As it’s Christmas Eve, I thought I would share a different kind of post with you today.

It’s a list, containing 5 of the motivators that help me write and develop this blog.  These are not things I usually write about, so I hope you find this interesting and maybe learn a little more about me too.  So, here they are in no particular order!

My son

OK, I know I said in no particular order, but that’s excluding this one :)  I am always aware that although my son is only 5 years old right now, one day he will be a man and (hopefully) read some of what I write here.  I want him to be proud of what he sees, which inspires me to try even harder to make the blog as good as I can.

Pure enjoyment

Blogging is enjoyable.  I love writing this blog and meeting people through it.  I receive emails every day from readers, some extremely touching, where an idea I have shared with them has helped them achieve an important breakthrough.  I have also been sent handwritten notes, books and gifts from readers all over the world.  Something else that has happened, is that I have been able to connect with people, who I have admired for years, because of the blog.

Earlier this year I connected with Nile Rodgers (from Chic); whose music has been an inspiration to me for 30 years!  We are now in fairly regular contact, following a post I wrote here.

Green tea

I always start the day with a strong coffee, then drink green tea throughout the day.  Most green tea tastes awful but Mao Feng green tea from Tea Pigs tastes wonderful.  I don’t know if they ship outside the UK and that’s not an affiliate link.  There are all kinds of health claims associated with drinking green tea, and I have no idea which are true and which are not.  However, since adopting green tea as my main drink, I feel better.  When I feel better, I write better too.  That said, I drink this blend purely for the taste.

Music

I almost always have music on whilst I write.  According to iTunes, here are the top 25 tracks I’m listening to right now.  It’s a very odd combination but an accurate picture of what I hear when I’m blogging:

1. Good times – Chic
2. Let’s start the dance – Hamilton Bohannon
3. My philosophy – KRS 1
4. Clear – Cybotron
5. Love has come around – Donald Byrd
6. I shoulda loved ya – Narada Michael Walden
7. Stomp – Brothers Johnson
8. Numbers – Kraftwerk
9. Reach out – George Duke
10. Metal guru – Trex
11. Pretty vacant – Sex Pistols
12. September – Earth Wind and Fire
13. Money in my pocket – Dennis Brown
14. Shake your body down to the ground – The Jacksons
15. Stir it up – Bob Marley
16. Nightrider – ELO
17. Le Freak – Chic
18. Absolute – Scritti Politti
19. Shine – Motorhead
20. Bambaataa’s theme – Africa Bambaataa
21. The same old scene – Roxy music
22. Biomechanik – Anthony Rother
23. Love’s theme – Barry White
24. Absolute beginners – The Jam
25. My forbidden lover – Chic

Improvement

As a naturally competitive person, I am inspired to constantly try and find ways to improve the blog.  I would like to help three times as many people in 2011 as I did in 2010.  Increasing my readership by 300% is going to take a lot of work, but the challenge is extremely motivating, as are the rewards.  As is so often the case, the more I give, the more I receive.  I am also constantly looking to improve as a writer.  One of the best ways to improve as a writer is to write, so expect a lot more from me over the coming year!

Obviously, there are many other motivators behind this blog.  I just wanted to give you a little insight into some of the less obvious stuff, which keeps me moving the blog forward.

To those of you who celebrate Christmas, I would like to a very Merry Christmas!

When was the last time you updated the sales / services pages on your website or blog?

I ask this, because many people write the key pages of their websites or blogs when the sites are first built, and then they are left alone.  Even though the marketplace is changing faster today than ever before, many small business owners have not updated their services pages for months or years.

I was prompted to write this, after I rewrote my own services page.  I wanted to better reflect how I work with my clients and clearly explain what they get from having me personally looking after all their marketing for a year. I was able to get the core benefits of working with me across in fewer words, making it easier for prospective clients to get the information they needed quickly.  I also renamed the page to “Let’s Market Your Business” to make it as clear as possible that I work hand-in-hand with my clients on their marketing.

Some ideas on improving your sales or services pages

One of the best ways for you to ensure that the changes you make to YOUR site’s copywriting, is to base them on reader feedback.  For example:

• Do people contact you via your site, with an incorrect assumption about the range services you offer?
• Do you attract inquiries from your site, from people at the wrong end of the market?  In other words, if you offer a premium-priced service, are you getting inquiries from people looking for a budget-priced service?
• Do you get enough inquiries from your site, in relation to the number of visitors your sales / services pages get?  If you are attracting visitors who are finding you using the correct search phrases, but they leave that page without purchasing or making an inquiry, your marketing messages are clearly not motivating them to take action.

Change, purely for the sake of change, is a pretty low leverage activity.  Thankfully, with online marketing we are able to test and measure exactly how a website is performing and make changes that lead to progress.

I was recently reading a post over on Seth Godin’s blog, where he talks about the 2% of people who will complain or disagree whenever you do anything that gets their attention. Now, I’m not sure that number is 2%, in my experience it’s a lot lower than that, but Seth’s point is correct.  Whenever you make any change, even a vast improvement, there will be people who complain and these people are usually noisier than the other 98%.

As a small business owner, it’s important not to make the mistake of allowing the noisy 2% to stop you making decisions and taking action. You see, as soon as you make that 2% happy, the changes you made to appease them, will often cause a different 2% of people to complain!

Even those well known brands, which you LOVE and tell all your friends about, will have people who vocally dislike those same things that you think are great.

By perfecting what you do, you may get that 2% down to 1%, but there will always be people who disagree with whatever it is you do.  If you introduce a new service and 2% of people tell you it’s stupid, but 98% love it, go with the 98%!  Even if that 2% is vocal, and it often is, listen to what they are saying, learn from it, but allow it to influence your decision making by just 2%.

As Jim Rohn used to say; “Don’t major on minor things!”

The bottom line: You can’t please everyone, every time, with everything.  Don’t allow the noisy 2% to stop you making progress.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!