The Information Marketing Primer For Helping and Healing Solo-Professionals - Part 8 - Teleseminar

Your Information Marketing business should include both written and audio content in your area of expertise that addresses the needs of the target audience you have chosen to serve (see part two of this series). Later in this series, I will talk about combining audio and written content for a powerful back-end information product. (Back-end information products are more expensive products that people buy after they have bought your less expensive products.) 

One of the best ways to share your expertise is through audio. I wrote about this subject earlier when I suggested turning your free or special report into a free audio recording. 

People want to buy from people they know, like and trust. Hearing you speak the solutions to their challenges helps people make a deeper connection to you. 

Now, you are going to move from a free audio teleclass that is an introduction to your work to a content-rich teleclass or teleseminar for which you will charge. 

You will follow many of the steps I outlined for doing a free audio (see part five of this series) but there are additional steps and considerations.

Here are the steps to follow: 

• Decide on your topic. You may choose to do a single teleseminar or a series of teleseminars on the same subject.
• Give your teleseminar a compelling title.
• Write your content. It is best to script your beginning and end and outline the "meat" of the teleseminar. Don't have more than five major talking points and be sure to include teaching examples. Remember, make these calls as content rich as you can, answering the "what, why and how" of your solution to a problem or challenge your target audience has.
• Your teleseminar should be about an hour and no more than 75 minutes. Remember, if you decide to put this audio onto CD's, CD's can hold about 80 minutes worth of audio.
• Choose a date and a time to hold your teleseminar.
• If you have not done so already, sign up for a free conference call service like Free Conference Pro or No-Cost Conference. Make sure to print off a copy of your call-in information and the codes that are needed to operate your conference (e.g., codes to mute/unmute lines, record the call and end the recording, etc.). Keep it near you before and during the call. If you can afford it, you can book companies that will host and record the call for you. By the way, most free conference lines will allow you to have up to 200 callers on the line at the same time.
• Promote your teleseminar (see some ideas below).
• Have your webmaster create a database to capture the names and email addresses of those who are signing up for the call if you are not using a shopping cart system or a system like AWeber.
• If you do not have a shopping cart, there are other alternatives to have people pay for the teleseminar like Pay Pal or Authorize.net.
• Only give out the call-in information to those who have signed up and paid for the call. If you will be listing your teleseminar on promotional sites, only provide the sign-up link along with the day and the time of the teleseminar, not the call-in numbers (and if anyone else is promoting the call for you, make sure to tell them this too).
• Make sure to let people know that you will provide them a link to the recording of the call if they cannot attend live...this will up the rate of people signing up because listening live is not the only option. Also, after the call,  provide the link to everyone who signs up and pays.
• Send reminders of the call a few days before, a day before and the day of.
• Make sure to get on the line at least 15 minutes before the call to make sure everything is working well. Expect some people will call-in early and it's up to you if you want to acknowledge them. You will hear the entrance chimes when they come into the conference; these chimes also sound when people exit. There will more than likely be a code to turn these off, so be sure to do so when you start the call.
• Mute all callers before you begin. When you are first starting out, you don't want to be fielding Q & A, so there's no need to leave the lines open because of the background noise.
• Remember to turn on the recording for the teleseminar. 

Note: I have a back-up recording system downloaded onto my computer that I turn on the minute I get on the line just in case something goes wrong with the bridge line recording (rare but it can happen). I use EZ Phone Recorder. 

What should you charge for your call? To start, you can charge about $20.00 for an individual hour long teleseminar. If you are offering a series of three calls, you could offer them at a special price of $50.00. 

Promote your teleseminar in a solo email blast to your list, in your E-zine and on your blog. Also post it on teleseminar sites. There are free sites like TeleSeminar Nation and Seminar Announcer and some that are paid sites. Stick to free for right now. There are also ones that offer a basic free listing and a paid upgrade like Teleclass.com. Also, consider asking colleagues in complementary professions to promote your teleseminar. You can also list your teleseminar on Craig's List.

Beat the Credit Crunch - Get Your Business Online

It seems impossible to avoid the doom and gloom of the recession. Every industry, in one way or another appears to have been negatively affected by the downturn; with mass redundancies and house repossessions becoming an increasingly common occurrence.

But could E-commence be the silver lining on the UK's current dark economic cloud? Well it just might. Competitive prices, easy product comparisons, fuel savings and other convenience factors make online shopping an appealing option for consumers.

IMRG and Capgemini's statistics showed that a number of e-commerce categories saw significant month-on-month growth in March 2009, including the clothing, footwear and accessories market and the gifts segment.

Also, new figures have revealed that total UK e-commerce sales rose by 19 per cent year on year in March 2009.

The fact is, in order to compete in today's ever-challenging economic climate businesses must look for every way possible to reach their target audience. And selling on line provides a whole host of sales and marketing opportunities which would have never been possible before the dawn of the internet.

Therefore it has never been a more important time for small and medium sized businesses, many of whom have managed to make a decent living and avoided the lure of the internet for years, to build a website and start trading online.

These include a radically reduced time to market, improved customer relationships, low cost market entry, easier access to a global market and a significantly wider audience. They are also able to compete with businesses much bigger than themselves, as in the online world, as long as your 'shop front' (website) looks the part, then who is to know that you are not a multi million pound organisation, employing 5,000 staff?

So what draws people to shop on the internet?

o As the internet presents a shopping experience of global proportions, there is unlimited choice.

o Consumers can get what you are looking for and quickly. There's no need to trawl aimlessly round the high street as the perfect product is only a mouse click away.

o Internet shoppers will strive to get the best deals, as the retailers are forced to reduce prices in a bid to beat the competition and win custom.

o There's nothing much more comfortable than armchair shopping, anytime, day or night. If you can provide choice, reduced prices and convenience shopping electronically, there is a substantial slice of the market to be won.

So even with all this negativity across the world, your business can still have the competitive advantage by being online. As long you have a good customer friendly website, email, the framework to get the goods to the customer and a strong web presence, there is no reason why your business can't thrive in the recession.

For web hosting, I recommend Storm Internet http://www.storminternet.co.uk.

The Information Marketing Primer For Helping and Healing Solo-Professionals - Part 5 - Free Audio

By this point in the series, I hope you recognize the importance of creating an Information Marketing business as an addition to your practice or as a means to generate income should you decide to cut back on your direct service hours.

Up to this point, we have covered: identifying your target audience for your information products, the importance of having an Internet presence and writing your first information product - your Free or Special Report. 

As I said in the last installment, you may have a definite preference in terms of writing or speaking, so I am going to offer a second alternative for delivering your free report content - in audio format as a teleclass. But, remember, it's important to offer your customers the options of audio and written formats as they do have strong preferences of how they prefer to consume their content. 

A teleclass is just what it sounds like...a class you offer over the telephone. You will need to have a free telephone bridge (conference) line to record this. To find one, type in "free telephone conference lines" and you will find many of these kinds of lines available. I regularly use Free Conference Pro and No-Cost Conference, but as I said, there are many good ones (that are free) to choose from.  

There are, of course, also paid conference line companies as well. Once you get into some serious information marketing and are recording teleseminars you will charge for, then you will probably want to get a paid conference line service as they do have live help available to assist you if something goes wrong. There is often a significant difference in the quality of the recording with the paid services. In this category, I have used Black & White Communications. 

Ask at least one friend to join you on this call (most conference lines need more than one participant to open the conference). This will also give you the added bonus of moral support. Once you register with the bridge (or conference) line company, they will give you your call-in conference number and a participant pass code; there is usually always a moderator code provided too which, of course, you will be using as the moderator. Your friend can use just the Participant code.  

The bridge line company will also give you a series of codes for recording, muting and unmuting, etc. Make sure to mute your friend when you are ready to begin...these lines pick up a lot of background noise. Make sure that your environment is quiet too as the sounds in your environment will be picked up on the recording. Do not forget to use the code for recording (you will also have to enter it when you wish to stop recording). You don't want to get to the end of speaking and realize you were never recording in the first place! (No matter how many times I have done this, I always keep the sheet with all the codes for the conference call right in front of me as I get ready to record - it's a good reminder).

Once you are finished recording, the bridge line company will provide you with a link to the recording of the call. Most of the time, you get those immediately after signing off of the call. Turn this recording over to your webmaster to upload for you. The link to this recording will go into the email that will be sent to your prospect once they have signed up for your free report and you have captured their name and email address. 

An important note...DO NOT just read your written report into a phone...it will come across just this way. The best way to do this call is to write out your opening and closing and use bullet point for everything in-between. Try to have only 3 to 5 main points. Sound natural and unless you are speaking of something very grave, try to put a smile into your voice. You have to emote and project more than you think. Don't worry, everyone sounds timid on their first try. You'll improve as time goes on. 

Once again, here is the formula for creating content, but this time it will be spoken. 

• State the problem or the source of pain for your targeted reader
• Add some real-life examples of this problem or pain - make it more real in their minds. 
• Explain why this is happening or what the causes are or what is the theory behind this problem 
• Explain why what your readers have been doing to date hasn't been working 
• Provide your solution without going into the "How"
• Then give them the next step 

You can make this teleclass an hour or less. If you go longer, remember that you can only fit 80 minutes of audio on a CD, so if you should you decide to make hard copies of the teleclass, aim for an hour and fifteen minutes maximum. (I'll get into that in more detail when we get to the installment on Teleseminars)

Starting a Sunglass Business Online is Easy!

Is it easy to start a sunglass business online? You bet it is! There are many reasons why this type of business is ideal for beginning online. First, your audience can be worldwide, which not only gives you untold numbers of people to sell to, but it also overcomes any seasonal aspects of this product. Sunglasses are used in all seasons, and for a wide variety of protective needs.

Is it easy to start a sunglass business online? Yes, let's look at the simple steps you will need to follow in order to begin your sunglass business online.

A. Decide how and where to sell this product.
B. Locate either manufacturers or wholesale distributors of your product.
C. Obtain photos and ad copy for each style.
D. Determine what your target audience will be.
E. Place ads/create website.
F. Advertise your product.

A. - selling product: use your own created website, a "turn-key" website from a manufacturer or wholesaler, or a selling venue such as eBay or Craigs List.

B. - locating your product: in your browser, enter either "sunglass manufacturer" or "wholesale sunglasses". This will lead you to many possible sources from which to purchase your supply.

C. - ad copy and photos: take these yourself or use from manufacturer or wholesalers.

D. - Important! Narrow your focus! For example, on eBay, you can list under different categories such as "women", "men", "hunting", "fishing", etc., and any possible sunglass user can by a target.

E. - Make ads clear and concise. The photo truly is worth 1000 words! If you create your own website, you will need a little technical knowledge in order to help the website become visible in searches. Starting on a website like eBay gives you very broad reach with little knowledge needed.

F. - Advertise...it pays to advertise. If you have your own website, research different ways to get traffic to it. That can be an expense that you do not have if you use eBay or a similar selling venue.

Is it easy to start a sunglass business online? Definitely, and the above steps will help you get started today. BUT, there's more!

Deliver the goods! You will need to research postage, shipping and handling, and materials BEFORE you place your ads. This is important because S&H costs can hurt your earnings if you do not know what they will be. You can purchase custom boxes from a website like Paper Mart. Packing materials can be as simple as newspaper, paper towel sheets, or bubble wrap. You will need mailing tape. Labels are nice looking, and help your business look professional. Postage seems to be constantly going up, so that is an area to watch. Don't forget your own costs in time, skill, and gasoline/transportation. Communication with your customers is important, as is quick delivery. DO NOT ADVERTISE PRODUCTS YOU DO NOT HAVE IN STOCK....or that you do not know for a fact that you can get quickly.

Finding a Business Online With Business Directory Script

There are business directories with lists of websites that have been compiled for a particular subject, product or service. If you are planning to buy chemicals or agriculture machinery, office furniture or special software, there is specialist website for each of these products. Today, the web has become far more interesting than being just a shopping catalogue, as it is one of the best places to start browsing in one of the big business portals.

The directory is extensively used by big business portals that are superstores, advice centers and business directories all rolled into one. Thus, an online directory is used for bringing together material, services and advice from other sites and it is used to provide a central point of reference for the net users. But, if you are looking for something in particular you can make use of other parts of the directory in order to help find it quickly and efficiently.

But on the other hand, if you are interested in browsing the web, then you can find portals that will make a great starting point of your surfing. The internet is platform for a whole range of business organization working for a cause. Most of the online businesses aim their efforts on behalf of a particular group of businesses, as there are many small businesses or manufacturing industries.

However, the business directory is packed with information that can be used for the target audience. There are many small online businesses that make use of the online directory for providing links to services like insurance, financial and management advice and archives of business guides for small businesses. Thus, there are millions of businesses online that are available with interesting websites that could provide the perfect solution for your company.

Most entrepreneurs who have online businesses and are struggling to make a mark on the overcrowded internet, there are business directories available on the internet that will not only generate money but it will also bring you, your share of fame. One can also increase the website ranking and one does not need to be a techno geek or a web master in order to install the business directory scripts software. The business directory can be used for listing various corporate events, other corporate, self-employed entrepreneurs and many more.

Moreover, the online directory lets you personalize the content in the directory and you can also make sub categories so that the net users can find the information easily. There are many advantages of getting listed in paid web directory as compared to the free business directory. Paid directories are the one that are more efficient and have good page ranks and get you not only quality web traffic to your site but it also give a boost to the search engine ranking of your website. Therefore, getting listed in a quality online business directory is very important for any company who would want to boost sales with online traffic coming from the directories.