Think of Black Friday as an opportunity to bring in new customers by offering a few good Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Not only will this kick off your holiday season on a positive note (and hopefully add to a healthier bottom line) you can take advantage of the fact that people will be shopping online and therefor traffic will be stronger on these two days.

Since Black Friday is all about promoting your business and selling more, here are several ideas  to help you plan a killer selling day (or days).

Be sure to grab your share of sales

The average Black Friday corresponds to around-the-store lines before the sun rises.  Now, of course, we seem to be in a recession, but that may make November 28th an even more profitable time for every business that has something to sell.

Insane deals tend to get people moving on Black Friday, and folks who would prefer to get some sleep may join the mobs due to their financial situation.  Like major retailers, you can try to draw them in by offering big discounts on a few items, and then see what else they spend while they’re in the store.

Read the rest of the Black Friday Boom Forecast here: http://www.smallbusinessnewz.com/topnews/2008/11/17/black-friday-boom-forecast

Small Business Can Make Big Plays on Black Friday

Black Friday is like the Super Bowl. It’s a huge event that draws millions of people. But only the big boys get to play on the field. People like you and me only get to watch.

At first glance, Rafi Mohammed seems to reinforce that with his advice for retailers to woo customers with steep discounts on Black Friday. He encourages retailers to use loss leaders to welcome people back from discounters.

For anyone tempted to compete with the big boys on price, this is a pretty good reason to abandon that strategy. It also looks like a pretty good reason to stay in bed Friday and let the big retailers deal with all those people.

To read more visit http://mainebusiness.mainetoday.com/blogentry.html?id=16424

Black Friday Bargains for Small Business

Black Friday — and the following Cyber Monday — can also be a great time to go shopping for your small business. Just ask Rhonda Abrams of USA Today. She suggests the following:

Strategies for successful small business Black Friday shopping:

1. Make a list of stuff you really need. Don’t buy just because something’s cheap. It’s tempting, I know.

2. Check to see which version of Windows 7 you need. If you have a server you’ll need at least the Pro or Ultimate edition. Upgrades are very expensive so buy the right one.

Read the rest of the article “Black Friday Bargains for Small Business” at USA Today ~
http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/2009-11-20-black-friday-bargains-for-small-business_N.htm

Over at online betting zone Bookmaker, they’ve put out their oddsmaking team’s predictions. The majority of the team says between 161 million and 180 million of us will hit the stores and websites on Black Friday, and we’ll spend between $300-$400 per shopper. Second-best odds were for 131 million to 161 million shoppers spending $250-$300 apiece.

To read what else they have to say read Black Friday and Cyber Monday…Will They Rock? on the Entrepreneur.com blog here http://blog.entrepreneur.com/2009/11/black-friday-and-cyber-mondaywill-they-rock.php

And if you happen to be out shopping on Black Friday, here’s a few tips for you:

Make list: In any shopping maneuver, a list can help you plan ahead and shop more efficiently. Look through sales fliers and check out www.black-friday.net for information on which stores are offering what deals. Then you can prioritize the items on your list, and plan out a route according to what is most important to you. Also list any coupons you have that can be used to further reduce the prices of desired items.

Visit the store the day before Thanksgiving: After you know what you are looking for, visit the stores ahead of time. Familiarize yourself where the desired items are located in the store. Make friends with a sales associate to find out if there will be additional discounts, or if you can reserve something ahead of time (for most doorbusters, though, associates aren’t allowed to do this).

Read the rest of Holiday Shopping: Tips for Black Friday and Cyber Monday here:  http://www.moolanomy.com/2135/holiday-shopping-tips-for-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-mmarquit01/

While you are at it, read 10 Fascinating Facts about Black Friday http://www.pcworld.com/article/182224/10_fascinating_facts_about_black_friday.html

They all mark special ”celebrations” on the calendar. For instance September 13th is National Grandparent’s Day – acknowledge your favorite grandparents with flowers or volunteer for or create an adopt-a-grandparent association.  Honor those who honor children (of all ages) in a special way.  Have a grandparent’s day sale or special offering.  Visit a nursing home or assisted living facility and read to or just talk to some of the residents.

September 13th is also Bald is Beautiful Day – if you are a barber you could host a “bald is beautiful contest” and have prizes for the roundest head, the shiniest head, the most interesting head … – In May 2001 Harrisburg Senators partnered with the American Cancer Society (ACS) for a special fundraiser at Commerce Bank Park.   The Senators raised money for the ACS Hope Lodge in Hershey, a place where cancer patients and their families can stay free of charge while patients are receiving treatment at Hershey Medical Center. Bald is Beautiful Day consisted of players and employees offering to shave their heads if their fundraising goal is met.

September 13th is also Fortune Cookie Day – Give everyone a fortune cookie today – you can buy them at a Chinese restaurant or you can special order them online and include your own messages – go to http://www.fancyfortunecookies.com/ or www.goodfortunes.com to create yours or make your own with this recipe at http://www.redheadmarketingblog.com/fortune-cookie-recipe-for-business-success/. 

September 13th is also International Chocolate Day – another great day to do a chocolate promotion – carry around gold chocolate coins wherever you go and hand them out with your business card (I use those glue dots to attach the chocolate to my business card and use this as another way to spread the word about my company in a delectable way.  A chocolatiere in Florida makes chocolate coins and gives them to prospects wherever he goes, a great way to allow others to offer a sample and promote his business.   

For more Weird Holiday Marketing Ideas check out Quirky Marketing ~ 365 Ways to Promote Your Business Using Zany & Non-traditional Holidays! 

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Tired of spending all your money on advertising and marketing that just doesn’t work?  Here are 10 cheap ideas to grow your business without breaking the bank!

1) Market to Former Customers and Clients. It costs less than marketing to new customers. Make them an offer they can’t refuse, such AS $5 off their next purchase.

2) Join Associations, professional organizations, and civic and charitable clubs. Get involved and become a leader. You’ll make great contacts that can lead to future business. Also, thank new members who join your organization by offering them a coupon or sending them a postcard for a discount or something free.

3) Reward Repeat Customers. Offer a frequent-purchase card to track their spending.

4) Use Coupons to enhance your sales. Give them a reason to TRY your business.

5) Follow the Rule of Three:
*Forget cold calls. Make three warm calls a day to prospects whom others have referred to you.
*Collect at least three business cards a day.
*Send at least three notes each day to people thanking them for their business or something they did to help your business grow.

6) Encourage Word of Mouth from Your Family, Friends and Associates.  Your best advocates will be those who already know you and like you.  Encourage them to tell others about your products and services. Sometimes they just need the nudge to get started. And then reward them for doing so.

7) Send press releases prior to having an event or a contest or write articles for publications in your industry.

8) Create and send a newsletter or e-zine (newsletter sent via e-mail) to your customers to keep your business at the top of their minds. Include tips on flower care, positive news events, specials, discounts and coupons.

9) Give Stellar Service with a 100-percent, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. It will give your customers a sense of ease in doing business with you and build their trust.

10) Partner with Other Companies to promote your business. Find companies with similar customer demographics that are not in competition with your business and create ways to joint venture with them either on a one-time, long-term or event-by-event basis.

For more tips like these check out Rose Marketing on a Daisy Budget: How to Grow Your Business Without Spending a Fortune by Heidi Richards Mooney

Set your sales on fire without extravagant spending by following these red-hot marketing tips

“In all things, success depends upon previous preparation. And without such preparation, there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius

Confucius could have had a flourishing  business by following his own advice. Not only can preparation lead to success, but it also can help you do so without spending a lot of money. After all, with careful planning, you can achieve sizzling sales without the need for expensive advertising or marketing promotions.

Be smarter than the competition
In today’s ever-changing business climate, just keeping up with the competition isn’t enough. You have to outthink, outsmart and outdo them. How? By getting to know what they do and how they do it.

Find out your competition’s strengths and weaknesses and what products and services they offer. If the shop down the road sells gift baskets, offer more choices than they do—or better products. If the competition opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m., consider opening earlier or closing later.

Look for ways to make it easier for customers to do business with you. The slightest increase in customer convenience will yield larger and even more frequent purchases. Plus, providing the products and services they want will keep them coming back.

Reward repeat customers
Design a customer-appreciation program to recognize customers who repeatedly purchase from you or who refer others to your business. Send them thank-you notes or small bouquets. Thank them in your company newsletter. Pick up the phone to thank them, then offer a special discount for their loyalty during your conversation.

One day a long-time customer came into my shop, Eden Florist & Gift Baskets, to purchase flowers. When I thanked him for doing business with us, he said, “I buy so many flowers here, I should get frequent-flower miles.” He was right! In fact, soon after his visit, we began creating a computer-generated Frequent flower petals card for that very purpose. The card rewarded customers with a free bouquet after they purchased 12 $25-minimum-price floral arrangements.

To more easily track customer purchases, our computer records each transaction. Thus, if a customer orders by phone, we still can track the number of purchases. When that person reaches 12, the employee taking the order asks the customer to whom they’d like to send their “free” bouquet. It’s not unusual for customers to send the arrangement to themselves.

If they choose this option, don’t forget to enclose a card thanking them for their business. Customers who appreciate your gesture are likely to recommend your business to family, friends and business associates.

Practice ‘rainmaking’
Rainmakers are people who connect other people through referrals, whether it is friend-to-friend or business-to-business. Referrals are the easiest and least expensive way to make your business grow. Start by instilling a referral mindset into your friends and customers. People don’t necessarily know you want more business unless you tell them. And even though your friends may buy from you, they may not think to tell their friends and family.

Though one of my greatest sources of referrals today is my friends, that wasn’t always the case. In the past, I had one or two friends who constantly sent business my way. However, the majority of my close acquaintances did not. One day, I mentioned this to a friend. Her reply, “I didn’t know you wanted more business.” She is now one of my best references.

Some people are hesitant to ask friends for referrals. Why? If you believe in your product and have a passion for your business, it’s a simple request. After all, friends want friends to succeed. And, if they know they have contributed to your success, it makes them feel good about themselves.

If you feel uncomfortable about tooting your own horn, consider the idea from the perspective of finding a great restaurant. After having a wonderful meal, most people are eager to share the experience by telling their family and friends about it. Flowers and food are both emotional purchases—purchases generally made with the heart, not the brain. When you want to eat out, you go to one of your favorite spots, or you try a new place that offers your favorite dish. The same applies to flowers. People go where they know they can find the products they want or people who understand their needs.

Based on emotion alone, referring your business will be easy for your friends and family. And, when the referrals come in, don’t forget to thank the friends and family who made the suggestions. Send them notes and a product sample. Make sure your thank-yous reflect your appreciation for the extra business. An added bonus to this technique is that you’ll surprise people when you thank them, putting you at the top of their minds when the opportunity to make a referral happens again.

Follow-up and follow-through
One of the surest ways to keep customers is to follow up after a purchase. Follow-up accomplishes two important things: It helps you find out whether the customer was satisfied, and it gives you the opportunity to build a positive relationship with that person.

Happy customers may tell as many as three people about their positive experience at your business. This may not seem like it can have much of an impact. But when you compare it to the number of people who will hear about a customer’s unhappy experience—typically estimated as eight to 10—then the number of those passing on their positive experience becomes that much more important.

Besides, if you don’t follow up with a customer, you may never even know he or she had a negative experience. Those people will simply take their business elsewhere. Taking the time to inquire about a purchase after the fact shows your customers you care about their business. It also helps build a lasting relationship with your customers. Not only that, but when you resolve a complaint favorably, you’re likely to increase the chance that the customer will refer you to others.

If your shop is too busy to follow up with every customer after the sale—then at least do some random sampling of your customers. Although a random sample may be less accurate, it will nevertheless provide you with an idea of how a portion of your customers views your business.

To make the task easier, call two or three customers/recipients each day. You’ll impress the recipients, who will want to do business with you, and both the sender and the recipient will know you care. In fact, on more than one occasion when an employee at Eden Florist has called a sender or recipient, that person has ordered an arrangement during the thank-you phone call. So your efforts can certainly pay off.

And don’t forget to follow through on anything you promise you’ll do for a customer. Make it a habit to deliver. When you do, your customers will trust and respect you. And your sales will sizzle!

For more tips like these check out Rose Marketing on a Daisy Budget: How to Grow Your Business Without Spending a Fortune by Heidi Richards Mooney

It is probably no accident that Seth Godin named one of his national bestsellers Purple Cow. Purple, in addition to being a color of royalty, is one of those colors that stands out, gets attention. And in Purple Cow the whole point is to get noticed in a field of competition by being different. What could you do to promote Wear Purple Day to your clients and prospects? How do you stand out in a crowd? Today is a good day to consider additional ways you could get noticed by your target audience.

Excerpt from the book “Quirky Marketing ~ 365 Ways to Promote Your Business Using Zany & Non-traditional Holidays (the original holiday marketing guide) ~ www.QuirkyOffer.com

May 15^th is International Virtual Assistants Day - Host a virtual event inviting your circle to meet your virtual assistant.  Interview him or her about what types of projects they work on, how they can help small business and more. Post the interview to your blog and promote your VA in your newsletter, on your website and in emails.  If you are a virtual assistant, host a virtual conference for VA’s inviting them to share their stories with guests.

VA can help promote the event to their local media and garner some publicity for them and you.  In 2008 the Online International Virtual Assistants Conference took place and VA’s from around the globe participated.  It was a great way to raise awareness of this emerging profession.

Loral Langemeier, The Millionaire Maker  says if you want to build wealth you have to first create a Cash Machine and second become someone else’s cash machine. A Virtual Assistant can take the load off so you can focus on the parts of the business that will make you the most money.

 Any good copywriter will tell you words sell products (and services). Many times people will look at a picture and have the desire to achieve an outcome or be like the photo portrays but it’s the words that get most people to hand over money for your product or service. Words tell the story behind the picture. Words will make your copy stand out, get noticed and more importantly get results! Before you publish a single word, here are four tips to get you started.

1. Take a look at your product or service from the customer’s perspective.  Make a list of all the    benefits (what the customer will gain from using your product) and features (the reasons or justification for buying the product). Prioritize your lists in order of importance.

  2. Now look at what makes your product different or superior to your competitor’s products. What do you offer that your competition does not?  This is called positioning.  Positioning will help you develop the right strategy to sell.

“Customers don’t want to be befuddled by specialized language  any more than you want to be hit with all medical lingo when you go to the doctor. So, speak, write, and present in a language and manner the audience will understand.” Dave Green

3. Who is your target audience?  What are their needs, wants and motivations to buy?  Are they rich, poor, educated, young, older, professionals, blue collar workers, etc.?

4. Create your plan.  What do you need to say to get your point across and how many words or “copy” will you need to make your point. While it is not always the case, a general rule of thumb is that the greater the investment in a product or service, the more copy you will need to convey the message. Keep in mind, there are exceptions to this rule.  Simple products/services with well-known (evident) benefits will require less explaining than those that are more complicated.

Reprinted from WORDS THAT SELL! Finding The RIGHT Words or “WRITE” Words To Get Your Point Across, Get Your Reader to Take Action and Get Your Info Products Noticed!  And more importantly Sold! Including 229 Words & Phrases that PAY! This special report is available when you sign up for Cashing in on Info Products at www.cashinginoninfoproduct.com by Heidi Richards Mooney

In the next post I will share 5 more tips to jump-start your copywriting

The Legend of Pancake Day began in 1445, when a housewife in Olney, England started baking her pancakes rather late. They were not quite finished when the church bell rang. Because she didn not want to leave her pancakes to burn, she hurried to the “shriving” carrying her griddle and the pancakes with her. This began the start of the annual sporting event in England known as the pancake race.

Since then, Pancake Day has become a traditional on Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday aka Fat Tuesday).  

In 1950 Liberal Kansas heard of this 500 year old event and began a tradition of their own. Since then, on Pancake Day Liberal has had their own International running of the Pancake Race every year on Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday aka Fat Tuesday). Their race coincides with one in Olney England and at the end of the race times of the winners in both Olney and Liberal are compared by Trans-Atlantic telephone and an international winner is declared. The Pancake Race has become a symbolic event of peace and unity between the United States and England.

In anticipation and preparation for the Pancake Day Race, Liberal hosts a concert, amateur talent show, pancake eating contest, parade, community pancake breakfast, Kids races, Men’s Pacer race, International Pancake Race, receptions and other special events provide for a full schedule during the celebration.

It has also become customary for Liberal and Olney to send dignitaries to each country, so that an official representative is present at the race. At the end of the race, the dignitary congratulates the race winner with the Kiss of Peace.You can watch a video of last year’s event (2008) on YouTube. 

(source: Pancake Day)

Ideas for Pancake Day:

A local Kiwanis Club has a Pancake Breakfast and Race every year to raise money for their causes.

A local restaurant could host a Pancake Race and make the pancakes, charge an entry fee or get runners to get pledges for distance run and enlist the help of vendors to provide prizes including of course meals at their establishments, maybe a pancake making kit, themed gift baskets and more.  Tie in with a local charity and use their “volunteer power” to help manage the event.

You can read about more events and quirky holidays in Quirky Marketing at QuirkyOffer.com

1. Find your voice – Shannon said it is important to know what it is you want to accomplish with the event.  Will the event position you as an expert at something? Will it add value to your audience? Will hosting it add to your database or bottom line (or both)? Do you know what you want to say? Who is webinar for? (Demographics)

2. Develop Key Messages ~ Attract more prospects. get more attendees. Make more money, become the expert in your field

3. Use marketing tools available such as press releases.

A. There are basically 3 types of press releases: 1) the basic announcement 2) a tips release with bullets and ideas to reinforce the event and 3) the bonus offered for sign up release.

She said to post on all release distribution sites and traditional media every 2.5 to 3 weeks 10 weeks prior. Some of the sites she recommended include: Theopenpress, pr buzz, prcompass, prurgent, press-base, pressabout, pressmethod, prleap, prlog.org,

B. Email campaigns -  Event listings, feature write ups, articles on topic that link to event – 9 weeks prior

Also solo listings to announce event, benefits of event and a last call (Shannon said solo listings are much better than ezines etc.)

C.  Joint Venture Opps – Find others with similar traffic market and ask if they will promote to their list ~ if event has a fee, have affiliate commission, if not offer to help promote their stuff as well

D. Write 3 articles on topics webinar covers ~ ezinearticles.com, amazines.com, ideamarketers.com, goarticles.com starting 8 weeks out – send out one per week.

E. Blogging ~ tweak content to make original, create six new pieces of content to post to blog 6 weeks out one per week

F. Social media ~ every time you post on your blog send a brief chatty post (headline) using ping.fm to post to all social media sites at once ~ go to startupspark.com – get code for free there

Go to www.beheardsolutions.com/ReadyTalkwebinar.htm for checklists and timeline

OTHER TIPS:

Put contact at bottom of release, not at top! News should be more important than you!

After registration: Send confirmation email thank you for registering, with details to attend ~ also the day before send a reminder follow up.

Post your event to Craig’s list.

How do we make money with free teleseminars?  You can now market to list, they can sign up for your newsletter ~ they are now in the marketing funnel and will start getting your stuff…

CAUTION: Only send emails that would add value to your recipient. Otherwise you will be thought of as a spammer and folks will ask to be removed from your list. Be careful to respect their time and above all their privacy.  Even when I get the registrant into my “funnel” they may only hear from me once every 3 to four months unless of course they sign up for one of my offerings and then it will depend on how often that system sends information and offers to the list.

BTW, on November 7th I interviewed Eddie Peters of 4Profit Marketing about this very subject.  He gave some great tips and also made an incredible offer to our guests. He has a Marketing system worth over $1,200 and he offered it to anyone who signed up for his session for only $99. If you want to learn more, send me an email to heidi (at) redheadmarketingblog.com. I will pass on the details.

Also, on December 4th I will be speaking at the International Association of Hispanic Meeting Professionals on “How to Leverage Social Networking to Grow Your Business.” If you live in or will be in San Diego at that time, you can register for this event. It takes place Dec. 3-6th. Here’s the link: http://www.iahmp.org/iahmp_folder/annu_conference/iahmp_annual_conference.htm

Hope to see you there!