Small Business Marketing - Know Your Customer’s Online Behavior

By Karen Cioffi

Part 3 of a 3 part series.

You’ve done your research and created a product or service to sell to others. And, you’ve researched your target market. Everything is in place to attract potential customers to your site.

But, once you get the prospect to your site, then what?

The purpose of bringing visitors to your site is the have them buy what you’re selling – this is called conversion. The ratio of the number of visitors to the number of buyers is your conversion rate.

Knowing your customer’s online behavior will help you enhance your site’s conversion rate.

According to a webinar presented by Marketing Experiments, How to Increase Conversion in 2012, for every action or step you want a visitor to take, it must be worth his time and money – it must be worth the opportunity cost.

In other words, the buyer must feel that choosing your product or service is of greater benefit compared to spending that money and time on another product or service. And, each step in the buying process must equate to a perceived benefit. The perceived value must outweigh the perceived cost, including time and effort.

The webinar offered four factors or key principles to small business marketing that will help guide the potential customer to the desired online behavior:

1. Appeal – Is your product desired enough by the prospect? Have you made your product and promo copy effective and enticing enough?

2. Exclusivity – Can the prospect find your product or service elsewhere online or is your offer unique and exclusive?

3. Credibility – Are your promo copy claims believable enough for the prospect to take action?

4. Clarity – Can the prospect quickly and easily understand what your site and offer is about? And, are the steps needed to purchase what you’re offering easy to follow and minimal? Having an effective heading that conveys the value of the offer, is essential to this element.

These four key principles are necessary to your small business internet marketing strategy – they’re needed to effectively lead a customer through the steps of buying.

Testing and research demonstrate that you must have “an unbroken chain of Yeses” in order to get the conversion. Along with this you must reduce buyer anxiety that usually appears during an involved buying process.

This means you must simplify the buying experience for the customer to allow for a smooth flow that maintains “cognitive momentum.”

Steps you can take to simplify the customer’s buying experience include:

•    Have an effective image on your site – studies show that images increase clicks
•    Have a clean and uncluttered page – clutter causes distraction, which breaks the “yes” chain
•    Make the shopping cart steps as minimal as possible – keep it short and simple

In its simplest form, your 'customer value proposition' needs to answer the question of ‘why should that customer buy from you, rather than from your competitor.’ And, you must convey that answer quickly, simply, and effectively in order to drive desired online behavior.

What strategies do you use to determine your customer's online behavior and how to persuade him to say YES to your call-to-action?

To read Part 1 of this Small Business Marketing series, go to:
Small Business Marketing – Meet Your Customer’s Wants

To read Part 2, go to:
Small Business Marketing – Know What Customers Buy

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 P.S. To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars, join us in The Writing World (top right top sidebar).

Karen Cioffi
Award-Winning Author, Freelancer/Ghostwriter, Author/Writer Online Platform Instructor
Build an Online Platform That Works

For your writing needs: Karen Cioffi Professional Writing Services

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My #2 Pencil


Do you compose on paper? On your computer? Or somewhere in between? These days, I compose on paper, on my computer, standing on my head. Any way the muse strikes me. But back twenty-five years ago when I started out, I brushed off my trusty #2 pencil and wrote everything intended for publication longhand. Back then, in addition to reading how-to books, I read up on authors' lives--how they got their ideas, their trials and tribulations, etc. In this post, I thought it might be interesting to explore how famous writers did their composing. I've summarized a few.

Quirky, Yet Effective

Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens - 1835-1910), lived in many houses during his lifetime, but he owned only one special bed. It is large and decadent, made of carved oak; he and his wife Olivia bought it in 1878 in Venice, Italy. Today, Twain's bed can be viewed at his 19-room Victorian mansion in Hartford, Connecticut.

It is in Twain's beloved bed that he did much of his writing, including Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain was enthusiastic about this writing method, as quoted in the May 9, 2010 article, "Mark Twain Wrote (and Smoked!) in Bed," by Lisa Waller Rogers. "Just try it in bed sometime. I sit up with a pipe in my mouth and a board on my knees, and I scribble away. Thinking is easy work, and there isn't much labor in moving your fingers sufficiently to get the words down." Truman Capote said he wrote "horizontally," lying down in bed or on a couch. He would write the first two drafts in longhand, in pencil; and although draft three would be accomplished on a typewriter, it was done in bed. Vladimir Nabokov, author of Lolita, Pale Fire and Ada, stood up and wrote on 3 x 5 index cards. Once captured on the cards, scenes could be rearranged later. Nabokov's novel, Ada, took up more than 2,000 cards! For his best inspiration Stanley, a journalist and one of my favorite characters in the recent STARZ miniseries, "Dancing on the Edge," which took place in London during the early 1930s, pounded out his articles on his '30s-era typewriter under the sun and stars on the roof that adjoined his office. Twain said it best, as one of America's best loved authors was known to do, "I used to think there was only one place where I could write, and that was in Elmira, [New York] . . ." where Twain spent his summers. "But I've got over that notion now. I find that I can write anywhere."

Mind-Hand-Heart Combo

Remember in grade school when the pencils we carried in our zipper bags had to be #2's? #1's simply wouldn't do (my #1's squeaked anyway, and came out looking light and weak. And for the record, mechanical pencils never worked for me.) Just for fun I did a five-minute online search and found many U.S. school systems still require #2's in 3rd-5th grade. Some school systems didn't specify. One required a #2 with eraser, and a pencil or cigar box! The term "cigar box" was followed by "Plastice, small size with secure lid." Okay, so the term "cigar box" is used loosely here? Does anyone even have a cigar box these days?

Later, I got Bic'd. I was never the same. What a smooth ride my Bic pen was. That lasted a while. Much later, when I became a writer in earnest I had to revert back to my pencil, mainly so I could erase all the mistakes. I had good company. After all, didn't Capote write his first drafts in pencil? Hey, the research backs us up (Capote and me, that is.) According to John Roger and Paul Kaye in their book, Living the Spiritual Principles of Health and Well-Being, there is an important connection between your brain and hand. "The neural impulses from the fingers are sent back to the brain so that the writing actually releases and records the patterns of the unconscious. I call them 'beach balls,' those things we have suppressed for a long, long time and on which we have expended energy to keep under the surface. They can carry tremendous emotion. So at times you may end up writing very forcefully."

Trial by Fire

In this field of ours, no one gets to bypass the heart. I was no exception. In the beginning, one night I woke up in a cold sweat and actually sat up in bed. I wanted to write freelance articles for our local newspaper but I had to ask myself, Who am I to think I can put together an article anyone would want to read? I was scared. But I couldn't ignore what my heart was telling me to do. I read a lot of how-to books and then went out and found a subject, a blind woman who was a storyteller. I interviewed her and took copious notes in ink. I also recorded every word she said. Then, somewhat like Capote, I laid down on my couch and transposed the interview. As you can imagine, this took hours and hours. All in ink. Even then, I understood the difference between ink and pencil. I couldn't use my pencil. I couldn't take the chance that my notes might smudge; every word had to be verbatim. When I finally got to writing the piece, I reverted back to pencil, wrote it all out in longhand, then typed it on my computer, printed it and hand-delivered it to the editor who had told me he would read it "On spec." Happy days, he accepted it! Thus was born my very first published article. We won't mention that my husband took the photo for the article and made three times more than I did. The fact was, I had sold my first piece.

I soon found that this method took far too long. I had to learn how to compose on my computer. Luckily, this turned out to be a natural transition, and I soon arrived at a comfortable compromise, which is how I have continued to compose today. It doesn't matter where I start--on paper or on the computer, though composing on the computer is faster. The important thing is I begin. I go as far as I can. Usually this first inkling of a story stinks. But of course, that's the nature of the beasty first draft. After the initial flow, I usually write the rest on the computer and print it. It sits for a while. The first edit takes place at a different place than my desk on paper, with my pencil. Oh how refreshing a change of scene can be! Back to the computer. This back-and-forth process continues until the piece is finished.

#2 Goes to Work

Recently, I took another look at a short story that needed revising. Over several years I have tried to make this story work. But, the plot was weak. I've never given up on it, though, thanks to advice from one of my creative writing instructors. She encouraged our class to never give up on a story--just re-work it. Since then following her advice, I have sold several stories that needed a new ending, cutting down, etc. So with this story, I tried an experiment. I changed the point of view, or main character, from an animal to a human (a boy). The transformation was stunning. Gone was the anthropomorphic world I had created, which I understand has very few markets anyway. Enter a realistic story. True, I had to give up much of the original story's charm. Who knows, maybe that charm can work in a new story. The important thing is, I now have a new main character and a viable story. Which brings me to my point: The changes couldn't have been accomplished without a  mind-heart connection--on paper--and without a pencil. I have learned from experience that the very first idea, or change in this instance, may not be the best. However, it's a first attempt, so I write it down. I see if the new idea fits with the story. If it doesn't, I erase it and put in a another new idea. I keep going until I start to feel excited. That's another indicator I have learned. That you will know when the story works. For me, my feelings about the story go from ho-hum to visceral excitement. I rant and pace and get out of breath, I love it so! Thanks to my pencil, I suppose composing in this way offers flexibility, much like the 3 x 5 cards Nabokov used. I had to learn, though, that so many story fixes don't work. I had to learn that often better ideas have to evolve. It is the rare story or article that falls in place and takes very little editing. Although happily, those do occur. With re-worked stories, once the necessary elements are covered--once the story works--the process of editing by going back and forth between paper and computer can begin. Until finally, the story is ready for market.

Next month: My Purple Notebook

For more information, please visit the websites below that were consulted for this article:
"Mark Twain Wrote (and Smoked!) in Bed," May 9, 2010 by lisa waller rogers
"Mark Twain in Hartford," by Susan Breslow Sardone
"Learn from the Greats: 7 Writing Habits of Amazing Writers," by Leo Babauta
"Weird Writing Habits of Famous Authors, December 25, 2011, by Kathleen Massara



Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, has published over 40 articles for children and adults, six short stories for children, and is in the final editing stages of her first book, a mystery story for 7-9 year olds. Publishing credits include seven biosketches for the library journal, Biography Today, which include Troy Aikman, Stephen King, and William Shatner; Highlights for Children, Pockets; Hopscotch; and true stories told to her by police officers about children in distress receiving teddy bears, which she fictionalized for her column, "Teddy Bear Corner," for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Crime Prevention Newsletter, Dayton, Ohio. Follow Linda on Facebook.



The Importance of Rest


Are you feeling the holiday "let-down" yet? Go with it!


The hustle and bustle of preparing for holidays has always been enjoyable for me. But when it's over, I'm left with feeling, "Now what?" or "Shouldn't I be doing something?" 


Rest. The only one who can get off that treadmill is you.


Now is not the time to rev up your engine for January 1st. Goal setting can be over-rated. Are we driving ourselves too hard? 


My challenge for you busy writers out there is to give yourself the next 10 days to rest. That means to purposely set aside a routine.


It's going to look different for each of us but here are some tips:

  • No cooking. Purchase lost of wonderful sandwich and salad fixings and let everyone know the kitchen is closed. It might be a good time to even have a 3 day juice fast.
  • Don't be in such a hurry to pack up the Christmas tree (if you had one). Linger awhile longer with a cup of tea or hot chocolate and cozy up in your favorite spot and enjoy the warmth of candles and lights.
  • Read a book. 
  • Stay in your pajamas all day.
  • Limit or ignore all emails, social networking, and anything that will make you tempted to take care of business. 
  • Watch movies.
Be lazy!

If you work outside the home, schedule this time on the weekends and/or after work. If you have children at home, get on the floor and play with them. The key is to do the opposite of your routine. Make the changes.

Consider what marathon runner, Jeff Gaudette says:
"Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes new runners make is not taking enough rest, or downtime as it is called in running circles, between long training segments or after marathons. Not only does resting for seven to 10 days have little negative impact on your current fitness, the long-term gains you will be able to make will enable you to continue to make consistent progress, year after year without overtraining."
Writing is like a marathon. With the finish line in sight we know how to faithfully stay the course. Taking this time off will not have a negative impact on your career. If anything, it will have a positive impact. 



Part of our success will come from recognizing the need to schedule in rest. We have to take care of ourselves. If we're in it for the long haul we will acknowledge the necessity of scheduling it. And the last week of the year is naturally a great time to do it!

                                                       ~~~



Kathy Moulton is a freelance writer. You can find her passion to bring encouragement and hope to people of all ages at When It Hurts -http://kathleenmoulton.com




Thank You From Writers on the Move

I know it’s a HUGE cliché, but this year has really flown by. On the personal side, I went through hurricane Sandy, got flooded, fixed up, and then moved. I also started a new business, the Article Writing Doctor.

But, the purpose of this post is to THANK YOU for being a part of our online lives, for following our authors and writers, for commenting and sharing our work, and for subscribing to our site.

To further emphasis our appreciation, members of Writers on the Move compiled an ebook of quotes as a gift from us to YOU.

Our members are writers, just like most of you and the following quotes have been inspirational and motivational to them, in writing and in life. It is our wish that these quotes give YOU, our reader, the same motivation and inspiration they have given us.

Without each one of our members and without you, our blog would not be as rich and fulfilling as it is.

Special thanks to Linda Wilson for her contribution to this post.

So, without further ado, here is the link to, Winter 2013 Compilation of Quotes from Writers on the Move: http://www.karencioffi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/WOTM_Winter2013_eBook1.pdf 

As a bonus, this ebook is SHAREABLE, as long as it remains intact. You can use it as an end of the year gift to your readers, as a freebie, or for some other incentive.


Have a healthy and happy Holiday Season and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Happy Christmas



Christmas Eve and those of us who have everything under control can relax and look forward to a more--or less--peaceful day. Me? I'm still winding tinsel round the bannisters and hanging cards, wrapping parcels and eyeing in despair the muddy mess that was my kitchen floor. Yep--feeling just like the cross-eyed penguin in the front row right.

And it struck me that maybe how we cope with Christmas is how we cope with our writing life. I'm a deadline junkie, always flying in at the last possible moment when I know in my heart how much easier everything would be with better planning and, more importantly, sticking to a plan.

Happy. Happy Christmas if you're ready and set to go and scanning this post at leisure.

Happy, Happy Christmas if you're like me in the manic throes of preparation.

And Happy, Happy Holiday if you're managing to take the time out to catch up with your writing life.

My dear husband keeps asking what I want for Christmas. Dare I ask for the day off to plan a new novella?

What's your life lesson from the run up to Christmas? Whatever you're doing, have a wonderful day. And remember, even the disasters will be marvelous fodder for your writing.



 Anne Duguid is a freelance content editor with MuseItUp Publishing and she tries to pass on helpful writing,editing and publishing tips at Slow and Steady Writers 


Writing and Book Marketing - Pitching the Media (Part4)

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Pitching the media requires courage. And knowledge. It helps to know that the likes of journalists, hosts, and bloggers need you as much as you need them. Without content (that’s where you come in!) they have no reviews, no stories, no interviews.

Think of yourself as building relationships when you approach the media. You present yourself as someone who can help them do their job. You present your book or expertise as something that will interest their audience. To do that, your pitch might include:
  • Information that is brand new to a gatekeeper’s audience.
  • Something that will solve a problem for him or for his audience.
  • Something that will entertain his audience.
  • Something that will involve the audience emotionally (a human interest story).
  • An idea how he might use your message or skills in a regular feature that appears in his magazine or an idea for an article for his blog.
The time or space you have to catch a prospect’s attention is limited. The journalist/editor/host/producer needs to know what you can offer that will make his job easier. In the sample Tip Sheet I give you in the Appendix of this book are twelve publicity “No-Nos,” one of which tells you that editors you are pitching do not exist to give you free publicity because you want or need it. They are on deadlines and overworked. It is your job to make this editor’s job really, really, really easy for him. Make it clear that you are there to help and that you have all your ducks quacking in unison.

Start your pitch quickly. Make the media person aware of a problem that you can solve for him, then—just as rapidly—outline how information about you or your book is the solution to that problem. He won’t want your life’s story or a synopsis of your book until he’s convinced that he needs you.

Here are some ways you—not necessarily your book—might be interesting to the media gatekeepers:
  • Hometown reporters want to know they have a published author living in their town.
  • Journals for seniors are interested if you are over fifty-five, but almost all publications will be interested if you are very young.
  • Perhaps you’ve changed careers midstream. That might interest editors of newspaper business sections or business magazines.
  • You might have a women’s or men’s angle that will work for gender-related periodicals.
  • You are a vegetarian or practice yoga and that affects your creative process.
  • You can be controversial. Some say there is no such thing as bad publicity. The exposure and sales of Richard Clarke’s book, Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror was helped considerably by controversy and its well-timed release.
Here’s how your book might fill a reporter’s need:
  • Some editors like the idea that a novel is set in their locale.
  • Are there any premises or themes in your fiction that shed light on what is happening in the news? A book that exposes the corrosive nature of intolerance after 9/11, as an example.
  • Is there a literary interest? You might have written in a cross-genre or experimented in some other way. If your concept is unusual enough, that will be news for periodicals marketed to authors.
  • Is there a strong similarity in your work to a film or book that everyone is talking about? Sometimes reporters tie one book to another, and some reviewers pack reviews of two or more similar books into one commentary.
When we are squeamish about meeting the media face-to-face or by phone, we often rely on mail, e-mail, and faxes. We shouldn’t. In-person contacts bring a caring attitude to your association with editors. Aesop said, “Do you, while receiving benefits from me and resting under my shade, dare to describe me as useless and unprofitable?” He knew that those with whom you’ve built a relationship are more likely to do you a favor and more reluctant to be negative about you to others.

Hint: Scripting a pitch can help. In fact, when you make contact by phone, you can use your script as crib notes to guide the conversation. Well-known publicist and author Raleigh Pinskey graciously allowed me to use her scripted pitch in Appendix Five of this book. I encourage you to learn from her example.

Why do publishers put the pictures of authors on the flaps of dustcovers? Because human beings relate to faces. Although editors try to be impartial, they are human; they relate best on a one-to-one basis just like readers or anyone else. You will have more success if you get to know your media contacts at close range. When that’s impossible, include your photograph in your media kit or add a link to a video of you on the Web or, second best, a podcast of your voice.

If this feels scary to you, make your first contact a fact-finding mission so the editor is aware you want to make her job easier. You might even arrange to see her in her office. Let’s pretend you’re working on your first, big event—your book launch. This contact will require your short pitch to be as close to letter perfect as you can make it. It will include one or two sentences about your book and then a sentence about the launch you are planning. Then ask her questions like these:
  • “How can I help with pre-event coverage?” Word this so that the benefits of covering your event before it occurs rather than after are visible to her.
  • “May I give you photos to accompany your stories or would you prefer to have your photographers cover them?” I wrote to ask for a copy of a picture the head photographer of my local paper had taken of me, complimented her on it, and copied that praise to her superior. All sincere. They didn’t charge me for a copy of the photo.     “How are photos best submitted? Electronically? By mailing slick copies? Color or black or white?”
  • “Would you be interested in learning about (you fill in the blank about one of the remarkable people associated with your launch) as the subject of a feature article?” In case she shows an interest, be prepared with specifics about your story idea. When an editor uses your idea, she usually mentions you and your event.
  • “I would love to have you attend as an honored guest. May I send you a map? A parking pass?” If the editor accepts, formally introduce her to the audience during your presentation.
Caveat: Match the editor to the kind of coverage you’re seeking. Study the newspaper’s roster to learn what each editor covers. Call TV and radio stations and ask the receptionist to direct you to editors interested in different kinds of stories. Check Web sites. Pronounce names correctly. You may want to contact more than one editor for a given event. Here are some possibilities for newspaper editors who specialize:
  • Calendar Editor.
  • Feature Editor.
  • Weekend Editor.
  • Book Review Editor.
  • Assignment Editor (usually TV).
  • City Editor.
  • Beat Reporters. (These can range from business to arts and entertainment.)
When you work with the media, you may need more than one pitch. You’ll need one for what your book is about. That can be wrapped in a pitch about how your story can benefit a specific audience. And you’ll need a pitch about you!

That's it, the last part of this December 2013 four-part series on pitching you and your work.

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Excerpted from the multi award-winning Frugal Book Promoter, http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo

Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Instructor for nearly a decade at the renowned UCLA Extension Writers' Program
Author of the multi award-winning series of HowToDoItFrugally books including the second edition honored by USA BOOK NEWS
Web site: http://www.HowToDoItFrugally.com


Finish Your Last Minute Holiday Shopping with Books


Are you still trying to finish your Holiday shopping?  Books are the perfect present for young and old and can easily be purchased without the hassle of the crowds.  Here is a list of books I’m giving this year, as well as, two that were on my wish list.



For the Writer:
  • Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott -- An inspirational book for any writer.
  

  • The Frugal Book Promoter by Carolyn Howard-Johnson --This is the perfect gift for someone out there marketing their book or still writing it! 

  • Writing It Right!  by Sandy Asher -- This book is a must for any writer in the middle of the revision process.

 

For the Adult Reader:


For the Tweens:
  • The Smell of Old Lady Perfume by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez --- Combing the struggles of coming of age, with loss and cultural assimilation the author provides a engaging story that will connect with all readers. Martinez’s lyrical writing makes this story a great read for tweens and their families.


For the Younger Child:
  • A Troop is a Group of Monkeys by Julie Foster Hedlund.  This book app is fun and educational. Children will learn the collective nouns for a group of animals, and if you are like me….you will learn the names of a few groups too!

  •  Seeds of Change, Planting a Path to Peace by Jen Cullerton Johnson -- Through her poetic text Johnson weaves the story of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari MaathaiThe batik style illustrations combined with Johnson’s powerful story make this a wonderful gift for any child.


I love giving books…getting books…and sharing some of my favorites.  What some of your favorite books to give?





Mary Jo Guglielmo is writer and intuitive life life coach. For more information check out  www.donorth.biz   or folllow her at:

http://facebook.com/DoNorth.biz  

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