As a successful, hard-working entrepreneur, you’re tasked every day with making smart decisions that pay off and get the job done.  In order to this, we know that using the BEST business tools can skyrocket your productivity, save you time, money, and help avoid hassles and headaches down the road.

That’s why we’ve put together this list of our favorite resources that will help you grow your business:

1. Our Blog: We update our blog often with specific and useful information for entrepreneurs – from how to get more clients through “vertical marketing,” to truths and tips on using social media for swift results!  This blog has relevant and timely information at no cost to you.  If you haven’t already done so, subscribe today and start receiving tips for working smarter and boosting your income.

See how our readers are getting results! Recently we conducted an experiment with one of our blog posts and invited readers to ‘ask for what you want to find if you’ll get results in one week.‘  By leaving comments and engaging in a ‘conversation,’ fellow entrepreneurs asked for leads, shared new resources and generously gave ideas for helping one another grow their businesses.  The response was astounding!  In just one week, 50% of the participants got what they asked for.  Check out Results In One Week!

2. Sending Emails to a Large List? You cannot send emails to hundreds of people through Outlook or they will be tagged as ‘sp^m’ by your recipient’s server, which would be a very bad thing.  Vertical Response is a low-cost, pay-as-you-go program that allows you to send large quantities of email without getting tagged as a sp^mmer.  And, get this, it only costs about $30 to email 1,000 people.  Now that’s leverage!

This powerful email tool also allows you to send your ‘designed’ e-newsletters.  Or you can just broadcast a plain, text-only email message to your entire lead list.  As a smart communications tool, Vertical Response will help you manage your email marketing efforts with ease and efficiency; giving you reports on the crucial aspects of email marketing: delivery rate, open rate, click-through rate, & unsubscribers. This valuable data helps you improve your marketing in the short and long term.

To get a step-by-step process for creating email campaigns that work, get our special report: 11 STEPS TO BUILD ENEWS CAMPAIGNS | cost: $12.99

3. Need a Website or Internet Marketing Advice? With all the ‘noise’ online, how can you be sure your website will get found?  And once people find you, will they buy from you?  These are the top concerns of every smart entrepreneur.  To ensure you have a website that gets results, we’ll either build you a fully functional and search-optimized site, or conduct a web marketing review of your current site.  Expert advising with a sales and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) evaluation can uncover all kinds of missed opportunities, or recommend small adjustments that can dramatically impact your bottom line.

Recently, we had the opportunity to work on the website of one of our heroes, Chip Conley, of Joie De Vivre Hotels.  If you haven’t read his book, Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow, we highly recommend it.  Check out his Peak Organizations website to learn about their Peak Trainings, and get some inspiration on leading your own organization.

What was their experience with our service?

“Allison Bliss used a combination

4. Filemaker Pro. Like many entrepreneurs, we’re always juggling multiple projects, with multiple deadlines, involving multiple stakeholders who perform multiple tasks — all at the same time! But rather than pulling our hair out and losing sleep, we easily keep track of all those activities using a database called  Filemaker Pro. This robust program allows you to custom tailor project notes, and efficiently track your marketing campaigns and sales activities. And that makes you better at what you do.

There are many database programs to choose from, but we find Filemaker Pro to be the most adaptable for just about any type of company.  To get you up and running quickly with it, we can even train you to use it and add custom marketing fields, too.

6. Creating Breakthroughs. You will not find this marketing tool anywhere else!  We’ve just launched our novel ‘‘Creative Strategic Walks!” service this month. And…It…Works!!

These revelatory (and fun!) sessions literally take entrepreneurs out of the office and out for a walk along the water. Walking together with a marketing strategist to guide the conversation, the exercise and fresh air combine to increase your endorphins, foster more creativity and clarity, and set the stage for breakthrough ideas to emerge.

I’ve noticed over the years that when I’m  outside in an informal setting with clients or colleagues, we’re able to stimulate our imagination and innovative thinking. Some of the most successful ideas we’ve come up with for clients and colleagues have come from these ‘Creative Strategic Walks’.

So, if you’re not earning enough income, not sure why your clients don’t get the value of your offerings, or realize things just aren’t working for you, this just might be that magical answer you’ve been looking for!

7. Do You Need a Blog? When you’re using this medium the smart way, it’s a powerful marketing tool that reaches new prospects, provides value and education to your existing clients, and builds Search Engine Optimization (SEO) benefits right into your website.

But technology and content seem to be the biggest concerns among our clients when it comes to incorporating a blog into their marketing plan.  Fortunately, we’re able to eliminate these worries through our Create A Blog Package. We’ll work with you on planning, design, and content, while making sure the technology and training are in place to ensure your success.

And if you want a first class education, inspiration and support for your blogging, I highly recommend my colleague, Cheryl Liquori’s Breakfast Blogging Club’ events. Don’t miss her terrific event coming up June 26th.

8. Article Marketing. Publishing articles online is one of the most effective strategies for marketing your business and sending traffic to your website.  And ezine articles is the best place to start.  Once your article is posted on this popular site, we’ve found that it’s often picked up and posted by numerous other websites as well.

NEW UPDATE 7/9:

9. Doodle.com allows you to schedule with multiple people without having to weed through dozens of emails to coordinate. So easy to use. Creates a form allowing invitees to schedule online, privately. Saves time!

10. Tweetdeck all0ws you to manage twitter- when you’re being searched, track categories, various communications all in one place. use on iphone or ipad, too. Saves time!

When you add an author bio at the end of your article with a link back to your website, you can really begin to improve your web traffic and getting found on Google.  Contact us to get dozens more smart resources for article marketing! Call 510-879-7600 or email to: abliss@allisonbliss.com.

LET US KNOW YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCES BY ADDING A COMMENT TO OUR MARKETING COACHING BLOG (click on ‘comment’ below).

Bookmark this page to find periodic updates. After all, knowledge is bliss!

Need more results from your marketing efforts? We have a full service marketing agency standing by to help you increase revenues with social media, websites, planning, marketing strategy, SEO and more!

Sharing wisdom is actually what advertising and promotion is all about. Educating those who need our help is the soul of marketing. And helping our clients is the purpose of our business. That’s why I think of marketing as if it’s a kind of ‘spiritual’ practice. No, not religious, but soulful or the outward direction of the spirit of our business goals.

Almost every spiritual practice has a priest, wise woman (or man), holy person, shaman or spiritual leader who professes the truth to those who wish to learn.

As a business owner, it is our own spiritual quest to profess this truth—our knowledge or education about how our products/services can help others—in an inspired message to those in need.

A common mistake of business owners, usually in their early stages of development, is a lack of sharing this specific, critical information.

For example, common marketing wisdom states that if a company plans to run an advertisement, it should run at least 6-12 times before evaluating its effectiveness, as it takes that many “impressions” of seeing it before it sinks in and takes hold of the very busy people from whom we are trying to evoke a response.

It is important to educate your customers or potential market so they can understand how to use what you offer. The world’s great leaders, like the Ghandi, spent most of their lives educating their “market” -their constituents-  or those they were trying to influence through their teachings, prayer, and practices. As business owners, we could learn a lesson from them: If we spend more time teaching and less time telling people they need our products, we may move further along in our divine purpose.

As one observes the great world leaders from the Dalai Lama to Martin Luther King, we notice that even our great leaders spread their message through the use of many media—from word of mouth, to television interviews, direct mail, teaching and lecturing, and e-news or websites.

It is important to mix our messages into many type of media in order to reach as wide a target market as we can since not everyone watches tv, opens direct mail pieces, or follows Twitter.

And lest you think I’m being sacreligious comparing the gospel of our great leaders to marketing, well, it’s time you rethink your perception of marketing: It’s a practice that’s all about helping people. And in the thousands of clients I’ve helped, I’ve only ever met one person who was just in business to make money and not truly devoted to helping people in some way.

If you need marketing insight and services, we’re here to help. After all, Knowledge is Bliss.

Sharing Marketing Tips, Resources and ideas is what business is all about and what this blog strives to offer. Marketing Coach & Consultant, Allison Bliss (www.allisonbliss.com), helps you find articles, services and tools to increase profits, save time and grow your business.

TAKE A LOOK AT OUR NEW WEBINAR PRODUCTION PACKAGE. Now you can demo products or educate your market with our complete package. Record the webinar & sell it on your website!

Allison Bliss Consulting is a Marketing & Communications Agency for corporations requiring an outsourced marketing department, creating branding, strategies and website, social media & promotional materials . Marketing Coaching rescues business owners who are completely bogged down with their day-to-day survival, and often lack the knowledge or perspective needed to reach their target market: Resources, Websites, Optimizing, Promotional Material, Connections, Sales training, & total support.

After all, ignorance is expensive, but “Knowledge is Bliss.“

from my old blog: 2006

I’ve noticed that a Marketing Coach is most helpful when someone needs an answer RIGHT NOW and can respond when they’re stuck on an issue.

One of my clients, a massage therapist, is opening a new wellness center expanding her offerings with partner practitioners. Naturally, I suggested as part of her expansion strategy to let her existing clients know about her new center.

She needed to get an invitation in print today so emailed me asking for an edit check on her text. It was fine, and just needed some minor tweaking which I handled in between other duties today. ahhh, mission accomplished.

So what does everyone else do when they don’t have a marketing coach standing by for them or the answer isn’t available immediately on Google? Sure a qualified coach will create a marketing plan with the right strategies, but sometimes you just need immediate help getting information to the media, preparing a proposal, fixing a website, writing a brochure, dealing with a difficult client or situation, or getting new projects in the door fast! That’s where a responsive marketing coach comes in.

Trying to do it all by oneself is one of the top reasons for failure of small businesses, which I call the “lone wolf” syndrome: we feel we’re smart and capable and should be able to do it all ourselves. In reality, we need help with those strategies, writing, design, websites, or even plumbing that we haven’t the experience to do ourselves.

And for those who just need some marketing tips, here’s a few to get you started:

http://allisonbliss.com/write-a-company-profile.htm

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On this page: http://allisonbliss.com/resources, there are resources for:

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• HOW TO GET BOOKED AS A PAID PRESENTER
• 11 STEPS TO BUILD ENEWS CAMPAIGNS
• MY FAVORITE NETWORKING TIPS
• PREPARING FOR A TRADE SHOW
• FINDING PERFECT EMPLOYEES

Friday, August 8, 2008

Twenty years in business and I still find myself in the ‘entrepreneur’s dilemma’ – I have the time to make changes to my website, but not the money. Or when I have money pouring in, I’ve no time to improve my business.

I might get stuck on this issue and not do anything if I’d not seen it crop up and slap me in the face so many times. I’ve now learned to slap back.

While I put cash in reserves to try to resolve this dilemma, there just always seems to be more need than cash.

So, today I’m starting something new: I’m spending the money on items I need to improve at the same time I’m starting to put ‘out to the universe’ a request for more cash or income. I’ll let you know what works, if anything does.

And I’d love to hear how you handle this, too?