How to Market Your Business While You Sleep; Ten Foolproof Systems
…by Suzanne Falter Barnes
For many Net marketers, marketing is a love-hate relationship. We love the traffic and sales that a good push brings … but we have to force ourselves to do it.
So lately, I\’ve been looking for systems anyone can implement that get the job done while you\’re pursuing other interests. The Net really is designed to do exactly this – so let\’s take advantage of it.
Please do note, these tasks are specifically chosen for anyone who is interested in building platform – or attracting a much broader audience so they can be appealing to media, publishers, etceteras. (Please see my bio box below for more on this.)
Also, please note some of these tasks rely on a virtual assistant to implement. These are long-distance assistants who help you get things done via email, phone and the Net. They can be found simply by googling ‘virtual assistant,\’ or by using any good VA search firm.
Basic Monthly Marketing System:
Regular ezine submission. There\’s no getting around it. Ezines aren\’t quite as important as they once were, but they still need to be on your to-do list. So automate the process by getting an easy to use template from Constant Contact or one of the other broadcasters – or finding a VA who will set up and broadcast the issues for you.
Use ezine article to generate online articles. Simply take the essay out of your ezine, and turn it into an online promotional article. That means adding a bio box at the bottom that leads folks back to your ezine sign up list. Best way to do that is by adding a valuable bonus. Then use an article submission service, such as http://www.submityourarticle.com/ For a really high end (and ultimately more effective) approach with major media, you can try Dan Janal\’s service at http://www.prleads.com/.
Additional paid spots that match your market. In addition to your own submission list, consider adding a few high profile paid positions. I like http://www.ideamarketers.com/services/ (they get great traffic) for reaching the coaching/therapist/speaker market. Make sure any paid spots you choose are targeted to your people, which you can do with the content of the article. Also, don\’t overlook Google adwords, which I\’ve find most useful for promoting freebie offers and building your list.
Monthly PR release on PRWeb. Once per month, decide on a newsy aspect of your business you\’d like to promote and then post a PR release on prweb.com. The key is to find something to talk about that mainstream media folks can honestly use. You probably need to generate a survey or track down research in your field to make it newsy. Then post away. You can do this relatively inexpensively, and while it may not build immediate PR contacts, it will definitely bring traffic. My PR Releases here hover at around 80-90.000 reads.
Quarterly postcard to TV, print media, using media short list. Once you\’ve put together a ‘short list\’ of your favorite top mainstream media contacts (I have a great list of 50 contacts on my site at getknownnow.com) … send them a note. I like making up a short run of 50 fun postcards, and then sending one out each quarter. Make sure the card has a helpful tidbit they might consider posting on a wall. Continuity counts here! You can hire a VA for this one.
Regular blog posts using old ezine content. No time for blog posting? Don\’t worry. Do this with the help of your VA. Just have them go through your old ezine archive, and select choice bits to post. Make sure you alert your ezine list when you\’ve posted on your blog.
Automate your blog promotion. Include your blog in a MyYahoo page on http://www.my.yahoo.com/, so it gets spidered by Yahoo robots. Cover blog directories and SE\’s, like http://www.submitfire.com/ , http://www.blogdex.net/ , http://www.popdex.com/ , and http://www.technorati.com/ . I have found that www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/ is the most comprehensive list of these. Get a VA to spend a day submitting … that\’ll help for sure!. And don\’t forget to submit your blog each week to http://www.pingoat.com/ which will alert all the blog SE\’s when you post. (And, of course, post at least 4 times per week.)
Pitch five speaking possibilities per month. Have a VA do some hunting on Google and Yahoo for conferences that are just being set up. Specifically have them look under RFP + Conference + [YOUR FIELD]. RFP\’s are ‘Requests for Proposals\’. Then have them do the submission, using an electronic speaking kit that you\’ve already got set up online, as well as your suggested topics.
Set up free teleclasses through partner sites every month Ideally, you\’d deliver two to four teleclasses per month. While your VA is searching out sites that offer conferences, have her contact the same sites to see if you can speak to their members in a free or fee teleclass.
Promote your teleclass on www.seminarannouncer.com I love this site. They really get the word out and help you fill teleclasses. And if your class is free, so is their service! Just make sure the topic is one people genuinely want to know more about, and it will fill up with targeted prospects. Make sure to close your teleclass with class notes that lead people back to your ezine sign up and more.
