“Get Business in the Door Now! Can Twitter Help?”

Because we're smart business owners, we know it's critical to continually develop business to be successful, earn what we deserve and help those who need our services.

Taking action in your marketing & outreach can be fraught with peril if you don't have a focused, clear action plan using new marketing tools, like social media, as part of your mix.

So, it's critical to understand how marketing is changing if you want your business to thrive. In fact, Web 2.0 and Social Media (like Twitter, Facebook, blogging and Linked In) have changed how we communicate: it's a dialogue, not a monologue now. It's about deepening relationships that lead to closed business.

If you're experiencing more struggle in today's economic business climate, you're in good company (so is U.S. Steel, most major newspapers, and retailers). The good news is that there really are solutions to these all-to-common issues:

Are you losing clients because people fear they cannot afford your service even when they really need it? Are you finding that business is leveling off? Or that it’s taking people longer to make a decision to purchase your offerings? Or have you realized that relying too heavily on word of mouth doesn’t generate enough sales?

If you're tired of throwing ideas at the wall hoping something will stick, maybe it's time to get some professional help to put you on track and generally double your return on investment. We’d like to help you launch into the new 'world order' of marketing. We’ll give you a few ideas below, but first some news to share . . .

Allison Bliss has been announced as a 2009 Woman-Owned Business of the Year Award Winner:
http://www.womensinitiative.org/emails/WOB_website_page_2.html. Hope you locals can join us at the awards banquet on Nov. 9th at the Claremont Hotel. Should be some good networking and a fun wine tasting event. Details:
http://www.womensinitiative.org/emails/WOB_website_page_2.html.

CAN SOCIAL MEDIA BUILD BUSINESS?
You’ve gotta love free marketing communication tools like Twitter, Facebook, blogging and Linked In! But social media is only one of the marketing strategies that you should employ to build business – and you must have your marketing foundation established for it to work, or you’ll waste your valuable time tweeting.

LET’S MAKE FUN OF TWITTER
We’ve probably all made fun of social media (especially Twitter!) for wasting time by reading a post about what someone had for lunch.

But how can you make money from this media?

One of my colleagues, Beth Barany, shares her example:

Beth is a creative consultant to writers. She works with them to complete their manuscripts and get them out into the world. She wrote an e-book called Overcoming Writers Block, and sent out mini excerpts to Facebook and in tweets (that’s ‘twitter’ language for short blurbs). She links the tweets to her site where they can then purchase her book. She tracks sales coming from Facebook and Twitter so she can measure results. Ah, making money in your sleep: passive income. That’s the ticket!

My blog article explains another process to make money blogging. I encourage you to subscribe to my blog for this free marketing advice we periodically share:
http://www.allisonbliss.com/wordpress/2009/09/09/converting-web-traffic-to-sales/.

CAN YOU SELL YOUR KNOWLEDGE IN YOUR SLEEP?
You don’t need to be an author like Beth to do that. We can help you take what’s in your brain, turn it into a few products and set it up online so you can get money in your pocket.

SO HOW DO YOU TURN IDEAS INTO MONEY?
This is where Social Media comes into play. It’s ideally suited to promoting your brain product. So, where do you start in Social Media (i.e., Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, BizNik, Squidoo and on and on)?

Don’t spin your wheels trying to figure this out on your own. We've built you a Social Media Action Tool which will streamline your marketing so you can attract those who need your help: http://www.allisonbliss.com/wordpress/marketing-services/. It’s only $17, so why waste $500 of your time when you can get this tool and start using it right now! We even have a hand-holding option if you need it. How easy is that?

SHOULD YOU RELY ON SOCIAL MEDIA ALONE?
It’s critical to integrate a mix of ‘traditional marketing’ and ‘social media’. Why? Because the traditional techniques can often build clientele faster.

Smart business owners already know that sales and marketing are all about building a trusting relationship so people know if you’re a good match for their needs. And once you know how to do the kinds of activities that bring in business, your marketing efforts will get faster and easier all the time. So, if you want to accelerate your results, we’ve created some tools for you:

TOOLS TO ACCELERATE RESULTS

1. If you need to “Write Your Company Profile or Bio” to add to your media kit, your website or add your bio to articles you write, our online tool asks you a set of questions and then actually writes your profile for you. And it’s only $24.99: http://www.allisonbliss.com/write-a-company-profile.htm and you can change or spice up your profile anyway you wish.
   
   
2. Our special report, “My Favorite Networking Tips” was created specifically to help our clients overcome fear, have fun networking, and shift efforts to get results. It’s only $12.99: http://www.allisonbliss.com/resources.htm#favorite
   
   
3. Did you know that someone you meet tonight will forget all about you by tomorrow night? It’s not that you’re unworthy of their attention, or that you don’t have something fascinating to talk about, or that you’re not totally adorable and fun.
   It’s just that we’re insanely busy with lots of things demanding our attention. So, if you want to do them a favor and keep them reminded of how you can help them, take a look at our special report on “11 Steps to Create Enews (or Blog) Campaigns” to stay on top of someone’s mind. That way they can find you when they need your services.
   
   You’ll get great ideas on what to write, how to select an email sending program, and tips to help your branding so you’ll become memorable. It’s only $12.99 so go ahead, make it easy on yourself! http://www.allisonbliss.com/resources.htm#11steps
   
   
4. There’s a frightfully poignant video on my blog about the importance of Social Media at: http://www.allisonbliss.com/wordpress/2009/10/10/social-media-overtakes-advertising/. Save time and use our Social Media Action Tool: http://www.allisonbliss.com/wordpress/marketing-services/.

After all, ignorance is expensive. But Knowledge is Bliss!

ALLISON BLISS CONSULTING: A FULL-SERVICE AGENCY
Allison Bliss is founder of Allison Bliss Consulting, a Bay Area marketing and communications agency that helps service professionals earn more income by creating marketing action plans that actually bring success. She brings 20 years working on Hollywood feature films & tv shows, running dozens of businesses and leads her teams of writers, designers, internet marketing, & social media specialists to activate marketing plans into reality to help independent professionals earn more income.

As a 2009 winner of The Woman-Owned Business Award, Allison brings her successful resources, ideas, tools & resources to her Marketing Coaching service which is geared for small business owners to increase clientele. The agency also creates promotional materials, web development, television commercials, the “Knowledge is Bliss” business evaluation, podcast production, search engine optimization, marketing services, branding, and marketing plans. The company can be reached at 510-864-8500. abliss@allisonbliss.com

We give you permission to publish or forward this article to those who need it as long as you credit Allison as author and include a link to our website.

We hope these free marketing tips and strategies are useful to you.