my newsletter subscribers and has been in business for years as a trainer and author.  She emailed me, asking for some free marketing advice – Before explaining that she was still unable to afford professional marketing help.

By the way, her work is very good and people seem to love her courses, as the feedback she gets is excellent.  She also works extremely hard.

So, we are talking about a hard working person, with a great product – Yet after years of trying, they are still making so little progress that they are unable to even afford a basic, inexpensive business service.

Here’s why:

Hard work is NOT the secret of business success

If it was, our grandparents would have been millionaires!

By working hard marketing her business incorrectly, this lady is like the rower; rowing their boat as hard as they can in the wrong direction. The harder they work, the further they go from where they want to be.

I have to admit, even after 15 years of running a successful marketing business, I’m still amazed whenever I hear an intelligent person say that they have been conducting their own marketing for years with no success; yet they persist in carrying on with no professional help.

Now, I can understand a relatively new business forgetting to put a budget in place for their marketing.  However, when a business has been trading for years, never making any real money because it’s determined not to invest in professional marketing help, that’s just something that makes zero sense to me.

Ironically, these businesses often spend MORE on marketing, than those that have their marketing looked after professionally.

How come?

Because they waste so much money on ineffective marketing:

  • They send out mail shots that cost money, but no one reads.
  • They buy costly brochures, which achieve nothing for them and in many cases will LOSE them sales because of how they are used and how they are worded.
  • The send email marketing to people, which contains ‘pedestrian’ copy and thus fails to inspire people to call them or buy from them.
  • They attend dead-end networking events.
  • They market haphazardly, with no idea of how to leverage what they are doing so it’s massively more effective.
  • They get websites built that fail to convert readers into customers.
  • They waste massive amounts of their valuable time building online networks via; Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc – with little if anything financially to show for it.
  • They buy advertising, which contains the wrong message, so no one takes any notice of it.
  • They make short-term marketing decisions – rather than work from a simple but powerful marketing strategy.

…. and they keep on repeating these mistakes for years; until they either go broke or become too demotivated to continue.

Conclusion

Here’s what I have found: Many businesspeople confuse having the tools to do the job, with having the experience and expertise.  They think that because they have a; computer, Internet access, a car and a phone, that they can market their services.  They just need that ‘lucky break.’

This is like suggesting that owning a surgeon’s operating theatre, means you can perform heart or brain surgery; so long as your luck’s in!

Thankfully, sales and marketing results are extremely easy to measure. If you are getting the sales and profits you want, change nothing. If not, I strongly suggest you speak with a marketing professional.