Rembrandt’s Blog

If you want new business, here are three quick tips that may help you boost your customer-list fast…

1. Make a list. Check it twice.

Look through all of your contacts and review the people you’ve met in your industry or at various conferences, local business meetings, presentations, etc. Then, make a list.

 Research each of these people and see what they are doing and the status of their business:

• Are they working with partners you’d like to meet?
• Do they have new products and services that work well with yours?
• Are they involved in one of your favorite charities?
• How can you help each of these people with your unique, products and services?

 Write down all of the information you discover on your list.

2. Ask for Business.

Next, contact the top five people on your list via phone, e-mail, Twitter, www.twitter.com, Facebook, www.facebook.com, etc. and arrange a time to talk.

Ask them how things are going and what their needs are right now. Let them know what you have to offer and how you can help them. Then, ask for their business. You can also ask to refer you to their business associates.

If they are interested in your products and services, provide the information they need to make a decision and arrange a follow-up call. Keep in touch until you seal the deal.

3. Move On.

If you are not getting anywhere with a particular contact, try to get a “Yes” or “No” answer, and move on. Make a note in your database about their status and a reminder to follow up on a certain date. But if they are not interested, stop wasting your time, and move on to the next contact on your list.

If you don’t have any luck with your list of contacts, don’t worry. At least you’ve reminded them about your business and what you have to offer that is unique. And this is just a healthy reminder that you need to start networking and promote your business.

It’s time to attend industry events, join your local Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, get involved, and meet new people. Also, take a look at your Web site, public-relations activities and marketing materials.

Maybe it’s time to update your information or hire a professional publicist or search engine optimization copywriter to help you?

Obtaining new customers is not always an easy process, and it takes work. But once you get the momentum going and have a marketing and referral process in place, things will get easier and you’ll see sales grow.

These are just a few tips to help you take action and bring in new customers now. If you need more help boosting sales with SEO copywriting for your Web site, public relations and other marketing consultation, please let me know here or at Rembrandt Communications^®, www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’m here to help! Thanks!

Many new clients tell me that they have a blog, but no one is reading it. Other clients ask me if they need a blog.

Well, if you have a blog, or are wondering if you need one, you may have these questions:

• What’s the point?

Before you start writing, figure out why you want to have a blog. If you are just trying to jump on the social-media bandwagon, that’s not a good reason to start a blog.

However, if you are trying to share information, build communications with your customers or build buzz, a blog may help you. If this is the case, figure out what you want to accomplish with your blog, and create an action plan, or editorial calendar of pertinent content, to fulfill that purpose. Then, monitor results and make changes as necessary.

• Why aren’t people reading my blog?

Well, there may be several reasons for this.

First, do people know about it?
If not, send out regular e-mail announcements telling people about new entries. Check out www.aweber.com, www.webmarketingmagic.com, www.myemma.com, and others for help with automating this process.

Second, does your blog contain valuable content? Do you help your target audience get answers, information or current news? If not, it may be time to revise your copy and focus on the benefits you have to offer.

 Third, are you optimizing your blog for the search engines? By including keywords your target audience is searching for online within your blog’s headline and body, you’ll attract a lot more readers. Also, list your blog with www.technorati.com and other sites that search for new blog entries.

•  Is your site user friendly?

If you are using a content service, your blog may just be a bunch of sentences running together – making it very difficult to read.

People have a lot to review during the day, and if your competitor’s blog is more user-friendly, guess who is going to get the site visits?

Try to write short sentences and paragraphs. Help readers get the information they need quickly and easily.

Now, these are just a few quick tips to help make your blog activities more worthwhile. After all, a few simple changes may be the difference between building customer relationships and wasting time and effort on content no one reads.

Do you need help with your public relations and SEO copywriting to boost sales, awareness and credibility? Please let me know here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

If you’ve entered the world of Twitter, www.twitter.com, you know there is a lot of junk out there… people telling you what they ate for breakfast, what happened at the dentist, the cute thing their child said yesterday… you know what I’m talking about.

Now, many of these Tweets really are for the birds and may make you stop using this form of social media all together. But there is some good information out there and a great opportunity… so if you are using Twitter for your business, here are two things to keep in mind:

1. Are You Providing Value?
Before you start tweeting and obtaining followers, think about what you’re trying to accomplish.

What kind of information can you provide that will help your business build buzz and credibility? Try to provide your followers with interesting tips, news stories, insights, and links that will help them solve their problems.

2. Are You Home?
If someone sends you a direct message on Twitter or comments about your products and services, follow up. The whole point of Twitter is to communicate quickly and succinctly.

If you don’t respond or take part in the conversation, you might as well end your account. After all, you don’t want it to look like you’re out of the office or “not home.” Plus, you’re losing out on a great opportunity to communicate with customers, build loyal followers and obtain valuable information to improve your products and services.

… so how do you get this done?

Have a Dedicated Tweeter.

Twitter can be a key part of your overall marketing strategy. But to be effective, it’s essential to have a person dedicated to your Twitter account. That person can provide valuable content, share important marketing messages, respond to followers, and monitor competitors on a daily basis.

Now, when you take all of this into consideration, Twitter can take some time (which kind of defeats the whole purpose of sending quick messages, doesn’t it?)

But there are services to help you organize the process. Check out TweetLater, www.tweetlater.com, and this list of services to enhance your Twitter experience here.

Before you know it, you’ll have a big Twitter following and get the most out of your account. But one last word of warning… Twitter can be addictive so watch your tweeting time!

Do you have questions or need help with your small business public relations and SEO copywriting efforts? Please let me know here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’m here to help!
(Also, check out my new PR Program, “Secrets of Becoming a Publicist,” here.)