I’ve noticed a couple of threads recently about people struggling with their response rates in their pursuit of the recent “offline cash cow” gold rush. So I thought I’d post a copy of a sales letter that has worked well for me. In fact I’ve only sent it out to 15 businesses in my area, and of those I’ve ended up speaking to 11 of them in person - most of them I’ve ended up doing some work for, and a couple of others I’m waiting to hear back from or waiting til they’ve got their domain login details from their existing web guy etc (the usual s**t!). Earlier in the week I had a call from somebody who was referred to me by somebody who I did some work for recently as a result of this letter. You might be thinking 11 out of 15 is a pretty good response rate, but I made sure I was careful about who I sent it to.
Now, I don’t think the letter is particularly good - I’m no sales copy writer. BUT I think it speaks to the type of people I’m pitching to (particularly British mindset) venues, pubs, restaurants, entertainers, salons, fast food takeaways, plumbers, the list goes on - in fact it never ends!).
I’m not saying this letter WILL generate leads for you, but if you spend plenty of time selecting the right businesses to send it to, then you might be in with a good chance of getting some work. I hope somebody out there finds it helpful. Here’s the letter…
Dear NAME,
You’ve got enough people trying to waste your time with products and services you don’t really want or need. I’m not one of those people. The reason I am contacting you is because I feel I should draw to your attention certain problems which you may not be aware of with regards to your website www.yourwebsite.com. Before I go any further, I must say that the website itself looks fantastic and whoever designed it has done a sterling job (I know from experience that building websites takes a lot of time, effort and expertise). However I have identified at least 2 major factors in the way your website works, which are without a doubt losing money for your business, and probably without you realising.
I would be delighted if you would be interested in meeting to talk further so I can explain how I can help to change certain aspects of the website, which can result in more customers coming to your business. You may be surprised to hear just how simple it is to turn your existing website presence into a money-making machine that can generate a flood of enquiries and bookings for years to come. This isn’t just “sales talk”, this is what I do for a living every day – it’s real and it does work.
A <RESTAURANT/SALON/WHATEVER> like <BUSINESS NAME> could benefit greatly from the kind of help I offer, and if you’re thinking “sounds expensive” - then please allow me to show you how much money you are probably already losing each week by not using the features & tools I use on my own websites. How many people does your website bring through your front door currently? Would you like more?
To give you a “sneak preview” as to one of the things I am talking about: Try searching on Google.co.uk for <INSERT SAMPLE SEARCH TERMS HERE>, and other search phrases people are likely to be using when trying to find your website. If you can’t find your website on the first pages of Google, that’s where my help starts (that’s just a taster – there’s more to come).
If you would like me to show you how I can “switch your website ON”, please give me a call on the number below. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
]]>The advtantage of using article marketing is there are several article directories that tend to get ranked highly in the SERPS (Search Engine Ranking Positions). With good use of keywords, it’s not uncommon to see your articles in the first pages of Google search results.
]]>It’s really easy to do, takes just a few minutes, and the backlinks all help to improve your sites’ ranking. Just bear in mind these points…
- Don’t spam the sites. If you flood the free classified ads sites with too many posts, your ads will be deleted and you’ll lose your account forever. Also don’t bother offering junk or scams, it’s just a waste of everybodys’ time.
- Use catchy headlines to entice people to read your ad.
- Be concise in your description of what you’re offering, but don’t waffle - get to the point, and give a link for the reader to find out more at your website.
- Keep posting ads every day or so for maximum visibility.
- Here’s a good classified ads site to get you started
In recent months, Matthew sold the business to Rebelnetworks, and the problems began - serious problems. My sites became unavailable for hours on end, and there was nobody to contact when these problems occured. I was regularly fobbed off with lies - they completely denied that my sites had any downtime - yet even their own site was (and still is) regularly unavailable for hours on end. I lost a lot of customers because of Rarehosts - and guess what: I don’t reccomend them!
My advice to anybody looking for a good value web hosting package is to steer well clear of Rarehosts, and look for a reputable hosting supplier such as Heart Internet, who have been very good to me so far.
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The Regis in Old Hill has recently re-opened for business, following a reported £250,000 refurbishment. The Reddal Hill Road venue has been fully restored to its former glory, after being saved from the bulldozers by new owners Tony Billingham and Carole Jenkins.
The Regis Restaurant and Banqueting Suite aims to bring in a wide range of entertainment, including music and cabaret, as well as good quality, value-for-money meals. It is also set to become a popular wedding venue. The building looks fantastic from the outside, and it’s set to once again become a top attraction for the local community.
If you’re looking for somewhere to host a large function or event in style, you won’t go wrong with the The Regis in Old Hill.
]]>Vivastreet is an incredibly powerful classified ads site. Based in the UK, it covers all areas, making it possible to post very region-specific ads. With categories covering just about everything you can imagine, from sating & personals, to business services, cars for sale, houses to rent, jobs, and many more.
Posting an ad is easy - simply select the category you want to advertise in, and enter the details. You can even add an image (such as a photo or your company logo), which will help to encourage people to click on your ad and read it.
Vivastreet even sends you an email to remind you to re-post your ad (so your ad stays at the top of the listings). This is an extremely useful service if you want your ad to be seen by a lot of potential customers/clients.
Give it a try today, and don’t forget to let us know how you get on, by using the comments box below!
]]>Well, you could just leave it as that, and hope that people just happen to stumble upon your website. If you do this, it’s very unlikely you’ll get any visitors to your website. You can’t rely on the search engines to send customers to you, when this is so much competition already. What you must do instead is invest time and effort into building backlinks to your site.
What are “Backlinks”, and why are they important?
Backlinks are links on other sites that to your site. Imagine putting an ad in the local newspaper, or a card in the window of the local shop - that’s the offline equivalent of a backlink. Anything that points people to your site is a “backlink”, and the more backlinks that are out there, the more likely it is that customers will find you. Best of all - it’s FREE ADVERTISING!
How do I get Backlinks?
This can be done in many ways, and if you take a look around NetBusinessLive, you’ll find a wealth of information to help you in your backlink-building efforts. This is where you really need to get out there and harness the power of the internet to drive tons of traffic (visitors) to your site. Here are some FREE methods to get you started.
- Use free classified ads sites
- Get listed in free local directory sites
- Contact other local sites (not competitors!) asking them to link to your site (don’t forget to reciprocate the favour).
- Participate in relevant discussion forums, using a link to your site in your posting signature
It’s essential to use Classified Ads sites as part of your marketing activites. Not only does it make it easier for local customers to find you, but it’s also a great way of creating more backlinks to your website. In addition to this, the ads you place can rank well in the search engines.
Free local classifieds sites are easy to use, and get a lot of traffic. While they are mostly popular for their jobs and accomodation sections, they are also used regularly by people looking for information about “what’s on” in their local area, or local businesses and services.
- It’s a FREE form of advertising
- Your ads can rank well in the search engines
- Excellent way of marketing to a specific geographical area
The two most popular and well-moderated classifieds sites I’ve come across so far are Gumtree, and Vivastreet.
Please feel free to add more good local classifieds sites to the list by using the comments form below.
]]>You don’t have to have your own fashion label to design your own t-shirt and start selling it. If you’ve got an idea for a cool, interesting or funny t-shirt, there are plenty of companies out there who will print a one-off for you at a very low cost.
Most online t-shirt printing companies make it fairly expensive to design your own t-shirt and have it printed, so it’s important to shop around and find a t-shirt printing company that isn’t going to charge you too much. They often use tricks such as advertising low prices, only to reveal that those low prices only apply if you’re ordering a large quantity.
Teet Shirts are a UK-based t-shirt printing company who offer a simple and straightfoward solution for anybody who wants a one-off or small batch of t-shirts printed. Their prices are genuinely competitive, and they use vinyl for their prints, which is very durable - the print never comes off, cracks or fades. I strongly recommend you give them a try.
So, why not design your own t-shirt and get it printed - it’s an effective way of conveying any message.
]]>In the title of the posting, use the actual keyphrase people are going to be using to search for you, but try and disguise it in a sentence that makes sense. As an example let’s say we’re a wedding cake shop. People might search for “wedding cakes birmingham”… A good Gumtree posting title which incorporates that search keyphrase might be The Best Wedding Cakes in Birmingham. Also don’t forget to specify Birmingham in the location box - ignore the “Suburb only” bit, Gumtree rarely checks that.
When Google comes sniffing round Gumtree (this usually happens once or twice per day), it’ll read the title, and then the location, and from that it will “work out” what your post is about. This can be a very effective way to get on page 1 or 2 of Google very quickly. However the work’s not over yet… You need to write a brief-yet-informative post that conveys the key facts about what you’re offering, plus it needs to re-inforce what the post is about in the eyes of the search engines.
In the first paragraph, use the title again, but in the context of a longer sentence. This helps to confirm to Google what the post is about, and therefore rank it as a relevant piece of info on the topic. For example…. Established in 1996, Joe Bloggs and his team of expert cakemakers have built a reputation for making The Best Wedding Cakes in Birmingham. If you do this, Google will be in doubt that your page is about wedding cakes and that you’re based in Birmingham.
To summarize (plus a few extras)…
1. Use keyphrase & location in title
2. Use broad location (i.e city name rather than suburb) in Location box
3. Re-inforce title by using the same phrase again in the first paragraph
4. Use short “bullet points” to give the reader the info they are looking for - this is the stuff that makes them pick up the phone/visit your site/email you.
5. Don’t waste time, bore or confuse the reader by going too in-depth - save the details for when you’ve got them on the phone!
6. Last paragraph should be a “Call to action”. I.e “Call us today on…” or “visit our website today at http://www.weddingcakes.com“. Try to incentivise them calling you “today” by adding a time-limited offer, or “limited places available”, “book early as places are filling up quickly”, “last 5 tickets left” etc. People do respond to this kind of gentle pressure.
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