The LuxMob Info Tags

Without a shadow of a doubt, the easiest way to increase the bottom line of your business is to survey your clients.

Now that my be your existing data base or to survey your target market, if you do not know what it is that people want to buy then How in the hell do you know what to sell to them.

This statement seems logical “Ask your clients what they want and then sell it to them”

But time after time people go into business and sell what they make rather than make what they can sell.

It’s mind boggling when you talk to people who have just started a business thinking I have a great idea that everyone will want.

So be it, it might be a good product but a little due diligence will go a long way.

How about doing a little market research to see if there really is a demand for your idea that you think there is.

The best part is, now with the Internet you can do market research without breaking the bank.

How many business ideas could you have saved time, money and the frustration of not pursuing it, if you did some research to really find out whether or not you were going to make any money in the first place?

There is a software program called: http://www.flycatcherpro.com it is free to use and allows you to do exactly what I have been talking about.

Test potential market places or survey your existing client base to find out exactly what they are looking for in your product or service and how you can tap into their mindset and deliver more than they expect.

It’s a win-win for everybody

What do you have to lose?

Scott Patterson was been involved in Marketing for the last 14 years applying techniques he was able to learn for the masters to grow not only his own businesses but many of his clients businesses anywhere up to 600% in 3 months. “These results truly are possible if you just stick with the basic principles”

http://www.flycatcherpro.com/

You have decided to start up a magazine, but how do you get started, find subscribers and more importantly obtain paying advertisers so that you stay profitable?

Getting started

1. Decide what the subject of your magazine will be - make it as popular as possible, but also choose a niche. This way you pique interest and combat competition.

2. Find out where your target market is going to be. For example if you want a community magazine - try and tailor it to a market such as parents of school children etc.

3. Make sure you have enough information for several editions.

4. Set up your printing and delivery activities.

Getting subscribers and generating leads for your magazine

1. Use your web site to obtain sign ups, preferably using a sign-up box. Offer an incentive to sign up and assurance of use of their email address for legitimate reasons.

2. If you want to concentrate on off line customers, then send out a sample magazine to all of your target area, use a coupon with an incentive to sign on to receive your magazine.

3. Submit details of your newsletter to all on line directories you can find.

4. Include details of your magazine on all of your correspondence. Place an advert on your car, on tee shirts - anything you can think of.

5. Make good use of community areas to advertise your magazine - such as cafes, sports centers, shopping centers etc.

Obtaining advertisers in your magazine

You may have to run your magazine for a short while, whilst you build up your subscribers.

1. Swap ads with other magazines that have a similar target area - either geographic or lifestyle. This will ensure that you look more successful at the beginning. Few people will want to pay to be the first advertiser.

2. Make up a marketing pack consisting of a sample magazine (with adverts), details of your target area, the number of subscribers you reach etc.

3. Offer key advertising ads, such as back page, to your larger advertisers.

4. Send out your marketing pack to potential advertisers. Offer free advertising for one or more issues - or 5 ads for cost of 3 etc. This is to allow your advertisers to test out your magazines.

5. Offer free adverts for a short while to businesses that will also circulate your magazine for you.

Expanding

Everything is running smoothly so now you want to expand.

1. Look around for other markets or how to get more people in the same market.

2. Take on other writers so that you can expand your output.

3. Ask for feedback from your existing subscribers.

4. Examine how you can make things more efficient and cost effective.

5. Add to your content and your advertisers.

6. Add extra features to your magazine such as a Question and Answer section or a “Product of the Month” section.

Lastly - enjoy yourself

———————————————— Copyright 2006 Biz Guru Services Ltd Lee Lister, writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites including her own sites http://www.BizGuru.us and http://www.clikks.com for all our informational products. If you are starting a new business and want advice, information and assistance then our site http://www.startmynewbusiness.com will help you. With over 20 year’s management and business consultancy experience with businesses large and small as well as being a serial entrepreneur, she now helps others set up, develop and market their businesses. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached. ————————————————

One of the most common concerns expressed by golfers is “how come I can hit the ball so well on the range but have a difficult time replicating this on the golf course”? When left on their own to try to figure this question out, many people look at their on-course behavior, thinking and playing for the source of the answer. Frequently, the answer lies more in their practice behavior than it does in their playing behavior.

It is necessary to hit a lot of golf balls in order to become proficient at golf. However, in addition to hitting bucket after bucket of practice balls, what is also imperative is that the type of practice that one undertakes approximates as much as possible the actual experience of playing the game. Watching people’s typical practice involves seeing them hitting ball after ball on the range- frequently using the same club and hitting to the same target over and over and over again. This is not real golf. Why then would you practice in this manner? The key is to practice more like you play!

Here are 4 easy ways to make your practice sessions translate to better golf while playing.

1. Change targets frequently. On the golf course, you rarely hit two balls in a row to the same exact target. Practice hitting to a different target with each shot. This has application whether with the full swing, pitching, chipping, or in the bunker. Each shot is thought through and executed as a unique entity- just like on the course.

2. Change clubs frequently. On the golf course, you rarely hit two balls in a row with the same club. If you regularly hit your 7-iron three or four times in a row on the course, your game is in big trouble! However, this is how people practice. Changing clubs regularly- say every second or third shot- is a good way to approximate what it feels like to be on the course.

3. Use your pre-shot routine more frequently. Preparation for each shot on the course and preparation for each shot on the range are generally vastly different for most players. This creates a rhythm that’s different, a thinking process that’s different, and a result that’s different!

4. Putt using one ball. You are not given the luxury of hitting the same putt two or three times on the course. Yet many people drop two or three putts and stroke the same putt over and over to the same target. Practice using just one ball- with a full read- to create an environment that’s similar to the golf course.

It is true that early in the process of learning one’s swing it is sometimes helpful to hit the same club to the same target without a pre-shot. However, once you are ready to go play, make sure that you’re preparing yourself to deal with some of the same sensations that you have on the golf course!

Jeff Troesch, MA, LMHC is an internationally recognized expert in the mental side of golf. As the former Director of Sport Psychology for the David Leadbetter Golf Academies, Jeff has worked with thousands of golfers nationwide and brings a wealth of experience to seasoned golf professionals as well as the recreational golf lover. You may contact Jeff directly through his website, http://www.fitnessforgolf.com.

Book marketing experts know that authors who get excited about landing an interview may lose sight of the goal, which is not to gain media interviews but to sell books. And it’s sad but true that an interview does not automatically generate sales. Effective interviews generate sales; ineffective interviews merely produce idle talk.

The author who can generate sales from a television or radio interview is the author who knows how to relate to the specific audience listening to that show. A book is sold when one listener “clicks” with an author because there is recognition of a common need or experience. Multiply those clicks of recognition, and you multiply sales.

The challenge for all book marketers is that authors are skilled in interviewing other people; they are not skilled in being interviewed themselves. The skills needed to generate sales from interviews are best obtained through media coaching or media training.

Media coaching will give authors the skills to learn how to use the media, not just to convey your message but to compel people to buy your book. As a book marketing expert, I can pitch an author’s story and line up a TV or Radio interview. But most authors won’t be able to amaze listeners and compel them to buy without being trained by a media coach.

A media coach will show authors how to leverage interviews to create book sales, how to feel more comfortable on air and how to relieve the stress and anxiety that can come with interviews. A good media coach also will teach the secrets behind creating effective sound bites conveying the benefits they would get by buying the book.

Specifically, a media coach will reveal tips and let you practice these tried and true techniques, including:

 How to control the interview
 How to insure your message will be effective
 How to employ bridging techniques to get back on track
 How to deal with pitfalls that come up during an interview
 How to answer the tough questions
 How to look your best on camera
 How to sound your best on radio
 How to pitch your message to the host and listener
 How to pitch without sounding like you are
 How to compel the media to discuss your book
 How producers and media people think and how to use that knowledge to your advantage
 How to relate to a specific audience
 How to leverage an interview into book sales
 How to get free publicity on TV and Radio
 How to get the media to hate you (by not returning their phone calls)
 And, how to get invited back

Media coach Jess Todtfeld, who is a former producer for Bill O’Reilly of FOX-TV’s The O’Reilly Factor, says that every interview is an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to connect with an audience, to get your point of view to the masses. Most people don’t realize that it must go beyond that. You must motivate the audience to take an interest in you and “do something.” Whether it’s buying your book, going to your web site, or just finding out about you, you must compel them to take that next step. Todtfeld has seen many people use to media to get what they want, but many authors and amateurs make some of the common mistakes. He should know, he’s booked more that 4,000 TV segments with politicians, celebrities and actors on two networks. http://www.successinmedia.com

Radio Interviews provide a tremendous opportunity for authors or anyone with a story to tell. Radio interviews are great because they can be done anytime out of your home, office or automobile (if you aren’t driving). But like any successful marketing venture, radio interviews don’t just happen. Here are some very useful suggestions:

 Be on time. Call the station exactly at the time they tell you, and be at your phone waiting if the station is going to call you.

 Disable call waiting: dial *70 and then call the number. This disables call waiting for the duration of the phone call. As soon as you hang up, it will be reactivated.
 Be self-assured. Remember you know your topic inside and out. Be confident in your ability.
 Smile, smile, smile, whether on radio or TV - SMILE. You’ll feel better, and for TV you’ll look better too.
 Research the show and tailor your message accordingly. Just Google the host’s name and station. Is it a national audience or a small town in Ohio? You need to know.
 Practice your sound bites. Communicate your main points succinctly.

 Be prepared for negative comments, from the host or listeners.
 Be informative and entertaining without directly pushing your book. Make the audience “want more.”
 A kind word about the host can go a long way. It’s good manners and good business.
 A persons name is sweet music to them so commit to memory the name of the host and use it throughout the interview. When taking calls, use the names of callers too.

The last time I talked with Michael Dresser, a well-known media coach http://www.mymediacoach.com Michael told me that there are some realities he makes sure all of his clients know about the media. Dresser says “an interview is an acquired skill. It is a process with a strategy working toward a fixed finish line. Bring your message to the audience in a way that is real for them. Do this by using stories and anecdotes that allow your audience to see themselves in your interview message. Interact with your audience on a one to one basis. Think of a radio interview as an intimate conversation with a friend and not a conversation with thousands. If you stay with the process, the influence and effect of your message will match the intent you had going in. It’s important to go into the interview with a positive attitude and energetic manner. You must be entertaining, informative and persuasive, or you will talking to an empty microphone.”

I pay attention to Michael Dresser because he has been a nationally syndicated radio talk show host for 23 years, and has interviewed thousands of guests. He understands what it takes to be a great guest and understands what prevents someone from achieving that level of success in the interview process. Dresser helps people he coaches to keep their answers short, to stay focused, and to develop a message that will produce results. If you invest in a media coach, use someone like Dresser who was in the game and knows how it’s played.

Media coach and speech trainer TJ Walker http://www.speakcast.com says that because talking to the media is like no other conversation you will ever have, it requires your full concentration and all the skills you can muster. Because of that demand, Walker puts his students through a live interview that he videotapes for instructional purposes. “The camera doesn’t lie,” stresses Walker. “You will learn how to look your best on TV — if not on the first take, then by the 20th take. There is no way to ‘fake it’ in my one-on-one training course. You will be in the hot seat, the lights will be shining in your eyes, and the microphone will be stuck in your face. Although not always relaxing, the videotaping will turn students into a media pro, ready for any type of media situation.”

Among the types of opportunities an author should be trained to face, says Walker, are live television and radio, ambush interviews, TV and radio talk shows, celebrity appearances, in-studio interviews, newspaper interviews, editorial board meetings, radio talk shows, Internet interviews, edited news programs, training videos, phone interviews, infomercials, press conferences, spokesperson training, and book tours.

Walker’s views are based on 22 years of training CEOs, Prime Ministers and Nobel Peace Prize winners in addition to training managers and staff in client companies such as Microsoft, Bank of America, Unilever, and McDonalds. TJ is the most widely published and produced media trainer in the globe, with more than 50 books, training videos, CDs, and software programs to his credit. I consider TJ Walker’s book, Presentation Training A-Z, to be a must-read.

I’ve heard TJ Walker say many times, and I agree with him that the successful author will carefully analyze what radio or TV shows to book. In book marketing, a book cannot be promoted without first identifying who the readers are in advance of a single sale. Find the reasons why that reader will read that book and then craft a message to be conveyed to information sources that reader relies upon.

Don’t bombard the market with propaganda but send out promotional information to selected streams that reach specific persons. That approach has always worked and always will. Salesmen know that you can’t sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo because he has no need of one, but you’d have a shot at selling him thermal underwear. So follow Walker’s advice — know your niche and then select the TV or Radio Show that your niche audience listens to or watches.

To successfully market a book, determine who will read it and then target that media directly. By way of example, one of my clients has published a book of poetry. Now the average person won’t buy a collection of poetry. However, certain people love poetry, so we aim our book marketing efforts for this client to poetry magazines, poetry web sites and poetry societies.

Book marketing expert Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a marketing and public relations firm that specializes in book marketing and author promotion. For more information contact him at scottlorenzezinecoaching@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090 or visit: http://www.westwindcos.com/book