By Robert Noad

It appears that what every entrepreneur aims for is an increase in sales. Boosting sales figures is widely seen as the key to increased profitability! Can I assume that if I get more customers who buy my products I would be more profitable? Not necessarily! There are other factors that need to be taken into account too!

How then do you increase profits? You get more customers, or you resell to existing customer base right? It would be incorrect to take a narrow view by examining just one aspect of business. You might have 3000 customers which once bought a product or used a service before and never again. How else can you grow your business? Here are some factors I think you need to consider in sales:

1. Leads
The quantity of leads refers to the quantity of people you, or your staff, talk to in an effort to make sales. Leads can be people who contact you in response to a marketing campaign or perhaps your sales force has established contact with them. Qualified leads are always better to save time and money. Good quality leads are people with money who are looking for your product or service and are ready to buy. Someone once told me that you should know what people want and then give them what they want. People love to buy, but hate being sold to! People enjoy having their problems solved and a lead is likely to be the person that has a problem or a need! Your product or service must be the solution to that leads problem. More leads can be increased by using creative ideas where people can see the picture and the want be turned into needs and must haves! A security fence becomes a need when someone else has been robbed, or hi-jacked.

2. Conversion ratio
This is a skill that only a few can master effectively! Building quality relationships with clients will increase your conversion ratio. For you to be able to determine your conversion rate it is important to record the quantity of leads versus the quantity of sales turned over from such leads. This is the quantity of leads that turn into actual sales, expressed as a percentage. If, for example, you try to sell 10 people a product or service, but only 1 person buy, your conversion ratio would be 10%. If you don’t record your leads versus closing the deal you will not be able to determine your conversion ratio.

3. Repurchase
To get you current customer base to re-use your products or services is ideal. Satisfied customers who have a good relationship with you or your company is that factor that will bring them back to repurchase.

4. Reducing overheads
You can increase profitability by reducing your overheads. More money would be available to invest in those areas that increase sales like training of staff to increase productivity.

5. Margin
To sell goods or services without making a profit on transaction would be pointless. The percentage mark-up on goods sold constitutes the gross margin. Costing plays a vital role in fair and profitable margins. Your competition could deliver a similar product at a better price if you are not fairly priced. Here too information recorded is of utmost importance! What you cannot measure you cannot analyze properly. Figures speak volumes and a good business owner must be able to analyze the figures so he can take corrective action.

6. Productivity
Having the correct people at your work place who wants to be there and make a difference is what we all strive for, but unfortunately some people is just at work! The ideal is to get people who are willing to do more than what is required from them and then reward their ideas and efforts as they make a meaningful contribution increasing profitability!

Robert Noad

URL: http://www.mbimarketing.co.za

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Noad http://EzineArticles.com/?How-Do-I-Create-Growth-in-My-Business?&id=2591363

The attention span of someone who receives your email messages today is the same as a one year old… 1,2,3 zilch!

Yes, we get too many messages and can’t handle them anymore in a timely manner.  So, your email subject line better be short and to the point and eye-catching. You have about “40 characters” to get your readers’ attention and get them to open up your email message.

If you send email messages weekly you may get a little tired and stop writing enticing subject lines because you think your reader knows you and will open up your message.  Not true!  I noticed that only 32% of email messages sent by one of my client’s are opened. Even though these messages are sent to members of an organization who expect the bi-monthly notices. We have been working to improve that percent and are getting better results. The subject line is important.

The biggest challenge you have is to get your reader to open up your email message, and that can happen when you have an attention getting, enticing subject line that subliminally says, “Open me. Open me.”

Here are some tips to get your reader to open up your email marketing messages.

1. Create curiosity. Make your reader want to open up the message.
2. “Free” – Use the word if you really mean it.  There are pros and cons about using the word “Free” in your subject line.  The concern is that maybe spam filters might pick it up.  However, I receive more and more subject lines with the word “Free” in them and they didn’t go to my spam filter.  Use it sparingly or your reader will get tired of seeing you use it.
3. A sense of “Urgency.” Give them a time sensitive message.  Examples are: “3 days left to get the formula to attract more clients”
4. Benefits Sell. Instead of announcing a feature, give them a benefit in your subject line.
5. Using your automatic responder, and use their name in the subject line. It’s always nice to see your name there.
6. Broadcast some exciting news. It could save them time, money, or effort. It could be a new fantastic product or service.

For group messages and if you don’t have time to do your own research studies, I recommend you sign up for an Email Marketing Service because you can get statistics on how many of your messages are opened up each time you send one. This will tell you if your subject lines are working or not. Do an Internet search for “email marketing service” and you will find a list of services you can use.

Another way is to send your messages to a smaller group and use a different subject title for each group — test what subject titles work better than others. If you get more response from Group Mailing 1 than Group Mailing 2 then you know what works better.

People who like to do their own research use Google AdWords to test their words and analyze their click through rates.

Here are some of my favorite titles:

Are you ready to _____?
Can you help me?
Claim your free ____. It’s yours to keep.
Live more confidently with our XYZ Training program
Never worry again with our XYZ product.
Could you use an extra $1000 a month?
Come with us March 17 to ……
Join us March 17 for ….
Invest in your future….Join us on March 17

You can have the greatest product or service in the world that you know your prospects will want to buy, but the first step is to get them to open up the email to read about it.

There is so much demand for our time today that organizations must make their email messages inviting and exciting to get their members and guests come to the next meeting – the subject line must entice them to open up your message and then your message motivates them to come.

You can get many great ideas from the book most copywriters use, “Words That Sell.” It takes practice, practice, practice. The more you write and create subject lines the better you will get. Start today writing better email subject lines for your successful email marketing campaigns.

==========

GET FAMOUS WITH YOUR WORDS

Would you like Celebrity Coach Joan to show you how to write and market your ebook, or help you “Get Famous” with your words?  Contact Coach Joan today for a FREE “23 Minute One on One” coaching. Send a message with the words “23 minutes” in the subject line to… Joan@Words4Money.com

In This Week’s Issue…

* Quote of the Day
* Feature Article: How to Write and Sell an e-book
* Kitty Cat Postscripts

Words4Money.com the Online Newsletter on
Writing, Marketing, Speaking & Publishing
for Independent Professionals
from JOAN CLOUT-KRUSE
Low-Cost Marketing & Writing Consultant

===================
QUOTE OF THE DAY
===================
“Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” –Samuel Johnson

===================
Feature Article: How to Write an e-Book and
Sell an e-Book in 6 Easy Steps
===================

This is a good day for me to write an e-book or e-zine—it’s freezing cold outside and raining here in Silicon Valley.  It’s 60 degrees! I can hear you mid-Westerners and Easterners laughing right now. “This gal doesn’t know what cold really is!” you are saying. That’s okay with me—60 degrees is cold enough.

Let’s write an e-book. I’ll show you the e-book elements and steps you need to write an e-book.

6 Easy Steps to Write and Sell an e-Book.

1.  The idea. The Vision. We need a good idea for our readers and prospective clients. You notice, I didn’t say a good idea that I like—instead my idea must be something of value to my reader. It must be something that will motivate them to click on the link to buy and download my e-book.

2. Organize Your Thoughts. We must come up with at least 10 topics to include in our e-book. Or if you just want to write a short e-book of less than 10 pages then come up with a shorter number of titles.  Start writing your topic ideas then organize them in the most logical manner.  For example, if you are writing about ’10 Easy Tips To Keep Your Car Running Smoothly At All times,” your e-book will include 10 tips (10 topics).

3. Start Writing Freely. Begin writing your e-book based on your outline you created in #2. Since you are the expert in this field it should be easy to write down your ideas. Don’t worry about format, structure or grammar.  Just get your thoughts down in writing. Write freely.

4. Finalize Your e-Book. Now it’s time to put some structure in your e-book. Ask yourself, “What is the easiest way to organize this so that my readers will understand it and follow it?” Always write from your reader’s point of view. Make it easy for your reader to find information and understand your concepts and thoughts.

5. Create Final Product. Now you decide how to produce your product to make it easy for your reader to purchase it.  The most inexpensive and easiest way is to produce a PDF file.  All computers now usually come with the PDF format available to use from Adobe. On my computer I press the ‘PRINT’ button and I can choose PDF from a choice of printing options. It then will produce a PDF file for me that go to my Desktop.

I like PDF files because they look professional. Can someone copy your PDF file? Yes, if they have the Adobe software. However, unless you are creating a “Harry Potter” bestseller book, it is a good way to get started producing e-books. Most of the e-books you order are produced this way. There are other software products that state they make your ebook harder to copy, but they are cumbersome to read because they usually separate every chapter and you can’t print them out easily. They are not available for a Mac computer. I still like to read long articles on the printed page instead of online.

6. Sell your e-Book.

Website. If you have a website set up then you will want to sell the e-book on your website. If you don’t know how to do this, hire a savvy Internet student to help you set it up on your site. You need a way to collect your money. I would start out with a Paypal account because it covers International countries that might want to buy your e-book. Later when you are financially successful you can add a commercial credit card service, but Paypal let’s everyone use their credit cards now so it is easy to get started.

Digital Products Retailer. If you do not have a website then start with a digital product retailer such as Clickbank, Payloadz, and others. You store your e-book on their site and they take a small profit for every e-book that’s sold on their site.  Get the word out. What you have to do is send out e-mail messages to your list announcing your e-book and the great benefits your reader will get by buying it.  You can also ask your friends if they would send a message to their list of friends and colleagues announcing your e-book.

This is a great rainy day project: Write and sell an e-book in 6 easy steps. Now is the time to start writing and who knows by the time the rain stops you may be finished!

===============
GET ON THE WORDS4MONEY ACTION PLAN
===============

* COACHING TRACK – F.r.e.e. Writing Strategy Session

Are you ready to write a book or e-book? Would you like hands-on assistance with your writing and marketing? Joan can help you. Click below if you’d like a complimentary Writing Strategy Session: Joan@Words4Money.com

==============
** JUMP-START 2-WEEK WRITER’S TRACK
==============
Want to get a jump-start on your writing? In two weeks you can have your outline and plan on how to write your book or e-book. Joan will interview you and get your plan together for you. Includes 2 coaching calls and lots of email as needed. For more details and price contact: Joan@Words4Money.com

===============
** SPEAKING TRACK
===============

A Writing and Marketing Presentation for Your Group.

Want a dynamic speaker for your professional group? Looking for hands-on and how-to skills for attracting more clients? You’ve found her! Book Joan Clout-Kruse for a keynote talk or 1/2 day training program to your organization: Joan@Words4Money.com

===============
KITTY CAT POSTSCRIPTS
===============
Have you been following Kitty Cat’s adventures? Well, today it is rainy and cold outside and Kitty Cat hasn’t visited us at all.  That means she is in a nice warm house nearby staying dry and warm. She is no fool. So she is taking a day of rest from marketing to me. However, you notice that she is on my mind, which means she has planted a seed.  And that is what you want to do with your prospects.  Start planting seeds: send postcards as a warm and fuzzy way to keep in touch with your clients. I would send you a postcard except my newsletter signup only asks for your name and email address.  Sometime I’ll have to figure out a way for you to give me this information if you’d like to get a postcard from me.  J Happy “Kitty Cat” Marketing.

=====================
About This E-zine and Your Subscription
=====================

© 2009 Joan Clout-Kruse, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from Words4Money in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live website link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:

“By Joan Clout-Kruse of CloutPower Training. Please visit Joan’s website at http://www.Words4Money.com for additional low-cost marketing, writing, publishing and speaking articles and resources for independent business professionals.” (Please make sure the link above is live.)
—
PRIVACY and SPAM POLICY: I never rent, trade or sell my email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You’ll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
—
TELL A FRIEND TO SUBSCRIBE F.R.E.E. http://www.Words4Money.com

Until next week, keep on going and never give up.
JOAN CLOUT-KRUSE
Low cost marketing and writing coach

March 5, 2009

Many of our clients have a wealth of information to share but it is too long for a blog article. I suggest they create a simple 5-10 page white paper or eBook to virtually “hand out” to prospects and customers.  By creating your great work in a word processing application such as Word and converting it into a pdf file**.  Your eager readers can download the white paper with the click of a mouse. 

Now that you have your shiny new white paper how can you market it? Don’t think because you have created this great book that people will just find you. You need to make them aware of it…even if it is FREE.

I got some great marketing tips for small business from my neighbor’s cat. I call her Kitty Cat.

Kitty Cat comes to visit us several times a day. The minute we unclick the lock on our patio door this red, grey and white striped cat jumps a six–foot fence and waits for us to open it.

It was several months ago I told my hubby, ”Where are the neighborhood cats?” We haven’t seen any for 3-4 years, yet there always was one or two drifting around our complex giving us that loving greeting that only a cat can give.

It must have been the ‘Law of Attraction” because within a week there were three cats sitting on our fence—all equally spread out on their turf avoiding contact with each other with their eyes on us as we ventured out in our patio.  Two of them were what we call “scaredy cats,” afraid to approach us, except for Kitty Cat.  In time only Kitty Cat continued to greet us several times a day as we entered our patio on the way to our garage.

Kitty Cat is waiting for some love as we approach her. We can’t resist petting her and watching her enjoy every moment.  However, we know there is only one thing on her mind right now—she wants to come in our house. She looks forlornly with her Kitty Cat eyes at the patio door. When we are inside and she is out looking in that is the most emotional time for us. She wants in and waits and waits for us to let her in

However, we know she has an owner and is well fed. Our rule is don’t feed her and don’t let her in the house or she may never leave. With our busy schedules we do not have time for pets so it is nice to have a friendly visiting cat to befriend without having to make a long time commitment.

You are probably wondering why I am going on and on about our adventures with Kitty Cat and what this has to do with marketing tips for small business? It is because Kitty Cat is the perfect Marketer. She does everything she can do to persuade us to let her in our house. She is relentless.  At least four times a day she is at our patio door looking in with her green loving eyes.

Even though Kitty Cat is relentless neither my husband nor I are annoyed by her. We look forward to her visits. Isn’t that the way we must be with our customers and prospects? We should be sending loving, caring and helpful messages with tips and ideas that can help them with their business. We should keep our name in front of them and let them know we care about their business. We want to help them. Yes, we want their business because we know we can help them in exchange for their purchase.

Remember those “scaredy cats?”  They gave up and stopped visiting us after Kitty took over with her loving personality. Don’t we want to be more like Kitty Cat in our marketing ventures with our prospects?  Whether it is a book, ebook, or other products and services you are selling you need the “Kitty Cat Marketing Approach.”

Kitty Cat gives us great marketing tips for a small business to use to attract clients and get noticed.

1. Keep your name in front of your prospect through newsletters and correspondence
that provide valuable ideas to help your prospects succeed in business.
2. Give loving, friendly, helpful messages at least twice a month.
3. Be committed and stay in contact with your leads.
4. Let them go when they ask.
5. Continue to build your list. (I am sure that we are not the only contacts in Kitty Cat’s
nine lives.)

In time your prospects may want to open your “patio door” and come in to hear more about your product or service and to buy from you. Be ready to let them in.

Those are the five marketing tips for small business that I got from Kitty Cat. Oh! There she is at the patio door looking in begging me to open the door. Shall I? What do you think?

© 2009 Joan Clout-Kruse

—–
Joan Clout-Kruse, international Writing and Marketing Coach, is the publisher of one of the top weekly Ezine reports for small biz owners covering writing, marketing and publishing on anything words to make money and boost your business.

Find more articles and reports at www.Words4Money.com/blog

Sign up for her FREE weekly Ezine how-to articles today at www.Words4Money.com

This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this resource box are included.

Welcome to WORDS4MONEY
Tips and ideas from Joan Clout-Kruse,
International Writing & Marketing Coach

In this week’s issue:

Quote of The Week
How To Market A Book/E-Book
Do You Want More Clients?
Jump Start Your E-Book/Book

======================
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
======================
“Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense
and persistence, is the quality that
most frequently makes for success.”
– Dale Carnegie

======================
How To Market A Book/E-Book Online Using a
Non-Fiction Book Proposal Plan As A Guide, Part 1
======================

Now that you’ve written a great manuscript with the tips we gave
you in our article on “Writing a Nonfiction Book Proposal,” it’s
time to focus on the next step—marketing your book.

“Marketing a book online” is the focus of this article for a
nonfiction book proposal. There are many amazing low-cost ways to
market a book online now that we have the Internet.   Your job is
to identify from the list below those online marketing ideas that
will work for you. Identify and list the marketing ideas that you
are willing to do. Name this section of your nonfiction book
proposal, “Marketing Online

We are using the nonfiction book proposal concept to develop a
book or an e-book plan because it can help you stay focused on
your book marketing strategy even if you decide to self-publish
and not go through a traditional publisher to publish your book.
Plus it’s a great tool to use when you want to ask people to
write testimonials for you.

Here are six low-cost online book-marketing ideas to use in your
marketing campaign:

1.  Create a blog to promote your e-book.

This is much easier than starting with a website.  Share the
stories in your book and your adventures with the book, i.e.,
where you are speaking, the people you have met, the positive
comments people have told you about your book, and other
experiences you have had with the book.

2.  Sign up for a PayPal account to sell your ebooks and online
products.

This is how you will process and receive payments. It is easy to
sign on. I like PayPal because it accepts International payments.
When we are on the Internet we are International. Expect new
clients from other countries to buy your books and e-books.

3. Get on social media sites, discussion groups, and news groups.

Market your book online by setting up promotional pages on
Facebook and Myspace. Be careful with Facebook and Myspace that
you do not over promote because these are primarily for social
networking and making contacts. There are other social groups
that are more business oriented such as Plaxo, Linkedin, and many
others.  Read their Terms of Agreement to understand the
criteria. Discussion groups, Public news and Use groups are
interested in hearing what you have to say. Some editors check
out these groups.

4.  Write for online publications that give you a byline.

You may do it for free, but you can offer your writing services
in exchange for promoting your book.

5.  Write for article publications.

Similar to online publications. You write an article and promote
your book at the end of the article.  Many times your article
will be picked up by other article websites and before you know
it your name is all over the Internet.  A good example is
ezinearticles, plus there are many more that accept article
writing.

6.  Buy several domain names to use for promotion.

Purchase domain names that are good keywords for your book.
Better yet make your book title a keyword phrase and buy the
domain name. Then have these domain names redirected to your blog
site. Viewers using the domains you have purchased would
potentially be looking for what your new book would have to
offer.

Choose the services above you want to use. Then include them in
your plan. Your book-marketing plan is intended for YOU to
identify revenue streams of income that you will develop after
your book is published. You will write the sources you will use
to do the above. Include how often you will write in your blog,
and send out articles. What services you will be using.  A
book-marketing plan is your roadmap to getting the book done and
how you will market it.

In the next issue we will cover six more marketing ideas
including building traffic and Google Adwords. You will be happy
that you created this plan now so that you can begin working on
your marketing plan and stay focused.

(c) 2009 Joan Clout-Kruse

======================
Joan Clout-Kruse, International Marketing and Writing Coach,
is the publisher of one of the top weekly Ezine reports for
small biz owners covering writing, marketing and publishing
on anything words to find new customers and make
money. Sign up for her FREE weekly Ezine how-to articles today at
http://www.Words4Money.com

This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the
entire article and this resource box are included.

===========================
DO YOU WANT MORE CLIENTS?
===========================

A common complaint I get from my clients is that they do not have
enough customers or business.  It took me four years before I
figured out that getting more customers is a plan. We must do
certain things to get noticed.

Deb Murray showed me how to build my list to attract more
clients. It is working. The good news is that she is starting a
special teleclass series beginning this THURSDAY, FEB. 5 and I
wanted you to be a part of it if you are serious about getting
noticed on the Internet.

You can read all the details at this link:
www.soaring360.com/social-media-marketing-special.php

Everyone I know could use a real online marketing plan. Most of
us merely try the next new thing without a real plan of action.
(That was me.) It’s time we all learned the right way to
approach the Internet with a step-by-step process to create a
plan and actionable work list where we are in control of our
marketing dollars.  We need to attract buyers not traffic.

I plan to go to this course myself and would love it if you
could join me. Deb has given me a 20% discount to offer you.
Sign up today at
www.soaring360.com/social-media-marketing-special.php
and we can learn together how to build our list and get the
right kind of customers.

I hope to hear your voice this THURSDAY on the SOARING TELECLASS
that is going to bring you more leads.

To OUR success, Joan

======================
JUMP START YOUR EBOOK
OR BOOK - 20% Discount.
======================
Let Coach Joan help you get started with your book or
e-book. Her 2-Week Jump Start Writing Program can get you
started. 20% discount off regular price of $497.  Deadline:
February 28, 2009. We need to know if you are ready to start so
contact Joan for a 30-minute interview.  650-759-2042 No
obligation
======================

To order Coach Joan’s Book, “Top 10 Traits of Silicon Valley
Dynamos” click this link:
http://www.rayveproductions.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=506

Are you ready to write a nonfiction book?

It is easy to do when you start with a nonfiction book proposal.  You need the book proposal anyway if you are going to submit your nonfiction book to a literary agent or publisher.

Also it is helpful to have one so you can submit your ideas to book reviewers, friends and colleagues who are going to give you their testimonials, and to the person who will write your Foreword, etc. You will find many advantages to preparing a book proposal even if you decide to self-publish. It will make writing your book much easier.

Here are the parts that you need to write a nonfiction book proposal:

1.  What is your unique book concept?

Go to the bookstore or an online bookstore and review other books with a similar idea to your concept and come up with something a little different. I prefer going to my local bookstore where I can touch and feel the books and read the back cover and the Table of Contents. Once you have enough information tell five friends about your unique book idea and get their opinions. It is helpful to hear opinions from others so that you can make sure your book idea will work and will have a market.

2.  Create a great title and sub-title.

Develop a short, emotional, and memorable title. The sub-title comes next and it can be more descriptive of the title.  One of my books is entitled, “Top 10 Traits of Silicon Valley Dynamos.” The sub-title is, “Inspiring Stories and Great Ideas for Achieving Success in Your Life.”  This gives a clear picture of what the book will cover.

3.  Research your subject well to prove you are the expert to write this book.

You are going to have to show editors that you did some good research for your book. Also editors want to know about the current published books that are the same concept as your idea and how your book will be different.  Great research will help you do a good job with the words you put on paper.

4.  Name your chapter titles and provide a brief summary of each chapter.

Now comes the meat of your book.  Naming your chapter titles will help you with your thoughts, and keep your story well organized. Write a brief sentence or two as to what each chapter will cover.  You will start with the Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc. A typical nonfiction book has 10-12 chapters.

In my book, “Silicon Valley Dynamos” I originally outlined 50 short 2-3 page chapters. Then I decided to interview some successful people I knew to include in the book.  So I shortened the number of chapters to 15 and made them longer chapters.

Start with your chapter outline and summary chapters. Get started with your writing. Be flexible. If you think it’s not going to work the way you set up the chapters, change them to fit your new plan.

This is going to take you time. Find a secluded place to develop your chapter outline where there will be no interruptions.  Turn off your cell phone and television.  Play your favorite music to get you in a positive and motivated mood.

Once you have your chapter titles in place you can start writing. This will make writing your nonfiction book easier to do because now you have a roadmap.  This is just the start of a book proposal. There is much more such as marketing, platform, query letters, etc. We’ll cover those in future articles.

To get you started with your writing follow the above:  1) Identify your unique concept,2) Do your research,  3) Create a title and sub-title for your nonfiction book, and 4) Name your chapter titles and summarize each chapter.  Now you are ready to write.

© 2009 Joan Clout-Kruse
—–

Joan Clout-Kruse, International Marketing and Writing Coach, is the publisher of one of the top weekly Ezine reports for small biz owners covering writing, marketing and publishing on anything words to make money and boost your business.

Sign up for her FREE weekly Ezine how-to articles today at http://www.Words4Money.com
———-
To order Coach Joan’s Book, “Top 10 Traits of Silicon Valley Dynamos” click this link: http://www.rayveproductions.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=506
———-
Let Coach Joan help you set up your book proposal outline. Her 2-Week Jump Start Writing Program can get you started. Call for more details:  650-759-2042   No obligation.
———
This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this resource box are included.