Katrina Katrina Katrina http://katrinawong.posterous.com Cupcakes. Muffins. Cookies. Ice cream. Pie. posterous.com Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:16:50 -0800 What is the #1 Skill any Marketer Needs to Succeed? http://katrinawong.posterous.com/what-is-the-1-skill-any-marketer-needs-to-suc http://katrinawong.posterous.com/what-is-the-1-skill-any-marketer-needs-to-suc

A. The ability to write Persuasion Copywriting.

Now you’re probably thinking about all those other skills a marketer needs to generate leads and convert them to sales, and wondering why one of those other skills didn’t come up first. Well the truth is that marketing only works when you successfully manage to convince the target audience of your message, and you simply can’t do that without a skilled copywriter.

Copy does the ‘heavy lifting’ for your small business in terms of developing initial client relationships. The fact is that people simply don’t buy a $5,000 or $10,000 service from someone they don’t know just because they peered at a brochure or a website. I’m amazed by how many people don’t realise this—that marketing is NOT a one step process. What needs to happen instead is that a relationship based on knowledge and trust needs to arise before they will commit to using your services—and this begins with copy.

Great copy sparks a relationship between a potential client and your small business. It positions you as the expert, gets rid of people’s objections to buying, and keeps you relevant in potential client’s minds. It means that when they are ready to become clients, they’ll think of you first.

For an older audience, credibility will be the main factor that influences whether or not they trust you. Increasingly, however, believability is becoming more and more important to persuading audiences to trust you, listen to your message and hire you. In order to make your copy believable, it needs to explain the ‘why’ behind everything you’re offering.

7 top tips to make your copy more believable and convert leads to sales:

  • Establish a reason or motivation for your service or product. Tell the story of how or why it came into being, why you thought it was necessary or would help people. This humanises your offering and makes it more appealing. A background story that emphasises why the product is useful also makes your claims of having a great product more believable
  • Emphasise details. Even small and seemingly insignificant details establish groundwork to make your claims believable
  • Tell the story of why you’re doing what you do
  • If a single element in your copy is unbelievable to your potential customer, the whole pitch is compromised
  • Tell stories (recount, don’t make up!) of your customers that illustrate your promises actually being achieved. Give details of measurable results within a specific time frame
  • If you can get an expert to comment positively on the product, include this in your copy as it adds to the believability
  • Use testimonials from satisfied customers in your copy. This shows potential customers that you have delivered on your promises before to people who are just like them, and therefore you will be able to do so again

All these tips help to make your copy engage with people, and make the task of small business marketing and lead generation much simpler. For more expert marketing advice you can download a free information resource on Small Business Marketing or buy our new book Sales Lead Generation for Small Business on Amazon.com.

(links:

1) http://www.leadcreation.com.au/about/whitepaper

2) http://www.amazon.com/Sales-Lead-Generation-Small-Business/dp/1448686628/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256530013&sr=1-3)

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:13:00 -0800 Marketing and Yachts have way too much in common? http://katrinawong.posterous.com/marketing-and-yachts-have-way-too-much-in-com http://katrinawong.posterous.com/marketing-and-yachts-have-way-too-much-in-com

Why is marketing like a yacht? As I’m painfully aware, boats are like funnels that you pour money into and the money vanishes. There are always ten things that you want to buy or to fix, and there’s always some shiny new, ‘must have’ toy being dangled in front of a boat owner!

Let’s look at public relations and what typically happens in most small or micro businesses.

This story is actually a composite of the stories from three different businesses to protect the guilty—OK, let’s be honest, one was mine. It was about five years ago in the dark ages before I learned the black arts of lead generation and the very different marketing that works for small business.

What typically happens when we decide to hire a PR firm is that we go out and we ask people who they’ve used and who they think is good. We diligently do our homework and ideally get a couple of quotes. Then the PR firm that gets the guernsey goes out and starts work.

But then typically not much seems to happen except for you writing cheques. If you’re lucky and your story is particularly interesting you might get two or three stories published in the media. In fact, in my case I had over 100 stories published about my first book, Get Great People & Get a Better Job. But I spent an incredible amount of money, in fact over $25,000 on that PR campaign—and I reckon it lead to sales of no more than an extra 400 books that I wouldn’t have sold without it. Now that netted me a grand profit of approximately $4,000 – should I call that a loss of $24,500 given I had spent $28,500 on the PR campaign!

So I spent a lot more than the typical micro business would spend, and I certainly spent a lot more than I could afford at the time. We all then tend to blame the person of the particular firm we were working with and that is simply wrong. The reason why most PR doesn’t work is because typically we haven’t defined the niche that we are most trying to reach, what we have defined as A Class or Gold clients. And secondly what does the niche do when they see the story!?

Well the answer is very little, unless you have an integrated direct marketing strategy. One that leads the reader, viewer or listener to some of your material to help educate them. And at the same time captures their contact details so you can market to them—very little happens without such a strategy.

In fact, PR, the way it is traditionally done, is purely for large corporation that want to build a powerful brand or a powerful image. Micro firms of SMEs simply cannot afford traditional, high cost public relations.

At Lead Creation, we have a better approach to PR—one that uses direct marketing. Go to Lead Generation to learn more.

The problem with small services businesses in particular, is that they think that their product is a niche. It’s not! At least it’s not in the only sense that matters—in the marketing sense.

So without a niche, PR is a waste of time and money. Most services businesses don’t have a niche, they have a product which admittedly can be a very narrowly-defined product (or service) but it remains a product.

So for example, a business might just do Mystery Shopping, now that’s a very narrow type of market research, but again it’s a service not a niche. Now a real niche might be doing mystery shopping just for fast food outlets. That would enable you to create a service with real specialist value.

Another example would be sales training, a service which almost any company or business in Australia could purchase—we all need more sales training. But is it a niche? Well sales training just for fast food outlets might be. Or perhaps narrowing it down to commission sales training just for women in real estate. That’s starting to sound like a niche. And a very big niche that is begging to be mined.

Why is it so important to have a niche when it comes to Lead Generation? There are two fundamental reasons:

1. You can reach a niche. Niche members tend to hang out in the same ‘places’—they read certain magazines, are members of similar industry associations, go to certain websites, belong to certain clubs, etcetera.

2. If you specialise you can charge more. Matt Church, probably Australia’s leading thought leader and the founder of ThoughtLeaders.com, has always used the analogy of specialists doctors versus GPs. Specialists are positioned as the experts, they focus on a niche and they charge significantly more fees. Micro businesses and SMEs that specialise can charge a premium price because they are seen, and are rightly seen, to be the experts in that narrow niche.

For example in my niche of financial planning, so much of the research that I need to do to understand that niche really well, and the material I need to write, is already done when I meet a new client. There are also powerful SEO and other online benefits to be gained when I’m doing marketing for small businesses in one niche. One benefit is because we can link their websites to one another, dramatically increasing their online profile.

Get a niche, and generating lots of sales leads for small business becomes possible. But then the real work begins!
Cheers,
Toby

 

More at: www.tobymarshall.com

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:46:00 -0700 Delicious things http://katrinawong.posterous.com/delicious-things http://katrinawong.posterous.com/delicious-things


 
Blueberries and mango!
 

 
Chocolate chip cookies
 

 
Brown sugar in the shape of a heart... (next upload: the brown sugar heart is broken! no, unfortunately we did not get a photo of that.)
 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:59:48 -0700 If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is "Probably because of something you did." http://katrinawong.posterous.com/if-a-kid-asks-where-rain-comes-from-i-think-a http://katrinawong.posterous.com/if-a-kid-asks-where-rain-comes-from-i-think-a Jack Handey's Deep Thoughts

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:29:08 -0700 Today, I walked into a bookstore to research on different psychological structures between males and females. As I went past the display stand, there was a book called 'What Men Know About Women'. I opened it, and discovered that it was completely blank. http://katrinawong.posterous.com/today-i-walked-into-a-bookstore-to-research-o http://katrinawong.posterous.com/today-i-walked-into-a-bookstore-to-research-o from MLIA.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:04:23 -0700 SHARK ATTACK! http://katrinawong.posterous.com/shark-attack-11 http://katrinawong.posterous.com/shark-attack-11 Lifeguards have been forced to close off one of Perth's most popular beaches today after a large shark came within 100m of the shoreline.

Crowds of onlookers watched on as the shark, believed to be a great white, tore into a rotting whale carcass off Floreat Beach. The beach is just 6km north of North Cottesloe Beach, where Ken Crew was killed after his leg was ripped off by a great white in 2000. It's expected other beaches will close as the dismembered carcass floats down the coast.

 The large shark takes a bite out of the floating carcass. (Channel 10)
 

 

 
The shark was estimated to be about 4 metres long.

 
Content from: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/glance/875206/shark-tears-into-rotting-whale-carcass

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Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:37:38 -0700 A punnet of blueberries... http://katrinawong.posterous.com/a-punnet-of-blueberries http://katrinawong.posterous.com/a-punnet-of-blueberries

Why? Because I can.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:33:10 -0700 A cocktail glass of blueberries and mango?! http://katrinawong.posterous.com/a-cocktail-glass-of-blueberries-and-mango http://katrinawong.posterous.com/a-cocktail-glass-of-blueberries-and-mango Because we're all a little bit fatter now that we've looked at photos of cake. 

coming up next... a photo of a treadmill!

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Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:26:18 -0700 aren't these cute little cookies? http://katrinawong.posterous.com/arent-these-cute-little-cookies http://katrinawong.posterous.com/arent-these-cute-little-cookies

... you can't tell, because of the sly photography, but these 'cute little cookies' are actually as big as your head.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:24:40 -0700 Man I really feel like some syllabub... http://katrinawong.posterous.com/man-i-really-feel-like-some-syllabub http://katrinawong.posterous.com/man-i-really-feel-like-some-syllabub Raspberry syllabub...

Orange syllabub...

Mango syllabub...

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:21:19 -0700 Ice cream! http://katrinawong.posterous.com/ice-cream-197 http://katrinawong.posterous.com/ice-cream-197

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:18:22 -0700 Oh wow, it only occurred to me to upload multiple photos at once... http://katrinawong.posterous.com/oh-wow-it-only-occurred-to-me-to-upload-multi http://katrinawong.posterous.com/oh-wow-it-only-occurred-to-me-to-upload-multi So imma go CRAZY! 

Fruits! Therefore it's healthy, right?

Halloween themed pumpkin tart!

The Queen of Hearts, she baked some tarts...

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:11:57 -0700 What I aspire to... http://katrinawong.posterous.com/what-i-aspire-to http://katrinawong.posterous.com/what-i-aspire-to

But maybe when I bake them I'll make the filling look less like blood.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:48:51 -0700 100s and 1000s!! http://katrinawong.posterous.com/100s-and-1000s http://katrinawong.posterous.com/100s-and-1000s RSPCA Cupcake Day by mcminty.

This photo, the tree, the shark and the cupcakes galore are all courtesy of Andrew (Minty) McIntyre. 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:45:48 -0700 Why yes there is a tree on this cupcake... what of it?! http://katrinawong.posterous.com/why-yes-there-is-a-tree-on-this-cupcake-what http://katrinawong.posterous.com/why-yes-there-is-a-tree-on-this-cupcake-what RSPCA Cupcake Day by mcminty.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:44:59 -0700 Why yes there is a shark swimming in the icing on this cupcake... http://katrinawong.posterous.com/why-yes-there-is-a-shark-swimming-in-the-icin http://katrinawong.posterous.com/why-yes-there-is-a-shark-swimming-in-the-icin RSPCA Cupcake Day by mcminty.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/239465/Posterous_profile_photo.jpg http://posterous.com/users/36PsItuJEoMh Katrina Wong Katrina Katrina Wong
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:44:04 -0700 Cupcakes galore! http://katrinawong.posterous.com/cupcakes-galore http://katrinawong.posterous.com/cupcakes-galore RSPCA Cupcake Day by mcminty.

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Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:33:00 -0700 YUM!! http://katrinawong.posterous.com/yum-206 http://katrinawong.posterous.com/yum-206

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Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:14:57 -0700 is wondering what other naked things she can put on this site... besides cupcakes... naked cookies? Naked pies? Better start baking! http://katrinawong.posterous.com/is-wondering-what-other-naked-things-she-can http://katrinawong.posterous.com/is-wondering-what-other-naked-things-she-can

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Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:35:00 -0700 Lead Creation Blog http://katrinawong.posterous.com/lead-creation-blog http://katrinawong.posterous.com/lead-creation-blog http://smallbusinessleads.com.au/

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