Your Name as a Marketing Tool, Revisited

Daily Blog Tips recently asked their readers if they’d purchased their name as a domain.

It’s the same question I asked last year, and here’s where I provided an example of why it’s a wise move to register your name.

Did you make time to buy it, or are you hoping it will be available when you’re ready?

Here are some options to consider if your name, as you’d like it to appear online, is not available.

1. Place a hyphen between the two names.
2. Consider registering the dot net domain.
3. Register the name with your middle initial and re-launch your personal brand in that manner.
4. What do people call you (the tech guy, the security lady)? Register those names, if available, and be sure to add your name in the keywords and meta tags to correspond to this moniker.

My name site not only markets my books and speaking topics, it also serves as an access point to all of my Web sites.

Can you see your own site assisting you with this marketing technique? Then it’s time to make a small investment in your future by buying your name now.

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June 9, 2008 | Filed Under Solo Housekeeping | 3 Comments 

How to Get Back to Marketing After a Vacation

Do you have trouble focusing on projects when returning from a half business, half vacation trip? That’s what I’m facing now.

I absolutely enjoy my business, but motivating myself to get back on track isn’t always easy.

My solo marketer status is also a factor; there’s no one except me who’ll get me in gear.

So what can you do get back to business?

1. Review past successes. You must move forward if you want to experience those same results.

2. Consult your project book and calendar. You have no one to blame if you miss looming deadlines.

3. Check your bill due dates. How will you make payments if you don’t get the work done? If that doesn’t motivate you, it’s time to fill out applications to work for someone else.

The reason you’re able to take a vacation is because of past progress. Keep that in mind as you create new marketing opportunities that grant you the next day off.

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June 4, 2008 | Filed Under Solo Housekeeping | Leave a Comment 

Project Planning - A One Year Update

Last year I created a project planning video that showed you how I keep projects organized using a binder, tabs, and customized sheets that you’ll find here.

Has this or another system helped you keep your project planning on track? I’m pleased to report that I’ve not only stayed on course, I’ve also created a system to streamline my recordkeeping.

Tracking receipts and reconciling statements aren’t the most-glamorous duties, but they’re certainly necessary to know if your marketing efforts are progressing.

I placed pocket folders inside of a black binder. Both are available at any office supply store. Each folder holds receipts for each of my accounts; savings, checking, credit cards, and petty cash. I’ve set up two checking accounts for business, so each account has a separate folder, and the same is true for the credit card accounts.

After making a bank deposit or buying a business product, I return to the office and place the receipt into the correct folder. When an expense statement arrives, I can easily pair the receipts with the statement.

I applaud all of you who give this work to an accountant. The more you can delegate to professionals, the better, and the more time you’ll have for marketing. My accountant reviews the accounts every six months or whenever I have a question about revenue or expenses.

My hope is that this information encourages you to maintain better order in your office so that you can focus on your marketing plan. I’m far from perfect when it comes to organization, but I know that the few orderly steps I put in place makes business life much easier.

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May 14, 2008 | Filed Under Solo Housekeeping, Video Tips | Leave a Comment 

What Parts of Your Business are Automated?

There’s a good chance that you receive questions and requests for similar information each week.

In the past I’ve sent newly-created Emails to each prospect or site visitor. How much time do you think it takes to form and send those Email responses?

Marketing-related information is added to the response, but a lot of time is spent writing something from scratch rather than setting it to automation.

Perhaps, like me, you’re unable to be totally automatic, which is the ability to have a computer program send a response that’s customized for each subject (outsourcing the task also helps). That’s unfortunately impossible for marketers who’d rather send information that relates to the query instead of a canned response that totally misses the mark.

What I’ve done is create a “Responses” folder. Each file within that folder is named according to the questions I receive most often.

When a question arrives, I open the folder and look at each file’s name to choose a response. After copying and pasting the answer, I add the person’s name within the salutation and press “send.”

There are times I feel that this is a lot of work, and you, too, may see it that way. However, this part of marketing has turned prospects into customers more times than I can count. Canned responses send the prospect straight to a competitor, or at the least, they won’t return to you.

In the past I’ve talked about creating a frequently-asked questions area on your site to respond to certain queries, but even with this, you’ll still receive numerous Emails from people who may not see that section or simply want to speak with someone at your firm.

I’ll continue to look for better ways to automate responses and other parts of business. For now, the ability to answer quickly by typing less streamlines this task.

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April 17, 2008 | Filed Under Problems & Solutions, Solo Housekeeping | Leave a Comment 

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