7 Ways To Grow Your Business!

Do you ever have days when you feel like you just won't make it? I can remember waking up some mornings, thinking - wondering - pondering - WHEN will IT ever happen? Success, that is.

As a woman in business, do you ever feel overwhelmed, with the sense you've got to do it all yourself? Well, then you are just one of many. Seriously. You are not alone.

The thing is that you have got to start doing things differently to achieve different results. I want to share a few basic tips on how to grow your business so you, too, can be a wealthy woman leader. Here are some of my favorites - looking back.

1. GET PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO - AND TELL YOUR FACE!

I have met so many women entrepreneurs who have been so caught up in the details of 'trying' to make their business succeed, that they have lost sight of the 'why'. They have lost their passion and their energy and are dragging their tired, sorry butts around town doing what they've always done - anticipating a different outcome. News flash! That's not going to work. Get back to basics - take some time to reflect - WHY are you in business? Get back to the passion of what you are doing - and look forward with excitement knowing that the world is waiting for you and what you have to offer.

How Many Marketing Touches Does It Take To Close the Sale?

 There's an underlying principle in marketing that you need to have multiple "touches" with your prospective client before you become top of mind.

I've been researching to see what the latest statistics are...(I've heard anywhere between 7 and 23!) and not surprisingly, there is little agreement among marketing professionals on what the magic number is.

Anywhere you are, we are all assaulted by advertising and marketing messages. Think about it: there are Zappo's ads in the shoe bins at the TSA security checkpoints at airports. Ads on the sides of a bus, bus benches, billboards, bumper stickers, radio, TV, in the trailers before you get to see the feature film at the movies. Online--it's even worse. Facebook has a whole sidebar full of targeted ads every time you log in, even more TV-style spots directly assaulting you when you play one of those addictive Facebook games.

As small business owners, you need to figure out how your message can break through that noise to get you noticed by your best prospects. In order for some one to want to purchase from you, you need to move them along the familiar Know-->Like--->Trust spectrum.

Is Content Killing Content Marketing?

For years we've heard that "Content is King," and businesses around the world have been listening. The growth of social media has provided a platform for distribution of content like never before, and companies are churning out articles, blogs, white papers and other content at a record pace.

So what's the problem?

Not too many years ago, content was produced by analysts, researchers, writers and journalists who spent a great deal of time developing well-written, thoughtful and provocative material. This material was published for readers who had a deep and genuine interest in the topic at hand.

Whether it was exploring new vendors and service offerings or researching competitors and market opportunities, consumers of this content could be reasonably confident that what they downloaded would be worth their time - and the price of their email address or contact information.

Not so much these days. Cranking out content has become an end in itself.

For many content marketers, content is simply a sales hook designed to capture email addresses (aka leads). There is less concern about offering a quality product, as long as the goal of building that email list is achieved.

Goody Bag Marketing Giveaway With A Goal: 7 Steps to Creating a Compelling Call to Action

 It's that time of the year again, when people call me because they are sponsoring an event and need some stuff to give away. We then make our recommendations, taking into consideration their budget and their usually tight time frame. But, the first thing we do is to ask: what is the goal of your program? What do you really want to do?

Many times the answer to that question is that there isn't time, or that the sponsorship money exhausted the budget. What it usually boils down to is that they just think they need to have something in the bag to participate and get their name out there.

Giving stuff away without a promotion or call to action is like whistling in the wind. If your freebie is going to be sitting at the bottom of the bag, how will it stand out? Is there a compelling enough call to action? Is the product driving traffic to your website? Is it generating a lead? If not, your giveaway is not using your tight budget to its best advantage.

A call to action is essential to the success of your marketing efforts. You need only look to the following examples to see how well it's working for other companies!