Attracting Ideal Clients

Article Marketing Tips to Attract your Ideal Clients

People often ask me what is a good strategy to position them as an expert online.

There are many strategies that will do this. One of the fastest and easiest is to simply write an article.

An article is about 400 to 600 words. You should focus on one topic and keep it simple. I like to add a numbered series of tips.

Be sure you include a byline at the end of your article.

Here are are 3 tips to leverage your articles:

1) Post your article on Article Directories

One of the best article directories is ezinearticles.com.

You can set up a free account and then submit your first article.

2) Post your article on your blog

You may want to change the content when you post your article on your blog.

Article directories don't like it when you submit articles that are being used elsewhere. So, change the title and alter the content.

There is no need to include your byline if you are posting the article on your own blog. If you publish someone else's article from ezinearticles.com, you have to include the byline.

3) Share your article on social media

After you post your article, be sure to post a message on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites to invite other people to read your article.

Want an extra incentive to write articles?

Participate in my Article Writing Contest.

Click here for details on my Article Writing Contest  

 

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing & Social Media Expert

Social Media Tip: Monetize Social Media

Social media is a great way to increase your visibility online. You can attract new customers and generate leads.

Are you interested in learning new strategies to generate additional revenues using social media?'

I have a free report called "10 Ways to Monetize Social Media."

Click here to download your copy of the report

Secrets to Leverage LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn is a great social network for connecting with your ideal clients. As much as I like Facebook, I think LinkedIn offers more of an ability to connect with a Person of Influence (POI).

One of the best places to find your ideal customers and clients is in LinkedIn Groups.

Here are 3 quick tips to leverage LinkedIn Groups:

1) Focus on adding value

Make sure that you share information that people want to read. One great strategy is to include a link out to your blog post. This will help to position you as an expert. It will also allow you to generate leads if you have an opt in box on your blog.

2) Connect with people you meet in groups

After you have interacted with people a few times in a LinkedIn Group, then send them an invitation to connect.

LinkedIn Groups also gives you the capability to follow people. This is similar to the way Twitter works. It's an easy to build a base of followers who read your posts and comments.

3) Send personal messages to people on LinkedIn

What good is a network unless you actually intend to communicate with people. Make time every day to reach out to someone on LinkedIn and send a personal message. Share a resource, congratulate them on a recent success or ask them for 5 minutes to chat by phone.

LinkedIn Groups is a great tool for making connections with powerful and influential people. Set a goal now to leverage this tool to grow your business.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing and Social Media Trainer

How Meetup Was Started as a Result of 9/11

I received the following message today and thought I would share it. I have been a participant of multiple Meetup groups. I also launched a local networking group using the Meetup site called the Roseville Growth Network.

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I thought this was amazing story of how Americans grew in a positive way in the face of tragic and frightening events.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing & Social Media Expert

Here is the message:

From: Meetup
Date: Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 1:25 PM
Subject: 9/11 & us
To:

Fellow Meetuppers,

I don't write to our whole community often, but this week is
special because it's the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and many
people don't know that Meetup is a 9/11 baby.

Let me tell you the Meetup story. I was living a couple miles
from the Twin Towers, and I was the kind of person who thought
local community doesn't matter much if we've got the internet
and tv. The only time I thought about my neighbors was when I
hoped they wouldn't bother me.

When the towers fell, I found myself talking to more neighbors
in the days after 9/11 than ever before. People said hello to
neighbors (next-door and across the city) who they'd normally
ignore. People were looking after each other, helping each
other, and meeting up with each other. You know, being
neighborly.

A lot of people were thinking that maybe 9/11 could bring
people together in a lasting way. So the idea for Meetup was
born: Could we use the internet to get off the internet -- and
grow local communities?

We didn't know if it would work. Most people thought it was a
crazy idea -- especially because terrorism is designed to make
people distrust one another.

A small team came together, and we launched Meetup 9 months
after 9/11.

Today, almost 10 years and 10 million Meetuppers later, it's
working. Every day, thousands of Meetups happen. Moms Meetups,
Small Business Meetups, Fitness Meetups... a wild variety of
100,000 Meetup Groups with not much in common -- except one
thing.

Every Meetup starts with people simply saying hello to
neighbors. And what often happens next is still amazing to me.
They grow businesses and bands together, they teach and
motivate each other, they babysit each other's kids and find
other ways to work together. They have fun and find solace
together. They make friends and form powerful community. It's
powerful stuff.

It's a wonderful revolution in local community, and it's thanks
to everyone who shows up.

Meetups aren't about 9/11, but they may not be happening if it
weren't for 9/11.

9/11 didn't make us too scared to go outside or talk to
strangers. 9/11 didn't rip us apart. No, we're building new
community together!!!!

The towers fell, but we rise up. And we're just getting started
with these Meetups.

Scott Heiferman (on behalf of 80 people at Meetup HQ)
Co-Founder & CEO, Meetup
New York City
September 2011

Educate First Before Selling

I love sales and marketing. It’s one of my passions in life. And I love sharing ideas with people to provide an opportunity to experience a transformation that can improve their results.

I learned an idea from my mentor Eric Lofholm a few years ago that sums up this sentiment. He said educate first before selling. It’s an interesting concept. Education provides the chance to share something that can have impact on someone’s life.

Earning a sale becomes an extension of the education process. The question for you is what can you do to educate prospects? This is not rocket science.

Position Yourself As An Expert

This conversation becomes easier if you have positioned yourself an expert. As an expert, part of your role is to educate people. Let’s face it, people love experts. And as an expert, you have the ability to influence people.

What steps can you take to educate people? Take action now to start the process.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing Expert

Blog Whisperer Jerry Kennedy Reviews Crush It from Gary Vaynerchuk

Jerry Kennedy, the Blog Whisperer recently wrote about Gary Vaynerchuk's book Crush It. Jerry says,

"He writes about the importance of building your personal brand as it relates to major markets.  A lot of Fortune 500 companies are still quite wary of allowing their employees to share their connection to the company online along with their employees’ personal online presence. Companies should heed the advice Gary has in encouraging businesses to allow employees to further a company’s brand via their online presence and online connections. Companies not doing this should realize they are missing an untapped marketing resource."

Jerry brings up a good point. This is a huge untapped marketing resource for many companies. I will be giving a presentation on Twitter to a group of strategic marketing professionals in a few months. One of my messages is that their companies should encourage people to blog and to use social media. This is a challenge for a lot of companies to give up control of their message. But, in reality, the control they think they have is an illusion.

People are already blogging about your company. They are already posting on social media. And if they aren't, you're missing the boat!

So, heed Gary's message and get into action. Expand your online presence and your online connections.

Social Media Quote: Gary Vaynerchuk

"I pride myself in listening. When you have people paying attention to you, your biggest job is to listen what they want. Deliver what your community wants."

~Gary Vaynerchuk

Sharing Content to Demonstrate your Expertise

When you declare yourself an expert, the next step is to begin creating content. Experts are knowledgeable. They have information and want to share it with others.

Some of the more advanced marketing strategies all depend on having content. Public speaking, teleseminars, webinars and information products all depend on having great content to be effective.

Here are 3 quick tips to get started on creating content and teaching others:

1) Come from a space of wanting to teach

I love to teach. I have a journal and I write ideas in it about what I would like to share with others. I have a desire to teach others. If you don’t currently see yourself as a teacher, think again. Change begins in language. Say to yourself, “I am a teacher.” Adopt this mindset and you will find that there is a joy in teaching.

2) Share golden nuggets

Unfortunately, many people hold back from giving out great content. For whatever reason, they think they should hold back. And as a result, the content they produce is weak. Experts produce great content. And when people see that content, they will want more. And they will be willing to pay for it.

3) Deliver value

Content is king! Information is great and at the same time, it needs to translate into value. When you teach, encourage people to implement the ideas you share. If you can help someone to create a breakthrough, the information you are sharing will have a higher perceived value and that will draw them in like a magnet.

As you can see, creating content will help you on your journey at becoming a highly paid expert in your field. Whether you’re a Coach, a Speaker, a Virtual Assistant, a Professional Organizer, a Web Designer or an expert in any other field, you have what it takes to be successful!

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing Expert

Social Media Tips to Network Online

Social Media offers huge potential to market your business online. But, that doesn't mean you should just spam people. You need to connect, develop relationships and add value. In this video I share several critical ideas to help you leverage social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Watch this Video Now!

Join me for an upcoming teleseminar on May 28th
How to Use Social Media to Attract Clients

Click here to register:
http://TinyURL.com/SocialMediaCoolTips

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing Expert

Twitter Tip to Create Social Currency

Twitter is a great tool for people who want to attract clients and find joint venture partners. I’ve heard a lot of feedback that some people don’t really understand Twitter or how to use it. Are you clear about you can leverage Twitter?

One of the ways I use Twitter is to search for people in a particular profession. I work with small business owners to help them market their business online. And I specialize in working with Coaches, Speakers and Experts. So, I’m very clear whenever I go onto Twitter that I want to find Coaches, Speakers, Virtual Assistants, Professional Organizers, Graphic Designers, Web Designers and anyone who offers a professional service and wants to be positioned as an expert.

Use Twellow to Find Potential Clients by Profession

There are many third party sites that can be used in your efforts to leverage Twitter. One of my favorite sites is Twellow. This is like the yellow pages for Twitter. And it organizes people according to their profession. If you don’t have a profile on Twellow, go set one up. You can add yourself to 3 categories.

Twitter is one of my favorite sites for social networking and it’s also great for sharing promotion and product offers. As with all social networking sites, make sure you take time each day to connect and engage people.

Social Currency happens when you create value for someone else. You can do this on Twitter with  retweet. You can post a link to someone's article or blog post. You can even acknowledge them on #FollowFriday. Think strategically about who you want to ackowledge and recognize. Do it sincerely and do it often.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing Expert