Generating Traffic: Harness The Power of a Signature File

If you’ve been marketing online, you’re probably using a signature file to describe your products or services and it’s found at the end of every email message you send out. But email isn’t the only way a signature file can be put to work for you.

Today I’d like to talk about several other uses for your signature files and what I’d like you to do is choose one or use them all to attract additional targeted traffic to your website.

1. Discussion Forum Signature
2. Inside Your E-book
3. Article Signature
4. Collaborative Venture
5. The Free Tip Sheet

I’d love to hear your comments… please feel free to let me know how you use signature files to generate traffic to your website. Thanks!

Target Marketing: Narrow Your Focus To Strengthen Your Reach

Targeting seems to be a big buzzword in business these days. What does “target your buying audience” really mean and how do you go about actually doing it? To target means to zero in on a select group of consumers that are more likely to purchase your product or services. It means understanding the dynamics of your product and the type of person who would be best served by owning it.

Everyone in the world is not going to be interested in what you’re offering. By accepting this true statement from the start, you will save yourself from wasting time or money and achieve much better results with your advertising campaigns.

Why is that?

Well, if you spend considerable amounts of time trying to convince uninterested consumers to buy your product, you’re missing the greater opportunity to sell the people who are interested in making a purchase. So, focusing on those who are interested is tackling the prospect. Focusing on the entire marketplace is merely presenting your offer. One brings money from sales into your pocket, while the other wastes hard earned dollars. Which would you prefer?

Let’s use an example of baby clothes. Certainly the entire population is not interested in baby clothes. A better target to aim for would be the female gender. But then again, not every woman is expecting a baby either. So you narrow your focus down to married women. A little better… but there are certainly a great share of married women that have either finished having their babies or are simply not interested having babies at all. Then the most obvious focus would be pregnant women or new mothers. That’s targeting your real buying audience. Narrowing your focus is the name of the game. This is the one area of business when having a narrow mind will actually be profitable for you!

Looking For Prospects

So, how do you find them? Those people in your narrow niche group that would love to be presented with your product or service? You must get into their minds. Try to think how they think. Let’s use the pregnant woman scenario again. Who will she be associating with? What will she be doing? Where will she be hanging out? When will she be available?

• A pregnant woman sees an OBYN, so handing out flyers to these doctors to give to patients would be valuable.
• The expectant mother will shop the baby sections at stores, so selling wholesale to these outlets would be a possibility for you to consider.
• She will go to the hospital to have her baby, so give something to place into the “going home pack” that will direct her back to your business.
• The new parent will want to learn about raising children, so advertise in a parent magazine or guide to reach her.
• She will most likely join online groups that support parenthood, so join the groups and be helpful.

Get the idea?

You must think like your target market and mine this audience out of the masses in order to communicate with them. The more helpful you are in making their lives easier, the more profitable your business will become. Just remember to narrow your focus to strengthen your reach. You’ll gain much better results from your advertising campaigns and uncover your real buying audience in the process.

What do you think? Please comment and tell me, thanks!

Building Relationships: How To Build Trust In Your Community

You can hire a public relations company to organize a marketing campaign to build community awareness about your company or if money is sparse, the following low-cost techniques can be implemented:

1. Sharing with your community
Sharing what you know is an effective way to build your credibility. Your goal is to become the contact choice when people within your community need help. Whether they are in need of finding a good press release service or the best place to consider a mortgage—you’ll be the person who supplies this information to them.

On the Internet: You could offer a database filled with valuable web sites essential for business success or other links similar to your type of industry.

2. Offer free workshops
In this information age, people love to receive advice, especially when it pertains to their needs. If you sell custom gift baskets or own a yarn emporium, why not offer “craft” workshops after normal business hours? If you’re a commercial printer, you could offer a free brochure design workshop or teach business owners how to properly convey a business identity through logo design.

On the Internet: You could offer a weekly teleseminar tailored to your specific community.

3. Give away something valuable
We expressed how to share information in order to build trust, so why not give away an item to help people improve their lives? If you sell lawnmowers, you can give customers a lawn-care or gardening booklet. If we revert back to the commercial printing business, you can give customers a design booklet, a typeface guide or an instruction manual on how to design print newsletters.

On the Internet: You can provide the same valuable information by publishing an e-book and making it available as a free download from your web site. Provide permission for other web masters to place the book on their web pages and watch your credibility rise with each download.

4. Be a good neighbor
You may be able to attract the attention of the media by presenting a special promotional event to raise money for a charitable organization. Plan the event to include the local businesses within your community and offer a golf outing, car wash day, or talent show for your neighbors to enjoy.

Contact food vendors and arrange for them to participate and agree to donate a portion of the proceeds to charity. Consider sending the collected money to Jerry’s kids, the Cancer Society, or the local women’s abuse center.

What local newspaper is in your area? Prepare a press release and send it to the editor. You’ll never know if they’ll pick up the story unless you try!

On the Internet: Attract a crowd by offering a web site hunting spree or contest that involves donating $1 of your proceeds to charity for every click to a certain page on your web site. This allows your community to receive pleasure in participating, as their click means a local charity will receive funds, and it’s a great way to bring awareness to your products, programs, and services.

Successful entrepreneurs put a lot of hard work into building their credibility within the community, and with good reason. Rather than try to build trust with mere words, they let actions speak their loudest voice!

How do you build trust with your customers? Feel free to comment below.