If you’ve taken the action recommended in last month’s tip your database will now be growing. Now you have to do something with it. I’m always astounded by how little I hear from most of the people in my network. There are lots of people I know, like and trust. I know they are accountants, coaches, web developers etc. but what I often don’t know is what they do.
Before you say, ‘If you know they are an accountant, coach or web developer then you know what they do’ let me tell you what I mean. To succeed in business we need to set ourselves apart from our competitors. We need to promote our own unique angle on our profession or industry. One of the best ways of doing this is to tell me about the work you have been doing for clients or the successes you have achieved on their behalf. There’s no need to give confidential information or even to name the client although doing so (with their agreement) can add credibility.
So now you have a list and a message you need to communicate with your list on a regular basis. If they are on Twitter, Linked in, Facebook or other social media make regular posts about what you are doing, share tips and comment on other people’s posts. Be generous, retweet, like, contribute to their blog comments (there’s a hint there!) etc. N.B. When you comment on people’s blog posts or in forums you are building your own web presence, visibility and credibility as well as aiding search engines to find you so it’s a Win-Win.
Image via CrunchBase
Send a regular newsletter. Tell people what you are doing, share events and news with them, give them something valuable that doesn’t cost you a lot e.g a recipe or a business tip. There are all sorts of online systems that allow you to send newsletters by email, many of them are free but make sure your list has agreed to be mailed and has added you to their safe senders list. I’ve found Mailchimp easy to use but there are lots of others including Aweber, Constant Contact etc.
Don’t forget traditional media. It’s still nice to get something in the post. How about an invitation to join you at a networking event? Could you send your clients a birthday or other greeting card? How about a ‘thanks for your business’ card?
Try to strike a balance between overt marketing and relationship building. If you are selling all the time you are likely to get people unsubscribing from your list. People are interested in people so share some personal news from time to time.
Build communicating with your list into your marketing plan and make sure you do it even when you are busy. Busy people tend to attract more work so if you are too busy to do it yourself contract the work out. You could use a virtual PA or talk to me about our marketing services. Give me a call on 020 8991 2767 or email me.
So your action this month is to send at least one communication to all the people on your list. I look forward to reading it.
