10 Ways to Sabotage Your Online Marketing May 27, 2009
Long-time Tweeple, Linked Inners & Facebookers are quietly grumbling about the newbies who have turned these community sites into a spam farm. Some, unfortunately are professional hackers and phishers. Others are just ignorant masses trying to make that elusive ‘quick-buck’. For my readers who genuinely want to build their businesses online without becoming one of ‘those people’, here is my current list of 10 Ways to Sabotage Your Online Marketing.*
- Using Facebook as your eNews delivery: Just because someone agrees to friend you doesn’t mean they have opted in to your business pitches or causes. After receiving weekly junk mail your ‘friends’ will be saying, “Just more junk from Spam-girl.” DELETE
- Mistaking LinkedIn for real business connections: They like to call themselves open networkers or LIONs – people who seem to be having some race to have the most contacts. It’s a safe bet that within a few weeks, this person will solicit me.
- Tweeting untitled links: ‘Hey, this is a really cool blog. Check it out!’ P.T.Barnum is alive and well online because suckers are clicking this junk. Spammers and phishers love this technique.
- Inviting Facebook friends to something every week: Remember the guy in high school that would ask every girl in the class to go to prom in hopes that someone might say yes? This is the same thing and it reeks like that boy’s tennis shoes.
- Picking fights with a LinkedIn Discussion author: If it’s something that bugs you, pass. When you get in the face of any contributor no matter how right you might be, you look like a pompous fool or a bully.
- Posting mainly solicitations: This one is so obvious that I can’t believe people do it.
- Using your Twitter autoresponders to get people to click junk: Blatant claims to ’show you how to get 10,000 followers a day’ makes me want to unfollow you immediately.
- Hijacking a post when commenting: It usually begins with a compliment, then it quickly rolls into an article they wrote or a product pitch.
- Faking interest in someones business with the covert plan to sell them something: ‘I am really interested in learning more. Can we schedule time to talk?’ This is like that person that visits your networking group, gets everyone’s business card and puts you all on their email list.
- Using your group manager status as your soapbox: If you have a group on LinkedIn or Facebook, people joined to either support you or learn something more about that topic. Making your posts priority so they sit on top all the time or sending ‘Wow – look at this great thing I’m doing’ loses them.
Okay – I’m getting down off my soapbox now. I’ve gotten that off my chest and hope you don’t do any of these. But, in case you do and need further intervention I will post Part 2 next week with remedies and suggestions that will elevate your status. It’s never too late to right an online wrong.
*There are probably a lot more than 10, but these are the repeat offenders.
Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group. She operates on the principal that all businesses deserve affordable marketing assistance to convert leads into sales. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” sign up at www.paulapollock.com
Are You Fluent in Your Prospect’s Marketing Language? May 20, 2009
Does your industry have jargon and acronyms that only you and your peers 
understand? Every so often I’ll bet one of these words just pops out of your mouth when talking to a prospect. Or worse, you purposely sprinkle them into conversation to make yourself appear to know what you’re talking about. FYI, that deer-in-the-headlights stare and mind-numbing silence is your prospect trying to remember the phone number of your competitor.
No One Likes to Feel Left Out – All of us have walked into a conversation in progress and tried to get up-to-speed on the topic only to feel completely out of the loop. Often, you end up being the only one not laughing at the end or nervously smiling and asking what they were laughing about. On a rare occasion, someone in the group will offer a quick summary to get you caught up. Which situation do you prefer? If you make the unfortunate jargon blunder, at least have the courtesy to explain what it means to your prospect.
That’s Still Not An Excuse – Just because you’ve explained the jargon, don’t consider it carte-blanche to use it in the future. Techies and consultants are the worst offenders of this. They think they can talk over everyone’s head and still maintain a positive relationship. Even if you are the foremost authority in your field people are going to hire the person that is easy to work with that helps them understand the process. We all want to know what to expect. Jargon makes us feel out of control of the experience. It might take longer to explain something without jargon, but it will go a long way in making someone feel at ease with you.
Self-Proclaimed Experts – Lastly, if you are using the term expert, authority, guru, diva or an0ther self-absorbed adjective to describe yourself you are announcing to the world you are difficult to work with before they’ve even hired you! Better to let testimonials and references sell how great you are.
You need to prove your worth not brag about it.
Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group. She operates on the principal that all businesses deserve affordable marketing assistance to generate more quality leads. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” sign up at www.paulapollock.com
5 Deadly Sins of Website Copy May 13, 2009
Anyone following my status of late knows I’ve been fully immersed in a complete retool of my website. Now, most might think it’s easy for a marketing professional to bang out copy or just drag over the old stuff. Unfortunately, knowledge can make it even harder because I know what converts – for the most part. This brought me to think how extraordinarily different writing web optimized copy is from informational copy. Actually – it’s night and day. As one of my clients said just last week, “Paula, you have a knack for getting inside my client’s head and then telling them just what they want to hear.” That’s the crux of web optimized copy: no fluff, no long explanations. Just tell me what I’m going to get from you so I stay on your site or click to know more. After last week, I’ve come up with the
5 Deadly Sins of Website Copy strategy that most writers commit.
1. Too long: We have become a blog reading species. Anything over 500 words (about one page) makes us run away. While it’s a lot easier to write a long passage since you can ramble on it’s much harder to tighten your copy down to the bare bone facts that your user wants to know.
2. Poor Targeting: Most sites are either too niche targeted or so general their users have no clue what the service is. Having highly targeted copy and direction is very important – particularly on the home page.
3. No calls-to-action or Closing Vehicles: After reading a section do your users know where to go next? If you’re just babbling on about what you do they are gone in 3 seconds flat. Seduce and entice, then ask them to do something. And, ask them over and over throughout the site.
4. No Plan to Process Luke-Warm Prospects: There are always prospects that aren’t ready to buy right now. You need something of value that gets them to give you their contact information (usually a free report on a hot industry topic or a CD with the same). Continuous contact will help them get to know you and want to buy.
5. Ignoring Potential Objections: When a prospect leaves your site, it’s because you didn’t give them the answers to their burning questions. If you have some icky parts to your business, product or processes handle them up front. Better to scare away the weak and focus on the strong prospects.
So, does your copywriter or web developer think like this when working on your site? If not, you need to find someone who understands website optimization. Although it integrates with technology, my work on my site and others is based entirely on prospect psychology.
If you’re a DIY Marketer – get back to those Freudian basics: id, ego & superego and start writing!
Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group: elevating business owners to marketing entrepreneurs, training them to know their client inherently and see market opportunities that were invisible before. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up. www.paulapollock.com
Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, Owl or Eeyore – Which Marketer Are You? May 6, 2009
The Hundred-Acre-Wood analogy has been done before, but I 
wanted to emphasize which the types of marketers the key characters would be. I started down the path thinking of my own prospects who often tell me (openly or subconciously) that they are too frightened to break their marketing model. Needless to say, we do not work together! Think about who best represents your current business marketing model.
T-I-double G-ER: You bound wildly into every new trend that comes along. You are completely fearless in your zeal for change and loathe 
Pooh-Bear: Happily you laze through your day enjoying the sun or blustery weather. Cares are few as things always fall into your lap and only on rare occassion do you get yourself stuck in a beehive. Honey just appears. Your campaigns are planned and on auto-pilot and you count on them to deliver bottomline results as they always have. It’s a charmed life, but does it scale? Oh bother.
Oh D-d-d-ear: When opportunity knocks, you find yourself cowaring under the bed, Piglet. There could be something big you haven’t planned for out there. How would you handle it? Your campaign could bring all sorts of people to your business and then you wouldn’t have time for your dear friend Pooh or painting lovely pictures. It’s better not to answer the door. They’ll go away.
Wise Owl? You have read and researched to every possible target demographic and are quite certain you are a superior marketer. You’ve created campaigns that you’ve found brilliant. The last word is always yours, but the eventual sale goes elsewhere. Odd. You wisely enlist the help of professionals who are at the top of their field only to adjust the final product. After all, you are the wise one.
Eeyore: Why fix what isn’t broke? Everything works fine the way it is. You’ve always done it this way. Campaigns are fine. Business is fine. You never try to make things a little better. As long as you have a roof over your head and clouds to watch it’s all just fine.
Not one of these “marketers” will thrive. Tigger will burn through tons of money; Pooh thinks hope is a strategy; Piglet will stagnate; Owl will piss everyone off and Eeyore is a cash cow that will eventually move out to pasture.
The Calming Voice of Kanga – She listens to them all and gets
everyone back on track. She accepts their current mindset blocks, assesses the errors of their past campaigns and corrects and directs with calm, firm precision.
…And a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Kanga signing out.
Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group, servicing private clients as their virtual marketing director along with a team of top vendor professionals. Paula also offers self-motivated businesses products to create functional marketing strategies and plans producing tangible results that convert into sales. With over twenty years of corporate sales and marketing experience, Paula offers knowledge and value that few can match. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up.www.paulapollock.com
Marketing Strategy + Plan = Leads April 29, 2009
There are some staggering statistics on how few businesses actually have a marketing plan in place. Of course, I went looking for details including the definition each author gave “marketing plan”. I was not surprised to find generalizations and conflicts. Which made me wonder:
“What does the average business think when asked directly about their marketing plan?”
Most will tell of the advertisements, the websites and promotions. Those are 
the vehicles of a marketing plan, but if they are not directed by a marketing strategy it’s more about hoping than planning. If you were going to drive from San Francisco to Washington D.C. would you just hop into your car and start driving? Even with GPS, planning a route that suits you would make the trip more effective and fun. That’s the role of the marketing strategy: defining how your business will appear and to whom.
Business owners are unfortunately not versed in this important area of a marketing plan. Most simply use research, charts and a calendar (if that) and forge blindly into spending money on brochures and ads that have only general targets. Without the entire equation, you cannot reach the sum: leads!
Marketing strategy + Marketing plan = Lead Generation
Isn’t that really what we all want? We don’t want plans: bound tomes of demographics and statistical analysis. We want leads, opportunities, at-bats. Call it what you wish, but without creating leads to potentially close whatever you choose to call your “plan” is a failure. The lack of a sound marketing strategy accounts for more than half of the lacking lead generation. E.g. Most companies have been educated that their website requires some level of SEO or optimization to obtain top search engine placement. So you execute these techniques and get clicks, but they aren’t converting into leads. Usually, the website is blamed. I would look back at the marketing strategy first. It’s almost always the culprit.
This is why I focus my consulting on strategy. Without it your business is like a car without a steering wheel. There is a tremendous lack of specific teaching in marketing strategy. Everything I offer clarifies the three key areas of marketing: strategy, planning and lead generation. Plus, I work tirelessly to make it approachable for any business.
If you are lacking in any one of these areas, please review the ways I help clients fill the voids and increase their sales on my website.
After all, marketing without sales is failure.
Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group, servicing private clients as their virtual marketing director along with a team of top vendor professionals. Paula also offers self-motivated businesses products to create functional marketing strategies and plans producing tangible results that convert into sales. With over twenty years of corporate sales and marketing experience, Paula offers knowledge and value that few can match. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up.www.paulapollock.com
Salespeople: Relax & Think Relationship April 22, 2009
Asking questions is part of most every sales cycle. Too often, sales people tend to move full-speed-ahead with information gathering before they have permission from the prospect. Have you ever admired a good sales person? They seem to be enjoying every part of the process and make it look easy. Why? They took the time to earn permission – build a relationship – gain trust.
Where Were You On The Night In Question? Some, less experienced
sales people read books and attend seminars that tell them to ask questions in order to engage their prospect. The problem: these books and seminars can’t really help you if you don’t have sales timing. It’s like comedic timing – if you miss it your joke flops. In this case it’s your sale.
The Self-Important Doctor: I recall this exact situation with a specialist I sought for a family member. I read reviews of this one doctor and choose to seek her out first. It wasn’t easy reaching her, which already had me “wondering” why she didn’t have an answering service. When we finally connected, I was ready with my list of questions: ones I thought she would have probably answered numerous times by now. Instead, she launched into new patient questions: name, birth date, social, etc. I interrupted her interrogation to request she answer my questions first. She was obviously exasperated by this and answered in a tone that belittled me. Needless to say, I did not use her and in fact wrote an online review of my experience on a local medical reference site.
Shall We Dance? Once the prospect is in your store or on your website, you must remember that the sale is hardly over. The relationship has just begun. What is going through their mind? That’s all that you need to concern yourself with at this very moment. Usually, they are confirming that they are somewhere that can help them solve their problem.
It’s All About Me – What should a sales clerk ask when someone walks into 
Over Eager = Desperation Whether you think you appear desperate or not, if you come on too strong you will put off most of your audience. People like to be in control of their buying experience. However, it’s wise to position yourself according to the clients you want. Eg: You wouldn’t advertise bargain prices if you are targeting luxury buyers.
Always remember that your prospects still buy based on emotional decisions. Don’t add to their objections with your sales technique.
Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group, servicing private clients as their virtual marketing director along with a team of top vendor professionals. Paula also offers self-motivated businesses products to create functional marketing strategies and plans producing tangible results that convert into sales. With over twenty years of corporate sales and marketing experience, Paula offers knowledge and value that few can match. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up.www.paulapollock.com
Want Sales? Switch to Non-Conformity April 15, 2009
When we were in grade school, teachers rewarded conformity. You should color inside the lines, make your letters like everyone else and obey the rules. As we aged, peers further instilled conformity deeming anyone unusual as a pariah. Even bosses have unwritten norms and
expectations that your interviews rarely reveal.
OMG! Time To Grow Up – Skip ahead to today where you are in business for yourself. If you have let all that conformity stick, you are not going to survive long. Take a good look at yourself. If you were (or are) one of the “high schoolers” that cares more about what is acceptable to your peers than what you know is good for business – stop reading and go work on your resume. (Sorry to be abrupt, but I’d rather help you and everyone close to you now.)
Don’t Walk The Line – There is a fine line to being noticed or notable. Being noticed can be a negative thing. I’m sure you’ve experienced those people that upon first introduction see it as their cue to launch into a sales pitch. Once you get a reputation like this, people often avoid them knowing what’s to come. It’s noticeable, but not in a good way.
Be Notable – This means you are doing something so exceptional that it’s impossible for anyone to deny you are the very best person for the job. This ties directly back into your USP. Having a very strong unique 
selling proposition that you back up and deliver is one of your best ways to become notable. Of course, you need to exorcise those high school demons and shun conformity. If you are going to be different, do it where it’s going to translate into dollars.
Walk, Then Run Your Talk – Average is not exceptional. Don’t just walk your talk, dance – skip – fly – and run it! You shouldn’t be shooting for “okay”. The true non-conformists, those exceptional businesses aren’t just doing well. They are constantly seeking opportunities to be unique, special and superior. They are not satisfied with business being good. They task risks that scare others, embarrass their families and sometimes fail brilliantly. But, the one that works is all it takes to go from obscurity to superiority.
I double, dog dare you to be superior!
Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group: elevating business owners to marketing entrepreneurs, training them to know their client inherently and see market opportunities that were invisible before. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up.www.paulapollock.com
What Makes Clients Buy? Ask Them April 8, 2009
Often, business owners get stuck wondering whether a new product will sell. They talk with their friends and colleagues. Maybe they have a networking group or mastermind that will give them feedback. But, if 
you want to know if a client will buy something you should probably ask them.
K.I.S.S. Why do we insist on making everything difficult? The people who might buy from you are right in front of your face. They are on your lists, current customers and tend to hang out in packs on discussion boards and in professional organizations. Ask them! It’s just that simple.
Surveys and Polls – People love to give their opinion, especially if it’s anonymous. Market research has never been easier than today with all the free stuff out there. Which to use, though? Polls are quick. They usually ask one question with some select choices to choose from and take the reader seconds to complete. Surveys require more buy in. Increase your audience participation with a drawing for something they can win. It doesn’t need to be big – just valuable enough. Starbucks cards or free products work well.
What To Ask – This is where your marketing knowledge will be tested as a poorly written survey can create more confusion than answers. 
Like anything, you need to have a goal for your poll or survey. If you are trying to determine features of a new product, you best be certain that your target is remotely interested in this type of product. They won’t give two cents about it’s features if they aren’t already slightly interested. As always, the emotional triggers of need will help focus your Q&A.
Horse Before The Cart, Please – It can’t be stressed enough that you should be doing this before you launch, not after. Although there are lots of exit surveys out there (customer service loves these). The ones that worry me are the “it didn’t work – help me figure out what went wrong.” That just screams poor planning. The credibility lost when you do that is mind-boggling. If you must, be sure it’s a very small sample of trusted users. If it went live – then bust, you should have polled up front.
Credibility Gained – Well written product development polls and surveys can also help increase your credibility. Even if the target doesn’t reply they are probably thinking, “Wow. She wants my opinion. I must be important.” Everyone likes to feel important. The benefit is to your brand. Not only will you get actual prospects telling you what they want, you look brilliant for asking.
So, why aren’t you asking?
Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group: elevating business owners to marketing entrepreneurs, training them to know their client inherently and see market opportunities that were invisible before. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up.www.paulapollock.com
Need Clients? Your U.S.P. Probably Needs a Checkup April 1, 2009
U.S.P. or your Unique Selling Proposition is so important that if you get it wrong you can stop wondering where your sales have gone. You must honestly be able to answer the question, “So, why should I work with you over any other perceivable option?” This scares a lot of people. And, what scares people they tend to avoid.
Small Bites – Big, scary projects are best tackled in stages. Here are some bite sized tasks that can get you through.
- Be absolutely certain of your target audience. Not only are they the audience who will buy your product/service, but they are clients YOU want to work with.
- Ask yourself, “Why should they work with you over any other perceivable option?”
- Write down all the possible answers that you can think of.
- Respond to these options with your long copy response. As you write, you should start seeing a pattern. Certain words and phrases will emerge and that will be the basis of your USP.
Refine It – Once you have a good list with good answers, sit with it for at least a week. Put them where you’ll see them daily and be certain you are confident in each answer and your USP. A strong USP also solves a real problem. In business, these are usually one of the below.
Reduce Risk or Cost;
- Increase Revenue;
- Reduce Labor or Operations Process/Cost
Your prospects need real life examples that prove you have done this. Give them hard facts, numbers and raving testimonials. You also need to present your value back to your current clients before they start thinking you aren’t worth it. A regular progress report, status report or milestone meeting is essential.
All Messages – To attract your ideal clients, lead with this message and support it throughout whatever marketing piece you create. And whatever you do, don’t be dull. Supporting a sound message doesn’t need to be boring. Please, anything but that!
Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group: elevating business owners to marketing entrepreneurs, training them to know their client inherently and see market opportunities that were invisible before. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up.www.paulapollock.com
