You may have heard the saying that "the gold is in your
list" for your online business. I've found that to be the
case, despite any number of social marketing techniques
like blogging, MySpace, etc. It's always extremely helpful
to have a list of people to whom you can market.
How do you develop that list and keep adding people to it?
You create a client-capturing device. A client-capturing
device is a free giveaway that is of value to your target
market and serves as a solution to a big problem that
challenges your target market.
Once upon a time, the offer for a free ezine was sufficient
to capture a visitor's contact info. Alas, that is no
longer the case, so you have to up the ante and provide
even greater value to your visitor. Your client capturing
device can take any of several formats -- an ebook, a
recording of a teleclass, a 6- part ecourse, a short
downloadable video.
Here is a list of 8 qualities that your free giveaway must
contain in order to capture the most clients:
1. Compelling title. Make sure the title of your
client-capturing contains a solution to a major problem
with which your target market struggles. My title strategy
is to use a number and a solution, like 5 Secrets to.... or
7 Mistakes Made By.... When your visitor sees the title,
you want him to think, "I've got to get that!"
2. Benefit to visitor. In addition to your compelling
title, create 3-4 sentences to describe the content of your
client-capturing device. Making an offer is not enough --
you need to convince your visitor that you have the perfect
solution to his problem and that he can get that solution
very quickly by providing his name and email address to you.
3. Graphic enhancement. A picture is worth a thousand
words, and people like to "see" what they're getting. Have
a cover or graphic image of your giveaway created that
matches the look and feel of your website or blog.
4. Format. You want your client-capturing device to be as
easy to use as possible. Therefore, if you're giving away
an ebook or special report, create a PDF file that anyone
can download and open. If it's an audio file, save it in
mp3 format, which can be opened by any audio player. If
you want to share videos, embed them into your site using a
player that is compatible across both the PC and Mac
platforms.
5. Relevant and useful content. Don't hold back in your
giveaway. Provide a complete solution to your visitor that
can be implemented immediately. Limit the amount of
upselling that you do in the content, and save the bulk of
that for any followup autoresponders that the visitor
receives.
6. More information. Create a page with all the pertinent
info about your giveaway. Some visitors will request their
copy of your giveaway immediately when they see the offer
on your opt-in form, while others will require a bit more
convincing.
7. Testimonials. What have previous users said about your
download? Add to the excitement and the desire of getting
your giveaway by listing how beneficial others have found
your information.
8. Put a price on it. To accentuate the value of your
giveaway, put a price on it. Make it reasonable for your
target market and not completely outrageous. If it sounds
too good to be true, most visitors will believe just that
and leave your site without requesting your giveaway.
In whatever form it might take, your client capturing
device needs to provide some solid information to help your
target market solve a pressing problem and not simply be a
piece of fluff that advertises your business. If your
giveaway is all fluff and no substance, you will have lost
this prospective customer for good.
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Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business
Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals
learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their
expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To
claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing
Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask
Donna an Internet Marketing question at
http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .
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