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Content Marketing is Not For the Faint of Heart!

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Time and time again, I read woeful posts on discussion groups or on social media from business professionals who feel as if they are beating their heads against the wall with their content marketing efforts. Comments like, “nothing is working,” “no one reads my blog posts,” or “no one opens my email” are becoming commonplace. Is this all too common woe affecting your business?

Content Marketing is NOT for the Faint of Heart! [Read more…]

6 Simple Content Marketing Tips to Boost Your Facebook Presence

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For most professional speakers and coaches, an active Facebook Page is an essential piece of your overall content marketing strategy. While we do want to be active on our profile (because I believe that’s where we can build some mighty relationships), it’s equally important to drive people back to our business page, because that’s the best representation of our companies.

content marketing [Read more…]

When your gut tells you something, do you actually listen?

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You know that feeling you get in your gut when you’re talking to a prospective client who sounds like they would be a great fit, but something just doesn’t feel right? Or when you’re talking to a prospect who doesn’t “fit” on paper, but you know in your gut they would be a great client? Those are your instincts.

business instincts [Read more…]

How Can You Tell a Professional From an Amateur?

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Let me tell you. I have been working “virtually” since before Google was a thing. Cross my heart! Though you probably can’t tell by my youthful, girlish looks, I was providing virtual assistance before it became an industry. Yes, I’m a dinosaur, but that’s exactly why you should listen to what I’m about to say.

professional [Read more…]

Social Media Checklist for Speakers and Coaches

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Social media is a huge part of most savvy business professional’s online presence and relationship building practices. Once used “in addition to” the more traditional marketing strategies, social media is now firmly embedded in the fabric of today’s business’ marketing plans.

social media [Read more…]

Top 5 Benefits of a Consistent Public Relations Strategy

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You might be saying … what? Another post about PR? My answer would be yes! A well-thought out and executed Public Relations plan can go a long way toward helping a business reach more clients, establish the desired perception of their business, drive traffic to their website and generate more sales.

PR strategy

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Do You Know the Difference Between Features and Benefits?

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It’s not about what you do. It’s about what you do for them. 

My team spent a lot of time developing some new website content for a client. And in doing so, we carefully broke down the business in terms of features and benefits. When you’re marketing your products and/or services, are you promoting the features of your business, or the benefits they provide?

Do you know the difference between features and benefits? It’s not about what you do. It’s about what you do for them. My team has been developing some new website content for a client this week. And in doing so, we’ve been carefully breaking down the business in terms of features and benefits. When you’re marketing your products and/or services, are you promoting the features of your business, or the benefits they provide? Are you aware of the differences between features and benefits? If not, don’t worry. You’re not alone! It’s easy to confuse the two. A feature is a fact about a specific product or service, and a benefit is something meaningful that feature offers the end user. In this article, we will attempt to explain benefits vs. features while giving you tips on how to use them both in your marketing message . To make this simple, let’s imagine we're selling a chocolate bar that will appeal to health-conscious young mothers. Our chocolate bar is made with vegan ingredients. It is 100% organic, free of refined sugar, and contains no gluten. It is made with fair trade chocolate grown by working mothers in a developing country and its wrapper is biodegradable. Those would all be features of the chocolate bar. Do you follow? Features: • vegan • organic • sugar-free • gluten-free • fair trade • supports working women • biodegradable wrapper Now, what would the benefits of that chocolate bar be? Benefits: • enjoy a chocolate treat knowing it hasn’t been made with any animal products • consume a chocolate treat without consuming pesticides • indulge in a sweet treat without suffering dietary damages caused by refined sugar • have a chocolate bar without having a gluten attack • feel good about your chocolate break knowing that the cocoa was grown and sold in a fair manner that benefited the female farmers • good until after the last bite, this chocolate bar does not have a negative impact on the environment as its wrapper will biodegrade Do you see how, by breaking the features down into benefits, you can see a clearer picture of why the target customer really cares about buying this chocolate bar? By nailing down the benefits you have to offer, you can make a much better argument about why the customer should choose your product (in this case, your chocolate bar) over competing products. Instead of touting your features, promote your benefits! Your customers and clients need to be reminded about why you are the best option, so make it easy for them to see that. Get inside your client’s head and really become familiar with what it is you have to offer that can make his or her life better. Then make a list of all of those things. Those are your benefits. The client doesn’t really care about the fact that your chocolate bar is vegan. They care about the fact that no animals have been used in making it, because they feel strongly about not eating animal products. They don’t care that your bar is gluten-free. They care about the fact that their stomach won’t puff up and feel bloated for a day or two like it does when they eat products with gluten in it. Do you see the distinction? As a great practice, study your competitors’ marketing materials and see which benefits they are promoting and which ones they are missing. Then get to work on promoting your business in a whole new way. [Read more…]