Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is commonly thought of in time. In business, today is really the most important. Yesterday is over and tomorrow will be today. We can’t undo the past and we aren’t promised tomorrow. The best part of our life is what we do with today!

Half of 2013 is almost over and the beginning of the summer is almost here. School is ending, graduation is happening and everyone is looking forward to their upcoming summer vacations. That means that they will be traveling, chilling out and you want to get their attention. Don’t worry, no problem. They will all make sure that they have their mobile devices with them, after all they have to keep up with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Sharing is the topic of the day, where they are traveling, what they are eating, and what they bought while on vacation. You can be ready and kick off the second half of 2013 strong reaching your market right where they are, with mobile visibility. Mobile devices are never more than five feet away from your audience. When they are traveling they are checking “what is close by” to do, to see, where to eat, how to get there and more! Today you can make sure that your mobile presence is in place so you won’t miss connecting your business with your traveling market the rest of the year. Have you seen the app clock on the apple website? They are close to 5 Billion downloads! Do you have your mobile app? Do you have that 24/7 referral availability? Can you send instant text messages through your mobile app of specials, reminders and more? Don’t worry, no problem. It is low cost, and easy to do! You can have your mobile app on iTunes, and the Android store for download before that busy travel and vacation time is here.

If this is what you are looking for, we have a solution for your mobile visibility! Call us today, and we can discuss exactly the benefits of having your mobile presence and how to get it done for you! You can get a 10% discount and a free app mock up by taking action to make sure your mobile visibility is on track. Yesterday is gone, but today you can be found on the mobile devices of your market, and they will be referring their friends to you! Don’t wait until tomorrow, get it done today!

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Up Your Market

Packing to move

Packing to move and social media

I have two weeks to get ready to move, a daunting task that you break down into little tasks. So when I take a break I catch up with what is happening in the world and friends thru social media. It really helps to not be out of touch, and I can easily ask for help if I am trying to find something I need. Do you realize how much your target audience depends on social media every day? Can they find you there? Are you searching and finding them with your solutions to the problems they are dealing with?

I called one tree trimmer that has no online presence because my husband wanted three estimates to cut down a tree. Two of the local tree trimmers had websites so I could check out who they are and what kind of work they do, but the other five tree trimmer businesses only have a yellow page listings. Since I needed three estimates when I called the company without any online presence I had no idea about the company or the work they do. In today’s world where there is so much information available to the consumer, it makes you feel a little uneasy when you can’t find out anything about a company you are interested in doing business with.

When I was contacting moving companies, I ran into various levels of information and customer service. The company I chose to do business with had the most easily found information, sent me a follow up email along with my estimate and went over and above to explain their services. As a business owner and marketer, this was quite an experience to see the different levels of information provided by companies I was seeking to possibly do business with.

I am able to share the good customer service with friends through social media, giving testimony to the companies that are providing great services to me at this time. They are easy to find, they have the solutions to my moving problems and concerns and I am excited to have it all fall into place.

This reinforces how important our online presence is. How easy is it for our audience to find us? How easy do we make it to provide answers to their questions? Is our business reputation shared and complemented by them?

When the doctor becomes the patient he sees medicine in a new light. Become the customer of your own business and see it in a new light. It will help you to make improvements that will benefit you current customers and those that are looking for you.

How can I help you today? Please leave a comment or share with a friend. You can always have a free consultation to evaluate how marketing correctly can improve your bottom line.

Up Your Market

What is your comfort zone that is holding you back?

Are you doing what you have always done staying in your comfort zone? The ocean is my favorite comfort zone, I would rather be at the ocean than anywhere else. Do you find yourself always doing the same thing because it is your comfort zone? When you started your business, your comfort zone was hard to find. You had so many decisions to make; planning, scheduling, contacting, getting known and more. Yet because of absolute motivation, determination and hard work you got it done. Then all of a sudden you realize you are doing what you always have done again and your are in a comfort zone that is holding you back.

With the world around us changing so quickly and most of your target market is mobile, you can’t stay in your old comfort zone of marketing. You need to change it up, think like your market and be seen and heard where they are spending their time. The mobile market is the largest market today which includes your social media exposure. It will actually give you amazing access to your target market in more ways than ever before. But, does all this mobile access, social media stuff take you completely out of your comfort zone? Not to worry! A good marketing professional can tie it all together for you so you don’t even have to be concerned about the process. You can’t do it all. You can’t even keep up with it all. That’s when good delegation comes into place for your marketing tasks and success. Then you can concentrate on other comfort zones you need to break out of to keep the success of your business on track.

There are marketing systems that can be put in place to make sure that your message, containing the solutions you have for your market’s problems, will reach them right where they are looking for them each day. Then they will be raising their hand and coming to you because you are the expert and the only one that can provide what they need. When it is easy for your market to reach you, find you, and engage with you a massive growth change happens. A good business reputation and a good marketing plan goes a long way to bringing the target market you seek through your door.

So make a plan to stop doing what you always have done, get out of your comfort zone and be where your target market is waiting for you. How can we help you today? Please leave a comment or question. I would be happy to have a free strategy session with you!

Up Your Market

I would like to say Thank You to my favorite copywriter Mary Rose Maguire who is my guest post writer this week. She has been gracious to share her wisdom with you. I know you will learn the secret to that one word that will improve your website headline.

My good friend Mary Rose Maguire

There is One word that will improve your website’s headline.It’s not the word “free.” And it’s not a “call to action” word like “special offer” (although both are great words to have on your website at some point).

It’s a word I already included in this post’s title.

It’s the word “YOU.”

You know that you have something to offer. You’re understandably excited about your product and service and want your prospect to get excited about it, too. But if all you do is talk about your product or service without taking the time to understand your prospect’s pain... AND include the all important word “YOU” in your copy, you’re not going to get far.

In fact, there’s a good chance your prospect will ignore you.

Claude C. Hopkins, who is acknowledged by many as the “father of copywriting”, said this regarding headlines in print:

“People will not be bored in print. They may listen politely at a dinner table to boasts and personalities, life history, etc. But in print they choose their own companions, their own subjects. They want to be amused or benefited. They want economy, beauty, labor savings, good things to eat and wear. There may be products which interest them more than anything else in the magazine. But they weill never know it unless the headline or the picture tells them.”

Hopkins wrote these words of wisdom 90 years ago, but they’re still relevant. If your headline doesn’t have the word “YOU” in it, then it won’t grab your reader’s attention as quickly as it could if it did have that word.

Think of your prospect as a person who just entered the room of a networking event. She scans the room and sees that everyone is involved in a conversation.

Finally, she cautiously walks up to you as you’re chatting with another business owner.

She stands there, a bit awkwardly.

Now, what would you do if you knew there was the potential to do business together? (And you never know, so that’s a trick question.)

Would you ignore her? Probably not.

You would turn to her, introduce yourself and perhaps the other person, and then say something along these lines: “We were talking about ________ and wondered if you experienced a similar issue.” Or, “Is this the first time you’ve attended one of these events?” Or, “Tell us a little about your business.”

Notice that “You” was in every one of those possible responses?

When your prospect visits your site, she is, in essence, just entering a room where there is a lot going on. She’s new. She doesn’t know anything about your company. But she’s looking to see if your company has something that will interest her.

But first, she has to be pulled into the conversation.

That doesn’t happen if all you’re talking about is your company.

Just imagine if you were once again, in that room at the networking event. What would happen if each person who tried to talk to you would hear this: “Let me tell you about my company! We do “X!” And “Y!” And wait until you get a load of “Z!” We’re amazing! We’ve been featured in all the major business newspapers and we’re simply the best at what we do! Let me tell you exactly how we do things that make us so great!”

You’d turn tail and hide out around the appetizer table, wouldn’t you? Or beg off, saying you had to visit the restroom. Anything to get away from such a bore, right?

So. Don’t be a bore with your website copy. Include your website visitor every chance you get by using the word “you” and getting inside their head, feeling their pain and then drawing them gently into a conversation.

I’ll guarantee that no one will run away from you. And if you’re really good, you just might get their number with a “call me” written underneath.

Test it and see what happens. I have a feeling you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Mary Rose Maguire is the founder of Maguire Copywriting and an accomplished copywriter and marketing specialist. With over 25 years experience in marketing, copywriting, newsletter creation, design, and communications; Mary Rose helps clients market their message. From ideation to the final stage, Mary Rose works with her clients to create compelling copy that converts prospects and builds loyalty. You can visit her at http://www.maryrosemaguire.com.

Up Your Market

Let me introduce myself. This video will help you to understand how important your story and communicating that story is. There are many marketing tools available to make sure that you are communicating to your target market wherever they are. You want them to engage and raise their hand knowing that only you can provide the service or products they need to solve their problems.

How can we help you today? Please call for your free strategy session now!

Up Your Market

Perfect engagement is not an illusion. You are engaging an audience everyday in business and personally. Who are you attracting? Engagement through your marketing is really attracting and engaging with your audience through different platforms whether it is your online presence in web, social media, video and more. Do you have a smile on your face?

Perfect Engagement with your audience is not an illusion

Most of your audience is intently thinking about “me”. When you have a smile on your face, you can change the whole dynamics of engagement with the person you are attracting. A frowning salesman never made a sale, and marketing that doesn’t make them smile with the best solution to a problem they are seeking a solution to will fail. Your business reputation should be pristine, showing that you have no broken windows in your business to repair. Broken windows in your business make it difficult for your potential customers to engage and smile over the great solution they had hoped to receive from you.

Are you everywhere your audience is so they can engage with you easily? Are they able to contact you and ask questions with any concern they might have? Is the engagement process easy for them, bringing a smile to their face because of the great customer service they are receiving? Do you deal with customer problems immediately and quickly to bring a good result? Anything that makes your customer frown is a broken window in your business. Clean up the broken windows and your engagement rate will increase dramatically.

A good marketing system helps to keep those broken windows nonexistent. It keeps engagement high and satisfaction and referrals ongoing. Perfect engagement is not only possible it can be a foundation in your marketing plan today.

Do you need assistance fixing some broken windows in your marketing? We have a solution for that. Leave a comment or contact us for a strategy session so we can see where your broken windows are and get them fixed today!

If this was good information to you, please share it with a friend.

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Is Your Marketing Like the Weather?

Is your marketing like the weather? This is a screen shot of the weather today in my location. Now stop and think about how every one checks the weather every day. They check the weather before they travel, and what the weather will be like at their destination. They check the weather to see what to wear, do they have to adjust their plans, will travel be delayed? Weather is critical to us in our lives, we all want to know what is the “WEATHER” going to be!

The meteorologists tell the weather over and over all day long every day. They have a huge audience that sometimes is happy with their message and sometimes not very happy with their message. The message matters all the same no matter what, and sometimes the weather trumps all the other news out there. The weather has it’s own channel, so you can know what the weather is at any given location at any time of day!

Imagine if your marketing message was as engaging to your audience as the weather, they constantly would want to know what you have to say that matters to them and their daily lives. It would have to be easily accessible anywhere and anytime. You would be telling the story over and over again, but they would still want to know what it is because it would give them a solution to questions and problems they face each day. They would engage with you and want those solutions. Your marketing message would be very popular and respected by them. They would find huge value in engaging with you. Even if they didn’t always like the message, they would trust you for the end result.

We have a solution for that! How can we help you today? Please leave your comments and share with a friend if you found value here.

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If you need help on “where to start” I am here to help

Where to Start, that is a question you have asked yourself often. If you aren’t sure “where to start” you usually seek out help, someone who knows the best way, or has money saving and time saving solutions. Often it involves just sitting down and mapping a plan, or a blueprint of the “what”, “where”, “who” and “when”. As a business owner we know that if we fail to plan ahead, we are likely to fail.

If you have ever built a home you know that you can’t even start without a plan. Sure there may be adjustments to the plan, but without the plan you don’t know the end result. The same is true for marketing for your business. Do you have a plan, do you know the end result? In many situations to plan a good marketing campaign, we need the end result to plan the process to start and reach that end result.

Today the world is in warp speed, with constant and rapid change occurring in every area of your personal and business lives. If you don’t know “where to start” and have a plan on how you expect to finish you will end up frustrated and disappointed.

So if you don’t know “where to start”, I am here to help you! I would love to talk to you about your business, what is working and what isn’t working. Then we could discuss the options you have to bring more of your target market through your door, how to implement a good marketing plan and what the results will be.

A good plan, put in place and working correctly will be the oxygen of your business! Contact us today for your Strategy session and get your marketing plan in place.

Up Your Market

Everything we needed to know in business we learned in Kindergarten!

You really learned everything in kindergarten! As adults we make things way too complicated. If you think back to when you were five years old, you thought you were grown up, you loved each day and were excited to wake up and play. The first day of Kindergarten we had to come to the reality of “real school”. Yes, there is pre-school and we did learn things there, but kindergarten was the big leagues. The friends we made in kindergarten were often going to be our friends for quite awhile. We learned to have good manners, to keep our hands to ourself and to raise our hand to be able to speak. Now some of us had to stand in the corner with our nose to the wall because we couldn’t wait to raise our hand to speak. In fact that problem followed me all through elementary school.

So here we are all grown up and in our own business. Good manners, saying please and thank you still make a huge difference. Taking the time to appreciate our clients and potential clients will always be important. We want them to remain our friends for a long time. Do you still love life and have fun? Are you so serious doing your business that you forget why you started in the first place? Remember when you believed you could do anything, be anyone, change the world? Do you listen to what your clients are saying, what they like and don’t like? Do you pay more attention to what you offer than what they need? Are you a bully in your market space? Do you support and help others along the way to succeed in their space?

My grandchildren always bring me back to what is important in life. I love to listen to them, I love to make them happy and I also help them to succeed. They in turn teach me to laugh, play and have fun. They help me to remember my why and how to have a new perspective.

Also I have mentor’s that help me clean out the clutter, to know what matters and to do what I am passionate about. When you do what you are passionate about you give your best, and life is so much better than spending your days being miserable, tired and overwhelmed.

We never stop learning and growing, that’s what makes it all so much fun. There is always a new adventure right around the corner!

How can we help you today to solve that problem no one is listening to?

Up Your Market

Do you stand out from the crowd, are you different from the crowd?

Today we are going to look at “where are you in the crowd”? When you visit NYC and you are on top of the Empire State Building looking down, most of the buildings blend in. There are those of course that stand out from the crowd. At one time there was a race to be the “tallest building”. Then the building with the
“most glass”. There is even a building where you can stand on a glass balcony and see below you and all around. I think that would make me dizzy.

Standing out from the crowd matters. If you only look like everyone else, and you sound like everyone else, why should anyone pick you? The reason the Yellow Pages have become so obsolete is because if you took your category and put your name and number in the information under anyone else’s add, they all say the same thing, they all look the same. So that leaves any potential clients to do one thing, call you and ask the proverbial question “how much do you charge?” when they are trying to find a reason to choose you. When it comes down to only price, that is a poor reason to have them choose you.