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Marketing Resources
for Growing Businesses
Quick Links to Marketing Resources
The #1 Publicity Resource for
Business Owners is...
Joan Stewart!
Small business owners and entrepreneurs can get
thousands of dollars in free publicity by following the tips, tricks and tools,
courtesy of Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound. I've been following Joan's advice
for years. Since following her advice, I easily generate at least one publicity piece a month
for either a client, my own marketing consulting business or my second,
technology-related business. As a seasoned marketing consultant it's difficult
to find fresh resources I can turn to. Joan is this person for me. I've read the
majority of her articles, ebooks, etc., and refer to them every week just to
make sure that my PR campaigns contain the extra spice needed to generate GREAT
publicity. I use Joan's ideas as my second set of eyes. She's also a former
newspaper editor, a small business owner AND she's Entrepreneur.com's public
relations expert. CLICK
HERE to read all the columns she wrote for Entrepreneur.com and check out her educational tools for small business owners.
On a more personal note, Joan has helped me make tons of money during the past
few years. In order to generate ongoing publicity, you have to make your own
path. Joan's taught me how. The best part is that most of her stuff is free, and
when it isn't, it's priced ridiculously low.
Check out this FREE publicity course she offers.
Learn How to Write Effective Press Releases during this FREE 89-day course!
►Copyright
Resources
www.publicityhound.com
Legal Issues You Must Know When Writing Articles for
Fee or for Free
If you write anything and publish it either online or offline, you absolutely
should listen to this CD. I attended the actual seminar, it was excellent and
extremely informative in terms of how to protect my copyright of all my
marketing information articles, reports, etc. It's only $29.95 as well. A cheap
investment to protect yourself from copyright thieves. Some of the topics
covered include:
The two main reasons you need to copyright your work so it's protected...this
will save you hours of aggravation
When to copyright your own work for free…and the one disadvantage to doing it
yourself
When to pay to have your work copyrighted…and how it can help you collect
thousands of dollars if you sue someone who has stolen your work
The Number One website where you can find answers to questions about copyright
What you must do with your copyright so you are free to offer the same article
to multiple publications
The correct definition of reprint rights...and why this phrase is so easily
misunderstood
What you must do before you reprint an article that's written by someone else
about you so you aren't sued
3 situations in which you should require a letter of agreement even if you're
offering your article for free
AND A LOT MORE!
►Designing
& Distributing Newsletters
Newsletter & Design Expert
Roger
Parker -- Roger is incredible at design and has written several books on the
subject. He teaches business owners who manage their design how to do so
effectively. His favorite design tool is the One Page Newsletter. He's an expert
at designing and writing newsletters. After you've read some of Roger's design
materials, even a person with very little creativity can create newsletters that
look so incredibly attractive, a prospect would be hard-pressed not to read what
you've written. Roger's put together a free information package that literally
will save you thousands attracting qualified prospects by using design
techniques he's perfected during the past 30 years. Visit his Web site to
collect his free
"secrets info pack" and sample newsletter template that show how to slash
marketing budgets while cementing customer loyalty using design. He also has
tons of case studies, sample lessons and a myriad of easy to implement design
ideas.
www.onepagenewsletters.com
►Ezine
Resources
A great resource written by Joan Stewart, a.k.a. The
Publicity Hound, is Special Report #38: How to Publish a Profitable
Electronic Newsletter
You'll learn:
- Why ezines are easier and cheaper than print newsletters
- Where to find compelling content
- Examples of award-winning ezines
- How to build your all-important list
- Fun ways to keep readers coming back
- Places to advertise your ezine for free
- Clever ways to soft-pedal your products
- Tips to help you sell, sell, sell
Get it here. It's only $10 and worth every
penny!
►Free
Online Marketing Tools
Keeping Up on Trends
I subscribe to WordTracker. It helps me grow my business in two ways. First,
it's a search engine optimization tool. I use to determine what keywords are
being used on the Internet. What's more, is that they distribute a free weekly
"top 500 keywords" that are searched each week. Why is this helpful? Because you
can then extract trends that are happening and encompass in your business to
stay cutting edge and ahead of your competition.
Online Discount Codes
www.currentcodes.com
Hundreds of well-known online stores like Barnes and Noble, Staples, and Amazon
have a place within their shopping cart for a "coupon code" that gives a percent
or dollar amount off your purchase. You can find the latest codes at Current
Codes for free.
Free Marketing Articles
www.sharronsenter.com/ma.htm
-- Here's a link to my free marketing
articles page. All articles describe low-cost and do-it-yourself marketing tactics to
generate new customers. I try to add a new article once a month, so
be sure to check back.
MarketingIdeaShop Brainy Tidbits
Learn how to do it like the pros. Creative ideas, techniques and resources to
grow your business. Sign up for MarketingIdeaShop Brainy Tidbits weekly email
newsletter and receive "67 Ways to Promote Your Business" FREE by return email.
Sign up at
marketingideashop.com.
►Creating
Informational Products/Grow Passive Income
Tools to
Turn Online Articles Into Information Products
How to Create and Sell Information Products to Generate Reoccurring Revenue
Three reports that'll walk you through the basics of setting up the process for
selling information.
Accepting Credit Cards
You *MUST* be able to accept credit cards if you intend to sell information
products online. There are no exceptions, and PayPal is not enough. I use
2Checkout and have been happy with them. The sign up process is very
straight-forward and there are no hidden fees.
Profiting from Booklets & Special Reports
Renowned marketing consultant and author, Marcia Yudkin, has written a
detailed report on how to create and market special downloadable reports. I've
personally purchased this report. It's awesome! Report Description: "Whether in
print or digital form, practical information that solves an immediate problem
can sell at prices way out of proportion to its size. Find out which formats
have the highest perceived value, precisely how to create an information item to
be printed or downloaded and how to market it." The report sells for $95 and is
downloaded in PDF format upon payment. I know this may sound like a large
investment, but it's not. Not if you're serious about selling information
products. You'll save a lot of time and skip a lot of mistakes by reading her
report. Learn more at
Marketing Mastery
"How to Make $50,000 a Year Marketing Your Teleseminars" &
"How to Host a Successful, Money-Making Teleseminar"
E-books by Dan Janal. This two e-books [also available on CD] are the Bibles on
marketing and facilitating teleseminars. Essentially, once you've accumulated
enough articles/editorial, you now have enough information to market
teleseminars. If you decide you want to begin hosting teleseminars, then save
yourself a lot of time and energy by reading Dan Janal's e-books first. The cost
is only $24.95 and $29.95 respectfully.
Great Teleseminars - Recording Services
I use Great Teleseminars to facilitate and record my teleseminars. Let me be
blunt. The founder, Dan Janal, is the best in the business. He handles
everything, i.e., the bridge line, recording, CD/tape duplication, etc. His
recordings are professional and clear.
►Marketing
Plans
www.bplans.com -- Writing
Business & Marketing Plans. This Web site has a lot of free examples for
existing business and marketing plans. I have no idea how good their software
is, but their sample plans are excellent, and would serve you well as a guide
for writing your own. Check out their free plans.
►Networking
Resources
Networking Organizations
I think most organizations are only as good as the people within their local
chapters. That said, I'm hearing a lot of great things about the effectiveness
of Business Network International, www.bni.com.
Essentially you meet on a weekly basis with local chapter members to actively
exchange leads.
►Online Advertising Tools
Below is a list of what I consider relevant online advertising opportunities
that'll help pull customers to your Web site.
www.adwordsgoogle.com --
With Google Ad Words you buy words you think people will search for to find your
Web site, and pay only when they click on your link.
www.overture.com -- Overture offers a
similar program as Google. You select your search words and pay only when
someone clicks on your ad link.
►Publicity
Resources
Free Publicity Tool
www.prweb.com -- Free Press Release
Distribution Service. This service is awesome! I use it at least once a quarter.
I do recommend you make the minimum $10 contribution; guaranteeing your business
more visibility. However, the service is free.
Publicity Expert
www.publicityhound.com -- Joan
Stewart is the Publicity Hound. She's an incredibly talented and resourceful
public relations guru. I encourage you to sign up for her weekly ezine, The
Publicity Hound. I read it every week. It's jammed with fun, unique and affordable
publicity tips and tricks. I've purchased several of Joan's products and all were excellent. Plus,
her reports are only $10 each, which is a steal!
Newspapers/Broadcast/Magazines
www.gebbiepress.com -- An all-in-one media directory of reporters/editors
that includes daily and weekly newspapers, radio and television and
trade/consumer magazines. Their pricing is reasonable. However, even if you
find what you believe to be the name of the editor you're searching for, you
should still call the newsroom to find out if that person is still there.
Oftentimes the media is delayed in updating their editorial contact information.
www.publicityinsider.com - A monthly subscription-based newsletter authored
by Bill Stoller, a veteran publicist. His newsletters are very informative,
including contact information of various media looking for stories. I'll
probably renew my subscription again this year.
►Start
a Small Business
I recommend the following tool if you're just starting a small or home based
business.
"I'm Open, Now What? 25 Strategies to Attract Your First Customers,"
is one of my reports within my Business Survival report series. If you have no
marketing plan and no customers, start here. It's only $12.95 and comes with my
money-back-guarantee.
►
Tax Resources
The Government - Small Business Portal
www.irs.gov/businesses/small/
-- This is the IRS. It's exclusively all small business related. It's good. If you need a tax form, check on your tax return status and more,
it's here.
►
Valentine's Day Marketing 101
This is a detailed special report about how to
increase sales for Valentine's Day. It's appropriate for any business selling
gift related items for any holiday. However, restaurants, brick and mortar
retail stores and gift basket and gift-giving related businesses will find it
especially helpful. It's called,
"Valentine's Day Marketing 101: Learn How to Sell More for Valentine's Day."
►Web
site Traffic Building Tools
There are many key factors to increase Web site traffic,
including: helpful content, great sales copy, optimized Web pages, etc.
Marketing Consultant, Marcia Yudkin, has written a fantastic report
called,
Do-It-Yourself Search Engine Optimization
She describes
16 Simple Tweaks That Increase Search Engine Traffic to Your Web
Site. Whether you're familiar with Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) techniques or not, almost anyone can implement the tweaks she
describes. She sells the downloadable report for a mere $29.95. And her
qualifications can't be matched, as her consulting Web site is one of the
highest ranked among successful consultants on all major search engines.
Free Article Submission Sites
The following are Web sites that welcome free article submissions. Submitting
expert articles on the Internet is an effective and affordable marketing tool to
attractive qualified leads to your inbox. I use this tactic myself at least once
a month. If you're looking for more submission sites visit
www.google.com and type in
[your expertise submit article.] I sell a very comprehensive small biz survival
report that describes exactly how to submit articles called, A Secret Marketing
Weapon, How to Submit Expert Articles That Bring Qualified Leads to Your Inbox.
Learn more.
www.powerhomebiz.com
www.www.articlecentral.com
www.articlecity.com
www.ideamarketers.com
www.businessknowhow.com
www.jogena.com
www.goarticles.com
www.certificate.net
Ezine Directories
www.directoryofezines.com -- Although this is a fee-based resource, it's the
most comprehensive directory of ezines I've found. You can search by topic,
circulation, ad costs, etc. One of the features I like is the ability to search
for ezines that welcome article submissions. Having one of your expert articles
appear in another's ezine is a great way to boost your credibility and sales. I
use this technique on a weekly basis. I'm also a current subscriber to the
Directory of Ezines and thus far have been happy with their service. When you
first sign up they're a little heavy on the autoresponder emails; however, if
you're not familiar with ezine advertising, then the emails are relevant and
helpful.
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ -- This is a
neat tool. You enter a word and it bounces back related words that people search for.
One of the strategies for successful search engine ranking is to make sure
you're using "key words" throughout your Web site. This tool is one method to
help you select targeted words to plant throughout your Web site.
http://toolbar.google.com/
-- Google has a
great tool bar you can quickly download. I use the bar when surfing. If I land
on a Web site and it has a strong Google rating, I know I'm "potentially" about
to do business with someone who is active on the Internet. It's a great
screening tool for potential business partners.
www.linkpopularity.com -- This is a
cool site. You type in your URL and a report bounces back at you that lists all
of your inbound links [other Web sites linking to yours.] Link popularity is a
key factor in your Web site's search engine performance.
Free Autoresponders
The following businesses allow you to either, use their service for free, or
take a long test drive. Beware! Unless you pay, you'll have to tolerate ads
attached to your sign-up scripts.
www.getresponse.com
www.sendfree.com
www.freeautobot.com
Web Page Design Resources
Templata -- This is a great Web site for affordable Web page
templates; as low as $14 each.
►Writing
Resources
Marketing & Writing Expert
Marcia Yudkin is a marketing consultant and author of more than 11 books. I
can't say enough wonderful things about Marcia's marketing and writing
knowledge. She's been practicing both for more than 20 years. Her Web site is loaded with free
marketing and writing resources. Start by checking out her
Marketing Mastery reports. They're awesome. I've purchased several of her reports, attended two of
her in-person marketing seminars and have read four of her books. I've purchased and implemented Marcia's ideas from her "Powerful, Painless, Online Publicity"
report and my free monthly
marketing tip sign ups increased by more than 20 percent. I also purchased "Profiting from Booklets & Special Reports,"
and have applied several of Marcia's strategies and can absolutely relate an increase in my own
marketing report sales
because of her recommendations. Learn more about Marcia at
Marketing Mastery
►Other...Little
Pleasures, Business Coach, etc.
Attorney
Law Office of Victoria R.
Whelan, specializing in estate planning, wills, health care proxies, trusts & bankruptcy. Vickey completed my will in less than a month.
Every business owner should have a will!
Editor
Aine Greaney,
a writer and editor. Aine often acts as my second set of eyes.
Custom Invitations & Cards
Artist, Laura Taylor Mark, hand-designs
masterful and affordable invitations. If you're looking to make a
highly-charged and positive first impression, then Laura's invitations will
accomplish the task. I frequently remind small and home-based businesses that a
balance of offline and online marketing is extremely important. Laura's cards
and invitations deliver powerful offline impact. Remember, the more professional
and unique your efforts, the more revenue you'll generate.
Business Coach
If you're having difficulty accomplishing your entrepreneurial goals,
I suggest you contact Susan Franzen, founder of
www.lifeu.com.
Susan specializes in helping business owners achieve larger goals in less time,
while having fun.
Gift Selling and Marketing
I've written several marketing and sales reports on how to sell gift items, such
as gift baskets, Avon, etc. Check them out at
Gift marketing and selling.
If you know of a resource you think
businesses can't do without, would you please let me know
about it. Thanks. Email Sharron |
Special Reports & CDs
