Using Blogs To Market Your Small Business May Sound Complex But It Is Simple

I know that having a blog but nothing to write on it is sort of like choosing revolvers for a dual but not having any bullets.  It can look impressive but it is really empty.

Today I want to list several sites that you can use to learn how to write your blog articles.  The key to successful use of a blog is consistent posting.  Ideally, you will post something new at least once a week.  More often is better but you probably have other things that you can do.  One post a week should be your absolute minimum.

SCHEDULE YOUR POSTS

You can schedule articles to be posted in the future.  For example, this post was written on June 3 but will not be posted until June 27.  This is an example of a strategy that you can use for yourself if you feel you are too busy with other things to run a consistent blog.

Using this strategy, you would compose 4 articles over a weekend at the beach or other relaxing site on your computer's word processer.  You would then log into your blog and schedule them to post automatically on the same day of the week for the entire month.

This strategy allows you to do all your internet marketing for the month at one time.

WRITING YOUR POSTS

The links below will give you tips on how to write and format your posts so that they are most effective on the internet.

1. 16 TIPS ON WRITING DIRECT RESPONSE COPY  This delivers exactly what it promises.  If you have never written before, these tips provide a matrix on which you can build your posts.

Cold Calling Is Not The Only Way To Get New Clients

Recently a colleague asked me types of marketing I used in lieu of cold calling to attract new clients.  Below is my answer.

Cold calling was popular in the 1980s B.C. (Before Computers). Today, not so much. What is called "invasion marketing" has been replaced with "permission marketing." Today, I market completely differently then I used to. Everyone else in this stream of answers is right. The best contacts are going to be referrals from satisfied contacts. Even better are referrals that call you. I use a few different strategies.

REFERRAL CLUBS

Join a referral club. The biggest and best that I am aware of is BNI. They have a website to explain who they are and what they do.  You can look to see if there is a chapter in your area.

My business has changed as a result of Obamacare. Previously, I was looking for referrals of small business owners needing health insurance. Now, I have to readjust my business mission to those who are already on government insurance, Medicare.

I am a member of Senior Trust Alliance. It is similar to BNI but we only meet monthly and exchange referrals for Baby Boomers and their parents. It is more targeted for my market.

“ROUNDS”

About once a month, I do "rounds." I spend the day taking "treats" I got at Sam's Club to business owners whose clients are the ones I want but we are not in direct competition. That way when their clients mention they want insurance, they can give them my card. (Unless you have a dynamic, must have product that is mandated by law, this process takes time.

Your goal is not to sell the business owner but to condition them to think of you when one of their customers need your goods/service.)

For example, I work with health insurance. Most car and home insurance agents either don't have the product available or do not want to spend the time learning and keeping up with all the changes in the rules and laws. Even though they are both insurance, they are 2 different disciplines.

The general public often doesn’t know there is a difference. The average P & C insurance agent gets asked about health insurance 1-4 times a year. If I have done my job correctly, they will refer those people to me. I then have instant credibility along with a referral from a trusted professional.

INTERNET

I also do a great deal of marketing on line. I try to post a different article on TIB TIPS and TIB BITS each day. TIB Tips is my blog for Baby Boomers and their parents. TIB Bits is for current employees. Both of them have information to informative sites and my web site, WWW.THEINSURANCEBARN.COM where people can ask me questions on line. The web site also has my phone number on every page so people can call me directly if they have an insurance related question but prefer to speak to someone.

CONCLUSION

I am not stupid enough to think that everybody is in the market for insurance all the time. I want people who receive that newsletter to know who to call and how to contact me when they are in the market for insurance. I know that until they call me, I have to remain patient.

The old "cold calling" system rewarded impatient people. When it worked, it worked right away. The new "permission marketing" system rewards more patient people. It takes time before it does its magic. I understand that until it kicks in, a new sales person has to survive.

Ideally, new business owners/commission sales people have enough savings to last until they start generating some revenue.  If they don’t, hopefully their company will give them a base salary or draw against future commissions to help them through those first few months.

Although my primary business is insurance, I hate to waste what I have learned about internet marketing.  I will help no more than 2-4 small business owners in Fort Bend County, Texas set up blog, web site or email accounts.

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Reasons Why Your Business Needs Internet Marketing

I am not the only one who thinks that all small businesses need to add internet marketing techniques to their marketing plan.  Here are some other websites that I have read in the past few weeks that have information that you should read if you are still undecided.

1. HOW SOCIAL SHOPPERS SHARE LOCAL DEALS  This article offers statistics about internet coupon programs.  Programs like this typically use Facebook and Email Campaigns. 
2. 16 SMARTER WAYS TO USE LINKED IN  Copyblogger is one of the sites I read every day.  I do not necessarily find something I can use every day but I do more often than not.  Many times I am able to find practical directions to accomplish what I want through my blog.  This post is just one of them.  It provides ways to use Linked In to promote yourself and your business.
3. HOW TO FORMAT BLOG POSTS EFFECTIVELY  Problogger is another site I read every day.  Like, Copyblogger, I do not find something useful every time I check them out.  However, I do learn something every time I read them.  This post has 9 suggestions for the rookie blogger to help make their posts easier to read.
4. IS "OOH, SHINY!" DESTROYING YOUR BLOG  This post from Problogger for novice bloggers is a perfect example of why I like Problogger.  It encourages new bloggers to pick a strategy and stick to it. 
5. ONLINE COUPONS REACH NEARLY HALF OF WEB USERS   "Today’s online coupon users tend to be affluent, highly educated and over the age of 55,” said Grau. “This is valuable input for marketers shaping the different elements of a promotional campaign, such as what products to promote with coupons, where to place the offers and what marketing messages to use.”

TIB Marketing does not do the actual internet marketing for you.  In a couple of hours I merely set up the systems that you need.  It is up to you to use the websites, blog sites and email campaign systems to promote your business and build your brand.


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Why You Should Have A Presence On The Internet

I am not a believer in get rich quick schemes.  I don't believe there is a magic formula that produces new wealth for people without working for it.  I would never advise anyone that they can increase their client list without working.

I do, however, believe that there is a difference between working hard and working smart.  The video below is a bit dated.  It was produced in 1999.  Although the Dot Com Bubble has come and gone since this video was made, many of the facts it mentions are still correct.

The number of households with internet connections has vastly increased since this was made.  As a result, more and more people are using the internet for their shopping needs.  They do not necessarily buy things on the internet but a large majority of people use the internet to research their purchases before going to the store.




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Do You Need Help With Setting Up Blogger Or Wordpress?

If you have done much research on blogs you will have learned that there are several blogging platforms.  TIB Marketing only works with 2.

For those people who have heard of “affiliate marketing” and wish to enroll in an affiliation so that they can plan their ads on their blog, I help them with Blogger and teach them the basics of how to use it.

BLOGGER

Blogger is owned by internet power-house, Google.  It is relatively easy and simple to use.  It does not have the number of options to customize it as some other types of blogs.  However, it will allow you greater freedom to “monetize” your blog.  (That is the fancy way to say that it will allow you to add links to other companies that will pay you a commission when someone purchases a product from their on-line catalogue from your blog.)

Although I am familiar with Blogger, Wordpress is the type of blog I prefer.  In fact, if you are reading this blog you are reading a Blogger style blog.Wordpress.com is the simplest type of blogging platform available.  It is by far easier to maintain than Wordpress.org. 

WORDPRESS.COM

A blog, built on the Wordpress.com platform is generally the best combination of functionality and simplicity for a small business owner to learn how to maintain a blog.  It has enough options to allow you to customize your blog to suit the purposes of your business.

Wordpress.com offers more options for customization but will not allow you to “monetize” your blog with affiliate links.  I use Wordpress.com for both of my business blogs, TIB Tips for Baby Boomers and their parents and TIB Bits for people with families.

The simplicity of a Wordpress.com blog requires that it remains limited.  After you have learned how to effectively use Wordpress, you may wish to upgrade to a self-hosted blog with Wordpress.org.

WORDPRESS.ORG

Wordpress.org allows you to do much more with your blog.  The trade off for these expanded options is more costs and complications.  The Wordpress software is free but you will have to purchase a hosting account.

In addition to the purchase of a hosting account, you will need a little knowledge of computer technology.  You will not need to have a college degree in computer science.  Most 16 year olds have the knowledge necessary to install the Wordpress.org software on a hosting service.

The question is, with everything else that you have to do for your business, do you really want to spend the time and money required to learn Wordpress.org?

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How To Legally Build An Email Marketing List

People often complain that they do not have a large enough list of email addresses.  Internet expert, Jim Edwards explains just one way to legally build your email marketing list.



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