tips

Don’t forget to use your Email Signature for Free Advertising and Promotion

Tools & Methods / By

A big part of your business comes from your email so it makes sense to advertise your products and/or services with every email that you send out. You can do this by having an email signature or ‘Signature Tag’ in your email. Outlook and most email clients (including outlook.com) allow you to set up your ‘Sig Tag’ so it is automatically added to each and every email going out, including replies and forwards. We often add our Facebook or LinkedIn tag in the signature – but why not make it more productive and advertise your products!

For example, in Outlook 2010, go to the home tab ‘File’ up on top left (first tab), and then select Options (usually on the bottom). When the options page opens select Email then click on the ‘Signatures’. Here you can create several signatures for different email addresses if you like or for different actions (like in a reply or in a forward). This way, you could have a certain ‘Sig Tag’ for your email groups and another one for your personal email and so on. For Outlook Express, go to Tools and then Options – then you click the Signatures tab on top of the box. In Outlook.com (new live mail) click on the ‘Gear Wheel’ on the right then select ‘More Email Settings’

A few things you want to remember when composing your signature:
1. Do not make it into a novel- no more than a few lines to get your message across.
2. Try to capture email addresses for follow-up sales and contacts if you have an ezine.
3. Offer something free that people can click and get – but make it as few clicks as possible.

Here are some examples of sigtags:
Sincerely,
RoyMogg
Free download will help increase sales

Click to access downloadhere.pdf


Subscribe to my free ezine to help improve your biz
mailto:subscribe@mysite.com
————
Thank you,
RoyMogg
RoyMogg is a marketing specialist who has
written many successful ebooks. Check out
my latest ebook here and sign up for a free gift.
http://www.signuphere.com
————-
Warm regards,
RoyMogg
25% discount on all orders from this link. Click here
and get a free gift with your order and discount.
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—————
Don’t pass up the chance to advertise and/or promote your products and/or services with every email you send! Change your ‘sigtag’ periodically to feature your current specials or sales or holiday events.

Let’s do this today!

The Ten Commandments in Risk Reduction

8 Comments / decision making / By

Risk reduction in decision making comes down to two main considerations:

Increasing our knowledge of the problem by such techniques as soft systems engineering, SODA or any of the many tools that enable us to gain a foothold on the nature of the issue and dealing with the uncertainly of the risk. Here is a simple approach that puts some rigour in our thinking when it comes to breaking down a complex problem and deciding what to do next.

There are Ten Commandments in risk reduction (Morgan & Henrion 1990)

  • Do your homework
  • Problem drives the analysis
  • Make analysis simple (but not too simple)
  • Identify all relevant assumptions (and write them down)
  • Be explicit in your decision making criteria (and write them down)
  • Be explicit in the uncertainties (and the unknown unknowns thanks to rumsfelt)
  • Do sensitivity and uncertainty analysis
  • Iteratively refine the problem statement and the analysis
  • Document clearly and completely…
    … And expose your work to peer review

If analysis can be understood it becomes more acceptable and people will buy in and have more faith in the outcome – but be careful and do not make the work over complex and avoid over simplifications as well. Both stop people making an informed decision based on what evidence you have. Also as seen above document what you do during the process that way when it goes wrong (as it often does) we can learn and move forward and get it right next time – it is particularly important to set down assumptions and what you think are ‘givens’ – these are the points that we most often get wrong.

How to Write a Compelling Special Report

1 Comment / Creating and Publishing / By

Generate Leads – How to Write a Compelling Special Report with Ease by Bonita L. Richter

Writing a special report, or ―white paper, as it’s commonly called, is a fantastic strategy for creating leads for your business.
A simple ten to twenty page document that people can request from your website will create a strong desire for people wanting to do business with you. Writing a special report isn’t complicated. In fact, even if you don’t like writing, you can easily and quickly write a report by following these seven tips.

1. State the “Big Problem.”
You’ll get your reader’s attention if you jump right into what their ―point of pain or problem is they’re experiencing. Demonstrate through writing that you: Understand the core problem they’re facing Care they are having this problem Understand how frustrating having this problem is for them

2. What is the cost of this problem?
People respond faster to alleviating problems and pain, than they do to the potential for gain. So, it is imperative in your special report you specifically communicate what this problem is costing them. Perhaps it is they are losing out on money they could be using to fund a desired lifestyle, to live debt-free, pay for their children’s’ college education, etc. Quantify this cost, if you can!

3. Talk about the general solution.
First, start out by giving a ―big picture solution to solving the problem, such as hiring a coach to accelerate achievement of desired results, or implementing a solid, results-oriented marketing strategy.
Second, talk about how people have tried other solutions, have failed, and why. Examples of reasons why could be ―programs are too complicated to understand or are incomplete or ―includes too much technical jargon. Providing the solution in this format sets you up as THE solution to the problem!

4. State your specific solution.
Lay out your method or system to the reader. This section should be a minimum 50% of your entire special report, and is where you briefly communicate your process for solving the problem. Perhaps you have a seven-step marketing system, or a five-step method for attracting the perfect mate.
It is important in this section to tell your reader what you do—but, not how to do it! The ―how is what you want them to pay you for (solving the problem). However, give the reader some tips and strategies they can use to start solving their problem. This helps build a relationship, and their ―like and trust factor with you.

5. Prove your solution works.
Share the results of your solution by sharing case studies of actual clients you’ve worked with previously. A great formula to use to tell a case study is the P.A.R method – Problem, Action, and Result, and works like this:

1. State the Problem a client had before they worked with you
2. Show the Action your client took, and how the problem was solved.
3. Tell the Results the client experienced; quantify results, if you can.

6. State your credibility.
What are your credentials? What is your success story? How did you discover the system or methodology you use? You can include this information in a one-page biography to establish your authority and expertise on the subject.

7. Tell the reader what to do next.
By now, your reader should be aching to work with you, and excited to take the next step. Point the reader in the right direction, and clearly, specifically spell out a call to action. Give them an irresistible offer they can’t refuse, and a time limit for them to take advantage of the offer.
One final tip…make you special report conversational. As you are writing, think about a specific person you would be writing this to, like a friend or person you know. The purpose of your special report is to build a relationship between you, and your lead. This builds their ―know, trust, and like factor with you. Moving them closer to doing business with you!

Bonita L. Richter, MBA, teaches coaches, consultants, and solo professionals how to market their businesses to increase sales , income, and generate wealth. To download her popular and *FREE* Money and Marketing spreadsheet tools, and BONUS gifts visit Profit-Strategies.biz