Marketing on a Budget: An open letter to entrepreneurs

Recently I was contacted by a client who was frustrated that her marketing efforts were not producing results like she expected. In an attempt to address her concerns, I realized how many other professionals are in the same boat. What follows is an open letter to professionals everywhere who are struggling to attract new clients and make money online.

Dear Entrepreneur and Professional:

First, let’s address the issue of finances. I understand fully what it is like to invest in your own business, work hard, and see little income.

Sometimes it seems as if you work for pleasure, and indeed there is much pleasure involved. It’s not unusual for entrepreneurs to be passionate about their business and services and many would do what they love for free.

But it can’t work that way, and you must see the money or your business will perish. After a couple of years of trickle income, Denise and I are now seeing great results in our own online business, and are making a very comfortable living solely from information and services sold over the Internet.

So let me offer some advice about the process...

It takes time. And it involves having lots of digital information products people can download instantly.

You must have a powerful web presence and be easily findable to the millions of people who search on the Web for solutions to their problems.

Findability, Traffic, and Conversion

People can’t find you with just a website. You need a blog, and you need to write on it frequently - daily is best; two to three times per week is good. An electronic newsletter, or ezine, is also a great marketing tool, and it needs to be posted on the Web, or on your blog.

You need to write and submit articles to article directories so people can find you better. Your articles need to include contact information and links back to your website, blogs and products.

You need the infrastructure in place (KickStartCart) so you can follow up with automated email messages to people who contact you requesting information, purchase your products and register for your events.

It’s a good idea to do teleclasses, some for free, so you build your list, connect with people and get them into your higher priced seminars.

There are other business models, but I am most familiar with what I have done myself, and what I've helped other entrepreneurs to do.

Get Help, Get a Coach, Get a Mentor

Tom Antion has been our mentor for the past two years and he's helped us bring in well over $300,000.00 since we've met him.

When Denise and I joined Tom’s Mentee Program, it was a considerable financial commitment. We sent him a check every month out of our earnings, which are steadily increasing thanks to his tutelage.

It’s worth it to learn and model what works from one who has been there and is a multi-millionaire.

Practice and Patience

As the saying goes, you can’t get to Carnegie Hall without lots of practice, and that takes an investment of time, patience and money.

These are not easy solutions. It requires considerable investment. Your time is a very valuable commodity, one of the most precious you have.

Continue doing what works and invest in those areas of your business that provide the biggest payoff. Get training. Invest in the infrastructure and tools that allow you to save time and market effortlessly.

Avoid overwhelm by implementing tools slowly, getting used to one and observing your results before going to the next step. Avoid the "next shiny object" school of marketing.

Building a business on the Internet is not about getting rich quick. It’s about hard work and persistent effort that will pay off in the long run.

Wishing you all continued success,
Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., The Blog Squad

Reminder: This Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 5 p.m. ET, listen to The Blog Squad interview Tom Antion about his new concept for business success, Fusion. For more information and to register for free, visit this page: www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/fusion.

Comments

[Lissa Boles]

One of the best advice pieces I've read - and straight from the heart too. Thx.

I'd add just a couple of things:

When it comes to mentoring, don't just look for a business mentor. Include personal growth support too (and for those of you rolling your eyes right now, I hear you - woulda sounded out there to me not all that long ago...).

If you look at the experiential stages entrepreneurs go through it so closely mirrors Joseph Campbell's 'The Hero's Journey' its amazing.

Far as I can tell (and my husband/partner and I've been studying this one awhile) this ain't just biz but our inner lives leading throngs of us toward a new kind of happiness and fulfillment, and through us towards creating a value-driven, service-based society. Just look at the web, SN and the like!

And for me and many of our clients and the people we interview and study, its very clear that staying the course through the lean times, transitions and dry spots that are just plain part of creation, innovation and growth is really made possible when your biz is your true purpose and passion.

If you're just in it for the $s its wildly hard to work up the oomph to keep on keepin on, well-mentored or not.

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Lissa, these are very wise words. Thanks so much for sharing here with our readers.

[Terri Zwierzynski]

Fabulous run-down of what it takes to succeed!

I'd just add one thing to your advice to "Get Help". If you are doing everything in your business from keeping the books to returning phone calls, you are going to burn out before you have a chance to succeed! You can't possibly be good at all of these tasks; meanwhile, there are thousands of excellent professionals out there to help you with bookkeeping, web updates, all sorts of administrative tasks, writing, etc.

In my opinion, the most important investment you make, aside from the investment in yourself (as noted by Lissa above), is to hire out the tasks you aren't good at, loathe, and keep getting in your way. Yes it costs money...but if you hire wisely, you'll see a nice return on that investment, both in dollars and in creative satisfaction (now that you aren't doing all that other stuff!)

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Thanks, Terri, good advice. Thanks for stopping by.