Friday 13 October 2017

Li Tip # 107 - Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired of trying to do everything yourself?

Help is here for you!

Is your online marketing for your business needing more attention than you can give it?

How much time do you have available to do all your own online marketing?

In my humble experience I have found that there is only so much time in the day before I needed to take note of how much time I spent 'on' my business and how much time I spent 'in' my business. There were some days that I literally wanted to throw up my arms!

Has that day arrived for you yet?

You probably notice that you are great at doing some things in your business, and not so great at others. Is that correct?

We cannot expect to be experts at doing everything. There are some things that we just have to bite the bullet and delegate to someone who can.

When it comes to your LinkedIn, blogging and social media marketing, what I hear many days is how business owners just do not have enough time in the day to be on their social media platforms...especially LinkedIn, every day. They do not have time to learn it, let alone work it.

So, here is an idea to mull over in your mind.

How much is your time worth? Are you worth $125 an hour or more?

If you spend 8 hours learning LinkedIn and blogging, will you know enough to be successful at it? At $125/ hour you will be spending $1000 of your valuable time in the effort.

Then count the time you spend on your social media every day. Say you spend an hour a day all together on all your platforms, including LinkedIn. Take Sundays off and that leaves you approximately 26 days a month, which is $3,250 a month of your time.

Plus you will want to learn how to blog, so count another 8 hours minimum plus an hour a week writing your blog...which will probably be more than just an hour a week when you are getting started blogging. That is another 34 hours at $125 per hour which equals $4,250.

Wow! That's a total of $8,500 just for your first month!

That does not cover the investment in the training.

Training can be anywhere from $500 to$2500/day, depending on who you hire to train you per 8 hour session. So, add on say another $2000 for the LinkedIn and the Blogging training.

You are now at $10,500 start up cost for your first month.

After the first month, it will be costing you $7,000 a month just for your time spent doing your social media marketing.

Am I making sense now?

Are you wondering where you can go to get help with doing it all for you?

For less than a thousand dollars a month, you can have someone do all this for you and you can be concentrating on serving the clients that come as a result of having someone else doing your online marketing.

So, how much is one client worth to you? Let's say one new client brings you $1,000 a month. With 3-4 new clients a month, that would be bringing in $3-4,000 new money every month. By the end of one year, you could have $36,000 a month coming into your company.

Do you think it would be worthwhile hiring someone to do it for you?

Contact the experts at The Marketing Mentress.

Christine Till
The Marketing Mentress


LI Tip #106 - How to View Profiles in Stealth Mode.

Have you noticed that when some people view your profile, all you can see is that someone from such and such company has viewed your profile? How do they do that?

Well there is a little trick you can use on your LinkedIn profile. And you can access it through your Privacy and Settings menu.

The reason you want to know who has viewed your profile is so you can get in touch with them to find out how you can help them. After all, your profile is like your store front for your business. You want people to come in and check you out. That is why you need to have a 'killer' profile set up.

But I digress.

The "Whose Viewed Your Profile" is key to you receiving clients and business. People are viewing your profile for a reason. They are looking for people who they can help or who can help them in business. Therefore, you want to know who has viewed your profile, so you can find out how you can help them.

However, sometimes, when a person who is your direct competition views your profile. You definitely want to check them out, but you do not necessarily want them to know who checked them out. That's when you want to use 'Stealth Mode', or "Anonymous LinkedIn Member".

Go to your Profile and Settings menu and click 'Privacy' at the top. In the ensuing menu below, search for "Profile Viewing Options".

Once in the viewing options, then you can choose one of three ways you can view people's profiles. If you do not want people to know who viewed their profile, then choose the bottom one, "Anonymous LinkedIn Member".

If you do not mind people knowing that someone from such and such company viewed their profile, then you may choose that one, but remember, they will see your company and if you are a sole proprietor, they will know it was you.

Happy LinkedIn profile viewing!

For more explicit coaching and guidance on how to get clients on LinkedIn, check out my packages at The Marketing Mentress.

Christine Till
The Marketing Mentress


Monday 9 October 2017

LinkedIn Tip 105 - How to sell out your events?

It has been my strategy to use LinkedIn when I am looking to fill seats in my events. I have literally filled rooms just using LinkedIn.

My fellow LinkedIn Expert, Wayne Breitbarth, says it all.

Here are ten simple ways to use LinkedIn to get the job done:

1.  Send an individual status update. 
·    Post several times leading up to the event, sharing details about agenda, speakers, venue, etc.
·    Post at different times of the day and different days of the week.
·    Always include a link to the registration site or attach a copy of the registration brochure to the update.
·    Encourage others involved in the event to "like," "share" or “comment” for more traction.
·    Make a video featuring the event's speakers
·    Use the @mention feature to tag each speaker or presenter in the update.
2.  Send a company status update. 
·    “Pin” a status update to the top of your company feed, and it will stay at the top of your company page.
·    Encourage others in the company to "like," "share" or “comment” for additional traction.
·    Attach a copy of the registration brochure to the update.
3.  Target specific first-level connections with a direct message. 
·    Share details about the event by attaching a document or a link to a web page.
·    Customize the message to each individual to increase relevancy to that person.
·    Direct messages are delivered to the recipient’s email account and LinkedIn inbox and are thus more likely to be seen and read.
4.  Share the event in relevant groups. 
·    Share your information in the Conversation section in the form of a question.
·    Include a link to the event registration page.
5.   Upload a PDF or include a link to the event details or registration form by adding media, either in your Summary or the Job Experience entry that correlates with the event. 
·    A good description will entice the reader to click and open.
6.  Use the Add Media function to upload a PowerPoint presentation or video with event details. You can do this as part of your Summary, Job Experience or Education entries. 
·    It could be as simple as one slide with event details.
·    This has high eye-catching appeal in your profile.
·    The video could include a clip from the previous year’s event or a promo from this year’s keynote speaker.
7.  Include the details of the event in your Summary section. 
·    To increase visibility, move the event details to the top of your Summary section in the days immediately preceding the event.
·    You can include the URL of the registration website, but you cannot hyperlink it.
8.  For a period of time leading up to the event, include an event teaser in your Headline. 
·    This can be very impactful, but don't do this for an extended time.
·    Be sure to change back to your day-to-day, keyword-rich Headline right after the event.
9.  Publish an article about your event.
·    The article will be displayed very prominently on your profile until you publish another article.
·    Share the article once a week leading up to the event date.
·    Be sure to encourage others in your company or organization to "share," "like" and "comment" on your published article.
10.  Use one of the three websites in the Contact Info section of your profile to link people to event details or registration page. 
·    Reference the website link in your Summary section.
·    Describe the website link clearly (e.g., "Register for LinkedIn class").
Follow these easy steps, and your event might just be a sellout.

When I saw this article by Wayne Breitbarth, I just had to share it. He says it so well.

Iron sharpens iron.

Christine Till
The Marketing Mentress




Monday 4 September 2017

LI Tip #104 - Are you publishing on the Pulse?

Do you have something important to say? Are you sharing it on the LinkedIn Pulse?

Did you know there is a difference between "Writing an Article" and "Sharing an Update". 

Here's what happens with each one.

When you Share an Update, that post goes directly into your main feed. With all the postings happening on LinkedIn these days, your sweet little blog that took you hours to write will be long gone, and you will be lucky if many people ever see it.

When you Write an Article on LinkedIn, it is saved on your profile page, as well as it gets sent into your main feed. You can then repurpose your blog to show up at different days and different times of day once a month, so the people who did not see your post today will have a chance to see it another time.

Another reason you want to Write an Article is because of the search engines. Once you publish your article, it automatically is registered on the pulse. The pulse is where the search engines are the most active. When you write and publish regularly on LinkedIn, the search engines come to know you and when you publish, they search for your key words. The more you publish on LinkedIn, the better your writing becomes known.

It is all about consistency and quality using keywords. If you post a blog once a month, I hate to break it to you, but the chances of people seeing your post are slim to none. 

However, when you publish weekly, the search engines get to know your posts, so when your blogs are published, the search engines are right there within 24 hours helping make your writing known through your keyword areas.

If you are looking for help writing blogs for your business, give me a call.

Christine Till

The Marketing Mentress
© Copywrite by The Marketing Mentress & Christine Till September 4th, 2017


Thursday 24 August 2017

Li Tip # 103 - It's not all about me!!!

A phone call came to me today asking me if I had decided to represent a new company. I was a little taken aback to say the least!

Why is it that people jump to conclusions so quickly?

I believe that marketing online is not all about me. Too many people can only think about themselves and getting business for themselves. They have a challenge getting their minds around perhaps thinking of helping someone else with their business.

If we are in business, we are in sales and marketing. If we want people to come to us for business, we need to be open to referring possible clients/customers to our competition on occasion.

If I cannot give my clients all the things they need, I refer them to someone I know who can provide that and do a great job for them.

So, as the Marketing Mentress, I help lots of other businesses market themselves and sell their products. I share the great messages that come through my home feed if I think that they are something that can help someone in my network.

It can be toothpaste or senior care products...whatever will help my fellow connections. If I cannot provide it, I will refer, or if it is someone I know, I will share their products or service with my network. After all, I have a fair sized network and am happy to help in any way I can.

I learned a long time ago that being online is not all about me and my own business.

The more people I can help get what they want, the more I will have come back to me in the long run. This principle has been proven time and time again through history. Every time customers were referred to the competition, the customers came back to the original company because they were so pleased that they were referred to someone who could help them.

As the Marketing Mentress, I help businesses in any way I can because it is not all about me.

How may I help you in some way, either myself or through my network?

For example, here is a company that is targeting the boomers with products and services that will save lives.

Christine Till

The Marketing Mentress


© Copywrite by The Marketing Mentress & Christine Till August 24th, 2017






Wednesday 23 August 2017

LI Tip #102 - Why are you using LinkedIn anyway?

Do you have your profile set up and looking great, but have turned off the ability for people to send you an InMail or to call you for business?

Why have your profile on LinkedIn if you are not open to networking? DUH!

Here's the scoop:

People on LinkedIn are there to do business...everyone on LinkedIn is there to do business, whether they are looking for work or to find possible clients. It is the most professional platform on the internet, bar none!

My question to you is, why do you even have your profile set up on the platform if you are not allowing people to connect with you through messaging and a phone number?

When you have a store front, you don't lock your door, so customers cannot come in and ask you questions, do you? NO! You want to invite people to come into your store, so they can look around and if they need help with something, you want to be able to communicate with them.

All too often I see profiles that are set up and the only way you can reach out to them is to invite them to connect. But you do not want to invite people to connect with you if you do not know them in some way! All you need is for 5 people to say they don't know you and you will have your LinkedIn profile sent to "LinkedIn jail!" I know this because I have had clients not listen to me on this point, and sure enough, a few weeks later, their profile gets frozen...sent to LinkedIn jail.

It is important to make ourselves available for business, if we want business.

It is like inviting people to look at your business through the front window, and then locking your door, so they cannot get in.

Think about it. Do you want business, or don't you?

For a chance to learn how to get more business using LinkedIn, check out this webinar coming up soon.

Christine Till

The Marketing Mentress



© Copywrite by The Marketing Mentress & Christine Till August 23th, 2017

Friday 18 August 2017

Are you feeling like you are ready to give up?

So you quit your job in order to work your own business did you?

The lure of owning your own business is huge and always looks rosy in the beginning. But what you saw your "boss" doing was only part of all the work he/she does. Plus, if there are employees in the business, that business has been around a while and the owner has learned to delegate to staff many of the things he/she once did.

You were probably one of the employees that facilitated this delegation.

When you start your own business, for the first while, you need to do EVERYTHING! I mean EVERYTHING! There is nobody to delegate to. You need a plan and to follow that plan every day no matter what. You need to do the hard things and the easy things. Remember that "when you do the hard things, your life will become easy; when you do the easy things, your life will become hard."

Many small business owners start their own business as a result of seeing their boss reaping the rewards of the employee's hard work. They get tired of putting fur coats on the back of the boss's wife, so to speak.

Then off the employee goes to start a business, not realizing that now they will not only do the work that they are good at, but they will also need to do the bookkeeping,  administration, shipping and handling, sales, etc.

Sound familiar?

Most small business owners start their business flying by the seat of their plans...no business or marketing plan. In fact, these small business owners probably don't even know that there is such a thing as a business plan necessary.

Back in the day when my Father was in business as a veterinarian, people could decide to start a business by just walking into the bank and asking for a loan. The bank would ask for collateral, the papers would be signed, and voila, the loan would magically appear!

Today, if you are looking for financial backing from a bank, you need a business plan, or you will not get very far.

With the Canadian statistics showing that 80% of businesses fail in the first two years of business, no wonder banks are being more cautious.

Also, if you want to be successful with your business, you need a plan to help keep you on track. It is pretty safe to say that without a plan, you doom your business to failure with certainty.

Oh! I might also add that once you acquire that business loan, it does not mean that you can do with the money what you will. You will have business expenses and you need to be able to cover your expenses for at least 6 months before you will start to turn any kind of a profit.
Owning your own business requires work.

Yes, your old boss looked like he/she spent much of their time on the golf course or at luncheon meetings. What you did not realize is that they were working building the relationships they needed and wanted for business. If they didn't have you, they would have had to be doing your job at the end of the day, after hours, or in the wee hours of the morning.

No matter what you do, work is required...consistent effort must be applied to your business for it to succeed.

By now, you might be thinking that you were an idiot for starting your own business, because you have never worked so hard in your entire life before. You have laid everything on the line, your house, your cottage at the lake and your family. You are sick and tired of being sick and tired. You want to quit.

Am I right? Or am I right?

Believe me, you are not alone. Hang in there and keep doing the hard things. Your life will become easier.

If you are looking for some guidance to help you get through and make your business a success, connect with Shauna Madsen.

Christine Till

The Marketing Mentress