Sweepstakes -  the entire prize may be awarded to the winner by luck – no skill required

Contest- a race or other competition between rivals, as for a prize, that requires some level of skill

Lottery – a gambling game or method of raising money, as for some public charitable purpose, in which a large number of tickets are sold and a drawing takes place for specific prizes.

A lottery (game of chance) requires a license and must adhere to strict laws. It is illegal to require people to purchase a product or ticker to gain entry in a draw in Canada and the US without this license. Lotteries in the US are subject to the laws of the state in which the lottery is being drawn. In Canada, there are national and provincial bodies that regulate lotteries.

If you plan to sell tickets or require entrants to purchase a product to enter to win it’s best to consult with a lawyer who is conversant with lottery law in your jurisdiction and/or the governing body responsible for licensing before finalizing your plans.

Choose a prize that the broadest cross section of your target market will want. The prize does not require a dollar value in the thousands it just needs to be something that engages your target audience. Everyone likes FREE!

Consider how you can maximize your results from each person who enters.

Ask them to:

• Tweet to enter.
• Like your Facebook page.
• Comment on your blog – or someone else’s with a link back to your site.

What are the rules?

How many times a day can they enter from the same email address?

Do they have to be a specific age or gender?

What country do they have to reside in to enter?

When does the contest end?

Make the contest credible by providing a link to the page where the winner’s name is posted on your site at the end of the contest.

Look for ways to extend your contact with visitors.

When they enter, will they automatically be redirected to a page that makes them a special offer?

The best way to keep people coming back is to give them lots of great content/products and make doing business with you easy and attractive.

These are just a few of the many sites where you can enter your giveaway online:

1. http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/
2. http://www.contesthound.ca/
3. http://www.sweepstakes.ca/
4. http://www.contestcanada.com
5. http://contestgirl.com

With a professional website, a bricks and mortar business can increase offline sales, according to a Yahoo study, by almost 50%!

So why do so many businesses think any website, no matter how unprofessional, not functional and very dated is OK?

…..because they have no plan and no real purpose for the site. They create a site because, “everyone needs to have a website”.

If your website is not professional looking and a true reflection of your brand, it’s better not to have one.

A poorly designed, badly coded site is often not found through search and that might be the best thing that can be said of it.

Why give people a poor impression of your business with bad graphics and content that leaves visitors with more questions than answers?

It’s not a craft project people…it’s your livelihood!

Can’t design your way out of a paper bag you say…

No problem.

With so many website design templates available at a reasonable price there is no excuse to have a dated, non-functional site.

Sites like Woo Themes offer many WordPress themes that can be modified to give you an economical and professional web presence.

• If you can’t afford a logo – go without one – just use your business name.
• Do come up with a positioning statement so people understand what you do and who does business with you.
• Decide what you want your website to accomplish for you. Is it a lead generator, an online brochure, will it provide market research, will you sell goods online, or……?
• What does your site need to include to answer the most typical questions you get from prospective clients?
• Will you require customer support on your site or a forum where clients can ask and answer questions among themselves…or a blog?
• How will visitors view your site? Is a mobile compatibility important?
• Will you capture email addresses and send a newsletter?
• Will social media be integrated and if so which ones?

Plan before you build. During the planning process get real and assess not only your skills but the time you have available for writing, updating and maintaining your site.

Set realistic goals for blogging and adding pages to your website, ones you can meet or delegate updates to a capable staff member.

Whether you decide to buy a theme template or have a custom theme (WordPress site design) designed for your business, careful website planning, taking into consideration your goals and your visitors usability of the site, will determine the site’s success and value  to your business.

“A February 2011 survey by Yahoo and Ipsos found that US adult internet users subscribe to an average of almost three daily or weekly shopping emails or newsletters, and 56% of internet users subscribe to at least two of the emails.

And only 27% of internet users said they had a separate email account for such offers, supporting the fact that subscribers deem these emails desirable and relevant.” eMarketer Daily

Couponing is almost a religion to some people. But do you want to depend on those customers for your livelihood?

A bargain shopper is not a loyal shopper and enticing them once with a deal does not mean they will be back again…even if they are happy with their purchase.

Typically offers must provide a savings of 50% or more from the regular price.

If you’ve decided you still want to buy into the opportunity here are some strategies to make money on the deal.

1. Chose the product or service carefully based on one of more of these criteria:

• Your margin is more than 50%
• The product or service sold with other associated full priced items i.e. plants are the sale item and pots, soil, fertilizer are natural add-ons to that purchase.
• There is a recurring billing opportunity that is not part of the original offer

2. Provide staff with a sheet of other products & services and go over with them in so everyone understands the importance of the upsell.

3. When the customer redeems the first offer give them another coupon with 10% or 20% off on another purchase at a later date.

4. Get permission to add the buyer to your ezine list

Participating in one of these coupons offers is not about making money, it’s about spreading the word about your business.  Make sure you are prepared to handle the volume of business that may come your way. Whether a customer is paying full price or a discounted price they expect the same level of service.

Carefully crafting your sale item choice and the strategy employed to extend that relationship with a new customer can result in a sustained increase in your customer base. Then you can put your new customers to work by asking them to spread the word for you.

No matter how we think people will navigate our site… find us online, or guess what they’ll be most interested in… chances are we will be wrong.

Facebook users are a great example.

You may think that since people know the web address of facebook.com they would type it in to their browser and sign in to Facebook. They don’t! Each month 2,520,000,000 people search Google for “Facebook” and on average another 185,000,000 search for the “Facebook login” page.

We may be wrong in predicting what visitors to our site will do but with improved website tools we don’t have to guess.

Each of the visitors to your website has their own specific reason for being there . They may have found you by a friend’s recommendation, through a link, an ad, a comment you made online, an article you wrote, through social networking or a group you belong to…they may search for you by name, by business name, by area of expertise or any number of phrases.

No matter how they found you, if they can’t quickly and easily find what they want on your site, they will be off searching for the answer or product they need from someone else.

There are a number of paid services such as opentracker.com that offer information on the areas of your site that receive the most attention, the links that receive the most clicks, the pages that most visitors exit from and more. But for the average online small business, Google can provide all the information needed to improve your website results. Sign up for a free Google analytics account, add the code to your website and spend some time learning how to interpret the data that will provide insight into your visitors on site behaviour.

Google analytics provides specific information about what your visitors are doing.

Which pages are visitors landing on first?

Where do they go when they arrive on your site? Examine the click path.

What is the bounce rate? If it’s over 50% on a page its obvious most of them are not finding what they expect to find or are looking for. Search online using the terms visitors use to find your page and see what other sites offer for those search terms.

Find your most popular pages and give people more of what is on those pages.

Identify the pages visitors most often leave your site from. How can you improve those pages or stop the bleed by offering them a more information link or by suggest they may be looking for this or that information instead with a link to that information.

Which sites are linking to yours and sending you traffic?

Which links on your pages receive the most clicks?

Sometimes minor changes can make big results. Sign up for Google analytics today!

“The bigger-is-better form of evangelism may have past. The emerging generation has been so advertised, media-tised and oversold that the smaller, quieter and more authentic is the growing edge of their experience.”

Craig Detweiler

Yes, you can reach a lot of people online but if no one is listening, if you are selling, selling, selling without giving up anything of yourself (or anything else)… who you are or why people do business with you….you aren’t leading.

This brow beating method of anonymous marketing & selling was never the way to create a sustainable business. Just because the internet provides easy access to more people, lots of whom are using this method, doesn’t mean it’s effective.

• It wears prospects out fast.
• Your churn rate goes up.
• It takes larger and larger numbers of connections to make a sale.
• You end up working way too hard.

Plan to balance your marketing between on & off line.

Get to know your customers & what they want (not just from you).

1. Live what you believe.
2. Share what you believe.
3. Help your prospects see and want the dream you are selling.

Uber successful bloggers such as Vancouver’s @Miss604 (Rebecca Bollwitt) say that one of the “marketing” activities they participate in that has the greatest impact on their business success is speaking & participating in events attended by both their peers & prospects….-no selling required!

Rebecca’s fans are evangelists in spreading the word about the blog where she shares her authentic self and interests!

Attract first & then look for the money

I wondered how he could get to the door so quickly without going the long way around. He  likes his food too well to be able to jump far enough off the ground to clear the top of the fence.

So what, you say!

What does that have to do with business?

Actually, it has everything to do with business.

Charlie faced a challenge. He needed to get to the door before Oscar just in case there were a limited supply of treats on offer. His determination and ability to adapt enabled him to apply an unconventional solution to his pressing problem.

Innovation happens when a challenge that seems overwhelming meets an open mind.

Your determination to succeed gives you the momentum to keep trying. Step back, stop hitting your head against a wall, consider other approaches to your problem and apply tactics that have never have been used in your business niche before.

The application of an unconventional remedy enables one business in a niche to triumph over another. Innovation in any area of your business has the ability to affect your profit margin, your ability to hire and retain staff, your customer service, product/service mix and/or buying ability.

Often I suggest a solution to a client’s traffic or conversion problem and though they say they are willing to work to fix the problem, when it comes right down to it many want a simple, no effort solution. A lot of money can be spent online buying software and advice that does not work. Participating in the search for a solution leads to greater understanding and control of your business.

Having the wrong material, message or no information and being unwilling to make a change is like trying to run a hotdog stand with only $100. bills in the till. Iit just doesn’t work.

Are you determined to succeed in business?

If my cat Charlie can come up with a unique solution to his challenge then you can too!

To be successful in business you have to be willing to make a commitment, you have to be open to change and above all, stop teetering on the verge of action.

No one said it would be easy but finding an innovative solution and winning make it fun!

There are so many words at their disposal, so many descriptions, so many emotional statements to attract customers, why would they use the trite phrase, “knowledgeable, friendly staff to serve you”? Even if they couldn’t think of anything exciting, they could have used, “if we don’t have the answer, we’ll find it for you”, “we specialize in providing answers”…”specializing in premium products and effective solutions”. ”Try and stump the staff with your questions, they love a challenge”. “We don’t have all the answers but we’ll help find solutions”

Connect emotionally with the consumer!

If you have nothing new to say, you can still say it with style, create a connection to the consumer or create a buzz. Use customers’ experiences and what they have to say, to create a unique message. There is a reason that a purchaser comes to you rather than the competition. You may have to ask a number of questions to get to the real reason. Even if the only reason is that you are closer than the competition..you can say, How lucky for us! And make a joke about it.

You brand your business with an attitude, your attitude.

If you present your business in a blasé manner, people will be blasé about your business too.

Ho Hum is not something you can take to the bank! Building a recognizable brand offers measurable results, measurable through increased response, increased traffic, and increased attention. Take a stand, choose a niche and communicate it from a different perspective.

Yes, you do want friendly, knowledgeable staff working in your business, but if you want to convey that or any other message to prospective customers, present the information so they pay attention.

Forget the clichés and take some time to put together words that mean something to your prospective customers.

Be who you say you are and build trust in the relationships you form with your customers.

Branding is about consistency in every customer experience, advertisement and communication.

The One BIG Idea Branding Workbook may be just the tool to help you get started defining your brand.

Why is content writing important?

Whether you are marketing through an ezine and website or traditionally, your ability to “speak” to large numbers of people is much more easily realized using your writing skills. As a writer, you are able to create opportunities to be quoted as an expert in articles or use your writing ability to create articles for your website and in print media. Is the information you provide more believable if it’s in the editorial of a newspaper or magazine? Absolutely!

Use your writing skills to communicate clearly on your website and you will have greater success there too.

Website conversion to sales or even to sign up is always a hot topic in online forums. If you have hundreds of people visiting your site and you want it to be thousands of people because you think the extra traffic will result in more sales…that may not in fact be the result. Small changes in the writing, a clear focus to attract a specific interest group can make big changes in the results.

How to develop your writing skills?

The easiest way to improve your writing is through practice. If you can’t think of a topic to write about, think back to the last question a customer asked you or the questions that come up most often and write on that. Social media sites like Twitter are a great place to research for hot topics. Once you setup a system, a schedule and stick to it, you can use your writing skills to create a bank of articles on hand so you aren’t under pressure to create something at the last moment when you receive an unexpected request to guest blog

“The different between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lighting and the lightning bug.” Mark Twain

There are many books to help you hone your writing skills. Some of my favourite’s include; Eats Shoots and Leaves; The New Well Tempered Sentence; Words Fail Me; and of course Woe is I.  All of these books offer tips and tricks, in a light-hearted, very readable format, to improve your writing as well as your enjoyment of writing.

Would you enjoy writing more if you saw direct results?

Recently, we changed a client’s home page and suggested to visitors, in a new and different manner, sign up for the newsletter. Sign ups for the newsletter went from 0 per day to one or more per day immediately. Makes it worth the extra work, doesn’t it?

Where else can you benefit from your improved writing skills?

1. You can write articles and post them to free online directories where other people can access your articles and reprint them in their newsletters, on their websites and in their blogs…all with a link back to your website.
2. Press Releases are another great way to attract customers without having to network. Send it to the correct reporter/editor and you get thousands of dollars of free publicity. At the very least, you can share it with an online press release distribution service like PRWeb.com and once again have new links coming back to your website from relevant websites and blogs.
3. Your ezine can be one of your best marketing tools, spreading virally when people on your list share it with others.
4. Online Video is hot right now and there are many ways to take advantage of this trend. Create your own movie using either video or text & photos. Post it online.

Usually the conversation goes like this. “Can you take a look at my website? I want to increase the traffic. I don’t seem to be getting many people to the site and don’t get any business from it.”

I look at the site, get back to them with suggested changes and additions, and talk about what it takes to drive traffic and sales on the web.

They consider the proposal and say to go ahead. They also ask, “So is that all I have to do? After that will I be done?”

Then the resistance factor takes over. Websites are something they don’t understand, think they cannot manage by themselves, but know they need, and consider just another expense. It’s like having a tooth pulled…they just want to get it over with.

They  ask, “Why doesn’t my website easily attract buyers like other websites do?”

The assumption that other websites attract buyers without work is easy to make when no research is done into whether they are using social media marketing, the number of incoming links to the website, the lucky break they got when an online or offline influencer mentioned their products, the fact that they have been selling online for years,

There is so much hype from people that have something to sell that will “revolutionize your business” or “allow you to make money easily without working for it”. They will either imply or tell you directly that with their system you put up a site and immediately start raking in the money, the leads, the sales. It rarely happens that way.

BUT do you want to depend on luck? It may take awhile for your site to be indexed by the search engines and even longer for people to search out your new site. If you have broken any of the cardinal rules in the content or technical end of your site, they might not be back ….if they find you at all. Then again, just because the search engines index your site and people start to find it, does not mean anyone will buy what you have to sell.

If you think of your virtual business as being an integral part of your bricks and mortar business, it makes sense to work on it. It should receive the same attention to grow and evolve. Think of it as a pipeline to deliver qualified prospects or as an opportunity to create another, not so hands on, income stream that completes sales electronically 24/7. It is a chance to reach clients who you do not reach with conventional marketing and advertising.

Marketing as an everyday part of your business

• Plan to either pay someone to update your website on a regular basis or have your website designed with a content management system (CMS) so you can easily update the site yourself. If you have to hire someone to make every little change, are you going to do it?
• Decide what you want to call each page of your site. Write each name on a separate piece of paper and lay each out on the floor so you can see if the navigation of the site makes sense.
• Consider the layout based on scalability. Will your site be able to grow & still allow people to find what they want easily?
• There is a good reason that most have similar navigation throughout the website. It works; so don’t try to redesign the wheel.
• The area of your site that fits in your browser without scrolling is the most important part of your website – so put what is most important to your customers in that space.
• Less is more, especially with website copy. People scan websites so consider that when writing and designing the layout of your content. If you can’t tell visitors everything, at least tell them the things that are going to persuade them you have what they want.
• One topic on one page. On a website there is no one door to access your business, there are as many entrances as you have pages. Help the search engines figure out what each page is about– one page, one topic, one focus.
• Add content on a regular basis to encourage the search engines to keep coming back to your site. The single greatest reason that people search the web is for information. Give good information to them and they will come back and bring their friends.
• Have someone experienced in SEO do your Meta titles and Meta descriptions once you have your basic site content written.
• Create multiple opportunities for people to find your site by encouraging other relevant sites to link to your site.
• Above all, keep looking for chances to promote your website whether it is by connecting on social media sites, pay-per-click advertising, at live networking events, trade shows and don’t forget traditional marketing and advertising.

Market, Market, Market…it’s what drives business.

Rapid change is a fact in our technologically driven world.

Life changes, people change, their wants and needs change. Successful businesses look at current results, watch trends, examine socio-economic factors, and look for opportunities to make connections. Responding to these opportunities requires non-stop marketing and modifications to keep appealing to your niche. The greatest advantage a small business has is the ability to turn on a dime.

You can write the ending of your own story in any number of ways, but if you intend to stay in business – write marketing into your script!