Donna Payne is The Web Coach

Seriously?

Have you asked them?  Or, do you just assume what your clients/customers want?   That can be a terrible mistake… one that COULD put you right out of business before you even get started.

Perish that thought.(!)

This October will the 5 year anniversary of The Web Coach.  And only YESTERDAY I conducted my first official Survey with all of my subscribers.

I don’t always practice what I preach (oops!)

I signed up with Constant Contact a month ago and finally took full advantage of the free survey feature.

Boy, am I glad I did! I’ve learned a few GOOD things, confirmed other thoughts, and got some constructive feedback.  (we can all use a little of that from time to time)

This is what I found:

1. People are busy.  They want brief, fact-based, information. Fast.
2. People aren’t always sure of what you offer.  And they need to be reminded, regularly.
3. Survey’s allow your readers to TELL you what they want more of.
4. You find out what you’re doing RIGHT!   Affirmation is gooooood.
   
5. You’ll find out what needs to be revised, ditched or done away with.
6. Receiving feedback opens the door to two-way communication and improved products/services.
7. You can use your participants as beta testers for new product/service offerings.
8. You also find holes in your marketing cycle.
9. You’ll find opportunities to make more money! Woohoo!
10. Because knowing what your market needs is everything!

This information is so valuable to me.  Creating this survey was so easy to do, I’m going to schedule this into my quarterly business review.  Yeah!

So, my friend, do you *really* know what your customers want?

Lately, I’ve had many conversations about SEO n’such with people who are looking for the quick fix to get high Google rankings.  These kinds of people HIGHLY annoy me, because I have always preached content and article writing is really the only organic way.

So as I preach from my SEO pulpit, I know now that FriendFeed and twitter are both darlings of Google.  So get out there are start sharing what’s in your noggin people!

Go forth… Twitter, Facebook and Friendfeed! 

And, now Hutch’s post =======================

Three Reasons You Need to Be on FriendFeed *Now*

by Hutch Carpenter

FriendFeed has got to be one of the most innovative companies around these days. It seems every week, it’s hatched something new with its service. That alone makes it worth being there.

Then there’s the interactions. When those are rocking and rolling, it’s a lot of fun. Even a few Likes and comments are worth the experience. Of course, not everyone is engaged enough on the service to fully benefit from that. Which is something I completely understand, by the way.

I’ve got three reasons you should be on FriendFeed now. Not for the conversations. Not for the real-time experience. But three reasons that will be valuable to you personally.

The FriendFeed triple play.

#1: Google Juice

You likely know the background of much of the FriendFeed team – Google. Yeah, these guys know search. Even more importantly, they know something about how Google manages search.

So it comes as no surprise that FriendFeed can rank pretty highly in Google search results. Here’s a favorite example of mine.

Alex Scoble (yes, Robert’s brother) is planning his wedding reception. One candidate location for the reception was the Hillsboro Cultural Arts Center. But the managers of that location were not very flexible in working Alex and his fiance. On FriendFeed, Alex posted about the Hillsboro Cultural Arts Center, with some comments explaining why he was not going to use them. It’s not a flattering portrayal of the Center.

Well, check out what a search on the Center’s name returns: Alex’s FriendFeed entry is the #6 result.

Not something that Center wants in their search results, but a great way for Alex to let others know about his experience with the Center.

Read the rest of Hutch’s post here

How To Create A “Buyers Only” List

By Jimmy D. Brown,

Content is king. It gets to wear the crown. And sit on the throne. And rule the world. When it comes to establishing credibility, gaining trust and producing sales, content is royalty.

While I would never suggest abandoning the concept of delivering high quality content to your subscribers, there is another type of list composed of subscribers who couldn’t care less about content.

“What is this type of list?” you ask.

– > The “announcement list”.

I’ve been teaching about the “announcement” list since at least 2002 (on record at an event). And, yet, it’s a
widely untapped asset in most email marketing circles.

The main reason is: nobody’s teaching it. And so, nobody knows anything about it, let alone how to effectively
create one of these lists.

So, we’re going to revisit it.

What Is An “Announcement” List?

DEFINED: An announcement list is a list whose sole purpose is to “announce” (I.E. Inform, notify) when something new is available for review, consumption or purchase.

In other words, it unapologetically says, “Hey, I just released XYZ. Come check it out!”

Now, at first glance you may be thinking, “Who would join a list that offers no content and only sales pitch?”

If you say it that way, it doesn’t sound too good to me either! That’s why you don’t say it that way. Let’s take
a look at HOW to “say it”…

How About An Example “Announcement” List?

If you go to this site
or
http://infoprofitshare.com/go.php?offer=twc09&pid=34 you’ll find a textbook example of this concept. PLRSO stands for “Private Label Rights Special Offers” I established this list for the sole purpose of informing people anytime I have a new PLR offer available for them to buy.

That’s it.

I don’t send out ezine articles to them. No newsletters. They don’t get blog posts. There aren’t any special reports.
No content of any kind. What they get, in essence, are sales messages.

And there are already 2,822 subscribers, many of which have already purchased some of the PLR special offers that
have been “announced” to the list.

Why does it work? Let me give you plenty of reasons…

1. I took something that was “in-demand” (PLR) and I allow people to get a head-start on the world by knowing about new releases FIRST by joining this list.

2. It’s not billed as an “announcement list”, but rather
a “Free PLR Club“. Big, big difference in perception.

3. It has it’s own domain name, further adding to the perceived value and importance to those who join.

4. There is no requirement to buy once you join. Buy the offers that you want, pass on the ones you don’t want.

5. A cost example is provided to show what you can buy immediately, further illustrating the value of the
complimentary “membership”.

And here’s the big twist that makes this idea of creating an “announcement” list a complete no-brainer…

I allow my affiliates to “give away” no cost memberships to the PLRSO club!

When someone they refer buys one of the offers, they earn a commission. And I get other people to promote and build my list for me. We all win.

So, you may be thinking…

What Kind Of “Announcement” List can I Build?

There are a wide variety of “announcement” lists that you can build. Let’s briefly look at ten of them…

* PLR List. You can swipe my idea and create a list of private label rights buyers.

* New Offers List. Build a list of people who love your work and want to be notified any time you have a new offer available.

* Pre-Launch List. Create buzz and anticipation for an upcoming new product release by building a pre-launch list several weeks (even months) in advance.

* Ezine Publishers List. Build a list of publishers who want to know any time you have a new ezine article that is available for reprint in their ezines.

* Bloggers List. Another idea is to allow bloggers who are looking for ready-made content to post to their blogs.

* Industry News List. How about becoming the “go to” guy or gal to share breaking news about your industry?

* Joint Venture List. Develop a list of partners and affiliates who are ready to promote anytime you have a new offer.

* Incentives List. Here’s a great idea – create a list of people who you offer “incentives” to when they purchase someone else’s new product through YOUR affiliate link.

* Freebie List. Regularly give away rebrandable content (reports, articles, videos, etc.) to these subscribers to earn commissions.

While all ten of these lists aren’t necessarily “buyers” up front, they each can certainly lead to buyers and revenue for you if you implement them.

Content is king. But let’s not forget that there are a lot of queens, princes, dukes and earls out there too.

———–
Jimmy D. Brown, one of the most respected marketing teachers online, has been fine-tuning what and how he teaches when it comes to Internet Marketing since 1999. Now you can benefit from those years of experience and also get full PLR rights to many of his best-selling products – at ridiculously LOW prices (I’m talking Ten Bucks).
Run, don’t walk to this website –> http://infoprofitshare.com/go.php?offer=twc09&pid=34

Dear Donna,

Q: I saw your post about the Mary Kay lady bringing you some goodies. Do you think there is any way I can convince my wife, who is a Mary Kay Senior Sales Director, that she could expand her business using Facebook?

A: Tell her that not many “home party” ladies are socially savvy… and she should get her hiney on now!

Social media can help her gain exposure and lead her “herd”. She’s obviously a great leader and needs to lead her herd of consultants into 2009!

Since she’s a senior director – I would suggest she use FB and twitter for:

1. staying in regular contact with her consultants. Write on their wall, upload pics, share info and connect on a deeper level.
2. staying connected to her customers and gaining exposure to THEIR network of friends. <–very important! HUGE opportunities: a wedding post, prom posts, other special events that would allow her to step up and offer her services.  Posting events, sharing resources, recruiting new consultants… I could go on!

She could easily tweet about specials (and post to FB). Move discontinued inventory, new product launches, etc.

Customers will NOT fall out of the sky for her, but she will definitely be right smack in front of them.

On a personal note, I created a social network for my neighborhood on Ning.com, and that’s how I MET my Mary Kay lady.  Our neighborhood has over 90 homes and she is the”default” MK gal.  Exposure doesn’t get much easier or cost effective than that!

If you know someone in the direct selling business, be EMPOWERED, and share this post with them!  dp

What does this mean?

This means that instead of trying to create products/services for everyone – pay attention to the 20% that ARE buying from you.  What else do they want/need? What can you do to make life easier for them?

Another question: How are you following up with your prospects? Are you doing it on a regular basis? Are you feeding your 20% a diet rich with valuable tips?

Example:

You know I’m a web development and marketing coach, so a service such as Constant Contact only makes sense as a valuable tool for my subscribers.  Clients can send their own email marketing messages for a few dollars a month as opposed to paying ME a *hefty fee* to produce it for them.

(For more info, Sign up for a FREE 60-Day Trial of Constant Contact. No risk. No obligation. No credit card.)

This isn’t a sales letter for Constant Contact.  Matter of fact, I’ve used Campaigner.com for over 5 years.  I only recently re-visited Constant Contact and realized how much they’ve improved since I used them 10 years ago. Therefore, I’m telling my subscribers because I want to save you time and money.

Imagine how much more productive you can be by using Constant Contact instead of relying on a web designer or VA or produce your messages? You can communicate faster and freely with your prospects  Constant Contact has ready-made templates so you can e-mail your own:

1. newsletter
2. promotions
3. events and invitations
4. letters
5. press announcements
6. cards
7. all without custom programming or design, and you can do it yourself!

Feeding your subscribers valuable information, and empowering them, positions YOU as the go-to expert.  IF you want to be known as an expert in your field.

To learn more about Constant Contact, sign up a 2-part overview and learn how to send your very first mailing. May 12 we’ll cover, setting up your account, creating lists, site visitor sign-up forms and setting up your first email.  Then next, week May 19th, we check out sample emails and hit the “send button”!

ps. Members of The Web Coach Tips get *FREE* access to bi-monthly teleclasses like this one.  The $10 *lifetime* introductory membership expires 5/31.

Be EMPOWERED! Share the love.