Learn How to Write Flash Fiction

 

Unlike the conventional short stories which take pages to complete, Flash Fictions is a literary genre comprising fiction which can be as short as a two-line paragraph, or even a few words creatively written and still convey meaning. Flash fiction is also referred to as ‘short-short story’, ‘micro-fiction’, or ‘micro-story’. A well-written flash fiction can appear as an allegory usually conveying a deeper meaning other than what is understood from its surface reading.  Flash fiction writing can be such a tedious creative writing, especially because you are aiming to convey meaning in few paragraphs. Here are tips to help you learn how to write a flash fiction.

 

#1. Use Strong Imagery in Your Writing: When writing flash fiction, you should use words that are easy to visualize.

#2. Stick To A Single Scene: When writing a flash fiction, it is best to always have a particular moment in mind, that way you don’t need much words to explain what happens before or thereafter.

#3. Do Not Feature More Than Two Characters In A Flash Fiction: To help you achieve the flash fiction format you want, you should try to revolve your story around one or two characters at most.

#4. Write With A First Person Point Of View: One great way to help your readers connect with a story is by using a first person point of view. Luckily, this works well with flash fiction, and will as well help you economize words.

#5. Thrill Your Readers With Suspense: The beauty of every creative write-up is the ability to not only to keep the readers engaged, but to keep them in suspense throughout the reading. Even if you are writing a popular niche, your manner of conveying the message to your readers should be a different approach entirely.

#6. Take Advantage of Your Title: Since flash fiction does not give you the luxury of time to explain every event in your story using lengthy words, the best way to start your story is by using your title as the prologue to your story. For Instance, Carol Oates in her flash fiction titled, “Widow’s First Year”, used the title to give the readers the idea of what the story entails.

If you found the tips above on how to write flash fiction helpful, we would surely love to read your testimonies in the comment box.

Culled from SOI Publishing

5 Reasons You Should Focus on a Speciality in Your Business

What’s your speciality? This is not a trick question—every business owner should be able to answer it in one concise sentence.

No matter how many products or services your business offers, your business has a core speciality (some call it a core competency) and you should know what it is.

Perhaps you are a professional organizer and your speciality is family moves. Or, you are a caterer, and weddings are your sweet spot. Or, you own a garage, and you are known for being the old cars “whisperer”.

As ambitious, energetic entrepreneurs, many of us think that we should please every customer who walks through the door, regardless of whether their needs match the core competency of our business. After all, it’s crazy to turn a willing, paying customer away. Right?

Wrong.

Choosing a speciality, and sticking to it, is a fundamental Marketing strategy that will not limit your business but will make it stronger.

Here are some of the reasons why you should focus on one area of expertise in your business:

1. It will be easier to promote your business.

When you’re focused on your speciality, you can share with people what you do in a faster, clearer and more memorable way. “I specialize in planning destination weddings” is a much more “sticky” message than “I am an event planner.” Describing your business on your website will also be a breeze—you will be able to communicate what you do in a clear and concise way which your website visitors will appreciate.

2. It will be easier to achieve expert status.

This one is pretty intuitive but let’s discuss it for a minute. The more focused you are on your speciality, the more specialized knowledge you’ll accumulate. If, for example, you are a mechanic and you choose to make fixing old cars your area of expertise, you’ll work on more old cars, you’ll talk to more owners of old cars, and you’ll read more about old cars than most mechanics. Soon you’ll be more experienced and more knowledgeable than most of your colleagues because you stayed focused. An expert status would be much harder to achieve if you chose to be a more “general” car specialist.

3. It will be easier for customers to choose you.

We all look to hire experts. Think about it: if you need a root canal, you go to a dentist who specializes in root canals. If you happen to have a small dog, you look for a vet who is known for specializing in small dogs. Choosing a speciality, and being good at it, will bring to you the exact customers you’re looking to serve. If, on the other hand, you maintain a “general” status, you’ll have a harder time convincing a customer to choose you over a specialist.

4. It will be easier to get to know your customers.

Imagine you own a bookstore. Now, imagine that the only type of books you sell in your store are mystery novels. Clearly, your customers will be mystery novel fans. You will meet and talk with more mystery novel lovers than most people have ever met in their lives. In the process of these interactions, you will get to know a lot about this group of people: you will learn why they like mystery novels, which of the books you sell they like and which ones they don’t like and why, and so on. Naturally, you’ll be able to serve their needs better than any other bookstore in town. This deep understanding of your customer would be difficult, even impossible, to achieve if your bookstore sold books of every possible genre. 

5. It will be easier to show personality in your business.

Because you know your customers very well, you’ll be able to talk directly to them in your advertising—whether it’s a website, a brochure, or whatever other medium you choose. Using language your customers respond to, jokes they find funny and offers they find relevant will keep you close to their hearts and will always make them choose you over the competition. General ads or promotions that some non-specialist may choose to run, meant to attract a general group of people, by promising general benefits would never evoke a similar emotional response.

Choosing a speciality and sticking to it is a powerful way to build your business. So, try to shake the habit of deviating from your chosen niche every time a customer asks you to do something “extra” for them.

All that said, I don’t mean that you should NEVER venture outside of your niche. If and when you’re ready to grow your business, offering additional products or services is a great way to do that. However, such an expansion should not be a casual action. It needs to be planned strategically and launched with diligence and intention, like a pro.

Culled from Built In Chi

3 Tips To Stand Out In A Crowded Market

 

Elevating your brand so that it stands out among all the competition is a tough job.

No matter how much you think your brand or product is unique, there are always going to be similar options out there for people to choose from. The market is oversaturated and people are bombarded by advertisements telling them to buy this and that. Getting their attention and keeping it isn’t easy.

If it really is true that we see around 5000 marketing messages a day, then it goes without saying that differentiating yourself from the competition is absolutely necessary if you want your business to thrive.

If you want to stand out in a crowded market, here are three tips you need to try.

 

How to Stand Out from the Crowd

1. Put the people first

Once you realize not enough businesses prioritize their customers, it’ll become easier to center your strategy around them. You can automatically get ahead of the game by taking extra measures to satisfy your loyal customers.

Show customers you care by taking care of them and they’ll continue coming back. Make yourself stand out as a brand — no matter how popular or widespread you are — by putting people first not just by words like all businesses do, but by actions.

Set up a rewards program for people who keep coming back to you when so many other options exist. Since its app relaunch in 2016, Starbucks introduced their new and improved mobile loyalty rewards program where customers earn stars for every dollar spent and get free food and drink in return.

Users of this program make up a whopping 39 percent of Starbucks’ total sales. That’s an insane amount of revenue just from the app! And it’s only possible because Starbucks puts their customers first.

2. Make it simple

What’s more frustrating than trying to make an online purchase but failing because the process to do it is confusing or irritating? Almost nothing.

Potential customers aren’t going to jump through hoops to buy from you or learn more about your products. You have to make that process as stress-free and simple as possible for them.

On top of that, consumers expect a simple experience. If buying from you is a hassle or takes too much time, they’re going to skip to the next thing. Convenience is key if you want to retain loyal customers.

Scope out existing problems in your business model. Does the mobile experience work as seamlessly as the desktop version? Do glitches or broken links exist on your website? Is it as simple as A to B to C when customers try to check out an item? Is there a lack of customer service?

Apple has a specific formula they follow to ensure a simple and enjoyable experience for their customers which goes by the acronym APPLE:

• Approach customers with a personalized warm welcome
• Probe politely to understand all the customer’s needs
• Present a solution for the customer to take home today
• Listen for and resolve any issues or concerns
• End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return

The truth is, loopholes can exist anywhere in your model. What’s important is identifying them as soon as they occur and resolving the issues as quickly as possible. There are far too many businesses who don’t put themselves into the consumer’s shoes and create a less-than-satisfactory customer experience. You can stand out from the rest by ensuring you have the easiest buying process out there.

3. Humanize your brand

One of the worst mistakes competitors make is centering the buying process around the product and forgetting about the consumer. This is the fastest way to lose their interest and attention. If brands aren’t appealing to the people buying the products, they won’t get sold. Yet so many businesses fail to realize this and implement it into their strategies for better outcomes.

The best way to do this is to start a conversation.

Ask your consumer base what they love about your brand and what they could do without. Find out what makes their experience easier or more difficult. Set up a survey, poll or contact form on your homepage asking consumers what they think about the buying process and how accessible it is. This is the most direct way to get in touch with people’s honest opinions.

Over to you

In business, standing out from all the rest is tricky. You have to know who you’re selling to and what the people want if you’re going to succeed long-term. You also want to think outside the box and cater to your customers who keep coming back to you and love what you do. By centering your business around people instead of products, you’ll get through to a larger consumer base and appeal to people who care about your message.

Culled from Business2Community

7 Tips To Improve Your Brand Communication Strategy

 

Creating a brand is an effective strategy to reach out to your customers. But, it is certainly not a child’s play. Brand communication plays a crucial role in building a sturdy and robust brand. However, there are certain strategies and tactics that can be used in creating a persistent brand name.

How To Improve Your Brand Communication Strategy

How are big brands created? The journey from being an organization to a brand name that resonates with its customers is not an easy one. Brands are not made overnight. It is your customers who hold the power to turn your product/service into a hot selling brand! The key is communication. If the brand communication is clear and hits the audience in the right places, you’ve got a winner.

With social media as a powerful communication tool, every business has the means to directly communicate with its end user. Imagine the power to not just reward a loyal customer instantly, but also handle and retain a disgruntled customer with tact and ingenuity at that very moment when the user shares a bad experience. Here we discuss how you can establish such a resilient brand communication strategy and win your customers’ approval every single time. Even when you goof up. Yes, that’s right. When you build a strong relationship with your consumer based on trust and mutual admiration, your customers become your loyal brand evangelists. And they do forgive a slip up just like they forgive an erring friend. Confused? Let’s understand.

 

Finding Your Brand Voice

To find the right voice for your brand it is imperative to first figure out the following:

• Identify your buyer personas
  Learn and research your core customer groups. It’s the best way to get started when you are still looking for the right voice for your brand. The ideal way to know if you’re touching the right cords with your customers is to know what kind of customers you’re catering to.
• Know your USPs
  Once you figure out who you’re going to talk to, it’s time to understand what you’re going to talk about. What is the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of your product that makes it stand out from others? How is your brand giving value to the customer?
• Build a brand personality
  Given your USPs and buyer personas, choose a personality you wish to showcase to your customers. Ensure that your brand personality remains consistent throughout different channels and touchpoints. This will help consumers identify with your brand and connect in a better way.
• Choose your marketing mix
  With every business going digital, it’s best to recognize the most high-paying and valuable channels for your branding exercises. Choose media that suits your brand and is preferred by your target audience. Whether it’s social media, email marketing, or marketing event presentations, make sure it has the same brand voice.
  
  

How To Follow A Winning Brand Communication Strategy In 7 Easy Steps

1. Be Genuine And Honest

You don’t need celebrity brand ambassadors promoting your brand if your customers become your brand advocates. If they’re the ones talking about your brand, sharing with their peers and spreading positive word-of-mouth publicity for your brand, who needs anybody else. They are your most genuine and authentic agents of brand promotion. Therefore, it is your prerogative to ensure that all brand communication from your end is also genuine and spontaneous. Don’t use automated replies nor respond like a bot. A humanized, empathetic, and authentic brand voice builds an immediate connection with the audience which is built on trust. Don’t make your responses seem forced. Tackle them with a humane touch, always.

2. Create Conversations

When a customer shares a positive experience, go further than just saying ‘thank you’. Give open-ended responses and strike conversations that help your brand find its humanized voice. People love it when a brand takes the time to have a conversation with them – one on one. Even if it’s a fun and playful conversation, people will remember your brand more for how you made them feel. When you reach that stature of having natural real-time and positive conversations with your customers, soon they will be the ones doing your marketing for you.

3. Provide Relevant Content

In the world of brands, content is still the king. Creating content that appeals to the target audience and is yet relevant to your brand needs a bit of skill and practice, but it isn’t rocket science. It’s a wise and smart choice to always ask your audience to share, comment, vote, or suggest what they wish to see more of. When you listen to them, they will listen to you! In this way, your customers become the co-creators of your content.

4. Don’t Always Self-Promote

People don’t like brands that just gloat about themselves. Even in the real world, people don’t like those who can only talk about themselves. Similarly, brands that overtly promote themselves without offering any value to the client, are often at the risk of losing customers, and that too without any apparent reason.

5. Be Transparent

Being open and transparent, and letting your customers in on what’s going behind the scenes helps a brand earn the trust of customers. This practice not only helps the organization educate customers but also dispel rumors and improve brand awareness – all the while attaining a special respectful place in the consumer’s mind.

6. Post Some Content For Pure Fun And Customer Enjoyment

Post content that you think your audience will enjoy, just for the sake of fun and some light-hearted enjoyment. Do not put any link to your blog or any other Call-To-Action. This will send a strong message to your followers that you’re not just here to sell, but to delight and serve your audience. This will make the readers look forward to reading your content and also enhance the confidence they have in your brand.

7. Leverage Consumer-Generated Content

Pay close attention to what your customers are saying or sharing in forums/comments about your brand. And when you know what they want, act quick and give them what they want. Leveraging user-generated content is not as hard as it seems. As customers continue to take co-ownership and influence their favorite brands, companies should work on improving their product offerings based on that. Simply share consumer content and tweak your services/products/communication to give your audience exactly what they want.

With the advent of the digital age, the focus is now not how to market your product to the consumer, but how to market your product with your consumers! With these 7 tips of collaborative marketing, a branding communication strategy will work wonders by targeting its consumers effectively and successfully.

 

Culled from E Learning Industry

7 Steps To Attracting Customers Away From Your Competitors

 

One of the most lucrative ways to improve your business is to attract your competitor’s customers to your business. Consumers will switch brands and businesses if they can see real value, so you need to give them a pretty good reason to choose your business over your competitors.  

Thorough competitor analysis is the strategic way of developing a clearer picture of what’s happening in the market and giving you a basis to develop your own action plan. Follow the steps below to make your business irresistible to your competitor’s customers.

 

How To Attract More Customers (While Pulling Them Away From Your Competitors)

1. Lower your prices

Simply being the cheapest supplier can be an effective way to attract new customers, but what your business sells will have a major impact on how effective this technique will be. If your business sells commodity items such as books, CDs, DVDs etc., which are identical no matter which retailer sells them, consumers will look for the cheapest price. 

Value, however, is often related to price. An item that has a very low price can frequently be perceived as inferior. Look closely at the pricing structure of your competitors before slashing your own prices, as this could damage the brand value of your company.  

And value for money doesn’t simply mean more for your money, as the equation consumers use to decide what price they want to pay for any goods is complex. Attracting customers away from competitors may have a price component, but this isn’t the only factor consumers will use for goods that are not seen as commodities.

2. Create brand loyalty

Inviting customers to become part of your brand can be a powerful attractor. Companies such as Apple illustrate how successful strong brand values can be. Consumers want to be part of a group or tribe that not only delivers great goods or services but, also shows the people in their network they support the values of the brand they associate themselves with.

Trust and interest in a business’ customers and what they do are strong ways your business’ brand can become highly attractive to your competitor’s customers. The emotional ties your business can make via social media for instance can be highly effective. In addition, it has been shown that consumers who are emotionally connected to a brand are less price sensitive, which is why Apple can charge so much more for its products.

3. Raise your profile

As consumers are constantly bombarded with marketing messages, making your business stand out from the crowd is vital. Marketing of course has always been critical to all businesses. 

However, today, social media has enabled direct and highly personal connections to be made with groups and individuals. This granular marketing is a highly effective way to raise your business’ profile in the minds of your competitor’s customers.

Remember though that overt marketing and selling techniques can have a negative impact across social media networks. Discounts and competitions are proven to be highly popular with consumers. Offering these across your social networks could enable you to steal some of your competitor’s customers.

Consumers are also looking for help, support, value and something to share with their networks. Creating content for these groups delivers these shareable materials, which could mean your brand and business becomes more desirable to buy from than your competitors.

4. Encourage brand advocates 

One of the most powerful ways to attract customers from your competitors is via word-of-mouth. A personal recommendation – often on social media – can have a profound impact on consumers looking for goods and services. Indeed, Nielsen discovered that word-of-mouth recommendations are the most credible. No amount of advertising can beat a personal recommendation from a trusted friend, colleague or family member. Look closely at your business’ key influencers. These are groups and individuals that have shown a keen interest in your brand and its goods or services. Your business should support these groups or individuals, as they can often be the start of a recommendation that is then widely disseminated across what could be vast networks. Brands can encourage brand advocacy through referral marketing strategies and techniques. As a small business owner, this can be an effective low-cost acquisition channel if done well.

5. Find the gaps

Think about the market sectors your business is trading within. You should be constantly looking to innovate and fill the gaps with new goods and services. One of the most effective ways to attract customers away from competitors is to not only offer something unique, but something that you know is missing from the market. 

Use social media to constantly assess your market. Ask your customers what goods or services they would love to see become available. Your competitors may come along with something similar later, but your business was first to market, which can gain new loyal customers.

6. Support your customers

According to Oracle, 89% of consumers would move to a competitor if they had a poor customer service experience. Today thanks to social media, customer service has become an almost real-time exercise. Twitter is now one of the most used channels for consumers to contact the businesses they buy from.

Moreover, consumers are using their experience of a business’ customer service support as a means to differentiate businesses in any given market, which they use to decide where to spend their money. Making a personal connection to them is critical. SpotOn revealed that 41% of consumers buy from businesses that send personalized emails.

It’s a simple equation: the better your customer service the more customers your business will attract – and more importantly – retain over the long-term with high levels of loyalty. 

7. Invest in m-commerce

How consumers now connect and buy from businesses has changed. The internet has of course become a massive channel for commerce, but mobile commerce looks set to eclipse even the huge success seen with e-commerce. Businesses that can embrace the mobile space will be highly attractive to customers – especially those in the lucrative millennial group.

Businesses that can use the mobile channel with dedicated websites and apps will be able to gain the customers looking to do even more with their phones and tablets. As figures from eMarketer suggest that nearly 50% of m-commerce sales are completed with smartphones, businesses need to ensure they are fully supporting this burgeoning channel across their businesses.

And the app economy shows no sign of slowing. According to the Business of Apps global revenue from in-app purchases could reach USD $189 billion by 2020. What is clear for all businesses, is if they can expand into m-commerce this could be a massive attractor for competitor customers.

Getting the particulars right can be a big deal. In that case, you need to reach out to a specialist agency like TRW Consult to assist you.

 

Culled from Fleximize

Lady Gaga Taught Me These 4 Secrets To Building A Successful Brand

Lady Gaga is on fire … again. With her recent breakthrough performance in A Star Is Born, she is generating a lot of Oscar buzz. In the film, Gaga plays Ally alongside Bradley Cooper’s Jack — a couple whose personal relationship struggles as Ally’s professional life takes off. With many publications betting she will shine during award season, Gaga is hot.

But, this isn’t Gaga’s first rodeo. Having launched her singing career around 2007, she has been a chart-topping role model for thousands of fans, broken records, taken home countless awards and influenced the industry.

Yes, she is an international star. But, she is also an extremely savvy businesswoman — and I have learned everything from her when it comes to building my successful business, Archangel, which helps mission-driven entrepreneurs, and its annual conference, Archangel Summit.

It was around 2013 when I started following Gaga. I was watching the music industry – and it was in a decline. Yet, there were some artists who were killing it. Lady Gaga was one of them. While she had been around (and super successful for years), she was continuing to get stronger and stronger, despite the current landscape. At the time, I knew nothing about her, but I was intrigued by her success. What was so special about her? I began my quest to figure that out.

 

Secrets to Building a Successful Brand

 

Here is what I learned from Lady Gaga on what it takes to build a successful business – and what you can learn from her, too.

 

1. Get crystal clear on who you want to help.

It is so important to find the right customers for your company.

Like a lot of people, Lady Gaga is attracted to people who were like her. She has written countless times about being bullied in school and feeling like an outsider. It was these same people she went after when she decided to build her community (more on that in a bit).

For me, I needed my perfect avatar to target. I wanted to help entrepreneurs like me: those who are mission-driven and want to create an impact. To find these people, I met with anyone and everyone and started asking a million questions to get to the root issues and how I could be of help. I started to look for patterns to define my mission.

For you, focus on whom you want to help right off the bat. Take a stand. Look at your core values, what issues are important to you and your mission. This will help create cohesion and bonds among your core base. Look for those people who fit into that community. But also, just as importantly, do not try to please everyone. You can’t.

 

2. Build a tribe.

 

Next, you need to find these people — a lot of these people — and build your tribe.

When it came to building her community and ambassadors, Lady Gaga didn’t go for the traditional, top 40 pop audience. She went after the fringe — the people who were bullied, those who didn’t fit in, the outcasts — and made them her family. And then she branded her tribe — “Little Monsters” — which was so important.

Every year, for our Archangel Summit, we sell out, with more than 3,000 people attending. We are able to accomplish this by building our own tribe. When I launched the entire Archangel platform, I didn’t start off with a product, service, experience or event and try to sell people on that business model. Rather, I started off with a tribe and asked out how could I serve them.

By going down this path, it is much easier, in the end, for entrepreneurs to sell. After finding this passionate audience, you can figure out the most common challenges this tribe is facing and how you, as the founder, can be the most helpful.

 

3. Focus on being memorable.

 

Whatever you do, be remembered.

Usually, when artists perform, they do pretty much the same act in each city. It can be a bit, well, blah. But, Gaga customizes her shows to each specific audience — adding in personal touches to make each performance memorable. It is very micro level. So, people throw things on stage, and she interacts with them. I have seen her do it with a Canadian flag, which she danced with; a denim jacket she put over her dress; and a touching moment, when a concertgoer named Brittany tossed up a letter. Lady Gaga stopped the set, opened the letter, learned that the girl had just come out to her parents, who didn’t accept it, and asked Brittany on stage. She then sang directly to her. I am not rehashing this story for no reason; I am doing so because I remember every single moment of that concert.

In each instance, she made people feel special, like they belonged.

For us, I go crazy when it comes to the day of the Archangel Summit event. It isn’t just panels and keynotes, but also Cirque du Soleil-style performances. I do this to not only keep people energized, but because I haven’t seen it anywhere else.

Do the same for your own business. Do things that don’t scale — and they don’t have to be such a grand level as having trapeze artists swinging through your event. For instance, you can insert personalized videos into emails, thanking someone for her purchase. Or send a special thank-you card after your service. Whatever you choose, you just need to show people you care about them.

 

4. Keep the momentum.

 

There are only so many product launches you can have, events you can hold or online courses you can unveil. Between those big milestones, keep the community going.

Lady Gaga does it by creating a special, almost secretive culture. She and her Little Monsters greet each other with the “Monster Claw” sign and use words like “monster hugs” to show affection for each other. They have their own social media platform where they can interact all year round, and a strong Facebook page where Gaga often posts.

What I have done that can work for any founder is create a strong social media group. (Some people do this with Google, others with Facebook.) In it, we highlight stories of community members and the impact they’re creating, we co-create our events with the tribe (for instance, asking which speakers to have for future events) and we share strategies, to name a few ways we engage.

During the year, we also keep people engaged by continuing to educate them with webinars, email newsletters and smaller, more intimate events. These all help to continue to develop this community, so when our next major event occurs, it isn’t hard to sell out.

Culled from Entrepreneur

4 Reasons Why Blogs Are Crucial For Online Reputation Management And Repair

 

What are blogs, and why are they crucial for online reputation management?

Blogs generate good content that eventually pushes down negative links, build trust by showing industry expertise, and is a way to get visible online.

Here are some tips for excellent posts and four ways blogging is important for online reputation repair.

What to Write to Repair a Damaged Online Reputation

A blog is a place for brief, targeted articles online. Knowing what to write and where to post them are crucial details to get right for the repair process.

Blog articles should be at least 500 words long but ideally about 1,000 words (a page or two). The topic should address a specific issue for readers or clients. For example, write about top business-related questions that often get asked, offing some of the best solutions. The idea is to generate good content that people legitimately find interesting and pertinent to them.

Include Keywords, Headings, Images

A blog should include keywords–phrases that are useful for searches, which are related to the topic–sprinkled throughout the article; headings help break the blog into easy to read sections; an image placed at the top, relating to the topic, gives a visual queue to the story; lastly, be sure to include your name or business name a few times, but avoid artificially “stuffing” unnecessarily.

Find the Right Place for the Right Blog

Post to well-trafficked platforms, such as LinkedIn or Facebook, to dedicated industry-specific blog sites such as Avvo.com for law, etc., or general sites, like Medium.com.

The best place, however, is to post an article on one’s own business or personal blog because this generates website traffic, in turn pushing up positive links.

Here’s four reasons why to write blog articles to help repair a damaged online reputation or build a positive one.

1. Blogs Push Down Negative Links

Blogs are powerful tools in the reputation repair process because they can push down negative links. Popular and well-written pieces eventually show up on the top of Google searches, suppress damaging articles posted by competitors, disgruntled ex-clients or employees with an axe to grind.

2. Builds Trust, Showing Industry Expertise

Building trust and showing that you are an expert in your field is another prime benefit of blogging. If someone conducts a Google search–which clients do–and there is little information, the business could be perceived as not being active, inexperienced or not tech savvy. Having a list of articles that address prospective clients’ concerns shows expertise, leading directly to increased sales.

3. Part of a Social Media Strategy

Blogging is, or should be, a vital part of a social media strategy. A great way to generate interest in social media feeds is to write good quality information. Writing a blog post and then sharing it on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Crunchbase, etc., not only makes those posts more visible, but they also generate more traffic on those platforms.

4. Blogs Create Backlinks

Blogs are also powerful because they create backlinks–links that go back to your site–which Google finds very favorable and is a key part of its ranking formula. This too is a way to drive up positive articles, helping to push good ones to the top of Google searches, thereby suppressing negative pieces off the first or second page.

Bottom Line

Writing a blog should be an integral part of online reputation management and repair because it pushes down negative links, shows you as an expert, improves existing social media campaigns and helps your Google ranking. The key is constantly writing quality articles.

This article was first published on Recover Reputation

How To Build An Effective Marketing Pitch In 11 Steps

 

As a freelance business professional, you’re involved in every aspect of your company. This includes building an effective marketing pitch, for yourself and for your business.

So what is a marketing pitch? Simply defined, it’s a line of talk that is designed to persuade someone, such as a presentation to sell a product or service. But it can also be about selling yourself, to gain new clients or to promote your business.

As a freelancer, you’re often selling yourself and your business, so it’s important to know what is a marketing pitch and how to build one to benefit your business.

1. Start With Your Personal Marketing Pitch

As the “face” of your business, your personal marketing pitch is as important as a sales pitch for your services. Think of your personal pitch as an advertisement for you as the head of the company. Advertisements grab interest in one minute or less, so think about your personal value and how you can present that to prospective clients or even colleagues who can, in turn, recommend you to clients:

• Craft a confident statement about yourself and your value.
• Support the statement with relevant facts about your value (a summary of your education and experience, for instance).
• Include why you’re the best choice over anyone else (without degrading others).

Once you have your personal “commercial” crafted, memorize it and practice saying it. Imagine that you had to deliver a pitch in an elevator, with only 60 seconds to win over a prospective client. Your conviction is the biggest marketing tool for your personal pitch.

2. Customize Your Personal Pitch As Necessary

Once you’ve defined your personal “brand” or marketing pitch, be sure to adapt it as necessary, depending on your audience or the job you’re trying to attain.

Part of being effective with a marketing pitch lies in knowing the needs of your prospective clients, and ensuring you can meet those needs with the value you bring to the table. Consider these top tips from Bonsai as you move forward with your business.

3. Build A Marketing Pitch For Your Business

You’ve worked on your personal pitch, so what is a marketing pitch for your business? Basically telling a story that’s compelling enough that customers want to hire you. Through your pitch, you are introducing your services to an audience that knows nothing about your business, and trying to convince them that hiring you will provide benefits to them.

It’s important that you start with your list of services and how they bring value to customers. By spending some time considering the value your business can bring, you are crafting the beginning of your pitch.

As freelance blogger Linsey Knerl states, “There is no greater tool than your original proposal to a potential new client.” Spend time on it.

4. Customize The Business Pitch

If your business offers different services, your pitch is not a one-size-fits-all package. Each component of your business brings a different value proposition.

Now that you have the basics, you’re ready to develop customized marketing proposals for potential clients. Bonsai can also help with marketing pitch ideas and tools for developing specific freelance proposals.

‍5. Consider What’s Best For Your Client

When you get to developing specific marketing pitches for specific customers, remember to ask yourself the most important question: How can I help this client?

A pitch is not about you and your business. A marketing pitch must be focused on your customer. The best way to build your value proposition is by describing: “My company will help you, the client, with X service that will provide X benefits.”

It’s especially powerful to use the language of helping the customer, for instance, “I will help improve customer conversion rates with my blog writing.”

Another tool for building a pitch is by having a conversation with your prospective client, rather than talking to them about what they need. If you are able to build a relationship with a prospective client, you will be better able to demonstrate how your product or service offers a solution to their problem.

Imagine the wisdom gained having a dialogue with clients, when possible. This is a shift from the traditional images of pitches consisting of salespeople in plaid suits conducting a monologue to tell customers what they need.

6. Learn From Others

Don’t be afraid to look around and see what others have done that works, including your competition. If you’re not an expert on developing a pitch, do research on what others have done that has been successful. Utilize resources such as the Bonsai website and study successful marketing pitch templates.

Don’t just look at marketing pitches. There are also many resources for pitches that entice investors to commit to a start-up, for instance. While you may think this isn’t relevant, there are nuggets of wisdom in these resources that can help focus your thinking for your marketing pitch.

‍7. Customize For The Medium

This step is important, as there are multiple ways you can connect with customers.

If your cold-pitch will be conducted via email, it’s important to carefully craft each component of the email, from the subject line to the body of the email to any relevant attachments.

If the pitch will be conducted in person, there are a variety of ways to get your message across, from a short PowerPoint presentation to a simple conversation.

It’s important to do your research first, so you understand the customer’s business and can have a valuable conversation with the customer. It’s also important to consider the customer’s needs, which can be as simple as asking if they would like to see a presentation on your business.

Depending on your type of freelance business, Bonsai can offer some guidance, such as how to create a design portfolio.

8. Gather Proof Of Your Value

One of the best ways to demonstrate value is to show the potential client how you have helped others. You can do this in several ways:

• Add testimonials from satisfied customers. Ask for testimonials every time you complete a successful contract.
• Add legitimate research that shows how your service can benefit businesses.
• Use a case study of work you have done that was successful, starting with the customer’s problem through to your solution.
• Provide an added benefit with an offer for a free trial or a money-back guarantee.

Bonsai has plenty of other ideas for building your reputation as a freelancer.

‍9. Don’t Overdo It

Any type of pitch needs to be focused and to-the-point. It’s often more difficult to craft something short rather than something long. But it’s worth the extra time to build a short, focused pitch that doesn’t waste the time of the customer, or cause them to lose interest.

Be sure not to give too many choices to the customer. Instead, communicate results that your client will understand, in a way that’s quick and easy, with examples if possible.

Don’t add content just for the sake of making your pitch longer or trying to pad your business experience. If you haven’t been in business long, be honest with the client. Focus on what you can do, and how you can help them.

Also, remember that you don’t need to tell the client you’ve built a “pitch”; this will likely just raise the question, “What is a marketing pitch?” As far as your client knows, you’ve built solutions to help their business.

‍10. Check And Double-Check

Whether you’re crafting an email, building a PowerPoint presentation, drafting website material, designing an infographic, or whatever tools you’re using for your pitch, be sure to do grammar and spelling checks.

Consider asking someone to review your content. What makes sense to you make not make sense to others, and they may find mistakes that you’ve missed. You don’t want a simple typo to color your client’s perspective of you and your business.

11. Don’t Forget To Follow Up

Don’t be shy about contacting a prospective client after your initial contact. This can be via email or phone call, and can include questions such as: “Do you need any more information?” Don’t be overbearing and pester the client, but a simple follow-up in a few days is often overlooked and can spur the client to re-consider your business and eventually choose you to do the work.

Final Thoughts

By following these 11 steps, you’ve done the heavy lifting toward building an effective marketing pitch, for yourself and for your business. Now you’re ready to get going on finding work.