Writing articles or a regular column is one excellent way to grow awareness of your expertise and reinforce your credibility. Your articles showcase your knowledge and can bring prospects knocking on your door. Once an article you’ve written is published, you become an author. This status can do wonders for your business. Even if you are not an experienced writer, you can still implement these strategies with the help of a professional copywriter.

With more than 10,000 publications in print and who-knows-how-many websites and ezines on the Internet, your opportunities are almost limitless to become a published author. From fillers to features, publications need your content to feed their ever-hungry readers. There are thousands of business, trade, and Internet publications that cover every type of industry and audience. So, there are definitely opportunities for you - no matter what your industry.

When you write an article, write about what you know. Make sure it’s related to your industry. In your article, solve the problems that are a struggle for your target audience. Easy-to-write articles focus on explaining how to do something, top-ten tips, or industry trends. Look to your own experiences as well as those of colleagues and clients.

Get your articles published everywhere you can. Try your alumni newsletter, your daily paper, or your favorite association magazine. When writing articles, don’t expect to get paid, but always ask to have a byline with your name, website, and photo. Once an article has been published, leverage it by reprinting it and sending it to your prospects and clients. Include it in your newsletter, ezine, and on your website. Remember, your name in print spells E-X-P-E-R-T.

If you want to build your Internet presence, you can submit content-rich articles to various websites and ezines. Many website owners and ezine publishers are looking for content. They NEED your articles. For online articles, I have found between 400 - 800 words to be the most popular, although longer can be appropriate in some cases depending on the content. Avoid going any shorter. Once you’ve written your article, submit it to an article directory site.

Helpful, well-written articles are snapped up by thousands of publishers all around the world. In exchange for your content, publishers agree to include a resource box linking back to your site. If 175 publishers use your article on their websites, you get 175 links to your website, building a steady stream of traffic to your site. Submitting articles is more effective than advertising because when your target audience begins reading multiple articles you have authored, you gain credibility.

Maven Action Item: List 5 topics that you could write about. Where could you get your ideas published? Begin a folder to keep your topic ideas and your publisher contact info.

Offer proof to your prospects. It’s not enough to say that you solve problems - you have to show that your customers are getting results from your business. Testimonials are one of the most powerful and cost effective selling tools you can implement in your arsenal of marketing. Why? Because you are offering evidence to your prospects from their peers attesting that your services/products actually work.

Providing testimonials from current and prior customers that demonstrate their actual problem and the specific results from your company enhances your credibility. Testimonials offer proof that you are the real deal. People receive a lot of information and they are often skeptical. But, they will be much more inclined to buy from you if you show examples of their peers who have achieved positive results. These third-party endorsements work to sell for you - even when you are not around.

If you are offering a new product or just starting your business, you can contact business associates and friends to offer them a free session or product sample to try. If you have been in business for a while but haven’t collected testimonials, make a list of all of your customers who you know have had a GREAT experience with your services or products. Even if you already have a number of testimonials, don’t stop collecting new ones. You can replace mediocre praise with the incredible ones. You can also keep your testimonials up to date and current.

Here are some ideas and opportunities to obtain new testimonials:

1. Write down the praise: Whenever one of your customers gives you a compliment in person or via e-mail, thank him or her and then ask if you can use their comment as a testimonial. Make sure he or she understands that you will be using it in your marketing materials. If someone sends you a testimonial that requires editing, go ahead and edit it, but be sure to send it back to ask if the changes are okay - explain the editing was for brevity, clarity, grammar, etc.

2. Create a website link: Another easy method to help you collect testimonials is to include a link on your website that lets people click on it to give their feedback. “Click here to let me know what you think.” Put this link next to testimonials you’ve already placed on your site to provide other examples.

3. Offer an incentive: Periodically you can have a “testimonial drive.” Send out an e-mail and offer an incentive for your customers to provide a testimonial. Depending on what type of business you run, it could be a coupon, discount, free services, and so on.

4. Make it part of your sales cycle. As you wrap up an interaction with a customer, ask them for a testimonial. BEFORE you complete your work with a customer, ask him or her to provide a testimonial with tangible and specific results from working with you or from your products. If you wait until your work is complete, you may have a more difficult time getting a testimonial since your customer can move into an “out of sight, out of mind” place. For example, if you are a financial planner, you could ask them toward the end of your sessions together. If you run a Garden Center, have cards by the register and a drop box.

5. Ask your “star performers” for testimonials. Almost every business collects raving fans. These are the individuals who buy every book you sell, the customer who you see in your store three times each week, or that individual who gets an incredible result from using your offerings. Make a point of asking these individuals to give a testimonial. If they have just had a BIG result, be sure to ask them right afterwards.

6. Follow-up after a purchase: Use an autoresponder like www.mavenmerchant.com to automatically follow up with a customer who has purchased something from you to ask them how they are doing. Ask them to provide a testimonial.

Here are some specific ways you can use testimonials to enhance your marketing materials:

1. Use testimonials in a sales letter or on a postcard that you send out to acquire new prospects.

2. Incorporate testimonials into your advertisements.

3. Place testimonials and success stories on your website and in your ezine.

4. When you are talking to a prospect, use success stories of other clients to help show the prospect how your other clients have excelled.

5. During a seminar, presentation, or teleseminar, use testimonials and success stories to illustrate points and inspire people to take action.

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

Learn marketing techniques to attract new customers quickly in Marketing Maven’s Wendy Maynard’s free report: “Marketing Strategies to Fill Your Pipeline” at http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/free_report.html

Here is a great article from Craig Huey of Creative Direct Marketing Group: A recent study shows that 83% of online users who immediately leave a website do so because they can’t find what they need.

It’s evident that many marketers are losing time, money and customers by violating direct marketing rules and basic human psychology with their company websites.

Consider 3 tactics when deciding whether your site attracts or repels prospects:

1. Identify yourself. “Is this a site I’ve been looking for?” is the first thought in your prospect’s mind when s/he lands on a site. Your product or service needs to be immediately identifiable. If a searcher doesn’t get the feeling “this is where I need to be,” they can be gone within 2 seconds.

2. Be copy driven. Most websites are anemic: they’re navigation driven rather than copy driven. There needs to be enough sales copy that persuades the prospect that it’s in her self interest to read and respond to your offer. Laser-focused messaging seals the deal.

3. Direct the reader. Prospects think neither logically nor in a straight line. Using navigation buttons like: About Us, Help, History, Media, Products, Sitemap, Vision Statement and Contact Us interrupt your sales presentation.

Don’t give potential buyers the easy choice of diving into an illogical exploration of your site—every click away from your core message could cost you 10%-20% of sales.

Instead, pull visitors along to your offer with succinct copy and design that doesn’t give them even one reason to guess who you are, what you do and why they should be there.

In other words, don’t make your prospect have to think…the difference between success and failure is just a click away.

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

Learn marketing techniques to attract new customers quickly in Marketing Maven’s Wendy Maynard’s free report: “Marketing Strategies to Fill Your Pipeline” at http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/free_report.html

A couple of years ago, I bought a house in Portland, Oregon where my company, Kinesis, has one of its offices

I received a lot of “Welcome to the Neighborhood” mail. And I thought this was a great way for many types of companies to get new business. And, it was also a great thing for me as a new person in the neighborhood since I had no idea about my local area services. You can purchase mailing lists each month with the names and addresses of the new people in a 3-mile radius from your office. This can be a useful strategy for plumbers, dentists, electricians, carpet cleaners, landscapers, and many other types of industries.

I received one Welcome direct mail piece from a veterinarian in the area and it made an impression on me (with 3 cats and 2 dogs, I pay attention to these things!). So I thought I would pass the marketing idea along to my readers.

I got a package from Rose City Veterinary Hospital with has a nice welcome letter with the heading “A Special Gift for Your Pet.” It followed up with information on the clinic’s features and services. It also had the vet’s signature on it, which I thought was a nice touch.

Now a lot of businesses sent nice welcome letter (including other veterinarians), but here are the things that I thought set this company apart. also includes a separate Gift Certificate that says:

“This special gift certificate entitles your pet to a free initial exam from Rose City Veterinary Hospital. This is an excellent opportunity for you to check out our hospital and staff. We’re very proud of our commitment to excellent, compassionate healthcare for you pet and we’ll be happy to give you a guided tour. Play it safe with your pet’s health and make an appointment soon!”

It also has a cute refrigerator magnet with their logo, address, number and website on it: www.rosecityvet.com the P.S. on the letter says: “P.S. I’m also including a small addition for your collection of refrigerator magnets. I guess this is what they meant by animal magnetism.”

I think the whole package is pretty effective. The only I thought they were lacking, which I would add to their package is a map/directions to show how to get to their place since they are directing these to folks who are new in the area. I would include a separate piece of paper with a map or have it printed on the back of the gift certificate so people can have it with them.

Do you have a business that can profit from marketing to people who are new in the neighborhood? Then develop your own package and start getting it out there!

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

If you’ve been watching the news lately, you may have noticed that the economy is in a bit of a downturn. It’s happened before and it will happen again. During these times, smart businesses adjust their marketing strategies to make sure they will thrive during these slumps. You do not want to allow external circumstances to determine your future. The key is to be strategic, savvy, and streamlined in your campaigns.

For a well-positioned company, an economic recession should not lead to marketing cutbacks. Any time you go into a fearful reactive mode, you are actually moving backwards. Instead, think of this an opportunity for you and it is a great time to get aggressive with your marketing. Marketing is what will make your company recession proof. Since a lot of your competitors will be cutting back, this is your time to really differentiate your business and strengthen your competitive advantage.  

Here are tips to help you adjust your marketing in a tough economy:

1) Know what drives your customer in this economy. More than ever, you must understand what drives your target audience and how they are reacting to the current economy. Both consumers and businesses will take more time to make a purchasing decision and they will most likely be a hard negotiator at the point of sale. Buyers are more willing to hold off on making a purchase, and they will rely on the brands that they know well. Therefore, talk to your current customers about their challenges and what they need from you to help them.

2) Keep an eye on your sales. This is a time for careful monitoring and adjusting. Watch your incoming company sales and keep an eye on your project pipeline/future income. If you compare this to past data, you will know what is happening before it actually occurs and you can intensify your marketing efforts to compensate for potential slowdowns. Now more than ever, you want to make sure that you are marketing forward to ensure your pipeline stays full in the coming months.

3) Differentiate yourself and reinforce your brand. When we are in a time when fewer people are buying, competition becomes fierce. Make sure your target audience understands why you are different from your competitors. Let them know why your brand is the best. Treat your best customers with extra TLC because you want them to weather the economic downturn with you. This is a great time to give your VIPs extra value and incentives.

4) Don’t focus on expansion right now; instead focus on what is profitable. Now is not the best time to launch a brand new venture. For example, if you are a chocolate bar company, it’s not a good economy for you to try out a donut line. You don’t want to risk a fall by jumping too far away from your tried-and-true core areas. Instead, take a look at the services and products that are most profitable for your company and vigorously promote these. 

5) Focus on relationships and value. Keep marketing your company’s value to your prospects and customers. Because people are spending less, they want the purchases they DO make to be of great value to them. Emphasize reliability, durability, quality, and performance in your promotions. Tell your customers how much you appreciate their business.

6) Ditch awareness-marketing for lead-generating marketing. I am a proponent of building brand awareness through advertising and promotions. But now is not the time for traditional marketing - you can’t afford to waste your dollars on efforts that don’t generate immediate business. Instead, implement marketing that generates quality leads. Be sure to set up tracking systems so you can effectively monitor the results.

Remember, a recession is not the time to get gloomy.  Instead it is an opportunity for smart business owners to differentiate their company. In a slowing economy, it is time to maintain or even increase your marketing budget. Stay laser focused on the activities that make your phone ring now and in the coming months.

Last year, I had a little rant about Internet Marketing “gurus” who promise the moon and the stars. If you missed it, you can read The Maven has a Rant! here. Well, it’s another year and another rant!

I’m going to rant because occasionally I have clients who come to me wanting to {poof!} turn all of their income into “passive income.” God, I wish I could do that. I also read posts from people on forums who are excited about their latest passive income program. Ok everyone, repeat after me: “There is no such thing as passive income.” I just wish I could erase that word from our language.!

Right now, you are probably thinking, “Wow Wendy, your panties must be all bunched up today. Why are you so cranky about this?”

I will tell you why this term upsets me. Here are some definitions of the word passive from the dictionary:

1) Existing, conducted, or experienced without active or concerted effort.

2) Not participating readily or actively; inactive

3) Influenced, acted upon, or affected by some external force, cause, or agency; being the object of action rather than causing action

4) Receiving or subjected to an action without responding or initiating an action in return.

And so on and so on….

It frustrates me because I think individuals are being mislead by this term. And I think that people market their products/services using this term to seduce naive customers into buying into their game. Usually, I see people getting hurt by wasting money on trying to get in on some “passive income.” And I hate it when business owners are out of integrity and taking advantage of people - this is bad.

When I speak with these clients about the term “passive income,” they believe that - like the definition - there is no effort involved, that there is nothing to work on, that it doesn’t have to be planned, and it will happen on its own. And sadly, many of these same people have invested money in seminars, tools, programs, and products that are supposed to give them passive income.

Sadly, these “investments” have given them zero in returns. I believe the only person getting passive income is the sleazy seller. Passive income opportunities I have heard of include gold coins, weird banking systems, reselling notes, getting into a multi-level marketing company that doesn’t have credible products or effective training, Ponzi structures, and so on.

Now I would like to clarify what I am saying because I do recommend residual income streams. However, in this model you do have to put work in at the beginning and often more work down the road for maintenance.

Here are some examples of legitimate, residual income streams:

• Infoproducts - A great source of income, but they take work to create and promote.

• Rentals - I have several. They take ongoing maintenance and management.

• Network marketing - I have several very successful friends in this type of business. They have substantial downlines who they actively manage and train to help them become successful salespeople.

• Royalties - Many creative people sell books, songs, or photographs and get ongoing royalties for these.

• Affiliate - Again there are many successful companies who incorporate affiliate programs into their sales. But it takes work to find the right affiliates and nurture them to be really excited about your products.

• Franchising and licensing - An exceptionally lucrative business model that takes a lot of work to set up.

There are many, many forms of legitimate and lucrative residual streams of income. And I encourage you to develop these in your company. They are very powerful forms of leverage.

But please, please, please don’t get lured in by promises on the Internet (or anywhere else) of exorbitant returns from some great program or guru. I don’t want you to get ripped off. Remember, if you have to pay money into something that sounds too good to be true and you don’t have to do anything to earn your income…it’s a lie.

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

My local Key Bank branch is only a block from my office so I am in there once or twice a week. A couple of days ago, I walked in the door to deposit a check. I noticed that all of the teller windows had a bottle of A-1 steak sauce and a second bottle of ketchup.

Intrigued, I asked Linda the teller, “I have to ask. Why do all of the teller windows have the A-1 and ketchup?”

Linda: “It’s our local promotion to tell people about our retirement planning options. We have a number of different services available. So, the ketchup is because you can only afford hamburgers when you retire because you didn’t save. And the A-1 is because you did save and you can afford to have steak.”

Curiously, I asked: “So, how many people ask about the bottle?”

Linda: “Almost everyone who walks in.”

While I was tempted, I didn’t geek out by asking Linda about conversion rates - how many people then wanted to find out more about their retirement options and how many they signed up.

But I love this great example of marketing that isn’t expensive, but it works. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that all marketing and advertising has to cost a lot to be effective.

Now, what can you do to promote yourself this month that costs under $20?

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

If you’re a consultant, author, Realtor, chiropractor, or other solo professional, you can accelerate your marketing by establishing a personality-based brand for yourself. In this marketing strategy, you are positioning YOU as the brand…you are the expert. And this approach can usually be accomplished successfully even when you have a larger company brand.

When you are marketing the brand as YOU, all of your marketing becomes a personal one-on-one conversation with your customers and prospects. This can be done in your ezine, during speeches, on your website, and while you are networking at an event. You build the power of your ability to influence people. Your prospects begin to perceive you as a credible resource in your field.

Your personality-based brand positions you as the expert in your industry. Experts are sought after, are well-known, command higher fees, and get more business with less effort. The media calls experts to get quotes for articles. Associations call them to speak at their events. People remember them.

Becoming an expert is no accident, but it is a crucial part of your marketing if you want to customers to seek YOU out. Get known as the go-to guy or gal in your field. The more well-known you are, the more prospects will trust you. You become part of their world and will be invited to be other people’s center of influence. To build your personality-based brand, you can write a book, publish a blog, begin public speaking, submit articles to your industry publications, offer radio interviews, and send regular press releases to the media.

This approach creates a clear distinction of your brand, reinforcing customer loyalty and creating prospect interest. Your personality-based brand includes your authentic style, your past experience, your unique skills, and everything that you bring to the table to help your clients. You can help to reinforce your personality-based brand by developing proprietary systems and services that are unique to YOU. In this way, you have specific information that your competitors don’t. And only you can teach it to your clients the way YOU can.

Have a professional photograph taken as an aspect of your personal brand. This is a great investment because you’ll have pictures of yourself that you like and the photos will help build credibility. Include your photo on your business cards, brochures, speakers’ sheet, website, flyers, and so on. People who are not good at remembering your name will remember your face. When they see it again, they will be more inclined to look more closely at what you are offering. Even people who don’t know you in person but “meet” you on the Internet or by reading your book will feel like they have a closer relationship with you when they can see your picture.

MAVEN ACTION ITEM: Right now, make a list of things that make you credible. This is a list that explains, “What do I know that makes me an expert?” For instance, you may have written a book, published articles, conducted workshops, hold certificates or degrees, have specific expertise, and so on. How can you incorporate these into your marketing and to build a personality-based brand? What else can you do?

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven