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Power Publicity And Promotions Coaching Program
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If you are ready for your business to finally get the attention it deserves, join me in The Power Publicity And Promotions Coaching Program.
You’ll be working one-on-one with me throughout the 6 week long program. You’ll learn how to focus and develop your marketing message, how to make the most of your website and blog, how to use social networking to your advantage, write press releases, use content distribution to build links to your site, form profitable partnerships, develop a long-terrm marketing plan, AND MORE!
This program starts July 21 and is limited to 25 students.
Click Here to learn more and to reserve your spot today!!
An exercise in getting to know your target audience
Many small business owners struggle with promoting themselves. They know they need to get the word out so they start to think about advertising. There are so many options when it comes to promotions. Where should you advertise? Print? Online? On the side of a bus? The key to answering these questions lies with the answer to another question……Who is your target audience?
Let’s use an example and say your target market is moms. Well, a mom can be many other things. This is a large and diverse group of people so let’s try to break it down further. Let’s pick one mom to be your ‘ideal’ customer.
Where does she live?
What kind of income does her family have (remembering she often controls the family income)
What kind of house does she live in? Does she rent or own?
When she gets dressed in the morning what does she wear?
Where would she have bought those clothes?
What does she make herself for breakfast? Does she make a big family meal or just have coffee while trying to get her kids out the door. Or maybe she prefers to drink tea?
When she piles the kids in the car what type of car is it? A minivan? Crossover SUV or is it a 1989 station wagon?
Once the kids are at school where does she go? Home, work or to a yoga class?
Ok, so I think you see where I’m going with this. In order to reach your target audience you need to get inside the head of your ideal customer. Think about the places they go, the magazines they read and the websites they surf.
If she owns her home, wears sweats and drives that 1989 station wagon then I doubt she’s reading the newest issue of Vogue so don’t worry about how you’ll afford to advertise there. Maybe the local paper would be a better fit so she sees your ads while placing a classified to get rid of her wagon.
If she wears a dress suit, drives an SUV, works full time and grabs a Starbucks on the way she may be reading that issue of Vogue on her lunch break. That’s a pricey publication to get into so think about some alternatives. What about putting up a flyer at her favourite lunch stop (she likely eats out instead of brown bagging it) or sponsoring her daughter’s soccer team?
If you’re thinking it’s all a bit stereotypical then you’re right, it is. Being too narrowly focused isn’t right either but, it’s a great starting point. Once you have a feel for your ideal customer you can branch out a little to expand your audience. This will give you a bit of room for error and hopefully your message will reach its target and you will begin to see a return on your investment.
H.E.Eigler also blogs at Maternal Spark - a blog for creative moms.
Don’t sell yourself short
Hi Indie Biz Chicks readers! My name is Heather and I’m a new contributor here. It’s so nice to be able to write for a site that supports the independent woman and all she stands for. I also blog at Maternal Spark, a site dedicated to creative moms. I’m a mom too so you may often get a mother’s take from my posts.
Recently I bid on a small tiny freelance writing job. I was eager to get it as it would have been a fun clip for my portfolio. The potential client was a small biz owner with basically no budget, that was apparent. It was also apparent that she had never commissioned promotional writing work before. When I put my quote in, I low balled it. I only requested about half of what I should have. Why did I do that? There were several reasons.
1) I didn’t have much past experience to pull from as I mostly write for myself and for free.
2) I just wanted to get the job and I knew she didn’t have much of a budget.
3) I didn’t take the time to research what I should be quoting for such a job.
After my low ball quote was sent in to her I didn’t get a reply for a couple days. This surprised me because she had always been quick to reply to my emails beforehand. I started to think the job was gone but felt somewhat puzzled because she raved over the writing sample I’d sent in prior to the quote. I sent a follow up email asking if she was willing to go ahead and the response came back right away. She said she wasn’t prepared to spend any money on the project now and she would contact me if the time came when she was ok to move ahead.
So I low balled my quote and still didn’t get the job. What does that tell me?
I should charge what my work is worth. Writing takes time, patience and research. All those things need to be compensated for in the final bill. Just because I might have a little one crawling around my computer desk doesn’t make my work worth any less and I should value the final product. Because if I don’t, who will? This experience also tells me to take my time in researching what a job should pay. If a client doesn’t have a budget for writing services at the going rate then, would they have a budget at half the going rate? No.
Whatever your biz, whatever your work entails; charge what it’s worth, don’t sell yourself short.
Coaching Is Like A Kick In The Butt For Your Business!
More and more people are turning to business coaching as a way to reach their goals. Once reserved for high powered CEOs of large corporations, the growth in the coaching industry has made it possible for owners of home businesses to take advantage of the coaching process.
Many people associate business coaching as a one-on-one meeting with a coach, either in person or via the telephone. You may be surprised to find out that many coaches offer group sessions. Depending on the coach and the location of the participants, session meetings may take place in person, via a teleconference line, or in a web conference room or private forum.
Group business coaching has many similarities to one-on-one coaching. Depending on your particular business coach, you may be given a weekly action guide to review and have home work assigned. Your business coach will ask you what you are having problems with and help you find solutions.
In most cases, group coaching is much more cost effective than one-on-one coaching. Various coaches will have different pricing techniques, but since the coach is working with a group, they will be able to charge less per hour than they would normally.
Seeking out a business coach can be scary. Asking for help can be downright intimidating. When you are in a group setting, some of the pressure is taken off of you, as the business coach will be addressing all of you. You will also gain support from the other members of the group. You will realize that you are not alone, and that everyone else in the group is going through the same issues that you are.
Another plus to group coaching is that everyone will be at slightly different stages within their business. This way, you can learn from each other. One person may have a very new business and other members can prepare them for what is to come. They can explain various mistakes they have made and keep the new person from experiencing the same problems.
Lasting relationships can be formed within group coaching, and that is something that simply won’t happen within one-on-one coaching. These new friends can grow into business partners, and you can really prosper from knowing each other.
Not only will you experience the above mentioned benefits of group business coaching, you will experience the personal growth, focus, confidence boost and business motivation that comes from one-on-one business coaching. With so many benefits to receive, why not give group business coaching a try?
The next IndieBizChicks.com Coaching Session starts April 7 and lasts through May 16. The session lasts 6 weeks, and you can view a breakdown of what will be covered at http://www.indiebizchicks.com/coaching.html
The normal price of the coaching session is $59.95 - but I can offer you an “early bird special” of only $49.95 through March 31!!
Looking forward to working with you!
Blogging Boot Camp Registration Opens Today!!
Do your blogging skills need some sprucing up? If so, you are in luck! Today is the opening day of registration for Blogging Boot Camp. This is an intensive 4 week coaching session offered by Alice Seba & Lynette Chandler.
Each week, students will get a new lesson (complete with a homework assignment), plus one-on-one access to Alice & Lynette. They will walk you through the process of creating a top-notch blog.
If you’re ready to take your blog to the next level, click here
