Get More Clients Online

How to Stand Out: Differentiate Your Business with Authenticity

I had lunch several years ago with a colleague in a networking group. We talked about many things and were trying to get to know each other so that we could better understand what might make a great referral for the other. One of the things he told me caused me to chuckle because it was so true, but it seemed to surprise him somewhat.

He told me that he liked my website because I was straight-forward, to the point and I just "put it all out there". By that he meant that I outlined what I do, how I do it, the benefits of what I do, and that I let the visitor decide to either buy into it or not. Most surprisingly, I didn't seem to have any attachment to the visitor's decision either way. I didn't waste any time trying to convince visitors that I was always the right choice, regardless of circumstance. However, if the visitor does "buy" into what I'm offering, they have ample opportunities to get on one of my lists and/or purchase something from me.

My response to his observation was that, as a small business owner, I had the responsibility of discouraging as many people as possible from wanting to do business with me. I know this philosophy sounds crazy, especially in this day and age of a downturned economy.

Here's my belief: I'm not out to sell my services or my products to the world, nor do I want to sell my services to everyone. I only work with clients who meet my ideal client profile and only market to those in my target market. Period. And, that's only a very small chunk of the world. Why?  Because I truly believe that there's enough business for everyone.

My business and my life are so much more fun and joyful when I work only with clients that I love. I do that through what I call the WYSIWYG approach, or "What You See is What You Get."  I am who I am and let that center of authenticity come through in all that I do--my speaking, my writing, my website, my coaching, my personal interactions.

If you don't "buy" into the business that is me, that's wonderful! You can continue your search for a coach/consultant/infomarketer that better meets your needs, and I still have room in my practice for clients that I'd love to work with. If you do "buy" into what I do and who I am, you're doing it because on some level, you're buying into "Donna the Person", and the good, bad, and ugly that accompanies that.

Now that I'm firmly entrenched in middle age, I finally feel that I'm fully coming into my own in all aspects of my life, and I have stopped running away from those aspects that I thought others might not like or might be offended by. Being myself for a living is so much easier than trying to live up to an image (or create an image) that doesn't really exist.

When working in higher education, I always felt that I was split in two halves, Donna the Human Being and Donna the Housing Administrator. Rarely did the two Donnas meet -- they were almost separate personalities, and quite frankly, Donna the Human Being (my true self) didn't really care for Donna the Housing Administrator at all.  It's no wonder I felt exhausted all the time in that job -- I was living two distinct lives, and one of those lives I really hated. The creation of my own business -- and my own set of rules -- has freed me to be me -- and probably saved me thousands in therapy fees..;->

My role model in life is the late Ann Richards, former governor of the great state of Texas. Ann was bold, brave, humorous, bright, and embodied the best in a Southern/Texas woman, and made no bones about that. Long ago I decided to embrace my being a "southern girl from the sticks" (English translation--lived in the country in a small East Texas town) rather than trying to make myself over into something more palatable to a wider group.

A former client used to get the biggest kick out of the stories I would tell her about living in a small east Texas town while at the same time telling me I needed to move away from there to a more civilized place. I told her if I moved, she would lose her great source of funny stories that she could incorporate into her speeches, and I would lose what makes me "me."

As a small business owner, how can you incorporate "you" into your business so that your ideal clients are naturally drawn to you? What natural gifts and talents do you possess but aren't willing to acknowledge? I strongly encourage you to tell your story--your parable of why you do what you do. Playing to your gifts and being who you are for a living is an extraordinarily rewarding way to run your business. Most importantly, it's what makes your business distinct -- and helps you stand out in a sea of small businesses.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it:  Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps baby boomers create profitable online retirement businesses by demystifying the steps needed to successfully market a baby boomer business online. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at ==> http://www.OnlineBizU.com

Best return on marketing dollars

Q:  Where do I get the biggest return on my marketing money?
Gwen

Hi Gwen:

In today's economy especially, I think you get the biggest marketing return on online marketing, regardless of your business.  If you have a company where you do business locally, be sure and beef up your local search options.  If you sell a product, be sure that visitors can find you 24 hours a day online and can purchase when they want to.  If you sell your expertise, start telling people what you know by publishing and marketing articles that answer the problems and questions of people in your target market.  Publishing and maintaining a blog is a great way to draw traffic to your site, as is beefing up your search engine optimization.  Video marketing will be strong in 2009, so if you can reach out to your target market in some way via video, whether that's in screencast tutorials or in Webcam shows on UStream, you can reach many, many people for a very low investment in time and funds.

I would take advantage of as many free or low cost options as you can initially, many of which are mentioned above, before you begin to look at Pay Per Click campaigns or at buying banner ads or text ads on other people's websites or ezines.

And, if you need an online business coach to help you determine your marketing strategy, I've got 1 spot available currently for 1:1 coaching.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Marketing Collaboration

Q:  How can I find someone with marketing skills to collaborate with me?

Kate

A:  Hi Kate--

First, you need to get clear on exactly what you need.  Make a list of the areas in which you need help and create a job description for this collaboration that includes all the responsibilities and tasks you want handled.  Realistically, you many not be able to find one person to do all that you need, so take some time to review your needs and see if what you're written falls into categories, such as Internet marketing, social networking, or PR.

Now you've got a couple of options here:

1.  Hiring help.  If you have the means to pay for assistance, this will probably be the most successful route for you.  You can Google some keywords or categories of responsibility to see what sites come to the top and check them out.  Or, you can submit your job description to places like Guru.com, Elance.com, or GetaFreelancer.com if you're seeking contract services.  If the duties are extensive enough, you may want to hire someone as an employee.

2.  Barter. Bartering can be a tricky situation to negotiate.  Both parties must need the service that is being bartered and would be willing to pay for that service if they had the cash available.  When bartering, I advise doing a cash for cash exchange, i.e. $400 of coaching for $400 of web design, for example. And, the barter agreement should be written and limited in scope with a review date attached.  At the time of the review, each party needs to determine if the barter is working and make the decision to continue or quit.

3.  Interns.  You might consider "hiring" an intern. There are 2 sites that I know of that have info on how to successfully do that. One is http://superinterns.com/ and they offer a teleclass series, I believe. The other is an ebook called, Profiting from Internships.  However, I'd urge you to proceed with caution, as I just read a scathing review of this book, http://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/365988/the-internet-s-biggest-problem.html that urges people to be wary of violating US Labor Laws.  Fact or fiction? I don't know, but make sure you are legally protected before you proceed..:)

4.  Commission.  You can offer a commission or percentage of sales based on the sales generated after the marketing was implemented.  Of course, it may be difficult to ascertain what's attributable to what, so you'll want to have a clear agreement in place that details when a commission is paid.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Ali Brown's New Magazine

I went to the mailbox yesterday and pulled out what I thought was a very skinny copy of Oprah's "O Magazine" and was wondering why I was getting that, as I had canceled my subscription several years ago.  Well, it turns out that it wasn't Oprah's magazine but Ali Brown's (the Ezine Queen) new full color mag.  There's a website listed in the magazine, www.thealimagazine.com, although it doesn't seem to be working at the moment.

She's definitely found the right magazine model, since it appears to be modeled on O Magazine.  I'm in one of her coaching programs and do recall her mentioning a new magazine, so now I see what she meant.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this as a marketing tool, not that she's asked me or anything..LOL.  I'm interested to hear more about her plan for it, as in whether it will serve as primarily a marketing tool, or if she really plans to go into the magazine biz.  If the latter is true, I wish her well, as I understand it's a hard biz in which to succeed.

I guess I'm just waaay too introverted to want to publish a magazine with my likeness on the front on a monthly basis.  It's all I can do to see my pic in my ezine and blog headers each week..LOL  Am I thinking too small?  Perhaps.  Can I do something similar without spreading my pic all over the place?  I hope so..:)

How do you feel about celebrity-centric marketing (i.e. Oprah's mag, Rachael Ray's mag, etc)?

Recession Proof Marketing: 7 Ways to Jumpstart Your Internet Marketing That Won't Break the Bank

by Donna Gunter, The Online Biz Resource Queen (TM)

I'm not sure whether or not to pay attention to all the negative news reports about the state of the economy.  For the most part, I've discovered that virtual businesses don't quite suffer the same economic highs and lows in the same way as the rest of the country (or the world).  However, in the life span of every business, there is a "recession", or a point in which there's a downturn or a decline of income.  Typically, this recession period is short and cyclical, which puts the service business owner on an income roller coaster at times, especially if the business owner hasn't developed multiple streams of income.

In a downturn, what's the first thing to go?  The marketing budget.  Suddenly any and all marketing activity is canceled or suspended because of a fear of spending money when less money is coming in.  If you don't continue to marketing your business, even in times of recession, how will people continue to find out about you?

A recession, or a slow period, is the perfect time to ramp up your marketing efforts.  Why?  Because you'll stand out in a sea of businesses who've given in to their recession fears and reigned in all marketing efforts.  Consequently, your marketing efforts will be that much more effective.

Here are 7 inexpensive strategies you can use to jumpstart your Internet marketing even when business is slow and you've got more time than money:

1.  Comment on blogs.  Use Google Blog Search or Technorati to locate higher traffic blogs that your target market might read.  Use a blog feed reader, like Bloglines, to receive regular updates on these blogs.  Make it a part of your daily habit to read the updates each day and post thoughtful, relevant comments on those posts (not just "Hey, great post") where you have something to add.  Adding your email signature file and your call to action is a no-no when commenting on blogs, so instead, use the name field of the blog comment form to your advantage.  Instead of just entering your name, enter a quick nickname for yourself as well, such as Jane Smith Sales Diva or Holly Johns Marketing Maven.  Compel those readers who have learned from your posts to check out your website.

2.  Submit articles.  If you're not busy working with clients, get busy creating content.  Writing and submitting articles to major article directories will drive traffic to your site, establish you as an expert in your target market's eyes, and give you content to repurpose into information products. Tips-based articles, like this one, are the easiest to create, the easiest to repurpose, and are the easiest for the Internet surfer to digest.  Check out the list of the best articles directories to which to submit your articles at OnlineBizU.com, or check out the article submission service I use, GetMoreClientsArticles.com.

3.  Host teleseminars.  With the vast availability of free bridgeline services, it's quite easy to hold a teleseminar.  You can use one of your tips articles as your starting point, put together a description, list the teleseminar in various places online, and record your class.  You've engaged your audience by delivering valuable content to them (part of the like, know and trust process), have added subscribers to your list, and have a complete info product that you can sell or make available to your website visitors.

4. Embrace social networking.  No longer do you have to get dressed in your business suit, jockey for a parking spot, and pay a fee to attend networking events.  Online social networking, like on Facebook and Twitter, can now be done from the comfort of your home office, with comparable results to attending a face-to-face networking event. Determine where your target market hangs out in the social networking arena, and create accounts with those services.  Complete your profile and start making friends and connections.  Ask, questions, provide answers, be helpful, and build your business.

5.  Speak before groups.  Have you created your signature speech or teleseminar that you can present whenever you're asked to speak to a group?  If not, there's no time like the present to create one.  Research groups that contain your target market both in your geographic area and online.  Contact the meeting hosts and offer to speak to that group and provide the host with your signature speech descriptions. Make it as simple as possible for them to invite you to be the speaker.  Once you've landed the gig, strategize your best call to action for the group -- do you want participants to sign up for your email list, purchase a product, or  book a consultation?

6.  Seek out strategic alliances.  Brainstorm a list of business colleagues with whom you'd like to create some type of alliance.  Make a phone call or send an email to set up a get acquainted (or reacquainted) meeting and explore the options of what each of you can offer to the other's business.  Perhaps you can offer to interview your colleague and invite your list, or maybe you'll think of a project you can work on together.  In slow times, who you know becomes more important than what you know, so make the most of your down time and create some strategic alliances.

7.  Start a podcast or create a video.  With the download of free recording software, like Audacity, or purchasing an inexpensive video camera like the Sony Flip, you can create an audio podcast or a video quickly an inexpensively from your home office, and list it in various podcast directories, like iTunes, or in video hosting sites like YouTube.  If you're not sure what to talk about in your video or podcast, take a look at your articles and read one of those for your audience.  Don't forgot to include your call to action for your listeners/viewers.

A recession doesn't have to mean gloom and doom for the savvy business owner.  Take advantage of this slower time and ramp up your Internet marketing efforts by using strategies that won't break the bank.  You'll become better known, have content ready for information products, and become the "top of mind" expert in your industry.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at  AskDonnaGunter.com.

Elevator Pitch: 7 Steps to a Killer 30-Second Commercial That Works Every Time

by Donna Gunter, The Online Biz Resource Queen (TM)

Even though your business may be completely Internet based, there are still numerous times when you need to give your elevator pitch (elevator speech), or your 30-second commercial that explains what you do and how you do it. It's called an elevator pitch because it's generally something you could tell someone in an elevator between floors in response to the person's inquiry about what you do. Whether you're a guest on a teleclass, hosting a teleclass, being interviewed for a radio talk show, creating a podcast, talking to prospective clients on the phone, striking up a conversation with a stranger at the grocery store, or simply writing web copy for your website or blog, you need a clear, concise way to explain your business to others.

I've seen savvy service business owners take this concept to new levels as follows:

• by using their elevator pitches as audio introductions on their websites;
• printing their elevator speech on their business cards;
• creating a flash movie with audio, graphics and animations that they copy to CDs to send to prospective clients or post on video sites like YouTube; and
• creating a TwitPitch where they're asked to condense their elevator pitch to Twitter's 140 character maximum to respond to a request for proposal.

So, even if you don't attend face-to-face networking meetings, which has traditionally been the most commonplace use of an elevator speech, having a ready-made elevator pitch at your disposal continues to be an important marketing tool that you need to continuously sharpen.

I have a simple template that I use with my clients to build their elevator pitches. By completing the following sentences you can create your own elevator speech that will provide a crystal clear answer to what you do.

1.  You know how some (the customer you are aiming at)...

2.  Experience (the problem)...

3.  Which means that (the outcome of the problem)...

4.  Well I do/can do is (your job/product/service)...

5. Which means that (the solution)...

6. The benefit of which is (the outcome of the solution)...

7.  Would you like to know more?

As an example, here is the elevator speech that I recently helped one of my coaching clients design for her Virtual Assistant practice:

You know how some personal and professional coaches do a wonderful job with coaching but feel completely overwhelmed with all the day-to-day administrative details involved in running their businesses...which means that they try to do it all alone and let opportunities and follow-up contacts fall through the cracks, involve themselves in tasks that prevent them from going out and finding new clients, and dig themselves deeper and deeper into a never ending to-do list.  Well, what I do is take over all the administrative headaches that coaches want to get rid of and don't like to do....which means that I am expertly managing all the day-to-day business operational details from my home office as an independent contractor...the benefit of which is my clients get more energy from working fewer hours, more clients, greater profits, more balanced lives and more passion for their work.  Would you like to know more?

Practice makes perfect, so create several versions of your elevator pitch until you find just the right combination that flows effortlessly from your lips, without any stuttering or stammering.  A well-crafted 30-second elevator speech is a beautiful tool to have, and you never know where you may get the opportunity to use it!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at  AskDonnaGunter.com.

Marketing Plan: How to Create an Internet Marketing Action Plan That Gets Results

There's no doubt about it -- keeping up with your marketing tasks can be overwhelming, whether you choose to market via networking, print advertising, or through a strategic set of online techniques.  As I have a virtual company and can work with clients from around the globe, I don't like to limit my marketing to local efforts.  Having a viable presence online is more important to me and seems to work best for my company. Therefore, I primarily concentrate on things I can do to bring visitors to my website and demonstrate my expertise to them while they are on the site.

Recently inspired by a blog post that I had read, I decided to create a regular daily, weekly, month, and quarterly marketing to-do list.  First, I brainstormed a list of ideas of marketing tasks that I perform regularly, and others that have remained on my to-do list for awhile, as I've never gotten around to them.  Then I categorized them into either a quarterly, monthly, weekly, or daily task.  On the third examination of these tasks, I went through and culled all but those to which I thought I could realistically commit on a regular basis.

Below are the tasks that comprise my online marketing action plan.  Add them to your own online marketing to-do list as appropriate, or substitute other tasks that are a better fit for your business.

Quarterly Tasks

1.  Send out post card campaign to targeted national media list promoting myself as an expert.  Prior to mailing, have VA call contacts to update list.
2.  Request testimonials from new coaching clients, membership site members, product purchasers, and speaking gig hosts and update appropriate pages on my sites.

Monthly Tasks

1.  Update my blog with new reading lists, recommended resources, products, etc.
2.  Update the media page on my site with links to new press coverage I've received, press releases I've submitted, and story ideas I can offer to the media.
3.  Write promotional copy for free list building teleclass and have VA submit teleclass to major event promotion sites
4.  Create handout for free teleclass and conduct teleclass.
5.  Send out at least three feelers for potential online collaborations/strategic alliances or joint ventures with other sites, speakers, etc.
6.  Create one new information product and upload it to my sites for sale.
7.  Check click-through and conversions with ezine and banner ads and determine whether to renew for another month.
8.  Research and find one new online advertising resource to try.
9.  Write a press release based on one of my articles and submit through PRWeb.com.

Weekly Tasks

1.  Check on my Google, MSN, and ClickRiver PPC ad campaigns to ensure they are still current and relevant and update any bids for any keywords on my list where I have been outbid.
2.  Write an article for my email newsletter.
3.  Find a great resource to recommend in my newsletter and write a personal article for email newsletter.
4.  Send out the email newsletter to list.
5.  Publish the article on my website.
6.  Archive the ezine to my site.
7.  Have VA publish the ezine content on my business blog and on my social networking blogs at MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Ning.
8.  Have VA submit the main newsletter article to articles banks and distribution lists.
9.  Create a podcast from my article and distribute to podcast sites.
10.  Answer a reader-submitted question and post response in blog. 
11.  Create one additional blog post on Monday and set it up to publish on Tuesday.
12.  Review my Google Alerts and find a new blog with a respectable Google Page Rank and comment on a post.
13.  Do a Google search for keywords that best describe my business and see where my site shows up in organic search.  As needed, conduct SEO tweaks on my sites for better rankings

Daily Tasks

1.  Read the blogs to which I subscribe and post comments as appropriate.
2.  Review the emails from the discussion lists/forums to which I belong and post comments/questions as appropriate.
3.  Log into my social networking profiles at Facebook, Linked In, SelfGrowth.com, Twitter, and Ning and approve friend requests. 
4.  Spend about 15 minutes each at Facebook and SelfGrowth.com making friend requests, commenting on pictures or videos, or responding to emails.
5.  Send 1-2 updates to Twitter and Facebook profiles about what I'm doing at the moment.

When you have your Internet marketing action plan outlined with quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily tasks, your prospecting well never runs dry.  Many online business owners are so wrapped up in working on their business that they don't make time to work in the business, like performing regular marketing tasks.  Consequently, they often experience slow times in their business because they begin to market themselves only when the prospect pool has dried up.  If you create and follow an Internet marketing action plan, you'll never be hungry for clients again!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com.

Press Releases: 10 New Rules to Get a Flood of Traffic from Online Publicity

by Donna Gunter, The Online Biz Resource Queen (TM)

I started submitting press releases in the 80s when I was a college student to help promote one of the many activities I coordinated as the vice president of service for a national service fraternity to which I belonged.  Since that time, and especially since the advent of Internet marketing, the philosophy behind the strategy of submitting press releases and measuring the success of a release has completely shifted.  The number of clippings from newspapers running your release used to be considered the hallmark in determining the success of a release.  That's no longer the case.

In today's marketing environment, submitting press releases online is a very viable strategy for attracting attention to your website and to your business. However, the strategy is very underutilized by online service businesses.  Why? Because most of us are still operating under the rules of traditional press releases. Many of the traditional rules of writing press releases no longer apply in today's Internet marketing age.

Here are 10 new rules for online press releases that will help you get better results from your Internet marketing:

1.  Write for consumers, not journalists.  Today's online press release is really written more for the consumer of your products and services rather than members of the media.  The media may, indeed, pick up your release and create a story or interview you based on that release.  However, what is more likely to happen is that a consumer who is searching online for a solution to his problem will stumble across your release and be compelled to take the action that you specify in the release.

2.  Set a goal for the release.  Do you hope to sell more ebooks, drive traffic to your site, sell tickets to an event, or promote a teleclass? This is how you measure the success of today's press release.

3.  Determine your target audience.  Just like with any other marketing effort, being able to address the needs and concerns of your target market is key to creating a successful press release.  If you have more than one audience, you may want to create more than one release.

4.  Include your call to action.  Do you want to invite the reader to pick up free information on your site, register for an event, or buy your newest book?  The call to action that you desire needs to be included in the final paragraph of your press release.

5.  Create a compelling headline.  The headline for your release needs to be compelling and interesting enough to get the searcher to open and read your release.  If you struggle to come up with compelling headlines, take a trip to your local supermarket and read the headlines on the magazines that are placed near the checkout lanes. Women's magazines, Cosmo in particular, have excelled at the headline game for years, as it is the headlines on the cover that help them sell magazines.  Study their headline formulas and see how you might apply them to your own business.

6.  Promote all activities.  No longer are press releases reserved for newsworthy events.  Submit a press release for anything that happens in your business: the launch of a new website, your presentation at a conference, the release of a new ebook, election as an officer to a professional association, etc.

7.  Optimize for searches.  Before completing your release, do a quick keyword search using the free keyword research tool at Wordtracker.com.  Optimize your release for 2-3 relevant keyword phrases for which you want to be found that have a fair amount of search traffic.  Include these keywords in your headline, sub header, first paragraph, and body of your press release. 

8.  Write for longevity.  In the days of the traditional release, a press release was only available for a short period of time and then disappeared forever.  Online press releases, however, hang out for years on websites and can be found in searches several years after their initial release date.

9.  Include links.  Unlike the releases that appear in print media, your online press release can contain several links to various pages on your site.  You may want to direct readers to your home page, to a specific landing page or product page, or to an event registration page.

10.  Pay for release.  There are many free press release sites online.  The dirty little secret of these free sites is that your release is never submitted anywhere.  It just sits on that free press release site, never to be seen again.  If you truly want your release to be seen online, pay for that privilege.  I use and highly recommend PRWeb.com for this service.  For their basic submission free of $80, you can get more than ample distribution of your release all over the Web.

Press releases are a great tool to help you in your Internet marketing efforts.  Begin slowly, and plan to submit one release per quarter at first, and then move to monthly, and perhaps eventually to weekly.  By doing so, you'll make your site more relevant to search engines, drive more visitors to your site, and position yourself as the well-known expert in your field.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com.

Finding my target market

Q:  Who could be the target client for online VA and IT support services?

Thanks!
Soha

A:  Hi Soha -- Almost any small business owner could be the target for VA (virtual assistant) or IT (information technology or computer) support services.  The key to success in providing either of these support services is to decide to specialize in a target market, like coaches, financial planners, attorneys, etc., and then become familiar with the problems, issues, and concerns of that target market so that you can market your services to fulfill some of those needs.  Additionally, you need to assess your skill bank and what you like to do so that you enjoy providing the kind service to this target market.

I'll use my business as an example.  I started a virtual assistant biz in 1999 providing broad administrative assistance (secretarial and clerical tasks) to my clients.  I quickly discovered that these things bored me out of my mind, and what I enjoyed most was helping clients with marketing. Moreover, I discovered that my background in higher education administration was a perfect paring for targeting the personal and business coaching community.  As I got deeper into the marketing field, what I most enjoyed was helping clients with their online and Internet marketing.  Fast forward to 2008 and now a segment of my business provides online business management to select coaches and consultants.  If a client is seeking more general administrative services, I either work in concert with another VA that the client has chosen, or simply refer the client out, as I don't provide those services.

Here's an article from the blog that may help you in figuring out your target market: How to Find Your Niche, Determine Your Ideal Client, and Target Your Market.

If you need additional help, I suggest you check out the resources available at  my online business coaching membership community, OnlineBizU.com, or think about hiring me as your online business coach;)

Thanks for asking!

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Earth Day Is In

Earth Day seems to be the "in" new holiday this year.  I was online this morning reading my comics (the Houston Chronicle is no longer available for sale in my area, citing exorbitant fuel costs as an inhibitor, among other things so I have to read the online edition) and a number of the strips I read mention Earth Day.  Is it recognition of a day that's long overdue, the result of a great PR/marketing blitz, or born out of genuine concern for the environment?

Bringing comic strip artists together in unity around recognition of a special day is very smart marketing, whether planned or coincidental.

How are you celebrating Earth Day?