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Nine Ways to Make Your Business Visible

My Fourth Law of Attracting Clients states that you must be visible.

Imagine that you woke up one morning and discovered you were completely invisible. And nobody could hear you either. If you sent an email, nobody would even see it.

Not such a great circumstance if you wanted to attract clients to your business!

But as absurd as this situation might seem, it’s pretty close to reality for many independent professionals. They are rarely seen or noticed by their prospective clients.

If your business is not growing and you need to attract more clients, the very first thing you need to do is gain more visibility.

In my business, my efforts to become visible followed this progression: networking – speaking – keep-in-touch marketing – publishing.

I joined my local Chamber of Commerce, professional groups, and networking clubs and I started to meet a lot of new people, many prospective clients.

Then I contacted organizations and started to give talks on marketing for professionals. I met even more people and added them to my mailing list.

I then mailed a newsletter every other month to those on this list, and I sent postcard mailings inviting people to various introductory marketing events.

In 1997, I transitioned to an email list that reached 50,000 people at its peak. These people received this eZine once a week and I also promoted various

products and services to those on the list. Twenty years later the eZine still goes out weekly.

Finally, I published my InfoGuru Marketing Manual that developed more credibility and led to more clients and participants in my marketing groups.

I may be a lot of things, but one is not being invisible!

The hard truth you have to face is that very few people wake up in the morning with your name on their lips. You cannot remain relatively invisible and expect your business to grow magically.

You need to remedy this with a “Visibility Plan.”  Here are nine ways to do it:

1. Start slow, with patience. You can’t get in front of 50,000 people overnight. Get clear on who your ideal clients are and where you can connect with them.

2. Focus on as many in-person meetings as possible through professional organizations. Really get to know people and their needs.

3. Reach out to make connections with those you’ve met who could be possible clients or refer you to clients. Real connections are more powerful than virtual connections.

4. With permission, add people to your e-list and send some valuable information at least monthly. This kind of keep-in-touch marketing is essential to stay visible.

5. Set up your website to get opt-ins in return for a report or article. Make it a practice to give away lots of value and demonstrate your expertise.

6. Establish a presence on social media such as Facebook and Linked In. But don’t make this your primary visibility method, as it can be hard to stand out in this crowded arena.

7. Submit articles to online publications that your ideal clients visit and read. This is a great way to build credibility to a very targeted audience.

8. Seek out opportunities to give presentations – everything from speaking at professional groups to giving a TED talk. Nothing is more powerful than highlighting your expertise on stage.

9. Publish a book or e-book that establishes your expertise. A book is a powerful door-opener that provides a platform for the services and programs you offer.

I’ve done all of these things to one degree or another and I’ve also helped my clients do them as well, with great success.

These are all opportunities to communicate the value of your business and build credibility and trust over the long haul.

Remember, nobody is going to do business with someone who is invisible!

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

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Marketing with Logic and Emotion

A couple days ago our refrigerator conked out.

A repairman showed up today to take a look. The verdict? We’d need a new freezer coil. The cost was close to $1,000 and would take almost a week to get the parts.

A new refrigerator was about $2K. And that’s the option I chose. It will arrive tomorrow.

Logically, I could have saved more than $1K if I’d chosen to get it fixed.

But emotionally, I didn’t want to be without a fridge for a week, perhaps longer. The discomfort of that was worth avoiding even if it meant paying $1,000 more.

All buying decisions are emotional, not logical.

When a client decides to work with you, they may justify it logically, but ultimately, they chose to get your help because of how they feel about you and their situation.

They will choose the option that feels the best to them.

In most cases, people buy your professional services because something isn’t working for them.

And that decision is always emotional.

And they also want things to work better for them or their companies.

And that decision is emotional as well.

Since marketing is 100% communication, your first job is to remind your prospective clients of the problems, issues and challenges they are experiencing.

And your second job is to inform them how much better things will be after you help them by using your professional services.

Nevertheless, this emotional content needs to be presented in a logical, understandable way.

That’s why the third law of attracting clients says you must balance logic and emotion in your marketing.

This is the art of marketing.

Learning how to communicate this way can be tricky, but I like to break it down into these 6 logical steps:

1. Write a list of all the problems, issues and challenges your prospective clients are facing.

2. Write a list of how things could be if their problems, issues and challenges were resolved (the mirror image of #1).

3. Prove to them that you have the experience and know-how to help them achieve #2.

4. Write a list of all the other benefits and advantage they’ll gain if they hire you to help them.

5. Explain what you’ll actually do and what it will look like (but not in too much detail).

6. Let them know what they need to do to get started with you (including your fee).

Now, of course, this can be written or spoken in an infinite number of ways, but these steps are the building blocks of marketing communication that turns prospective clients into paying clients.

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

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What a Sasquatch can teach you about attracting clients

More than 105 Million people have watched this YouTube video about the Purple Mattress Protector pitched by a female Sasquatch.

You can see it here.

The creators of this video understand that you can’t be boring if you want to get attention for your product or service.

You can see their “making of” video here.

But it’s more than a visual gimmick. The script for the video is a straight pitch from a mom extolling the virtues and benefits of the Purple Mattress Protector. 

Most TV commercials are 30 seconds long but this video is 3:43. You can’t take your eyes off it, and I admit I’ve watched it several times. 

So, as an independent professional wanting to attract more clients, what does this mean to you? Am I suggesting that you hire a Sasquatch to pitch your professional services?

No, but I am suggesting your marketing could be a little more creative, eye-catching and benefit-oriented.

The second law of attracting more clients is: “You must not be boring.”

But I’ve noticed that this is the prime feature of most promotion and marketing for independent professionals:

It’s mind-numbingly boring.

Why? Because it’s all about you or about your process. And nobody really cares about that. They care about how you can help them.

The Purple Sasquatch video gets this. And in the opening of the video she addresses the problems with other mattress protectors:  

“Did you know that the wrong mattress protector can ruin the feel of your mattress?

“Hi, I’m a mom, one of the hardest jobs out there.

“This is Junior. Junior’s a sweetheart but he can wreak havoc on our mattresses. Which is why I got the Purple Mattress Protector.

“Nobody likes sleeping on a plastic bag! Other protectors turn your bed crinkly or stiff and they make your mattress noisy, hot and uncomfortable – like a Nickleback concert – or the first year of my marriage!

“A mattress protector that ruins the feel of your mattress makes about as much sense as my husband’s conspiracy theories.”

Now that our Sasquatch mom has established the problem with other mattress protectors, she extolls the virtues of the Purple Mattress Protector:

“The Purple Protector is stretchy so it can let your bed do what it was designed to do.

“The Purple Protector enhances your Purple bed or any other bed. It’s soft and flexible so it doesn’t take away from the supporting power your mattress.

“It cradles your pressure points when you lay down instead of making your mattress hard and uncomfortable – like watching Transformers IV through the window of an RV.

“And the stretchiness means it’s super durable, which is nice because Junior has vivid night terrors about deforestation.”

The pitch about the protector’s benefits incorporate some sly humor that fits with the visuals of the video.

Could you do something similar with your marketing copy? Of course! (Without going over the top.)

The first part of your copy should address the problems or issues your prospective clients are currently experiencing. This is what one of my clients wrote:

As a top executive or leader in your organization, you’re often faced with leaders and managers who are not performing at the level you need them to.

I am often called into a company when they are experiencing people issues and challenges such as the following:

Someone in your organization is not communicating effectively. It’s hurting productivity, spoiling relationships and impacting morale. You wonder what you can possibly do to help them get along and interact more successfully.

No sly humor here, but it directly addresses a very real issue experienced by leaders and managers. Then you can explain the benefits of your solution:

My executive coaching services help leaders improve their communication skills and enhance productivity.

Executive coaching gets to the heart of the matter, addressing behaviors that don’t work and offering new ways to interact effectively.

When we work with leaders, we help them tap into their strengths, leverage their relationships, and communicate authentically and powerfully.

And that translates to a more productive, profitable company.

Notice that none of this copy talks about your process (that’s boring), but addresses the results the leader can expect if they get executive coaching.

So, don’t be boring. Take a page from our Sasquatch mom and talk about what your clients care about: value, benefits, and results.

Cheers, Robert Middleton

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

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Law #1 – YOU are the Killer App

This article is the second in an eight-article series on the Seven Laws of Marketing. See the first article at this link.

Law #1 – You must be very good at what you do.

Once there was a doctor who was the top expert in his field. And he traveled around the country giving talks at medical conferences. He also brought an assistant to each of his talks who helped him with logistics, set up his slide projector, made his hotel arrangements, and sold his books at the back of the room at the end of the talk. 

One day the assistant remarked to the doctor, "You know I've been in the back of the room for dozens of your talks and since you give the same talk every time, I'll bet I could deliver it verbatim." 

The doctor, being the adventuresome type, took up his assistant's bet and told him, "Since nobody knows me at this talk I'm giving next week, why don't you give the talk and I'll sit in the back of the room?"

They agreed and the assistant gave the next talk. And he was right; he did a great job. He not only gave the talk verbatim, he used the doctor's same tone of voice and gestures and got a standing ovation at the end. 

Then he opened it up for questions. He was asked a very complex question and this is how he answered: "Ha, that is such a simple question. Anybody knows the answer to that question. In fact it's such a simple question, even my assistant could answer it for you!" And then gesturing to the doctor at the back of the room he said, "Go ahead and give us the answer to this simple question!"

Being good at what you do is not just being in command of a certain set of facts. It's understanding all the things beyond those facts. Someone once taught me that a consultant or speaker should know thirty times more than what he consulted or spoke about. 

Is your expertise beyond your knowledge and do you have the ability to effectively apply that knowledge? Can you walk your talk? Can you answer the difficult questions and then demonstrate how to apply your ideas in a wide variety of circumstances? 

Of course, you will never know everything, even if your expertise is rather narrow. Are you consistently expanding your expertise through reading, workshops, seminars, and conferences? And are you refining your expertise through writing and speaking?

More than any other factor, being genuinely knowledgeable and being very good at what you do will determine your success in attracting more of your ideal clients.

A final note about the title of this article.

I’ve talked to hundreds of people about their business and marketing. And many of them believe there’s a hidden secret to attracting clients and growing a business.

If only they had the perfect message, a bigger list, more connections or a “killer app” that generated a non-stop flow of qualified leads.

But there’s really only one killer app. And that’s YOU.

Sure, there are some great tools and resources out there today. A past client of mine recently discovered some online tools that are helping her generate more qualified leads than ever before.

But it’s her hard work, dedication, and trial and error efforts that have enabled her to get such great results from using these tools. It’s her commitment to making them work that’s made all the difference.

Want to be great at what you do? Realize that ultimately YOU are the killer app.

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

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The 7 Laws of Attracting Your Ideal Clients

Recently I asked myself what was really important in attracting clients and growing a professional service business. 

And what I realized is that it had nothing to do with marketing strategies and techniques. Sure, those are important but they're a moving target. They are always changing.

The question is, what things are important no matter what strategies and tactics you use? You may or may not do speaking and networking and have a website or use social media. 

But when you do use those strategies you need to remember and apply these laws or your marketing will fall flat on its face. So ignore them at your peril!

Today I’m going to give you an overview of those seven laws. Then over the following seven weeks, I’ll go into each law in depth.

First of all, the laws of marketing a professional service business are very different from marketing a product or a company. In those cases, the focus is on branding and differentiation.

To market a professional service business, the focus needs to be on clearly communicating your value proposition.

Law #1 – You must be very good at what you do

In working with clients over the years I’ve seen that those who had the most expertise and overall confidence in what they offered, did better than others.

And, not so coincidentally, they also learned and implemented the other laws of marketing much better than average.

Becoming very good at what you do takes hard work, ongoing learning, and dedication to your business and to your clients. Nothing else can substitute for this.

Law #2 – You must not be boring

The great advertising executive, David Ogilvy, said what I think is the most astute thing anyone ever said about marketing and advertising: "You can't bore someone into doing business with you." 

But what is the secret to being interesting, not boring? Does it mean razzle-dazzle and excitement, fancy graphics and knock-em-dead presentations?

Not at all. It means putting the focus on your clients and communicating clearly about the value and benefits they receive from working for you. It’s that simple – and that difficult.

Law #3 – You must have a balance of logic and emotion in your marketing communication

This is an extension of Law #2 and is about how you communicate the value of what you offer to your clients – through any and every communication medium.

So, let me demonstrate this: "If you learn how to balance emotion and logic in your marketing, many more people will be interested in your service and will want to work with you." 

That sentence was written in a logical matter. "If you do X you will get Y." But the content is emotional because it promises to give you something you want. Logical communication without an emotional appeal falls flat.

Law #4 – You must be visible to your ideal clients

In other words, you need to get both yourself and your message out there. This sounds simple in theory, but is actually the most challenging part of marketing yourself.

You only have so much time, energy and money to invest in marketing activities. This is why I put an emphasis on the three most effective marketing strategies for professional service businesses:

Networking (live and virtual) to build connections and relationships. Speaking (from keynotes to webinars) to position yourself as a top expert. Writing (from articles to books) to build long-term credibility.

Law #5 – You must communicate like a human being

Nobody likes “being marketed to.” But everyone likes to have conversations about how to solve their problems. We are not looking for a pitch, but for understanding.

Understanding starts by asking great questions of your prospective clients. What are their situations, goals, and challenges? Only when you know these can you legitimately offer your services.

And when it comes time to explain your services, remember Laws #2 and #3. Dwell less on your process (what you do) than on your value (what the client gets if they work with you).

Law #6 – You must be able to tell a story

Stories should permeate your marketing. A good story helps a client understand your value. Stories bypass the conceptual mind and speak directly to the emotional mind.

A good story has three parts: 1. The original situation of the client, 2. What you did to help them, 3. The results the client realized from working with you.

Build a repertoire of good stories to use whenever speaking to a prospective client, in talks and presentations, and when writing articles.

Law #7 – You must believe you make a difference

I’m willing to bet you didn’t go into business just to make money. You went out on your own as a self-employed professional because you wanted to help people.

But, as you probably know, growing a business can be challenging. Attracting clients who want to work with you and pay you well takes the consistent application of all these laws.

Remembering why you went into business in the first place will fuel your motivation. I’ve discovered that asking the question, “What service can I offer that will really help my clients?” inspires me a lot more than, “What can I do to make more money?”

In the coming seven weeks I’ll be going into all these laws in much more depth. So stay tuned!

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

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Money – Increase Your Sales by Adding Bonuses

In a practice known as the “baker’s dozen” a baker throws in an extra muffin or cinnamon roll when you buy 12.

We all love to receive some kind of bonus when we buy a product. But we tend to underestimate how powerful this tool can be to increasing sales.  

When my wife and I bought new windows for our living room last year, the contractor added a free window when we also purchased windows for the bedroom (which we hadn’t even considered ordering).

A bonus can often both clinch the deal and increase the amount of the sale.

And yes, professional service businesses can offer bonuses and special offers, just as a product-based business can.

Here are a few examples.

Add a bonus for a larger sale

Let’s say you have a 6-month coaching program with a fixed fee. If that is your only option, it’s a yes or no proposition.

But what if you also offered a nine-month program for the same monthly fee but added a bonus? The bonus might be a virtual training program or access to an online forum.

This bonus might cost you very little but add substantial value to the client while also increasing your revenue.

In addition, by offering a second service package you then have a choice of ‘yeses,’ not a choice between yes and no. So, the chances of a prospect saying yes increases substantially.

Also, note that if you don’t offer a higher-end service you will never sell that service.

Add a bonus for choosing you sooner

We’re all faced with the situation where the prospective client says, “I need to think about it.”

That is certainly valid, but it’s also equally valid to reward a prospect for signing up for your service sooner rather than later.

I don’t like any kind of high-pressure sales tactics, but have no objection to offering a little more incentive for taking action quickly.

“If you choose to work with me within one week of receiving the proposal I’ll offer a complimentary one-day training session.”

Whatever bonus or incentive you offer, it should be perceived as a significant value to the prospect. Just this little nudge will often get a prospect to make a decision faster than usual.

And the faster clients decide to work with you, the more income you tend to make.

Add a bonus for a referral

When I ask people where most of their business comes from, a majority say, “word-of-mouth.” But I have yet to meet anyone who has a plan to increase word-of-mouth other than offering exceptional service.

Why not reward word-of-mouth referrals by offering a bonus?

You could say something like this: “Because I build my business on word-of-mouth I offer a client bonus if you send someone my way who becomes a new client.”

This bonus would vary, depending on the service you offer. It could be a free coaching session, a discount on services for a month or an additional service.

Some clients will do nothing, but others will introduce you to many new clients.

A little more value

Never underestimate the power of a special offer, a discount or bonus in return for buying more, buying sooner or giving you a referral.

And interestingly, when you offer more value in this way, you also tend to increase client loyalty and word-of-mouth. Everyone likes a good deal and will often share what a good deal they received with others.

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

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Money – Discovering Your True Value

Today’s article is the second in a multi-part series on making more money in your business.

The main reason I’m writing this series on making more money is that, in my experience, most independent professionals are simply undercharging for their services.

Last week I talked about how limiting beliefs about money may be holding you back.

This week, I’m going to talk about how to change the way you think about charging for your services.

Your services are not a commodity

If you’re a commodity, your clients will think about the fees you charge and how they can get the lowest fees possible.

They’ll think your services are like everyone else’s.

Buying your services is not like buying rice, steel, or heating oil. You can always find a lower price somewhere and get more or less the same commodity.

But if you’re a consultant, coach, trainer, financial planner, or another professional, your focus can’t be on your fees, but on the results you produce for your clients.

Think of some of the results you’ve achieved for your clients. Didn’t they make a huge difference in your clients’ lives and businesses?

Many of my clients have increased their incomes by tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of the work they’ve done with me.

And I’m sure it’s the same with you.

And if your services don’t result in a monetary return, they bring other rewards that are often even more significant: big gains in confidence, fulfillment, and relationships.

Your services can change the lives of your clients. They are not a commodity.

This is the way I try to think about it:

If a client is looking for your help, forget completely about your fees and figure out what service you would ideally provide to help that client achieve the desired result.

And then ask the client what the value of that service would be to them.

Then charge that amount.

No, you won’t always get that project, but in many cases you will because you are so confident of the results you’ll produce.

This is just the opposite of what many independent professionals do.

They first wonder what the client can afford, and then create a package of services that will meet the client’s budget, not thinking enough of the ultimate results.

Then they end up working like a dog, resenting that they made so little money for so much work and often not achieving the best results possible. Sound familiar?

Time to get paid what you’re worth!

Alan Weiss, the Million Dollar Consultant, calls this “value pricing.”

Ultimately you determine the value to the client and then charge for that value (and then deliver on it).

When I learned this principle many years ago, I had a prospective client contact me with the task of finding a title for his book.

We talked and explored the value to him. It would make all the difference to have the right title. He wanted a title that accurately reflected the essence of the book. And he needed it quickly.

I also realized that if I charged a low fee he probably wouldn’t appreciate the work that went into coming up with a good title and might get stuck in the loop of asking others for their opinion and get nowhere.

So I charged him $2,500 (this was almost 20 years ago).

Ultimately, I got the project and did a lot of in-depth work to determine the most appropriate title.

I came up with just one title name. He loved it and used it for the book. He got the value he paid for.

In fact, he got even more value as I also gave him a lot of input about the contents of the book.

So, think hard – what are your services really worth?

In most cases, they are worth a whole lot more than you think they are.

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

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Money - And How to Make More of It

I don’t know many independent professionals who wouldn’t like to make more money.

It seems so simple. Ultimately there are only four ways to make more money in your business:

1. Get more new clients or customers

2. Raise your rates or fees

3. Sell more services to each client

4. Get more repeat business from existing clients.

Yes, but how do you actually accomplish those three things?

For the next several weeks, I’m going to write a series of articles on how to make more money in your business.

And I’m going to do my best to give you practical, actionable ideas that work. I know they work because I’ve3 used them and so have many of my clients over the years.

But before I start, there’s an important things to understand about money.

Money. Is. An. Emotional. Issue.

Money isn’t dollar bills in our pocket or numbers in our bank account.

No, in our minds, money is about our self worth, about how we compare ourselves to others, about how we feel about ourselves, about our success, and ultimately about our survival.

I have a favorite story about money that makes this very clear.

A few years ago, I worked with a husband and wife team who were executive coaches.

Because of our work together, they started to attract more clients on a consistent basis.

However, like many independent professionals, they were undercharging for their professional services.

But when I suggested they raise their fees, they became very uncomfortable.

And when I dug in, I discovered why.

It turns out that both had been raised in relatively poor families and they continually got the message that “rich people are dishonest.”

Because they believed that to be true, of course they didn’t want to raise their fees. That would make them, in their minds, dishonest.

And, if they felt they were dishonest, that would be a moral failure. That wouldn’t feel good. It actually felt better to make less money!

After we explored this belief in depth, they realized that it was both emotional and illogical. It clearly wasn’t true that all rich people were dishonest.

Their belief started to transform to: “We offer an honest service that makes a difference to our clients and it’s OK to charge what that service is really worth.”

This new belief felt a lot better than the old one.  

And realizing this, they finally clearly saw that the fees they then charged were virtually nothing compared to the value their clients received.

And before too long they had doubled their fees with almost no pushback from their clients.

And no angst on their part.

So, the very first thing to examine if you are not making the money you want, are your beliefs about money.

Sounds simple, but it’s trickier than it seems.

Why? Because we believe what we believe to protect us from any kind of harm – even if this harm is imaginary.

My clients believed they’d become dishonest if they raised their fees. So, in their minds, not raising their fees prevented that from happening.

What shifted this belief was clearly seeing that it was essentially nonsense. They could raise their fees and still be honest people.

With this powerful insight, their belief was forever changed.

And now, as a business owner, I challenge you to question your beliefs about money. First, identify the ones that are holding you back.

Here are a few very popular ones:

Money is scarce

My clients can’t pay higher fees

People will think I’m greedy

More money will lead to problems

It feels wrong to make money doing what I love

Money will corrupt me

Being wealthy will make me arrogant

I don’t deserve a lot of money

Money leads to bad things

More money just means more taxes

Wanting more money is selfish and shallow

List yours here: ______________________

I don’t know which of these beliefs is running you, but if you aren’t making the money you want it’s almost certain that one or more of these beliefs is holding you back.

What are the fears behind the beliefs?

Honestly ask if those beliefs are true and if they are serving you or limiting you.

Then ask how things might change without those beliefs.

You just might find that it’s not so hard to raise your fees after all.

So, the first thing you must do to earn more money is to question your beliefs about money. Unless you do that, you’re unlikely to take the practical steps that will help you earn more money.

Do this honest questioning about your money beliefs and you’ll be ready to learn a number of step-by-step approaches to earning more money that I’ll cover in the following weeks.

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

[hrjerry-me-blog]

What's the Hardest Part of Marketing Yourself?

In my Fast Track Marketing System I divide marketing into seven very specific modules:

1. The Game of Marketing

2. The Mindset of Marketing

3. Marketing Messages (Your Value Proposition)

4. Marketing and Selling Conversations

5. Written Marketing Materials

6. Marketing Strategies

7. Marketing Action Plans

All of these have their particular challenges. But in my experience in working with thousands of Independent Professionals, it's #7 that seems to be the hardest for most people.

After all, most of the other 6 modules are all about preparation to market yourself.

You learn the basics of the game of marketing, you work on your marketing mindset, you develop marketing messages, conversations, and written marketing materials, and ultimately choose the marketing strategies to get the word out.

And then the rubber hits the road. You have to actually get out there and connect with potential clients through networking, speaking, an eZine, social media, emails, etc.

For most, the bottom falls out of their marketing at this point. It simply goes nowhere, or more specifically it goes into the infamous "Random Zone" where things are done haphazardly and inconsistently.

If people have worked to develop the whole foundation of their marketing first, know who their target market is, have put together a web site and have practiced their marketing and selling conversations, they are going to have more success.

But even the well-prepared struggle with implementation.

Why is putting action plans into action so hard? Here are three of the most common ones. Are they familiar to you?

1. As soon as you start reaching out, you face possible rejection. What if your message, your talk, your emails fall on deaf ears? What if your potential clients could care less? What if they outright rejected your promotional efforts?

We conjure painful mental images in our mind that stop us cold.

For this one we need to work again on our mindset, on our thinking, realizing that if we reach out and people aren't interested, that it's not personal. They don't hate us; either they are simply not good prospects right now or our message doesn't have the impact it could.

So reach out to new prospects and keep improving your messages.

2. It takes way more time and effort than you ever thought it would. We think of marketing as a few promotional things we do here and there. This should be easy, we think. But it's not.

Time to do a reality check. Any marketing activity takes time, effort and commitment to make it work. Marketing is a bit of an art and nothing works perfectly on the first draft.

You need to make detailed and realistic plans based on strategies that others have used successfully in the past. If you just make it up as you go along, your chances of success are very slim.

3. It's never good enough and although you might even know what you're doing, you put off your marketing launches until everything is perfect… but it never is.

What underlies this are beliefs about perfection, not being good enough and being judged by others. It's not so much rejection you fear, but disapproval. What will others think of you?

Well, if your marketing campaign isn't relevant to those you are targeting, it's not a big deal. They'll just ignore it. They won't think much about it at all. But for the ones that are looking for what you offer, they'll not only be interested, they'll respond.

Your prospects are not looking for perfection from you; they're looking for assistance and value. If you've got that, perfection is virtually irrelevant.

I've done a whole lot of marketing action plans that were rejected by most people, took me a long time to implement, and were far from perfect. And most of them have made me hundreds of thousands of dollars!

Marketing success is about know-how, value, commitment, and persistence. Everything else is just a distraction.

The Fearless Marketer Bottom Line: There could be a lot of other things stopping you from following through with your marketing plan as well. The question is, where are you going to focus – on your fears and worries about rejection, time, and perfection – or are you going to focus on the value and difference you make and give your marketing plans a real chance?

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

[hrjerry-me-blog]

Website Insights for a Site That Attracts More Clients

This week I launched my brand new website: actionplan.club

Over the last 20 years, I’ve designed and launched a total of seven different versions of my site.

In the process, I’ve learned a number of things, made a lot of mistakes and gained some wisdom about how to make a website serve your business and help you attract more clients.

Today, I’d like to share a summary of those insights.

A client-attracting tool

That’s ultimately what a website is. It’s not a monument to your ego or something beautiful to look at (although there’s nothing wrong with a visually attractive website).

For independent professionals, a website needs to explain to your prospective clients why you’re the person to help them with their particular issues and challenges.

A Lead-gathering tool

When someone visits your website, they should be inspired to take some sort of action right on the spot – otherwise, the chances of them ever visiting your site again are immensely low.

And that’s why I believe the most important part of your site is its ability to build an opt-in email list. If you don’t have a list, it’s like having a wonderful car with no gas in the tank.

Virtually all my business over the past 20 years has come from email promotions to those who joined the list on my website. When you don’t have a list, you severely limit your marketing possibilities.

Make opt-ins obvious

I can’t tell you how many clients have shown me their website with a tiny little opt-in box that says, “Please join my list,” or some other tepid appeal. And they wonder why they have a tiny e-list.

Fewer people want to join lists these days. We already have too much email in your in-boxes. But if you give away some substantial value, many will still opt-in to get it and join your e-list in the process.

Your opt-in box should be attractively designed and attention getting. And you should use various two-step opt-ins throughout your site. They are like little ads that say, in effect, “Go here and get my valuable free stuff,” which directs them to your sign-up page.  Free Stuff

Simple navigation – in-depth content

The biggest change I made in my new website was to dramatically simplify my navigation. My old site had links to so many pages that it become overwhelming to navigate.

But I still have in-depth pages that describe my services. These are the main pages I want my prospects to visit, that explain in detail how I help my clients. Not everyone will read long copy but serious prospects will read much more than you think.  Programs (link)

Publish a Blog

For 20 years, I’ve sent out my email newsletter to thousands of subscribers. With my previous website (since Jan 2011) I took the weekly ezine article and also posted it as a blog. Why? Because blog posts are indexed by Google and after seven years I have 355 blog posts on the web, all pointing back to my site. Blog page.

People ask how I’m able to write a new article every single week. My answer is stupidly simple: I make Mondays the day I write my ezine/blog article and it’s usually the first thing I write Monday mornings, even before I check my email. Now it’s become a habit that comes easily and naturally.

Development Tips

Use Wordpress. It took me a long time to make the transition as I’d invested a huge amount of time and money on the previous site. But you can do almost anything you want on a Wordpress site with easily installable plugins. It’s knocking my socks off!

Hire a designer. The average independent professional is not a terrible writer. But most are hopeless designers. If you design it yourself, you’ll probably love it, but you may be the only one!

It’s worth the relatively small one-time investment to get a design that will make your site look both attractive and professional.

Hire a Wordpress developer. Setting up a Wordpress site is tricky technically. My developer understands every little bit of code that makes it run smoothly. Get someone who says, “no, problem, I can do that!”

By the way, sometimes a designer and developer are one and the same person, but these are very different skill sets and few people can do both well.

Learn Wordpress basics. Once your site has been designed and developed, you need to learn how to edit and adjust it yourself. A short tutorial from your developer will give you what you need. Make sure they build that into the fee for your development.

Design Tips

Larger fonts (typeface). These days, computer monitors are bigger than ever. So, small fonts get buried.

Readable type. Don’t make your type so light that it’s a strain to read. I recently looked at an associate’s website and it was literally unreadable because his small, thin typeface was also light grey. It looked cool, but I couldn’t get through one paragraph.

Color scheme. Keep your font colors to black or dark gray, for readability, and then have two main colors for page headlines and subheads. Too many colors detract from the overall look and feel.

And by the way, reverse type or light-colored type on a dark background, are almost always a no-no. It’s not good for readability.

Also, I highly recommend using text bolding to make your key ideas pop out – but only on first sentences of paragraphs. Too much bolding can make it harder, rather than easier, to read.

White space. Text needs space to breathe. Remember, it’s all about readability. So have ample left and right page margins (about 25% of the total width of your pages), space between paragraphs, and paragraphs no longer than five lines.

Also, side columns that contain other content make your main column of text narrower, hence more readable.

Graphics. Various pictures and photos on a web page not only make it attractive, they increase readability. For instance, I like breaking up text on long sales letters with high-quality photos of independent professionals.

The site of a colleague uses beautiful pictures from nature. It really depends on your business and identity.

Remember, there is no perfect way a website should look. The primary considerations are attractiveness and highly readable text.

Web Content

I’ve written about this extensively in the past and even developed a program on this (the Website Toolkit). Ultimately, this is the most important part of your site – what you say and how you say it.

One of my favorite marketing quotes: “Write when drunk, edit when sober. Marketing is the hangover.”

If not drunk, write with passion and abandon. Then go back and tone it down a bit.

Content Flow. Most of us can write coherent sentences, but what style or approach works best for writing website content?

I use an approach called, “Marketing Syntax,” where I put ideas in a certain order or syntax. This can be used for your Home page, About page, and Services pages (which are the most important pages on your site).

The content flow goes like this:

1. Who – A section on who your ideal clients are.

2. Problem – A section on the problems and challenges your prospective clients are experiencing.

3. Desire – What your clients would like to have if they could resolve their problems and challenge.

4. Solution – The actual results you are able to deliver to your clients that fulfill their desires.

5. Credibility – Why you are uniquely qualified and experienced to help your clients.

6. Call-to-Action – What the prospective client should do next to find out more or to meet with you.

What about the process of what you do? Unfortunately, too many websites go too deeply down the “process rabbit hole” where they explain too much about how they do what they do.

Prospective clients are more interested in the results they get from your services and if you’re the right person to help them. Of course, at the end of sales letters (services pages), you can outline a little of the structure of how you work.

This is hardly an advanced course on writing for websites (the Website Toolkit is), but it’s a reliable and simple framework for writing copy that your prospective clients will relate and respond to.

Finally, I highly recommend you hire a proofreader/editor who will undoubtedly find a number of typos, grammatical mistakes, and poorly expressed ideas. It’s worth it if you are to make a professional impression.

I invite you to visit my new website and you can judge for yourself how well I’ve adhered to all of these website tips I’ve offered today.

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

[hrjerry-me-blog]

Fighting Truthiness and Hype in Marketing

In 2005, Stephen Colbert, in his TV show, the Colbert Report, coined the word, “truthiness.”

Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts. 

Truthiness can range from ignorant assertions of falsehoods to deliberate duplicity or propaganda intended to sway opinions. – Wikipedia

We know that truthiness is rampant in politics.

But it’s also rampant in marketing.

Many of us think that marketing is mostly truthiness, not real truth in any way, shape or form.  

We expect hype and exaggeration, if not downright deception, when it comes to promoting products and services.

Because of this, many of us become almost immune to the majority of marketing messages.

We assume that whatever someone says about their business, product, or service must be a form of truthiness, a veiled lie that hides the real facts.

So, as an independent professional wanting to attract more clients, you are faced with a real dilemma.

You are puzzled about how you can persuasively communicate the value of your professional services given that most prospective clients will doubt almost everything you say.

Because of this, I’ve noticed that many independent professionals shy away from marketing completely.

While others chose to go to the truthiness dark side, hoping an excess of hype will carry the day.

A recent email promotion I received contained a number of over-the-top marketing promises about an online  marketing program:

“You will witness a revolutionary new technology being released that will allow you as a small business owner (regardless of skill level or experience level) to... generate as many new clients as you can possibly handle.”

Would you believe that? No, it’s truthiness and hype incarnate!

And anyone who does believe it is likely a naïve, gullible person looking for miracles with little work on their part.

So how can you eschew truthiness and still market your professional services effectively?

That, as they say, is the million-dollar question!

Well, the opposite of truthiness is honesty.  

And yes, it is possible to communicate the value of your services truthfully, honestly, and with integrity.

But to do that you need to watch out for certain things that can become a slippery slope in your marketing.

Truthiness Insight #1

You must realize that what you feel about something is not the same as facts about something.

“I feel that my consulting services dramatically increase my clients’ productivity.”

OK, that’s nice, but by what objective measure are you determining the actual effectiveness of your professional services?

How about doing some measuring instead, such as before and after metrics?

When you have actual proof of what happens before and after, your credibility increases, as does your own confidence in your services.

The best marketing outlines real benefits and advantages based on facts, not hope.

Truthiness Insight #2

It’s not unusual to see client testimonials about how great it was to work with someone.

That’s nice and it’s certainly positive, but it’s not as powerful as reports of real changes.

“I lost 20 pounds in four months working with Ralph on both my diet and exercise program. He really supported me during the challenging times and helped me develop positive new habits that have stuck with me for the past year.”

This certainly trumps something like: “Ralph is a wonderful health coach who I trust with my life. You should definitely consider working with him.”

We often hear about the importance of getting testimonials. However, better to focus on getting solid results for your clients and then getting the testimonials will be easy.

Truthiness Insight #3

When you always speak in superlatives about your services, you again undermine your credibility.

Remember, people are skeptical and understandably so. So many promises made by marketers end in disappointment.

Better to actually talk about some of the drawbacks of your services than paint a completely unrealistic picture of “success without effort.”

I make it a point of telling all my prospective clients that if they engage me it will take a lot of work on their part to get out there and attract new clients.

They appreciate that I’m realistic and don’t sugarcoat things.

But believe me, in the past I’ve been less than realistic and it hasn’t turned out well for me!

We need to turn off the hype and get real. When we do, we tend to build more trust and confidence with our clients.

Truthiness Insight #4

We live in a sound-bite world.

Sound bites are important, as they are effective at getting attention and interest for our services.

But is there depth beyond the sound-bite? If not, you’re going to come across as shallow and insubstantial.

I once attended a public speaking course that stated: “You should know 30 times more than what you say in your presentation.”

That’s what real professionalism is about: deep knowledge, understanding, and experience in your field.

As they say, “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.”

This is the motto of the truthiness practitioner and ultimately won’t bode well for your long-term success.

Truthiness Insight #5

One of the hallmarks of truthiness and hype is ever-changing marketing messages.

You think, “Heck, if one message isn’t working, I’ll try another until something sticks.” But you pay little attention to the validity and authenticity of the message. 

A message that is clever, catchy, or over-the-top may get attention, but undermine your professional image.

Your message needs to be interesting and believable.

It should make people think, not insult their intelligence.

Take some serious time to work on your marketing messages. Run them past your current clients and get their reaction.

Others will notice truthiness and hype before you do.

But you’ll know you’re on track if they say, “yes, that really hits the nail on the head; that’s the reason I decided to work with you.”

Start banishing truthiness and hype from your marketing.

Not only will you build trust with your clients, you’ll start to attract more of the right clients, clients who are looking for a professional who walks their talk.  

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

[hrjerry-me-blog]

How to Use Follow-Up to Renew Old Clients

Everyone has heard a thousand times that it’s easier to renew an old client than to find a new one.

After all, the marketing has already been done, the relationship has been established and, if the work with the client went well, they like, and trust you.

You don’t have to reestablish your credentials, or persuade them that you’re the right person for the job.

However, I’m often surprised that so many independent professionals fail to follow up with old clients to land new business.

Here are some of the reasons I’ve heard over the years.

“I’m not sure they were completely happy with the work I did, so I’m very reluctant to call them back.”

“I figured that if they had more work for me they’d contact me again.”

“I get so busy with current clients and marketing to new ones that I forget about my old clients.”

“I think that if I contact past clients they’ll think I’m desperate for work, which leaves a bad impression.”

“I’d like to get back to some of my past clients but I don’t know what to say, and when I’ve done it in the past I wasn’t very good at booking new business.”

I’ll bet some of these are familiar to you.

Look, the truth is, that if you did past work for a client there’s a very good chance that they’ll be open to working with you again.

You’re not pestering them; you’re not desperate. You’d just like to continue to make a difference with them.

And the reason they don’t call you is that they get also and perhaps don’t think about what else you could do for them.

So that leaves us with what to say when you contact them.

What you don’t do is say, “Hey, just wanted to know if you had any more work for me!”

How would you respond to that?

What I recommend is that you take a proactive, and creative approach to contacting past clients.

You want to let them know that you’d like to catch up with them and that you have some ideas to share.

And the best way to do that is in an email. Here’s a generic sample:

Hi Jason, I was thinking of you today and realized that we completed your project six months ago.

It was great working with you and I’m really happy the project went so well.

I’ve been doing some new and exciting things with several current clients and am getting great results. I wanted to share some ideas with you.  

Do you have a few minutes to get together by phone next week? I have these days and times open.

Looking forward to connecting.

Cheers, Robert

See how this simple email hits all the right notes?

1. Everyone likes to know what others are thinking of them.

2. You remind them of a positive experience.

3. You share something new that’s working for others.

4. You make a call-to-action (the phone appointment).

To succeed at this, obviously it helps if they were happy with your previous work. You’d have checked in previously to learn how things went.

And to get the best results, it’s going to help if you do have something new, interesting, and exciting to share with them.

This isn’t always necessary; even if you have an old service that they haven’t taken advantage of yet, it’s new to them.

So what do you say in that phone meeting?

This is where it’s easy to miss the mark.

You don’t want to say: “Oh, hi Jason, let me tell you about this new service.”

Bad move to go right into “pitching mode.”

Instead, you want to get into present time and find out about them. And this is definitely the most important part of the call.

You don’t want to talk. You want the client to talk.

And all you need to start is a good open-ended question:

“Jason, what have you you been working on for the past few months?”

Then listen, listen, listen, only interjecting with follow-up questions:

“Oh, how did that work? Then what did you do?” etc.

The thing to avoid is to use something they say to start your pitch:

“Wow, that reminds me of this new service I’m offering.”

Why doesn’t this work? Well, you’re interrupting their flow. They want to be heard. And until they are completely heard, it’s going to be hard for them to hear you.

So wait until they are done.

This could take 10 minutes or 30. It doesn’t matter. Be patient.

And when they’re done they’ll usually say something like:

“So what’s up with you? You said you’re doing some new things?”

And if they initiate the question, they are now listening. They’re open to hearing about what you’re offering.

So then what do you say about those new things?

If you’re offering a new service that’s really working for your clients, you might say something like:

“Well I have this new service called the XYZ Program. I wanted to tell you a little about it because of the results I’ve been getting.”

And then share a story or two about those results.

Result-oriented stories are almost always interesting. You’re not talking about process, but about outcomes, outcomes the client wants as well.

Then, if the stories are sufficiently intriguing, they’ll likely ask you more. “So how does that work, what’s behind that approach, do you think it might work for us?”

Then you need to be prepared to explain your service or program as concisely as possible: Here’s what it is, what it does, how it works, and how it might meet your client’s needs.

If you’re speaking with an independent professional, you may be able to explain enough that they’ll be ready to sign up for your service on the spot.

If your client represents a larger business and it’s a more complex service, you may need to set up another meeting:

“Look, I’m glad you’re interested in this. I’m really excited about it. Let me send you more detailed information and then let’s set up a more in-depth meeting where I can answer all your questions.”

So, renewing past clients is not only possible, it’s relatively easy if you follow this approach.

To summarize the steps:

1. Get the past client’s attention with an email.

2. Set up a time to talk by phone (I actually use Zoom Video)

3. Start the conversation by asking about them.

4. Really listen, don’t interrupt and start pitching.

5. When they ask you to tell them about your new service, start with stories.

6. If they show a lot of interest, either close or ask for the next meeting.

Now, what past clients are you going to contact?

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

[hrjerry-me-blog]

How to Find Your Marketing Sweet Spot

Ever feel you’re making a lot of forward progress but don’t really know where you’re going?

Today a client brought this up in an email to me. She’s been doing great at attracting new clients but wants to get a different kind of client and is not sure of her direction.

Half the battle of attracting clients is becoming clear on the following three things:

1. Who are my ideal clients? Individuals, small business owners, or corporations? What industry, job title, etc.

2. What are their problems, challenges and issues? If you don’t know or understand what your clients are struggling with, you can’t get their attention and interest.

3. What outcomes do they want? This is usually the mirror image of #2 above. You just need to articulate it in a way that resonates with your ideal clients.

If you are clear on all of the above, you can then develop and implement various marketing strategies to get in front of these ideal clients, make connections and ultimately turn them into paying clients.

But what if you’re not clear about who your ideal clients are, their challenges and desired outcomes?

Then you need to do some work to get clear. Here are some steps you can take.

1. Inventory your strengths. Let’s say you’re a business coach or consultant of some kind. What skills to you excel at? Are you analytical or relational? Do you like detail work or do you prefer mapping out the big picture? Do you like hands-on projects or would you prefer to support others in accomplishing things?

2. What work is most fulfilling for you? You may have strengths in various areas, but what work do you find the most fun and interesting? Working alone, analyzing spreadsheets might float your boat, or leading large group training sessions may be your definition of exhilaration.

3. Where is the demand and the money? You might love the idea of organizing women’s kitchens for maximum efficiency, but struggle to find anyone to pay you to do that. But organizing the office space of large law firms may be even more satisfying and much more financially rewarding.

If you overlap these three areas, you’re closer to finding your “Marketing Sweet Spot.”

“I’m good at doing this, I really like doing this and I know where there’s a need for my skills and the ability to pay me for them.”

Well, OK, but how do you get there?

It can be tricky figuring this out on your own and you’re caught in your own self-refferential bubble. You know what you want but not what’s out there.

The way to figure this out is to get out there and talk to people. A lot of people.

A current client of mine did this. Over a period of a few months she set up appointments and interviewed 100 people in business.

She learned what they were working on, what their challenges were, what they wanted to accomplish.

And before too long, she got very clear on her marketing sweet spot.

She saw the areas where she could contribute her strengths in the areas she enjoyed and where there was a need and demand.

And soon after, a number of the people she interviewed ended up asking her how she could help them.

It took her awhile to figure out how she’d define her actual services, but before long she was offering consulting and training in communication skills and selling.

I’ll be honest: I haven’t met many people who’ve had the smarts and courage to do this. But she found it very natural.

She started connecting with the people she’d done business with in her 21-year career in the staffing industry and then asked them who else she should meet with.

So, if you’re not clear on what you should be doing as an independent professional and where the demand is for your talents, I suggest you start reaching out to your network and setting up meetings.

Remember, you’re not selling your professional services yet; you’re on a journey of discovery that may lead to the independent professional business of your dreams.

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

[hrjerry-me-blog]

Why Nobody is Reading your Marketing Content

Almost every week I’m telling a client that there’s a big problem with their marketing content.

It’s not the subject matter, their writing style, their grammar, or even typos.

The problem is that their content is simply hard to read because of the way it’s formatted.

Def: Format: “the way in which something is arranged or set out.”

I’ve seen web pages with wonderful content that is simply unreadable because of poor formatting.

You’ve taken all that time to write a blog post or service description and nobody is reading it.

You, the writer, probably don’t even notice, because you’re too close to it; you have no objectivity.

The good news is that fixing readability is easy-peasy.

And once you understand the mistakes you‘re making, you’ll never make them again.  

Here are seven formatting mistakes that make it hard for readers to read your content.

I’m going to concentrate on the formatting of content on web pages and blogs as these are where we read most online marketing content.

1. Text that is too small.

This is the number one text formatting error. If someone has to squint to read your text, you’re in trouble.

And did you know that more than 50% of people now browse the web on mobile devices? This makes small text even harder to read.

These days, with web pages moving to Wordpress, page widths are wider than ever, so small text gets lost in the vast expanse of your screen.

How big should your text be? My recommendation is no smaller than 16px, however 20px is becoming more common. Bigger IS better.  

2. Text that is too light.

I blame designers for this. Lighter text looks cool. I don’t know why, but it just does.

And even worse is text that’s both small and light!

But after you’ve made that cool impression on your website, can anyone read your text?

No, they can’t!

Your poor readers! They can’t read what you’ve written.

How dark should your text be? I recommend no lighter than 85% black. This will make your text a tad lighter, and less stark (hence, more cool) than 100% black.

3. Text that is too wide on the page

Now that you have a big, wide page to write on, why not format your text from edge-to-edge!

Please don’t.

Adding wide text blocks to already small, light text and you have a major reading catastrophe.

Instead, you want some white space to narrow the text blocks on the page.

On a site such as Medium.com (which gets millions of readers) the font size is 21px and the margins of each side of the text take up about 50% of the screen real estate.

Another way to narrow your text block is to have a narrower left or right margin and then on the opposite side have a wider margin with graphic content or side-menus.

You’ll see this on my blog pages.  

I recommend that your main text block take no more than 60% of your screen’s width.

4. Paragraphs that are too long

Long paragraphs are just as problematic as small, light or wide text. Huge paragraphs are simply hard to read online.

A web page is not read like a book. And the same paragraph rules don’t apply.

It’s OK to have short paragraphs.

Even one-sentence paragraphs.

Get it?

I recommend that paragraphs be no deeper than five lines. If you put just one key idea into each paragraph, readership will soar.  

5. Poor font choice

This one is trickier as there are a zillion fonts available these days.

I generally suggest a very readable serif font such a “Georgia” or a sans-serif font such as “Open Sans.”

But be careful about mixing fonts. You don’t want your website to look like a ransom note.

It’s common to use a bold serif or sans-serif font for headings, and then the opposite for body content.

This is where a designer can come in handy and help give a unified, professional look to your web pages.

6. Failure to use bolding

This is my secret weapon to increase readability. You don’t see this enough online.

If your text is all black/gray text with no variation, there is no focal point to draw the eye.

Here’s what happens:

A reader comes to your page and sees nothing but monochromatic text. Nothing attracts the eye.

The subconscious mind says, “Where’s the good stuff? Do I have to wade through all of that text to find it? Shoot, that’s too hard, let me go someplace else!”

But if you bold first sentences (sometimes initial clauses), the eye is attracted and there’s an immediate payoff.

The reader is focused and understands what you’re content is about in an instant and is encouraged to keep reading.

If you have lots of bolding throughout your text, then the reader can quickly scan for meaning. And even if they don’t read your whole page, they’ll get the general gist.

One mistake to avoid with bolding: You should almost never bold words or sentences in the middle of a paragraph. That just makes it harder to read.

If you want to add emphasis in the middle of a paragraph, use italics instead.  

7. Not using sub-heads

Another great way to increase readability is to break up pages with sub-heads.

This is simply text in a larger font, often colored and/or bold text, as I’ve done in this article.

Subheads serve to organize the most important sections of your content.

Again, all of this increases readability which is what you want when a visitor comes to your website, right?

Cheers, Robert

P.S.

To check the type of font and font size on any web page you can get a free Google Extension called WhatFont.

[hrjerry-me-blog]

10 Obsessive Ways You’re Undermining Your Business

Roger is an independent professional creative, much like you and me. He does his own specialized version of consulting, coaching, and training.  

Roger is great at what he does and has had many successes, but he often feels unfulfilled and dissatisfied with the progress of his business and marketing.  

Results don’t seem to come fast enough; he feels he should always be doing more, and yet his long working hours are leading to burnout, not the results he craves.

Roger has a little issue that’s holding him back, but he has no awareness that it’s even an issue.

Roger is what you might call a perfectionist-obsessive (P-O).

He doesn’t notice because he believes everyone should be more like him: hard-working, dedicated, organized, and strong-willed.

These are certainly strengths and can help in so many situations. He’s more productive than the average person.

But as a P-O he tends to overdo things. A LOT!

When you’re a P-O, these strengths can also work against you because you often take them to the extreme. And at some point, something’s gotta give.

Are these two scenarios familiar to you?

The prime characteristic of a P-O is the tendency to work on a project until it’s “perfect.” And because this consumes huge amounts of time, productivity plummets.

Making matters worse, the P-O will often procrastinate endlessly, because they realize the project will take so much time and they’re afraid they won’t be able to do it perfectly.

So P-Os are often damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

If someone else employed Roger, this behavior wouldn’t be tolerated. But being self-employed he can get away with it. After all, he controls his time, his goals, his plans, and his destiny. Right?

Being so obsessed with being perfect, Roger doesn’t even notice his behavior. It’s like water to the fish.

“Perfectionism, what perfectionism? I’m just trying to do a good job.”

Are you a P-O?    

Here are some typical P-O behaviors that might hit a nerve:

1. You believe that when it comes to projects, it’s all or nothing. As they say, “Go big or go home.”

2. You tend to procrastinate or avoid projects because it’s never quite the right time. But the right time rarely comes. Yet you always have a good excuse for not getting it done.

3. You see mistakes before anyone else does. And you are intolerant of others who don’t meet your standards of perfection.

4. You frequently feel you’re right about any idea, project, or course of action you undertake. And there is no room or tolerance for compromise, only perfection.  

5. You’re very particular about how things are done and rarely feel others can do things as well as you. You feel anxious or stressed when something you’re working on isn’t perfectly organized down to the last detail.

6. You are so results-oriented that you’re inclined to waste huge amounts of time perfecting incremental things that nobody else would notice or care about.

7. You have extremely high standards and habitually overdo things in your life, from your business to organizing, to hobbies, to taking care of your health. And, instead of getting fulfillment, you get burnout.

8. You strive for perfection in everything, often at great cost to yourself. You’d rather lose sleep, eat poorly, and miss time with loved ones than not get a project done at an insanely high level.

9. You have such high standards that you may think you are morally superior to others, making you difficult to work with. You’re impatient and often arrogant.

10. Finally, even when you do great work that is admired and praised by others, you don’t feel you did a very good job and are rarely satisfied with your work. And if you don’t do a great job every time, you’re very hard on yourself.

Every P-O has their own particular behaviors that end up undermining their effectiveness. What’s yours?

If you happen to realize you’re a P-O and are determined to change, you’ll run into a paradoxical barrier.

As a P-O, you’ll attempt to make changes in the style of a P-O. Your self-improvement process just becomes more of the same.

“I’ll learn to stop being perfect, but I have to do it perfectly!”

It’s only by completely stepping outside of the P-O box you live inside that there’s any hope of real change.

The purpose of this article is to help you increase your awareness of P-O tendencies and behaviors.

However, if this is a serious issue for you, I’m not really qualified to help you change. It’s complex, subtle and challenging.

But I will direct you to an amazing book:

It’s called Present Perfect by Pavel Samov, Phd.

Since I’m a bit of a P-O myself, I’m finding it immensely helpful. And If I work hard enough, and study for long hours, I just might get it right!

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

[hrjerry-me-blog]

How to Make Your Outreach Campaign Work

I was speaking to a client last week about her marketing plan. She had developed a somewhat complicated plan to get the attention of her prospective clients.

It had to do with networking within an organization, getting attention and credibility and then setting up appointments with those she met.

Look, nothing wrong with networking. As a long-term marketing strategy, it’s great.

But as a short-term strategy to get meetings with ideal clients it’s not so great.

A better approach is to join an organization and then simply contact its members directly. After all, the people who could be idea clients may never attend the organization’s meetings, but they all have email and telephones.

If you’re also a member, you have an affiliation that gives you an instant foot in the door.

I used to do this many years ago when I belonged to the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

I went through their directory and identified companies that I thought would be ideal clients and I sent them a letter introducing myself.

Then a few days later, I followed up by phone.

I remember I had a lot of resistance to this, but when I got people on the phone, it wasn’t as hard as I’d expected.

They were open to talking and most of them agreed to meet with me. Ultimately, several became paying clients.

I don’t know if you’ve given this approach a serious chance, but I know that many have a severe allergy to reaching out like this.

I just wanted to share a few ideas that may help make this approach easier and more successful for you.

1. Give some serious thought about whom you’re connecting with. Are they really good prospective clients? Have you worked with clients like this before?

2. Do a little research about this prospect. Take a look at their website, do a Google search, and look at their LinkedIn profile. See if they’ve written any online articles.

Once you feel you know them better, you’ll feel much more comfortable reaching out to them.

3. Think of your outreach as an introduction, not as a pitch. You’re not selling anything yet, as you don’t really know if they need your services yet. You’re just trying to scope out the possibilities.

4. In your outreach email mention your commonalities. Let them know if you belong to the same organization, went to the same university or have other business or personal things in common.

5. Also clearly state your value proposition so they are clear about what you do. “I help companies ramp up their social media so they quickly build brand awareness.”

6. Be willing to pick up the phone as a follow-up to your email. But do it within a few days of your email and essentially use the same, focused message.

7. When you finally get a phone conversation, don’t launch into a pitch about your services. Mention your value proposition to gauge their interest. Then spend most of the call asking them questions to understand how you can help them.

This direct outreach approach can be slow, but if you do your preparation work, your hit rate can be relatively high and you’ll find yourself speaking with highly qualified prospects who are great candidates for your services.

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.

[hrjerry-me-blog]

The No Joke System for Attracting Clients

A few months ago I re-tooled my system for teaching people to attract new clients. It’s a new take on an old approach.

I called it ABDO – Attention-Based Direct Outreach.

And it’s all about proactively reaching out to prospective clients and ultimately turning them into paying clients.

There are a number of things that makes this approach different than what most self-employed professionals do to attract new clients.

Let me count the ways. There are six. Yeah, I know, this is a three-minute-to-read-article. Who has three minutes to read these days?

Maybe you, if your client attracting system isn’t working.

1. Proactive. This means not waiting around for someone to contact you. That’s passive marketing, which is getting your name, face, and message out there, but hoping someone will ultimately contact you.  

From your website and newsletter, to networking and speaking, these all become passive when you don’t take any initiative to follow-up or make direct contact with prospective clients.

But proactive marketing is scary. You put yourself out there and see if you can get a conversation or an appointment. For many, this is terrifying because of the possibility of rejection. Such is life.

2. Humor. Using humor in your outreach (especially in your emails) is a great way to break the ice and get attention. Despite its amazing effectiveness, it’s relatively rare. How may emails do you get that incorporate humor of any kind? No, most emails are deadly boring. So they get very low response. Even this one is kinda boring. So I’m proving my point.

We’re in the early weeks of my new ABDO group program, but participants are already sending out humorous emails and they are surprised at the positive response and the willingness of recipients to set up meetings. But no more humor here!

3. Value Proposition. A funny email may get attention, but it won’t get you far if your value proposition is weak. If you’re contacting a prospect, why should they be interested in listening to you? How can you help them? And what are you doing that’s different?

If you don’t clearly articulate all of that in a concise, (but also entertaining email) it’ll get deleted like all the rest.

4. Follow-up Conversations. It’s rare that someone will respond to your email with, “I’m sold! When can we start?” If only. No, the purpose of an outreach email is to generate enough interest that they’ll be willing to speak with you for a minute or two. That’s all. But it’s a lot.

Years ago, I did a lot of speaking engagements. At the end I collected business cards from the participants and then I followed up by both email and phone. I had one simple goal: get a follow-up conversation to see if they both needed some marketing assistance and were open to getting that assistance.

In that call I asked a number of questions and shared about some of the results I’d produced for my clients. I didn’t do any selling. I was preparing the ground for a selling conversation. If they showed enough interest, I’d set up a complimentary Marketing Strategy Session.

5. Marketing Materials. After I’d set up an appointment for a Strategy Session, I’d say. “I have some information about how I work that I’d like to send to you. Can you please take a look at it before we meet for the Strategy Session? It will save us a lot of time and make the Strategy Session more productive.” I sent it along and most would read it. And it did save time in that I had to spend very little time in the Strategy Session talking about my services. I could focus on their needs and goals instead.

6. The Strategy Session. Selling has a bad name. We think of it as manipulative and pushy. But real selling is the exact opposite. It’s mostly asking questions and listening. Where are you now in your business? What are your goals? What are your challenges? How will things change if you overcome those challenges?

I have a colleague who calls this process “Sacred Selling” in that it’s a deeply personal and caring conversation to discover if you can partner with someone to make a difference in their life and business.

Those six steps are the essence of the ABDO system. And despite the Internet, social media, and videos, I’ve found that this system still works the best to attract high-end clients who have big challenges that require a real professional with specialized knowledge and skills.

Yes, it’s wonderful if someone calls you because of positive word-of-mouth. But if you get tired of waiting for the phone to ring, this is the next best thing.

It’s not trendy or even that cool, but it sure does work. And even if you use some humor to get attention on the front end, I promise you it’s no joke.

Cheers, Robert

Action Plan Marketing helps self-employed people attract more clients through action-oriented marketing strategies that get you in front of prospective clients. Get our free report on how you can attract more of your ideal clients at this link: http://actionplan.club/free-stuff.