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A Company Catchphrase: Creating a Motto or Slogan That Promotes Your Business

By Marcia Yudkin in Business

“Reach out and touch someone.”

“The ultimate driving machine.”

“Finger lickin’ good.”

Chances are, you not only know immediately that those slogans come from AT&T, BMW and KFC, in that order. Those catchphrases may also very well have persuaded someone you know to place more long-distance calls, purchase a particular brand of car and decide where to stop for supper.

Such slogans truly influence customers, and that’s why you want one for your own company.

First, Make Them Up

Begin by brainstorming a lot of words related to your business – at least 50 of them. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, phrases – just keep going and going until you have a long, disorganized list.

Next think in general terms about what you want to say – the motivating message you want to get across to current and potential customers. Focus, so that it’s something specific rather than something any competitor might say. Note that the BMW slogan works as well as it does because it’s not a statement Toyota or Ford wants to make. Likewise, a burger place that caters to parents and children probably wouldn’t want to use the idea of licking fingers in its motto.

Now combine the words and refine the combinations until they sing and dance on the page. Don’t stop when you get one slogan that feels really catchy – keep on going. Play around with the wording so some are funny, some are serious, some are weird or edgy and some are homey.

Second, Choose the Best

Look through your catchphrase candidates and identify up to five that seem most promising. We’ll now run them through a few crucial tests.

Is the slogan fresh and original? Don’t poach phrases that have already been used, like American Express’s “Membership has its privileges” or Nike’s “Just do it.” That diminishes your business and might even land you in legal trouble.

Does the slogan pass the telephone test? That is, if someone heard it without seeing it, would they understand what it means? Will people understand what you mean without a whole lot of context or a long story? If seen on a truck whizzing by at 70 miles per hour, would it make sense? Your answer to all these questions should be yes. If not, cross out that candidate or tinker to improve it.

Is the tone right? Think about your customer base, and make sure the personality of the slogan matches what they expect from your company. A bank that wants to appear solid and traditional normally wouldn’t use slang or a sing-song rhythm, while a club for twenty-something singles probably wants wording that hops and excites rather than cool, understated elegance.

Is the message clear and unambiguous? Test your favorites on people who haven’t heard them yet, who resemble your customers and who may not know much about your business. Ask them what each slogan conveys to them. If they don’t get it, or if they get a negative message or one you weren’t intending, that’s a big minus for that slogan.

Sometimes we have to nix options that almost make it but have something tricky or wrong about them. If one of your candidates communicates positively and clearly to all your testers, you have a winner.

Third, Use It!

Now it’s time to use your chosen catchphrase everywhere. Put it on your web site, on T-shirts, on pens, in ads, on invoices, on sales material, on shop windows, even on the walls of your rest rooms. If you’ve chosen well, your catchphrase sticks in people’s minds and reminds them over and over again why you’re the one they want to buy from.

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Marcia Yudkin is Head Stork of Named At Last, a company that brainstorms creative business names, product names and tag lines for clients. For a systematic process of coming up with an appealing and effective name or tag line, download a free copy of “19 Steps to the Perfect Company Name, Product Name or Tag Line” at http://www.namedatlast.com/19steps.htm

The Psychology of Pricing For Success

By Neil Stafford in Business

I started thinking recently about how our custoemrs respond to the prices we set for our products and how they put a value on that.

Price is not the major factor in selling, but what I am talking about is how you describe your pricing structure to your customers. You may not know it, but we all have an internal ‘measuring stick’ for how we interact with each other when buying and selling.

A great example of this is in the Alfred Hitchcock movie North by Northwest. Cary Grant plays Roger Thornhill who is mistaken for a CIA agent and at one point in the film he is in an auction house surrounded by the ‘bad guys’ who are waiting to grab him.

7 Strategies for Building Online Relationships with Industry VIPs

By Donna Gunter in Business

One of the most difficult aspects of being an independent service professional is being seen as credible and as a viable expert in your industry. Until recently, that process often took years and required an investment of much blood, sweat and tears. Ultimately, it wasn’t until you paid your dues that anyone of influence in your industry would pay any attention to you or be interested in speaking with you. Thus, any hope you had of creating a strategic alliance or joint venture would fall on deaf ears because your potential VIP had no idea of your existence.

However, with the advent of Internet marketing, that time process has been greatly accelerated. You can now become a person of influence in your industry and become known to other industry VIPs in a matter of months, rather than years. Here are 7 strategies that will help you build successful relationships with your industry VIPs:

1. Become the instant guru. One quick way to do this is by recording an audio. You determine your target market and the top 3 problems that plague your target market. Then, create an outline detailing solutions to those top 3 problems, and record an audio of yourself speaking about those problems and your proffered solutions. Create an audio CD and CD cover and have the CD duplicated. Offer your CD as a client attraction device on your web site and blog.
2. Create your strategic alliance list. Write down your ideal list of strategic alliances or product launch joint venture (JV) partners. If you’re just starting out, you might want to begin with a second- or third-tier list (i.e. those who are not as well-known as the industry gurus but have some standing in their own right).
3. Use Web 2.0. Use social networking on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter and follow/friend the members of your list. Interact with them often, commenting on their status updates, videos, etc. Retweet useful information to your followers that they send out to their followers and friends. Go to their blog posts and comment on those, as well.
4. Become a customer. Buy a product from your person of influence. Review the product on your blog or in an article and submit the review through your social networks. If you purchase a physical product, take a photo of yourself holding the product and send the photo to your VIP or send the VIP a card containing your photo and some word of praise about the product.
5. Attend live events. Many industry VIPs attend a number of live events each year. Because you’re now following these industry VIPs via social networking, they will tell you what events they plan to attend. Attending these same events and meeting these people in person helps them remember you, especially if you take a photo of yourself with that person and send it to them or post it to your social networking profiles. Many times you can buy your VIP a drink or take them to dinner and have a 1:1 conversation with them. Remember, if you don’t ask, you’ll never know!
6. Become an affiliate. If you love your VIPs products, become an affiliate and promote those products to your list. If you can genuinely talk about how this product has helped you, you’ll be of service to your list members and attract the attention of your VIP, as well.
7. Stay in touch regularly. Set up a direct mail “stay in touch” campaign. Rather than using email or social networking exclusively, I think the most effective strategy at this stage is to send a direct mail card or postcard, as those get more attention as they are used far less often these days.

Begin your campaign today to increase your visibility in your industry by connecting with industry VIPs. You’ll soon discover how quickly your business will grow when you’re in touch with those in the know!

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Internet Marketing Automation Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals create prosperous online businesses that make more profit in less time. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at ==> http://www.TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com

Improve Your Online Income Business and Leverage Your Time by Outsourcing Your Work

By Michelle Jayes in Business

Do you often feel overwhelmed by all the work that needs to be done to run a successful online income business? If this is true for you then don’t for one minute think that you are alone. Visit any internet marketing forum and you will find that one of the hottest topics for discussion is that there never seems to be enough hours in the day to do everything efficiently.

The kind of discussion that seems to arise from this is the question of time management and advice on how to manage time is then a hot topic. Further advice will then follow on the idea of outsourcing some of the work and finding other people who are willing and able to undertake performing some of these tasks for you.

By using freelance specialists and outsourcing some of your tasks you are leveraging your time in a sensible manner. You can find these people who make their living out of doing various internet marketing tasks and will happily undertake to do them as this is how they earn their money.

When you use some of these services you are not only lightening your load, but are also freeing yourself up to work on the tasks that you enjoy doing and that you are good at. Letting someone else undertake those tasks which are difficult for you and therefore take up too much time can be done at very reasonable rates and your online business will certainly benefit from you using these services.

Just one word of warning, you do need to take some precautions before hiring anyone to do the work for you. Below are a few points that you should consider before you sign any agreements.

• When advertising the job that you need to outsource be sure that you are very clear on what it is that you require. Give exact instructions and a definite time limit on the job, but also be reasonable and don’t set impossible targets.
• As possible candidates reply to your advertisement you should make sure that you check their profile. If they have not posted any information about themselves they are certainly not very professional and don’t take their freelance roles seriously. Have they posted any sorted of biography or given any information on work that they have done previously?
• It is well worth your time to do some due diligence on them. Check back and see what they have done previously and if anyone has given them a good testimonial. This can easily be checked out via the feedback service which is available through sites such as elance.com.
• Narrow your list of possible prospects down to a short list of those people who you feel can really do the job that is required of them and ask them to provide you with a sample of their work. It might be an idea to set a task for them to complete for you and you can then narrow your list even further. Anyone who does not respond in a reasonable time should be eliminated immediately.
• Another consideration when looking for outsourcing prospects is price. Although price is important don’t make it your main concern when deciding on whom you will choose. The quality of the work that you require is what you should focus on. The cheapest candidate might possibly not be the best person for you to employ.
• Remember when choosing a candidate that the person who you consider the best for you may live on the other side of the world. This in itself is not a problem, so long as you take into account the time differences involved and allow for them accordingly.

When you have found the best person for your needs be sure to look after them and treat them well, your online income business depends on it. This is the person who can turn your projects into a reality and could be the biggest cause of your business becoming a great success.

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Michelle Jayes invites your to visit her legitimate income opportunities website www.online-income-business for money making ideas and ways to improve and build an internet based business

How to Effectively Work From Home

By admin in Business

The number one reason I chose to pursue Internet marketing as an online entrepreneur was the freedom it provides. Having an online business allows you to take your business with you wherever you go and work on it at whatever time suits your schedule. Now, that’s the kind of freedom I am after!

But, in order to make your work at home, online business a success, you must possess a certain amount of self discipline so that you can properly use your energy and time productively.

Here’s a few of the most important elements that I learned that will keep your confidence, focus and productivity strong as you pursue your own dream of working at home…and succeeding.

The most important thing I learned was what things produced money for me and what things didn’t. For me it was no question…article marketing and list-building were the two most important elements to pursue for my business.

In other words, they were the best use of turning my time into money as they provided the best results.

Hanging out in forums and chat rooms…although very entertaining, was simply not cutting it. Forums can be productive for you if you monitor the way you use them and don’t just hang out killing what could otherwise be productive time.

Another important step to take is to cut yourself off from the noise…cut off the world that takes you away from your focus.

For example:

1) unsubscribe from your thousands of mailings. That is a chore in itself, but if you don’t do this, you will continue to be bombarded with offers that will only distract you from your goals. Choose to follow 1, 2 or possibly 3 mentors at a time…and no more. Trust me, the others aren’t going anywhere and will still be around when you’re finished with your present ones!

If this idea scares you, then create a separate email account and resubscribe for those hundreds of promos you will be getting and check it occasionally.

2) Do those things that make money for you first such as sending an email to your list, writing articles for the directories, checking your support desk for any help needed etc.

3) Shut your computer down and accomplish any offline tasks that are nagging at you to complete. I have found that if there are things that I am not tending to in my offline life, they will continue to nag me and unconsciously I am not getting the most out of my mind energy because of this subtle disturbance to my peace.

Value your time: Learn to say “no.” Sounds easy enough doesn’t it and yet there are those that have trouble saying “no” to anyone or any offer that comes their way. You need to choose what and whom gets your valuable time…you only have so much of it. Use your time to enjoy your family or to benefit your business in some way.

Learn to say “no” to time wasters. Learn to say “yes” to your life (family and business)

Set up your work hours and stick to it. For me, this was early in the morning. I would get busy on my business…coffee in hand while most everyone else was sleeping.

If you’re busy writing an article or blog post, time yourself! That’s right, buy a typical timer and set the alarm for the amount of time it should take you to complete this task. This will keep you honest with yourself but more importantly it will keep you accountable for your time!

Don’t spend 3-4 hours on a short report or blog post that should be written within 20-30 minutes. After timing yourself for awhile you might be surprised at what you find. Use this information to improve your time management skills.

Create a daily action list. I create mine the night before so that it is ready and waiting for me when I sit down at my desk in the morning and I never have to guess at what needs accomplishing. It is simply a compilation of tasks that I want to accomplish that day. Better to keep it simple…especially at first until you get comfortable with your own time frames. Don’t make the list so long that you are defeated before you begin.

I move from one task to the other until I’ve completed them all. If I have miscalculated my timing and everything does not get done that day, whatever is left undone goes to the top of my “to do” list for the next day.

Don’t forget the breaks! We need to take 15 minute breaks to stretch our body and give our minds a rest. Ideally you should never work more than three hours straight without some sort of break. But, come right back after your break!

And, last but not least, take ACTION. This is the most important step of all. If you don’t take action, your dreams an ideas remain just that…dreams and ideas. Combine your dreams with action steps…persistently and consistently…and watch your dreams manifest before your eyes!

Becoming an online entrepreneur is one of the most exciting opportunities that has ever come along. Becoming a success at it, is all about your self discipline.

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Kathy Dobson is a free spirited business owner and entrepreneur dedicated to helping others achieve financial and personal freedom through Internet marketing with an emphasis on membership sites.
Learn more about membership sites please visit: http://www.crazycashmembershipsites.com For further tips and resources visit: http://www.kathydobson.com

10,000 Reasons Why You Should Do Your Homework Before Investing In An Online Business Opportunity

By Bill Platt in Business

I have been providing advertising services to online businesses since 2000. I have helped many people become successful online through the use of my services.

Too often, I only hear from people on the phone after they have lost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to launch their new online business ventures. They call me when they have just a few dollars left. I sometimes wish people would have found me first, so that I could have helped them find real success, instead of heartache.

Beware Of The Charlatans

Before you consider spending any large chunk of cash, please be aware of those who are preying upon the Internet newcomers.

I know companies selling cookie-cutter websites for tens of thousands of dollars, and those cookie-cutter websites have never helped anyone achieve any kind of success online.

If you are buying a website that is selling products available on thousands of websites, it will be extremely difficult for you to stand out among the crowd.

I know that these cookie-cutter sites are attractive, because they have the products, the shopping cart, and the fulfillment systems built in, but you are still one of thousands of sites displaying the exact same kind of products for the exact same prices. You are only one in a huge wilderness of sites that might look different, but are exactly the same under the hood.

In these cases, the only website owner who profits is the guy who is selling the cookie-cutter website and handling the product fulfillment for the customers.

The guy selling the site wins in three ways: 1. Selling the cookie-cutter website for 10 grand; 2. Filling the product orders and collecting his wholesale fees; and 3. He gets to capture the email and mailing addresses of people who buy products from the cookie-cutter sites.

Beware Of The Cost Cutters

If you are selling any kind of hard-product (a product that must be shipped to the customer), be aware of the price comparison websites, such as http://Nextag.com/ where consumers can find the product they want to buy, then compare prices on that particular product across hundreds of websites.

You might be the one providing the best information about the product, only to ensure that your lowest price competitor gets the sale.

It is tough selling hard products online for this very reason, unless you are an exclusive distributor of such a product or no other companies have shown an interest in selling that kind of product.

Beware Of Import/Export

Before diving off into buying products from China to resell in the United States, you need to be aware of the laws governing the importation of certain product types.

There are certain products that the Chinese Wholesale sites would be happy to sell to you. And at the same time, the U.S. Customs Office would be happy to seize those products at the border, due to import restrictions.

If the U.S. Customs seizes your shipment, your investment may be lost forever.

You should know what you can import and what you can export. Know the facts, before spending your money arranging large product shipments into the United States. http://Customs.gov/ is a good place to start to learn about importing products into the U.S.

Beware Of Bad Business Advice

If you have ever heard that online business is different than offline business, please take some time to understand what that actually means.

Primarily, it means that I do not have to have an office on Main Street USA in order to do business online. I can run my business out of my house, if I so desire.

Beyond that difference, both methods of doing business are exactly the same.

The rules that govern the profitability of a business are exactly the same.

You must earn more than you spend to make a profit, and what you pay yourself is an expense.

Beware of Those Who Are In The Business Of Selling Lies

There are tons of people online who prey on people like you.

The one that immediately comes to mind is the Internet Marketing guru who says that you can hire ghost writers for $5 an article, and that is all you should need to spend.

I provide ghost writing services, and I cannot get good content for anywhere near $5 per article.

What you usually get for $5 is stolen from someone else, or it looks like it was written by a second grader.

The thing that is so ironic about that claim is that the gurus saying that you should only pay $5 for an article are usually paying $250 to $500 to have their articles written. And they would never tell you WHO writes their articles, because finding and keeping good help is tough, even online.

I can get decent articles written for you, for well under $250, in fact, for under $100 and sometimes for under $50, depending on if I am doing the writing or my writers are doing the writing.

It is important for you to understand that awesome writers can typically earn you an awesome Return On Investment (ROI).

When you find those awesome writers, you need to pay them what they require to keep them on your payroll, and you certainly do not want to share their name with another, in the off-chance that they decide that they would prefer to work for the other guy instead of you.

It is just bizarre to me that the big Internet Marketing gurus are telling you that you should never pay more than $5 an article, when I know for a fact that many of them are paying $250 to $500 an article to have their own stuff written.

You know what this actually boils down to?

Those gurus are not telling you what you need to know. They are telling you what you want to know.

Shame on them.

Just Be Careful Out There

The Internet is full of fraudsters looking to get your money and steal your your dreams.

So be careful not to become a victim of the Internet Marketing dream.

Many of my customers have taken the time to learn how to be successful, and they are. I have several clients who earn 7-figures a year from their online marketing endeavors.

If you learn the necessary work processes that you will need to do, offer a product or service people actually want or need, and you follow through with good advertising and customer service, you can be successful too.

Unfortunately, most people will blow their bankroll, before they figure out what it was that they were doing wrong. And then it is too late, because they no longer have the resources to make anything happen.

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Bill Platt has been providing article marketing services since 2001, including article ghost writing and article distribution services, through his website at: http://thePhantomWriters.com/ You can download Bill’s free ebook titled, “Article Marketing: Beyond the Basics” on his blog. You can also listen to Article Marketing Tips and Tutorials at: http://ArticleMarketingConceptsRadio.com/

List Building – 9 Steps to Creating a High Converting Squeeze Page

By admin in Business

With a high converting squeeze page, an online business will make more use of the traffic they drive to their website. With more email leads an online business can promote to, there are more chances of buyers for your products and services. Generating traffic is hard work so you want to capture as many of the visitors’ emails as you can when they visit your website.

Here are 9 steps to creating a high converting squeeze page:

1. Determine Type Of Traffic

Decide what type of prospect you want to attract with your squeeze page. Then create your squeeze page to attract that particular type of prospect only. Don’t create a squeeze page which caters for everyone. Your conversions of visitors to leads will suffer.

2. Professional Graphics

Create the best graphics you can for your squeeze page. Eye-grabbing graphics have proven in my tests to increase conversion rates. So hire a good graphics designer if you can’t design good graphics yourself.

3. Keywords

Make sure your squeeze page shows the keywords which the visitor is looking for. If your ad promises that they will receive an insurance review report when they visit your squeeze page, make sure your squeeze page shows the words “insurance review”.

This will confirm to the visitor that they are on the right page and they should find the information they are looking for.

4. Attention

Get your visitor’s attention right away when they visit your website.

You can do this by showing a headline that raises curiosity and promises benefits.

Once you have their attention, they will read more of your squeeze page.

5. Benefits

With your squeeze page, explain the benefits for the visitor if they sign up to your list.

Explain the benefits using words or video. Make sure that when you read the message on the squeeze page, you actually emotionally feel how signing up will benefit your visitors.

6. Graphics – Video/Report

If you are offering a free report or video on your squeeze page, create a graphic (called an ecover) for it.

This will make your intangible product seem tangible. Visitors will want their hands on your free offer. It’s all about packaging your offer.

7. Call To Action

In your squeeze page, make it very clear what you want the subscriber to do. Don’t make them guess that they should enter their name and email address to sign up to your list. Tell them directly in simple terms. Command them on what they need to do.

People react to commands. Telling them to enter their name and email and then click on the submit button is needed. This may sound silly, but tests have shown this to increase response rates.

8. Split Testing

With every squeeze page you create, you need to create another one with a slight variation such as a different headline, different benefits or place your sign up box in another place.

All squeeze pages can be improved. Use the tool at http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer to test which 2 versions of your squeeze page has the better response rate.

Remove the low performing squeeze page and try to create another one to achieve better response rates. This is how you create squeeze pages that have 50% sign up rates.

9. Drive Traffic

At the end of the day, you need to drive traffic to the squeeze page and see what type of prospects react to your squeeze page. If you notice that a certain source of traffic has good sign up rates then market your squeeze page more in that area.

The more traffic you drive to your squeeze page, the quicker you will be able to create a high converting squeeze page.

All these steps are not rocket science, yet not many people follow them. Improve your squeeze page one step at a time following the advice above and you’ll be able to convert a high percentage of your visitors to subscribers. This list building component of your online business is essential if you want to increase sales. If you want your online business to succeed, a high converting squeeze page is mandatory.

About The Author:

For more tips on how to promote your online business and increase sales, visit information product creation. To hire professionals to create your own best selling information products, visit http://www.eliteghostwriters.com/infoproducts.html – Alan Cheng, Elite Ghostwriters.

Over Analysis Will Kill your Business

By admin in Business

Have you ever come across the saying “analysis – paralysis?” This is a superb phrase that ideally describes the processes and difficulties faced by a large number of entrepreneurs in this day and age. Just about anyone can easily end up spending most of their time thinking to themselves “what if”, and going over – repeatedly, the very reasoning behind their endeavours, or they can press on ahead. You can ask yourself whether your marketing campaign will yield real results, or you can go for it and see what happens. Most of the time, the aspiring entrepreneur falls short and will turn away from his or her targets due specifically to this kind of analysis.

If you are establishing an online business, you know that you need to use the power of Internet marketing to help you become established, to make people aware of your existence and to draw them to your sales funnel. One of the best ways to do this is to use the power of article marketing. In spite of the fact that this has been proven time and again to be one of the most powerful ways of marketing your online business – and a crucial factor in website development as well, many people still second and third guess its effectiveness.

It is quite common for newcomers to the arena to be exposed to the power of article marketing and to fully understand and comprehend its concept, yet the character sitting on their shoulder whispers some words of doubt. It is not good enough to accept that article marketing has been around for a considerable period of time and has stood the test of that time, but rather the question arises once again whether it is “for you.”

Understand that time does not stand still and neither do your competitors. One of the most important traits that you can possess as an entrepreneur is the efficient use of time. Time management dictates that once you have decided upon a course of action, you put it in place and continue to move forward toward the goal. Over analysis just wastes time. Once you’ve decided, after due diligence and research that you have a course of action, you must be willing to act on this.

There are a lot of people out there who see article marketing as a process which just takes too much time. The actual fact is that this is one of the wonderful aspects of this particular approach. The creation of educational and informative content and the distribution to others can scarcely be a better way of informing people about your authority, expertise and ability to meet their needs. By the time prospects arrive at your website, they may be partly qualified as they will have read through the information that you are putting out and have decided that they need to move towards the next step.

As article marketing is by definition a process that takes time, it is common for people to start such a campaign and then to stop it. If you are creating good content and distributing it accordingly, the odds are that your article marketing campaign will work, but it will take your confidence and ability to continue with the process until you see results.

Many entrepreneurs do not feel confident enough to create the content themselves and this is where a ghostwriter can come in very handy indeed. Consider hiring a virtual assistant to help you create the content according to your requirements, and to help you distribute it to the best authority sites on the Internet. A dedicated approach here and a commitment to success will undoubtedly bring real results.

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Michelle Dale is The Managing Director of Virtual Miss Friday, an Experienced Executive Virtual Assistant who collaborates with businesses and individuals with the sole aim of accomplishing their professional goals. Want to learn more about these comprehensive online business building success strategies? Contact VMF Today at=> http://www.virtualmissfriday.com

Brand Your Business Correctly as First Impressions Count

By admin in Business

When someone has a great idea for a business, they often fall over themselves in excitement and anticipation. They can’t wait to get to market, unfold their vision and ride the high waves to financial freedom. Whilst enthusiasm and vision are important, you need to sit down alone for a little while and work out some of the basics. Before you even start telling anybody about your idea or what you may have to sell or promote, you must first figure out your branding.

When you create a brand, you set yourself apart from the competition. This differentiation allows you to create a potential bond between yourself and your target audience, convert your prospects into clients and then retain them. Branding has many elements to it, and you must ensure that you pay attention to each one.

Before you start, you’ll need to work out what your overall message is. People out there will perceive you and your organization according to your message; first impressions are crucial and you have to make a great one.

One of the initial things to do when you’re setting up a brand is to choose a company name. Many people incorporate the company name with their website domain name and make them one and the same. Note, that while your legal corporate name may be one thing, your “doing business as” name, whatever it may be, should receive your full branding attention, and be fully reflective of your business goals.

If you’re very clever with your trading name, you can much more easily go on to achieve great heights. You’ll realise you’ve attained the summit of success when your corporate name also becomes a well-known verb, like “Hoover”, “Google”, or “Xerox”.

Along with the selection of your company name, you must make sure that your domain name is perfectly relevant. Realistically, no enterprise can survive without a website nowadays, and your website will probably be the first point of contact when it comes to client marketing. Creativity is the key, but you must make sure that – technically speaking, your domain name will make sense in the world of search engine optimization and have a high level of viewability. Your domain name should ideally incorporate your primary keyword or keywords, which relate exactly to whatever you are promoting or selling. So, in an ideal world, the keywords relating to your “hot potato” new marketing idea should appear prominently within your domain name and within your company name.

Keyword selection is quite a complex subject which we have already touched on in (R – Right Keywords) but, as we have seen, is important within your branding set up. Keywords should appear within your mission statement and in all marketing materials. It’s vital that they accurately illustrate what your potential client is seeking from you.

Visual image is everything. Once you have a great company name, domain name and the keywords selected, you can move on to create visuals. Your logo should essentially sum up what you’re trying to achieve. The logo doesn’t necessarily have to incorporate your company name or your domain name or your keywords, but it should be a great visual representation of all of these and project the very reason for your company’s existence. The logo is one of the first things that a potential client will see, so take as much time as you need in this area, as it’s likely to leave the biggest impression.

Once you’ve established your logo, you should create all your marketing materials according to a particular style and presentation. Maintain this throughout your organisation and don’t dilute your message by going off point.

Your website is your window to the world. A correctly composed website speaks volumes about your business. Don’t forget that in business it’s all about perception, and if you don’t maintain a storefront of any kind in the real world, people will judge your business by looking at your website. You should always maintain a high degree of professionalism and clearly display this throughout your site. It doesn’t matter if you’re a one-man band; you should still give people the impression that you’re a highly successful, well-organized and thoroughly established enterprise.

Pay careful attention to branding and maintain your position throughout your business cycle.

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Michelle Dale is The Managing Director of Virtual Miss Friday, an accomplished Executive Virtual Assistant Service which helps companies of all sizes reach their commercial targets. Want to get more information about online business building success strategies that really work? Contact VMF Today!

Turning a Prospect Into a Customer

By Larry Lang in Business

There is nothing more frustrating than checking your website’s analytics and realizing that, although a visitor has just spent over 10 minutes reading through a single webpage, they have not made a purchase. Sometimes it can be almost heartbreaking, because no matter how hard you try to increase sales, turning a prospect into a customer can appear to be a near impossible task.

Sometimes the key to turning a prospect into a customer is not a change in your website content, but rather a change to your purchase page:

• Is it easy to find?
• Is it easy to use?
• Can your visitors trust you with their credit card information?

One of the reasons that it is difficult to turn a prospect into a customer is because the customer may have a difficult time locating the final sales page, gets frustrated, and eventually leaves your website to search for a better purchase elsewhere.

In order to increase sales, you will first need to check and make sure that your order form is easy to locate. Sometimes the best way to do this is to write a small paragraph that tells your visitors exactly where and how to find the order form. Also, try placing the link to your order form in an attractive, noticeable box at the top and bottom of your webpage, so that no matter what part of the page the visitor is looking at, they can find it easily.

Offering multiple payment options is another way to increase sales. Some visitors to your website may be uncomfortable providing their credit card online and may instead want to pay with PayPal. Others may not trust PayPal and instead choose to pay with check or credit card. Whatever the reason, the more payment options you have available, the easier it will be for you to continue turning your prospect into a customer.

It is also a good idea to improve your website’s credibility. One of the ways to do this is to offer secure encryption technology on your website’s order forms. In addition, offering a money-back guarantee (and sticking to it – something that many merchants have a problem with) is a good way to increase sales and offer a better user experience.

Finally, increase your credibility by offering a method of contacting you, whether it be by email or phone number or both. And make sure that this method is easy to find on your webpages and is easy to use. Providing your contact information can be doubly effective, because if a visitor sends you an email asking you a question about your product, you will be able to remind them of your product when emailing back. Reminding a visitor of your product is an effective way to increase sales.

Turning a prospect into a customer is no easy task. If you have noticed that although you are continuously tweaking the sales pages, but you are still not getting sales, following these guidelines can help offer another way to effectively complete the transactions you’ve been waiting for.

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This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box, are unchanged. To find out how you can bring the pieces of your online business together, go to: http://www.elitewebsolutions.com . Copyright 2009 Larry Lang. All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

© Copyright 2009 All rights reserved. Jayde Online, Inc.

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