October 2010

“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago.
The second best time is to plant it now.” – Unknown

Everyone thinks about and talks about investing their
money at some point. From real estate to stocks the
thought crosses all of our minds at some point.

But what about investing in your business?

Here’s how to do it by following a classic direct
marketing formula.

By classic I mean doing things that have been working
now for decades, long, long before the web was invented.

By classic, I mean things that have generated results
across a variety of industries and that have created billions
of dollars in profits for the people and companies that use them.

*Literally billions. No exaggeration.

Here’s the formula:

1. Create something to give away for free that your
customers and prospects would love to get their hands on.

2. Promote this free item until the cows come home.

3. Build a big list of interested (and qualified) buyers
(in this case investors) who you can then follow up
with and market to over and over and over.

That’s it.

It’s been used to sell everything from soap to cars, timeshares
to investment opportunities.

Here are some examples to get you started.

1. Free item

In this day and age people are hungry for information.
They are hungry for a deal (just look at the success of 2
year old web startup groupon.com. It’s was valued at over
$1 billion in less than 18 months). They are eager to do
business with experts in their field, people who have a unique
view point. They seek out people who can cut through the clutter
and help them make decisions quickly.

Things that work:

A free report.
A free DVD.
A free 5 day email mini course
A free portfolio review.
A free booklet.

2. Promotion

When I say promotion I mean marketing, advertising, and
generally anything you can do to raise the awareness level
of you and your business. Anything you can do to get the word
out that you have this great free resource people can take
advantage of.
Remember:

“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark.
You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.” S. H. Britt

Marketing for a business should be looked at like investing.
You’re in it to generate a return, to get back more than you put in.
It’s not about paying and praying. You need to be strategic, test,
track, and improve until you get results. All of this is possible
with the technology available today.

3. Build a list

Today it’s easier than ever before to offer something for free
and in return collect people’s contact information. The email
list is a great way to do this. A mailing list that you send snail
mail to is also powerful. Let’s face it, despite our love of the web
we still enjoy getting something in the mail!

It’s simple to add a section to your website that outlines your
free offer and then has a form for people to fill out to request
access to it. When someone signs up, they go on your list
and you can follow up with them via email,
direct mail, and by phone.

The next trick is persistent follow up using every method at
your disposal. Also important is continuing to provide
valuable content in addition to sales focused messages
in this content.

That’s it for this lesson.

Now go plant that tree!

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