The Internet offers many, many opportunities to make money by selling your products and services.

Some people choose to sell a low-priced single ebook with just a clever sales page. But they are only going to make a little bit of money by doing this. And once the customer makes a purchase, they are gone forever.

When it comes to building a profitable and sustainable business online, it’s all about creating relationships. To build a loyal list of responsive customers, it’s about making connections. Just like every other kind of marketing.

People want to buy from who you are before they want to buy what you sell.

Think about this concept for a moment.

And then consider the blogs that you visit, the people you communicate with on Facebook, and the the ezines you read. Why do you keep returning?

When you made your last purchase on the Internet, was it from a person or company that you trusted and liked?

For me the answer is “Yes.” I am participating in a cool program run by Laura Roeder. I saw her on Twitter. Then I went to her website. Then I signed up for her video blog and ezine. I listened to what she had to say. And I thought to myself, “Wow, this woman has some great ideas.” Then she offered a program and I slapped down $600 because I felt that I knew her and I like her.

Now I’m in her program and learning quite a lot. That’s the power of the Internet for your business.

If you are like most buyers, you are selective in your buying. You know there are many variation in the same types of services and products.

So you want to be sure that you making the absolute best decision. Especially when it’s a big-ticket item.

And the same thing is true for your customers. They want to make sure that you are the real deal. Once they trust you, they’ll not only make one purchase, but many.

That’s why social media is so incredible - it strips away the facades and quickly connects two people. It starts a dialogue. And ultimately, it builds a tribe of like-minded people.

But you have to have systems in place so that when people come to your website to visit, you can keep the relationship going. Give them something valuable - and keep giving it to them.

Join me on my f.r.e.e call on Tuesday, May 18th and I’ll tell you exactly how you can build exceptional connections with your online community. You’ll learn the right steps to take to reach and engage your target audience to sell more (much more) of your services and products.

Learn more about the call and sign up at: http://budurl.com/k2n5

Best, Wendy

P.S. You don’t want to miss these tips. Even if you can’t make the call live, sign up to get the recording: http://budurl.com/k2n5

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When I first started my business, Kinesis, nobody knew that it existed. So, I began to implement marketing activities to get the word out.

I chose a variety of strategies to get new clients. Some worked better than others.

One of the most painful tactics for me was attending my local Chamber of Commerce “Greeter” meetings. While this is a great approach for some people, it did NOT work for me.

These meetings were excruciating. First because they are early in the morning and I am so NOT a morning person. I do not do well being surrounded by cheery people at 8 a.m. and having to try to actually talk.

Down with Larks, Hooray for Owls!

Second, I had no idea how to engage in small talk.

And third, for the most part, the people who attended these meetings were not the decision makers and not really my target audience. Please note: effective marketing takes place when you are at the right place giving the right message to the right people.

Fourth and finally, there is always an opportunity at these meeting to get up and speak for about 30 seconds. And it felt so fake. And so not me.

Ultimately, Chamber meetings were not a good fit for marketing my business.

But there was a concept that I did not understand then that I understand now. If I understood the concept, the Chamber meetings would have been much more meaningful (although still too damn early for me).

Here it is: Every relationship counts.

Marketing is about relationships -  building relationships, nurturing relationships, and helping other people create relationships.

Here is what this means.

When we meet a person, they fall into one of three categories:

1) Our target audience (i.e. the people who make our perfect clients)

2) A referrer - these are people who know someone in our target audience and can send him or her our way

3) Centers of influence - these individuals have a great deal of sway with their “followers.” When they make a recommendation, their people respond.

Under this model of marketing, every single person is important. They are either a potential customer or they know someone who is a good fit for us.

And when we start treating people like they really matter to us, they respond. When we take the time to thank them or ask about their little dog, Fifi, it really makes an impact.

And it’s always easy to shoot an e-mail to someone you’ve met.

Or if they are on Twitter, you can Twanks them.

And here is the coolest thing of all about embracing the concept that Every Relationship Matters…

You can take them with you. And what I mean is that your relationships are yours.

Your contacts. Your peeps. Your pals.

You can keep these relationships when you leave a company to go to another. Or when you quit being an accountant to become a life coach. Or you move from Indiana to Kentucky.

Especially with the Internet. And Facebook. And Twitter. And LinkedIn.

Develop relationships for life and you will always, always, always have enough business.

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I am thrilled to announce the arrival of our son, Ripley Asher Riddle, born on his due date of October 17th. He weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces and was 19.25 inches. I had an unexpected C-section, but I am recovering quickly. Both Nathan and I love being new parents and are so delighted to have our little son. I have been working from home instead of my office and adjusting to life as a new mommy. It’s definitely an interesting juggling act so far.

In celebration of Ripley’s birth and as a “thanks” to you, I am running a special on my best-selling Maven Marketing System. Through his birth month (until midnight of November 17th), you can purchase the Maven Marketing System for 50% off! You’ll see the discounted price when you checkout. You get all of the bonus items that come with it too!

Best, Wendy

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People don’t buy things. They buy solutions to problems; they want to fulfill a desire or meet a need. To market your business effectively, you have to KNOW your target audience and what problems they face. In your marketing efforts - whether written, online, or in person - you should be able to provide your audience with a solution that is specific and directly benefits them…AND you should care about their problem. Examples of powerful motivators include making money, saving money, having more time, reducing effort, decreasing stress, increasing comfort, good health, being fit, losing weight, romance, and praise.

So, what are your customers trying to figure out, overcome, fix, heal, or prevent? What is their biggest concern on a daily basis? How are they feeling about their problem? And what unique solution do you provide to their problem? Don’t get sidetracked by describing your service or product - stay focused on solving their problem.

How do you want your target audience to feel when they purchase your services or products? Trust? Motivation? Inspiration? More knowledgeable? Begin to think about the emotions you want to evoke in your target audience and the lasting impression you want make. What will they experience after they’ve hired your company?

Let me give you an example to show you how you can begin to develop this type of strategic thinking. Let’s pretend you are a financial planner who focuses on working with new parents to invest money for their infant’s future college tuition. You determine that their primary problem is not having enough money right now to pay for their child’s education. They feel worried and scared that they won’t have enough, confused about how to make the right investment choice, and committed to sending their child to a good school. You are going to help them to create a secure future for their child without exorbitant tax consequences. With your planning services, they will feel more in control, confident, and relieved.

By focusing on this part of your marketing planning and thinking strategically about your message, you will begin to understand exactly what motivates your target audience. You know they problems that keep them up at night. This will make all of your marketing efforts easier because you can explain the outcome your customers get as a result of working with you (and how your products and services will solve their specific problems).

It’s easy to get the inside scoop on your target audience - simply ask them about their specific problems related to your industry. Talk to your current and past customers. Take them out for coffee and ask for their assistance. Most people are flattered to be asked for their opinion. Ask them questions such as: Why did you need my services? What were you struggling with before you sought my help? What was the biggest improvement in your business since we worked together? How did you feel as a result? (By the way, if they give you fantastic feedback, this is a perfect time to also ask if you can use what they said as a testimonial!)

Interview several people about their particular challenges, needs, and problems. Try to get enough data to help determine the trends among your target audience. You may be surprised at what you find out. In fact, you may even come up with an idea for a new product or service because you uncover a need you didn’t understand prior to your interviews. By tailoring your marketing to solving your customers’ problems, you will position your company to be magnetic to your audience.

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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

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If you’ve been in business for at least a few years, then you know what it’s like to get into a rut. And we can get stuck there by reinforcing the negative stories in our brain. Our mind can say things like, “Why can’t I be like so and so?” “I’m no good at business” or “What’s wrong with me?”

These are limiting beliefs that keep us from playing a bigger game. These inner messages keep us from getting what we really want in life. I know because I was stuck in them for most of my life. I settled for dysfunctional relationships and less abundance in my life because it was all that I thought I deserved. I did the work I needed to change my inner game. These days I have two thriving, growing businesses and I am married to the man of my dreams.

The good news is that each one of us can change our Inner Game and set up a new set of beliefs, focus, and daily practices that will powerfully transform our lives to one of effortless abundance. We can take actions every day that will move us in the direction of success and help us reprogram our Stinking Thinking.

In 2006, I began a radical shift of my Inner Game and my Outer Practices. I began to live my life very differently. And in 2007, those changes became even more deeply rooted into my life. The abundance has been amazing!

So, here are my personal Tips to Help You Play a Bigger Game:

1) Delegate everything you can. Take the time to evaluate your biggest money-making activities (ex: marketing, sales, client services, etc.) and then be ruthless about committing your time to the things that make you the most money. Outsource or hire someone to do other things like bookkeeping, organizing the office, running errands, etc.

2) Price your services based on value. If you provide a service to people, trading hours for dollars doesn’t work to build wealth. Price your services based on the value that your client gets…the end result, not on the amount of time that you have to put into it.

3) Learn from people who know more than you. Do whatever you can to squeeze in more learning. You can listen to CDs while driving or on the plane. You can take books to the gym to read on the cross-trainer. You can hire a nutritionist to help you eat better, a trainer to help you workout effectively, or a counselor to help get your thoughts in order. Everything you can do to enhance your knowledge, your health, and your mindset will pay off by more abundance in your life.

4) Call or e-mail people to ask them how they do things. If there is someone you come across on a forum or in an article you read, get in touch with them to ask them specific questions. Yes, I am talking about contacting people you don’t know {GASP!}. You’ll be surprised at how much valuable information you’ll garner this way. In the future, these same people may get in touch with you to hire you, refer you, provide you with a great business deal, or suggest a joint venture. Many great things will come your way simply by getting in touch with people you’ve never met before.

5) Pay yourself first. Whether you are making $20,000/year or $200,000/year, always pay yourself first. Start an automatic deposit into an interest-bearing savings account that you can use later on in some type of investment. This is your wealth account.

6) Focus on what you want (not what you don’t want). Begin to set goals for every quarter of the year. You can use spreadsheets or collages or a marketing plan. When you focus on all of the good things you want in life, like a partner who treats you right, a healthy body, better clients, more money, and so on, it’s remarkable what begins to show up in your life. (If you haven’t watched the movie The Secret, I highly recommend it.)

7) Repeat affirmations over and over. I repeat an affirmation I learned from Bob Proctor posted on my computer and in my car and on my bathroom mirror. “I am so happy and grateful now that money comes to me in increasing amounts through multiple sources on a continuous basis.” You can create affirmations around any area in your life….and they work.

Plug away at your goals no matter what. Success has nothing to do with luck or skills or formal education or gender or race or class. I am convinced that success has everything to do with being stubborn. When you hit a wall, back up and go in a different direction. When you fall down, get up and brush yourself off and keep going. Stay focused on your goal and don’t give up. Remember, every problem has a myriad of solutions.

9) Do whatever it takes to become an expert. Developing your skill set and your reputation in your industry is powerful. It will set you apart from your competitors and qualified prospects will begin to seek YOU out. If you have hurdles to overcome, hire a consultant or a coach to teach you how to get past them.

10) Take BIG (but calculated) risks. People who are wealthy, have thriving businesses, and have abundance in their lives are willing to make large leaps in the directions that scare them. If it doesn’t scare you, it’s probably not stretching you enough. Make decisions quickly and move. Yes, sometimes it won’t work out, but the things that do will bring you HUGE rewards!

Remember, the more you invest in yourself, the greater your Return On Investment. I am pulling for your success - so let’s make 2008 the best year yet!

ACTION ITEM: Write down the things you can do to play a bigger game in 2008.. How do you need to shift your Inner Game? What limiting beliefs are holding you back? What things can you do this year to be outrageously successful?

Ready to take a BIG leap in 2008? If you need ideas of how to set effective goals and attract an abundance of clients to your business, then I recommend getting a copy of the Maven Marketing Home Study System! It’s everything you need to know to attract the best customers for your business. You’ll learn how to describe what makes your business remarkable, how to get new customers calling YOU, and lots of other valuable strategies to help you fill your sales pipeline quickly. (Why struggle with your marketing anymore?)

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Michael Port seems like a pretty good guy, and definitely smart and charming and all of that.

But here is a recent post on his blog that I just cannot and will not get behind:

Wake Up! I wish everybody got up early. I do my best work early in the morning but I also do my best work with others. I’m working on title ideas for a new book and I need my 5 brainstorming partners. As my old friend Paul Tutundgy (2-ton-G) used to say, “Sleep when you’re dead.” Wake up everybody!

That’s the last thing that the Maven wants to do. I started my own company and am a joyful entrepreneur because I DON’T have to get up at the butt-crack of dawn. I happily get to my office around 9:30 a.m. and work until 6 or 7 p.m. because that is my best and most productive time. I’ve always been a zombie in the morning and enjoyed the evenings.

My business partner often kicks into high-creative mode after dinner and sometimes works until 3 in the morning. One of the comment on Michael’s blog is from someone who is also in the late-night camp:

But hey, that’s you who does the best work in the morning. I do my best after 8pm, and I am creative until 2:30am. Mornings are robot time for me. No inspiration, no creativity. So I wish everybody would stay up that late! The world would be a better place.

My take on it? Let’s all create businesses that allow each of us to work when our peak times are. And not encourage night owls to become morning larks!

Hugs, Wendy Maynard

Your friendly marketing maven

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Last night, I went for a run.

Did I want to go for a run?

No, not really. I wasn’t in the mood. I wanted to sit on my couch and read a book. But I went anyway because exercise is a non-negotiable activity. I know if I want to stay fit and healthy, that I have to exercise.

In the same way, marketing is a non-negotiable activity for the well-being and longevity of your business. Will you want to do it? Not always.

But do it anyway. A long-term commitment to marketing is the best way to keep your company “fit.”

Hugs and success, Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

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