We live in a world where our potential clients and customers are barraged with thousands and thousands of ads every single day. The competition is fierce, the climate is noisy and it’s not going to lighten up any time soon.

So how can a small business owner, on a shoestring budget, even compete? The answer is simple: repetition through massive visibility.

Research suggests that we are exposed to over 4,000 ads each day. As a result of “advertising overload”, our brains are forced to filter out and ignore most of these ads. Plus, let’s face it, most of the advertising we encounter is just a caberet of bedlam and babble that doesn’t even apply to us.

But, all of this is great news for the savvy shoestring marketer.

Each time your prospect catches sight of your brand, their filter becomes weaker until finally, your marketing message has broken through. But, it certainly doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, your prospect needs to see your marketing message, on average, between twelve and twenty-four times. (You can read about creating a marketing message here.)

How do you ensure that your prospects come into contact with you and your brand over and over again? First and foremost, you need to ensure that you and your brand are everywhere. You must become so visible that your prospects can’t ignore you.

You should become an active participant in Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Dedicate time each day to blogging, podcasting or video marketing. Send out online newsletters and host monthly teleseminars.

I signed up a new client last week and here’s the interesting part. After reading my blog, watching my videos, becoming a friend on Facebook and following me on Twitter, for one full year, she decided to sign up for my ezine. I did some quick math and figured that, over the course of that year, she was exposed to my brand thousands of times through my status updates, blog posts, videos, podcasts and ezine issues. Not to mention that she also came to at least ten of my live webinars.

Obviously, she took longer than usual to make the commitment to purchase my products and services. But, she let me know that one of the main reasons that she joined forces with me was because she “saw me everywhere.”

So, make an effort to get yourself out there, in front of your target market, as much as possible. It’s the only way to break through all the competitive businesses clamoring for your prospects’ attention.

If you’re a small business owner who is serious about boosting your income, listen up! Your profile picture matters.
 
I have seen thousands of profile pictures including those that are silly, indecent, weird and just plain unprofessional.

Obviously, if you are utilizing free-marketing strategies, you’re going to tap into social media marketing. And ALL of these sites allow you to upload your picture.

Remember, marketing is all about transparency, visibility and connectiveness.  That is, people want to get to know the person “behind the company.”

When people come to your profile page on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, what is the very first thing that they look at? Your picture of course!

Now, obviously it’s not a beauty contest. As of right now, there aren’t any prizes for the “Best-Looking Facebook Profile Picture.”  So, please don’t start down the path of “I’m too fat, too ugly, too old…”  There are some “great-looking” marketers and some rather “unexceptional-looking” marketers out there.  It’s not their beauty that scores them points. But, what all good marketers have in common is that they do put up a professional profile picture to better relate with their audience.

Here are the Top Ten Profile Picture Disasters (that I have personally witnessed):

1. The “Trying To Be Sexy” Profile Picture. You absolutely must cover yourself up. There is nothing less professional than a scantily clothed business-person. (Except, for #5)

2. The “Blurred” or “Too Dark” Profile Picture.  If it’s not a clear picture, don’t use it.

3. “Your Child” As Your Profile Picture.  If you use your child as your profile picture, there will be many misconceptions.  Believe it or not, people will actually think that your child is YOU and immediately exit your page. So, keep your children in your photo albums where they belong.

4. “Your Dog” As Your Profile Picture. Those who know me, know that I am absolutely crazy about my little Chihuahua.  But, as adorable as she is, I do not use her as my profile picture.

5. The “Chugging A Beer” Profile Picture.  Enough said.

6. The “Sideways” Profile Picture.  If you upload your picture and it ends up sideways, you NEED to fix it. We don’t want to have to do acrobats to be able to see you.

7. The “Faraway” Profile Picture.  It is never fun to try and make out someone who is  1/16th  of an inch big. We should never have to get out a magnifying glass to see you.

8. The “Way Too Serious” Profile Picture. I truly believe that individuals should smile in their profile picture. In addition, there was a research study conducted on Twitter that suggested that people who smile gain 28% more followers.  Who wants to do business with Debbie-Downer? So put on a smile, it’s really not that bad.

9. The “Trying To Be Goofy For No Reason At All” Profile Picture. Until you have truly created your brand, don’t go for the goofy hats, clothes and antics. It really does send out the wrong message.
 
10. The “No Picture At All” Profile Picture. This is the worst offense of all. Please put up a profile picture if you are using social media sites. People want to see you. And I have heard time and time again that people oftentimes won’t connect with people without pictures. Social media is “social.” So, show us who you are.

If one of the above disasters describes your picture, then you have a decision to make. You can simply keep your profile picture “as is,” or you can take the time to upload a picture that represents you as a true professional.

Like it or not, your profile picture speaks volumes about you. So, do your best to use a picture that you want the world to see.

Here is the Golden Rule of Marketing. It is the #1 most important piece of information that you will ever learn. If you never learn anything else about marketing, learn this, because this, my friend, will change business life as you know it.

There are millions and millions of small businesses out there. And if you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times:  if you’re just another fish in the sea – you will drown.  There’s just too much competition.

You must be unique and stand apart from the crowd.

Believe me, most small business owners have no idea how to do this. Zero, zilch, nada. Take a look around. Most marketers are doing what everyone else is doing. They think that if they just follow the rules, they will succeed. But, blending in and following the crowd is the exact opposite of what they should be doing.

Every single time I search on Google, I find hundreds of companies that are virtually all the same. They point to replicated, impersonal websites highlighting companies that looks like every other company; boring ad copy that puts me to sleep before I even get past the headline. It all starts to blend together and I can’t keep one business straight from another. Yawn.

So, why do you think that 97% of all new business owners are failing? If you ask me, it’s pretty darn simple; they don’t understand the amazing power of being unique.

Whether you’re a teacher, life coach, dentist, or author, you must brand yourself in this crazy marketing world. You need to let your prospects know that you are a one-of-a-kind, completely unique small business. In other words, you need to show the world that there is no other company quite like yours. And guess what? There is no other company quite like yours, so you already have that going for you.

Pick out one or two incredibly unique qualities about your small business and tell the world. What do you offer that no one else offers? Do you get back to customers within the hour? Do you offer fun contests and give-aways? How about an amazing guarantee?

Show your distinct colors, have some fun and be you. And, don’t just copy what everybody else is doing. In fact, the more you copy, the faster you will fail.

If you can accomplish this one small feat, the world will be your oyster. Everything you touch will turn to gold.

It’s up to you. You can blend in with the crowd and join the 97% or, you can stand up and shout your distinct qualities from the rooftops with the other 3%. Try it. You just might like it.

Shoestring marketers inherently understand that one of the main components in the success of their small business is how to position themselves as unique, remarkable and extraordinary. In today’s vast ocean of millions of competing small businesses, you and your business will quickly drown if you remain ordinary. It is only the exceptional that survive.

However, the word “exceptional” can be incredibly intimidating for the small business owner. It conjures up images of superheroes and non-human strength.  Be that as it may, it’s really not all that difficult to become exceptional in today’s market. One of the most common dictionary definitions of the word exceptional is, “not conforming to a general rule or pattern.” Basically, you don’t want to be like everybody else.

Take a minute and think about the vast majority of businesses that are content to be ordinary.  They don’t answer emails, they keep you on hold forever, they offer unfriendly or inferior customer service.  Obviously, the list could continue, but there’s no doubt that the business that exceeds your expectations is an anomaly.

Since I am the daughter of an orchestra conductor, I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting some of the most famous artists around the world including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Kathleen Battle and recently, a classical guitar quartet known as the Romeros (you can learn more about them at www.romeroguitarquartet.com ).

After the concert, there was a dinner party for select guests and donors of the symphony. Obviously, the Romeros were not expected to attend. (In fact, very few artists would take the time to attend an after-hours dinner party)  But, the Romeros are not content to be just like everyone else. They came to the orchestra party afterward, they mingled with the guests, they ate dinner with the symphony donors and, much to our delight, Pepe Romero got out his guitar and played.

That is what I call “exceptional marketing.” The Romeros went above and beyond the call of duty and exceeded our expectations. As a result, there are now dozens of us that are not just devoted listeners, but “raving fans” who are telling everyone we know about the talent and genius of The Romeros.

What are you doing in your own business that exceeds the expectations of your clients, customers and prospects? Remember, this is not about superhuman feats and accomplishments. It could be as simple as answering emails quickly and efficiently, offering incredibly friendly and supportive customer service, or underpromising and overdelivering.

When you take it upon yourself to stand apart from the crowd and refuse to do business like everyone else, you abandon “ordinary” and catapult to the top of your industry. But, best of all, you and your small business can never drown when you are standing on top of a mountain.

Before you launch your next marketing campaign, whether online or offline, make sure to avoid some of the most common marketing mistakes.

1. Failure to Write a Powerful Headline. Whether you are writing a newspaper ad, email message or press release, you must create a powerful headline. Research suggests that your headline is the most important part of your ad. It is absolutely essential that you draw your prospective customer or client into your ad and keep them interested in what you have to offer. Spend quality time creating your headline and you will notice much better results.

2. Absence Of An Irresistible Offer. In marketing, 40% of the response that you receive from your prospects is directly related to your offer. In today’s competitive marketplace, you need to present your client or customer with an offer that they can’t resist. Offers can range from discounts to offering a free report, but the fact remains that your marketing should always contain some sort of offer your prospects can’t refuse. If you have an irresistible offer, people will respond.

3. A Weak Or Non-Existent Call To Action. Every single time you create an ad, you want to direct your prospective client or customer to take a specific action. This action can be to call a toll-free number, visit a website or place an order. If you fail to tell your prospect exactly what you want them to do, they will not do anything. Take your prospect by the hand and show them what they need to do next in order to move them smoothly through all parts of the sales process.

4. An Inadequate List. Even if you have the best product since sliced bread, you need highly targeted and responsive prospects. This can be accomplished by building a list. There are dozens of tools that allow you to build a list quickly and efficiently. The best way to accomplish this is by asking prospects to supply you with their name and email in exchange for your “irresistible free offer.” Most marketers agree that growing a list is perhaps one of the most important jobs for any small business.

5. Relying On One Marketing Message. On average, consumers are exposed to over 4,000 marketing messages every day. Recent research suggests that your clients and customers will need to see your marketing message between seven and twelve times before they even take notice! That means you can never rely on sending one message to your prospects; instead, you will need to send repeated messages to them over and over again. Decide how you will deliver your message and then make sure to develop and continue a relationship with your prospect in an ongoing process.

6. Failure To Measure Campaign Effectiveness. There are literally hundreds of ways to market your small business. Over time, you will most likely tap into dozens of these marketing platforms. However, it is absolutely vital that you take time to measure the effectiveness of your various marketing campaigns. This can be done with simple spreadsheets or fancier CRM systems. No matter how you measure your marketing, you must understand what is working and what is not working so that you can be extremely effective.

7. Not Communicating With Your Current Customers. It is vital to provide ongoing communication with your current customer base. Most likely you have spent time and money acquiring new customers. Moreover, 20% of your current customers will purchase from you again. Make sure that you communicate with your customers on a regular basis, solicit their feedback and provide value to them over the long-term. This will help build your business over time.

Whether you are a brand new marketer or established veteran, it is essential to avoid some of these most common marketing mistakes. To be successful over time, you must continually work to improve your marketing effectiveness. If you do, you will soon find your business growing quicker and easier than you ever imagined.

Even though social media sites are becoming a highly effective way for marketers to promote themselves and their businesses for free, most marketers don’t utilize these powerful platforms effectively. They vacillate between feeling completely overwhelmed and feeling that the sites are a huge waste of time.

Social Media marketing is one of my favorite forms of marketing.  And there are some basic principles to keep in mind in order to make your marketing more effective and efficient.  Here are five important tips that will enhance your social media marketing experiences:

1) Create a Landing Page.  A landing page is a one-page website that offers prospects a personalized introduction to you and your business before they see your official business site. Landing pages are crucial to business success. They allow prospects to connect with you on a more personal level, they quickly highlight the benefits of doing business with you and they offer something of value to your prospect in exchange for their name and email address.

As you may have heard before, the fortune is in the list. Savvy business owners understand that they must generate a list of prospective clients and customers and continue to market to them on a regular basis.

2) Set Up a Complete Profile. If you want your marketing efforts to work, make sure that your social media profiles are complete. If prospects land on your profile page and it doesn’t have a picture and contains sparse information, they aren’t likely to feel any connection with you. You should provide as much information about yourself as possible. Remember, people want to get to know you, so give them what they are looking for!

3) Participate; Don’t Push.  As you begin to market using social media platforms, always keep in mind the 80/20 rule. You should spend 80% of your time sharing, answering questions and interacting with others and only 20% of your time promoting your business. If you stick to this rule, you will be seen as a true participant as opposed to a pushy sales-person.

4) Be Consistent. Social media marketing is all about consistency. You must log into each of your sites every day (Monday through Saturday).  It is extremely important that prospective clients see you on a regular basis. Exposure is the key to gaining your client’s trust and eventual business. So, get on those sites and interact every single day!

5) Create a Daily Schedule. If you don’t have a schedule, you will quickly get sucked into the “social media black hole.” Determine how much time you have to devote to your social media marketing and stick to it! If you only have 60-minutes/day, then only utilize 3-5 social networking sites and generate a strong presence on them. I like to use a timer (honestly!) to keep myself on track. I set my timer and when it beeps, I am off to the next site.

Social media marketing is extremely effective as long as you understand how to tap into its power. If you implement these five tips into your marketing efforts, you should quickly begin to see some great results for you and your small business.

One of the most common complaints I hear from small business owners is the issue of time-management. How do you manage your marketing, book-keeping, research, new product creation, and customer service when there are only 24 hours in the day?

In addition, if you are marketing “on a shoestring” then you’re forced to spend more time on your business than money. This can be a tricky problem.

First of all, it’s important to remember that we all are given the same amount of hours each day. When I was building my business, I innately understood that marketing was key to my success as a small business owner.

Therefore, I was active on ten social networks, maintained a blog and ezine, wrote an article each day, sent out weekly press releases, hosted weekly Webinars, gave several weekly interviews….all while growing my business and caring for my family. I did not start with an assistant and spent zero money on marketing.

So what was my secret formula? I “recycled” my marketing.  I knew that if I was going to accomplish a large amount every single day, then I had no choice but to work quickly and efficiently. I didn’t work hard; I worked smart.

Here is an example of how you can recycle your own marketing.

Pick a topic relevant to your industry and write a 500-word article. Post the article to two or three article directories and, once your article receives quite a few views, it will begin bringing targeted visitors to your website. This task should take you about one hour from start to finish.

Perhaps most individuals would start a completely different task at this point. Not you! If you have just spent one hour creating an article, it’s important that you duplicate those efforts.

Therefore, here is a list of how to reuse your article to bring even more visitors to your website:

1)     Turn the article into a script, film a video and post it on YouTube.

2)     Tweak the article and post it on your blog.

3)     Reuse the article in your weekly ezine or online newsletter.

4)     Adapt the article and use it in an email campaign.

5)     Rearrange the article and submit a press release.

6)     Turn the article into part of an online e-course.

7)     Adapt the article idea for a Webinar or Teleseminar.

8)     Use the article for the basis of an interview.

9)     Turn the article into a Special Report.

10)  Use the article as a basis of a Podcast.

Obviously, the possibilities on how to recycle an article are endless!  The point is that you want to get as much possible mileage out of your original article as necessary. This is crucial for online success. The last thing that you want to do is to submit an article, then write an entirely different blog post, tape a YouTube video from scratch, etc.

As smart, and often time-crunched, business owners, we need to use our time as efficiently as possible. I have found that “recycling” marketing ideas is one of the most efficient ways to get more done in less time!

There are several steps that you must take to effectively market your business. If your ultimate goal is to be a master marketer and catapult your business to the top, then you must understand, memorize and implement every single one of these important marketing secrets.

1)      You Do Not Need To Spend Money In Order To Make Money.  Nowadays, there are hundreds of places to market your business for zero-cost. In fact, I have utilized over 200 different free marketing platforms. The best news is that many of these free marketing platforms work better than paid marketing platforms. So, take heart in the fact that you can truly market your business for no-cost and reap huge rewards in the process.

2)      Craft A Unique Marketing Message. You and your business need to stand out from the crowd; ultimately, you want to be unforgettable. That being said, it is vital that you create a marketing message that sticks in the minds of your prospects.  Take the time to create a memorable name, tagline, and logo for your business. Then, showcase your “brand” EVERYWHERE including your social networks, emails, reports, press releases, ebooks, signatures, websites, business cards, etc. Whenever you have a chance to showcase your business, seize the opportunity!

3)      Set Up Your Business Foundation. Every business needs a solid foundation before marketing begins. Without question you should have a landing page with an opt-in form, business website, email autoresponder campaign, professional picture of yourself, testimonials and free samples (i.e. a special report, ebook, e-course, audio class, etc). It is vital that all of your marketing efforts point back to a solid business foundation.

4)      Determine Your Niche. If you are going to be highly successful, it is important to find a niche within your industry. For example, “marketing” is a huge industry with intense competition. It would be next to impossible for a new business owner to break into the general marketing industry.  In my case, I found a niche within the marketing industry that was underdeveloped and needed exposure: free marketing. In most cases, the smaller the niche, the more successful you will be.

5)      Declare Your Expertise. No matter what business you are in, you must become an expert within your niche.  Remember that when people make a purchase or request a service from you, they are interested in solving a problem. If you can effectively communicate to your customer or client that you are an expert who can help them solve their problem, they will be much more likely to do business with you and your company. So, flaunt your expertise and show your clients that you truly can help them.

6)      Tap Into 5 Marketing Platforms (at first). When you first launch your marketing campaign, you may be tempted to join dozens of social networking sites, utilize several different free classified sites, and traffic exchanges, while juggling press releases, articles and blogs. Always remember that if you become a “Jack of All Trades, Master of None,” you will be overwhelmed and ineffective. Instead, pick five marketing platforms that resonate with you and become an expert marketer using these. (ie. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube and Article Marketing.)  As your business (and profits) grows bigger, you can add more. However, rest assured that you can achieve a great deal of success utilizing nothing more than five marketing platforms.

7)      Be Consistent and Patient.  This is the most important piece of advice for anyone launching a marketing campaign.  Good marketing doesn’t happen overnight. In order for marketing to be effective, your prospective customers must see your offer again and again. So, make a promise to yourself that you will be patient and consistent in your marketing efforts. Those that do, realize huge rewards in their business!

Again, all seven steps are crucial to your business success and if you understand and effectively implement these shoestring marketing secrets, your business will quickly rise to the top!

You’ve probably heard time and time again the old marketing adage “the fortune is in your list.” Whether or not you are familiar with this motto, the truth of the matter is that there truly is no better way to build your business.

No matter what small business you operate, you absolutely must take the time to build a targeted list of interested prospects and satisfied customers.  The most effective way to accomplish this is to have a simple opt-in form on the first page of your website that offers your prospect a free and valuable gift in exchange for their name and email address. This gift can be a special report, ezine subscription or downloadable ebook.

Once a prospect has supplied you with their information, you are able to continue to market to them over and over again.  Here are five ways to market to interested prospects who have agreed to receive additional information from you.

1) Keep Your Brand In Front Of Your Prospect

In today’s noisy and chaotic world, your prospect needs to see your offer between seven and twelve times before they even take notice of you. That means that you must keep your brand, company and product or service in front of them as much as possible. Obviously, you don’t want to spam them or aggressively shove your offer down their throat. You simply want to let them know that you are available as a solution to their problem.

This can be accomplished through automated email marketing and/or ezine marketing.  If they receive interestting and informative information from you several times each week, they will undoubtedly begin to take notice of you.

2) Continue The Conversation To Build Your Expertise

It’s vitally important that you continue to market to your list in a variety of ways. If your prospect receives articles, blog posts, podcasts, ezines and press releases from you, it won’t take long before they conclude that you are an expert in your particular field.

Once you are perceived as an expert, your prospect will see you as the “go-to” person once they are ready to make a purchase.  Your goal is to position yourself as the only person that your prospect will approach once they are ready to make a purchase in your particular niche.

3) Invite Your Prospects To Special Events

Once you begin building your list, you should invite your prospects to important events and promotions that highlight your product or service. As an example, once each month, I offer a free webinar to all prospects who are part of my list.
 
Those who decide to attend my webinar receive a valuable training session on a free marketing strategy. This, of course, continues to build my reputation as an expert in my field. At the end of the event, my attendees are given the option to sign up for one of my shoestring products or services.
 
4) Send Out Coupons, Promotions and Special Offers

When you have a list of prospects who are interested in your products or services, you can periodically entice them to do business with you by offering coupons, promotions and other specials. You can extend one-day only discounts, free trials or complimentary consultations.

Oftentimes, it simply takes an enticing offer for those “fence-sitters” to cross over to the other side. Experiment with special promotions and track which ones bring in the most sales.

5) Sell Additional Products And Services

Not only do you want to build a list of prospects, you want to have an additional list of your current customers and/or clients. Research suggests that 20% of your satisfied customers will purchase from you again if they have the opportunity. Since your current customers have already decided to do business with you, they already trust you and they are much more apt to purchase from you again. So, make sure to present them with plenty of opportunities.

Ultimately, it is essential that you take the time to build a list of targeted prospects and current customers. Your list will allow you to increase brand awareness, continue your conversations, position yourself as an expert and offer special incentives to both your prospects and current customers.

It won’t take long before you realize that your fortune does indeed reside in your list.

Successful marketers understand that all ad-copy, whether it is part of your website, emails, or sales letter, starts with a compelling headline. That simple, little headline at the top of your page is absolutely vital to your success, for its job is to reach out and grab your reader’s attention and keep them reading.

Well, there’s good news and bad news. Here’s the bad news: you only have three seconds to grab your reader’s attention. If your headline isn’t exciting, intriguing and interesting, your reader will stop reading and soon forget about you.

But, here’s the good news: I am going to share with you seven “headline templates” that have proven to work time and time again, producing eye-popping results.

Here they are, in no certain order:

1) The “How-to” Headline
“How To Stop Smoking In 7 Days”

2) The Testimonial Headline
“I Was Able To Tap Into Pam’s Marketing System and Double My Profits Overnight!” – John Brown, Lansing, MI

3) The Headline That Offers a Benefit
Find Out The Secrets of Throwing Away Your List Of Tired Old Leads and Instead Have Prospects Chasing You!”

4) The Question Headline
“Do You Toss and Turn All Night Long?”

5) The Headline That Provides a Solution
“Your dandruff will disappear after one shampoo”

6) The Personalized Headline
“Mary, How Would YOU Like To Lose 5 Pounds This Week?”

7) The Headline That Offers A Guarantee
“I Guarantee That You Will Make An Extra $500 Or I Will Personally Write You a Check For Double Your Money Back!”

Another simple trick is to use “power words” in your headlines. These words create an emotional connection with your readers and dramatically increase the success of your headline. Caution: only use these power words if you are looking for BIG results!

• Amazing
• Announcing
• Advice To
• At Last
• Bargains
• Breakthrough
• Discover
• Do You
• Enormous
• Facts
• Finally
• Free
• Great News
• Guaranteed
• Here
• How Much
• Inside Secrets Of…
• Innovative
• Love
• Only
• Proven
• Sale
• This
• Which
• Yes

 So, the next time you sit down to write a headline for your landing page, online newsletter or blog, take the time to create a dazzling headline that instantly captures your reader’s attention.