Online Business Success | Connie Ragen Green

Having An Online Presence

Once upon a time it was possible to start a business and become successful without the help of the Internet. Those days are long gone as we enter the age of online marketing, visibility and credibility as a way to build a prosperous business with a future. This is now the new ‘normal’ and those who understand the importance of having an online presence will be far more likely to prosper.

Crystal wrote to me to ask for help with her newly launched interior design business. She began offering her services to clients during the summer of 2013 and wants to know if she must spend money on a website and get involved with social media to grow her business as quickly as possible. The answer is yes, as an online presence is absolutely necessary if you are going to compete in your industry alongside people who ‘get it’ when it comes to online marketing and sales.

This doesn’t have to be expensive, as long as you know what to do and how to do it, which I will explain in detail here. And, coupled with more traditional marketing and offline methods can almost guarantee that you will have the very best chance of success.

First, have someone set up a WordPress site for you, using a domain for your business. This may be your actual business name, your name, or a name that includes your industry and location, such as interiordesignsantaclarita.com or santaclaritainteriordesign.com. Both of these domains were available as of this writing, which just goes to show that you will be ahead of much of your competition if you follow what I am sharing here.

Next, start creating content on your topic in the form of written materials, audio recordings, and short (under five minutes is optimal) videos that you can share with your prospects and current clients and customers, as well as with family and friends. Many businesses, such as Crystal’s interior design company lend themselves well to this, while others take a little more creativity to build interest.

Add your content to your new website as blog posts, to article directories such as http://SubmitMoreArticles.com, social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest), within your email newsletter, and in a short report you can make available on Amazon. Start an Internet radio show on Blog Talk Radio and add your ‘show’ (it can be five minute segments if you wish) to iTunes as a podcast. Start a channel on YouTube using your company’s name and upload your videos there on a regular basis.

Be sure to add an optin box to the upper right-hand corner of your website, using a service such as Aweber (http://ConnieLoves.me/Aweber gets you started for just one dollar) to stay in regular contact with your prospects and clients.

Now it’s time to tell the world what you are doing through press releases, live appearances, and traditional print advertising. I use a service called WebWire (http://WebWire.com) to send press releases inexpensively – about twenty-five dollars each as of this writing – and they will be distributed far and wide to help you get the word out about what you do and how you can help others by doing it.

Have fun with live appearances by offering to speak at local meetings such as Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, and any trade shows that are appropriate to your business. Have a one page flyer and a business card ready to give out, and be sure to collect the names and email addresses of those who show interest in your business.

And do not forget about traditional advertising and marketing. The publications you reguarly is the first place to start.  It is my belief that the people who are serious about doing business locally will always begin with a local publication to connect with people who can do what they need done.

Educate all of the members of your business team about the importance of having a website and creating relevant content. Work on increasing your online presence and your business will thrive and prosper in 2014 and beyond.

How To Sell Your Ebook for Long Term Profits

eBooks are a quick way to get content out there in front of your target audience. They help build your credibility and show your expertise. If you’re interested in writing and publishing an eBook but not sure where to start, this post will definitely help. It’s an excellent marketing tactic and not only does it build your credibility, it also simultaneously builds your brand and increases awareness for your business. So where do you start when you want to write and publish an eBook?

Self-Published or Traditionally Published?

In most instances, business owners choose to self-publish. When you self-publish, you control every aspect of your book, from getting the ISBN number and creating the book cover to creating and editing the material inside. Traditionally published books mean that you convince a publisher, like Random House for example, that your book will sell and has a unique topic and approach.

They sign a contract with you to publish your book. You get an advance, generally, and a percentage of sales. They control the editing process as well as the book’s outward appearance. Yes, to answer your question, many traditional publishers are now publishing eBooks. They also facilitate distribution to stores and in some cases they may help promote your book. Choose the self-publish option and you manage the distribution to stores and you keep a majority of the profits.

I have my own small publishing company, Hunter’s Moon Publishing, with Geoff Hoff. We refer to our company as a ’boutique’ publishing house that takes care of everything you need. Contact us if you are ready to move forward.

Distribution

If you go the self-publishing route, you may worry about the distribution of your book. How do you get your eBook into online book stores? It really isn’t anything to worry about. The solution is actually not nearly as daunting as you might imagine.

For example, you can create a seller account with Amazon’s Kindle and upload a book today. Your book will show up in Amazon’s Kindle store within a day or two and you can start selling. The same is true for Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other online book stores. Each store has its own steps to follow to format and upload your book. In general, the process is easy and you can have a book uploaded and ready for sale within a day or two.

Smashwords

Smashwords is an eBook service that distributes your book to a variety of book stores, book distributors, and libraries including iBooks and Barnes & Noble. They also facilitate presales so you can build buzz for your book before it’s released.

Because they distribute to such a wide variety of book stores and libraries, their formatting requirements are a bit more difficult than uploading your book to one book store. However, they offer a free formatting guide and they can send you a list of book formatters who are familiar with the requirements and can manage the task for you for a reasonable fee.

Marketing, Promoting, and Making Sales

The most important aspect of writing, in terms of long-term profits, is how to sell your ebook once it is completed. Whether you publish your book traditionally or you self-publish, and whether you sell your book only on your site or you make it available in stores, the responsibility for marketing it and promoting it is yours and yours alone. Leverage your resources and use what you know about marketing to promote your book. The hard part has already been accomplished – writing it.