Are You a Spammer? Tips to Better Email Marketing

Are You a Spammer? Tips to Better Email Marketing

Are you a spammer?

We all hate spammers. But what’s worse is having your friends and family think you’re a spammer. So, before you get caught up in all the excitement of your new business and the great idea of sending out a mass email to everyone you know about your new business, Stop! Ask yourself: “Is this spam?”

What spammers do:

Send emails to people they don’t know and/or don’t know well
Send emails to people who have not asked for the information
Send emails to lists of people (unless those people signed up for the list or have already done business with you)
Send emails with misleading content and subject lines
Send emails with no unsubscribe information

Here are ways to avoid being a spammer:

Send emails to subscribers only
Send emails one to one
Send emails with a working unsubscribe button/link
Send emails with truthful and appropriate content

Tips for better email marketing:

Emails connected to current events and popular themes get better responses
Use Facebook and Twitter to find subscribers
Make sure that your emails are relevant to your prospects
Offer promotions for becoming a subscriber
Maximize your email message for mobile devices

If you find yourself in the awkward position of being known as a spammer by some, you should apologize to them. Having a successful business involves risk taking and sometimes an idea can misfire. When that happens you have to come clean, apologize, fix the problem and learn from your mistake.

Have you used email marketing? How did you respond to a mistake you made in business? We would love to hear from you in the comments.

Image credit: pandemia

Blog

DSEF & CBBB: Should I Put My Social Security Number on a Job Application?

DSEF & CBBB: Should I Put My Social Security Number on a Job Application?

Today’s highlighted blog post from the Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB)

Should I Put My Social Security Number on a Job Application?

You’ve been laid off. Your full-time job now is looking for a full-time job. Naturally, you turn to the Internet.

Wow, there’s something in your field on Craigslist. It’s recent. The salary looks good. All you have to do is email them…and provide your social security number.

WAIT.

DSEF and Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) fosters honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers—instilling consumer confidence and advancing a trustworthy marketplace for all.

About the Better Business Bureaus
As the leader in advancing marketplace trust, Better Business Bureau is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 87 million consumers rely on BBB Business Reviews® and BBB Wise Giving Reports® to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North America. Visitwww.bbb.org/us for more information.

Blog

8 Ways to Develop Good Habits and Overcome Bad Ones

8 Ways to Develop Good Habits and Overcome Bad Ones

Good habits are like driving a new car. Everything runs smoothly and feels in sync. You get to your destination efficiently and in style. You make a great first impression as you pull up.

On the other hand, a bad habit is like driving an old clunker. Everything has duct tape holding it together. You arrive late and must put yourself back together. You quietly hide and park far away not to be seen.

In business good habits elevate and bad habits become major pitfalls. Here are some ways to develop good habits and overcome bad ones:

Just like in a map, “X” marks your destination. You need to write down the habit you want to develop. This is the big “X” on your map. Post your goal big and put it somewhere you’ll see it every day. Read it aloud every time you pass it.
You must see yourself achieving your goal. Schedule a few minutes several times a day to imagine, visualize going through the process, and succeeding.
Keep starting over if necessary. Consider previous tries to be warm ups, and don’t give up.
Break your goal down into smaller and achievable steps.
Create a mantra. Say it over and over again while engaging in the challenge.
Partner with someone who can be your cheerleader, and help each other develop good habits or overcome bad ones.
The biggest key is to do it for 30 days. Mark each day on your calendar and the action will become a habit.
Create a certificate/diploma of achievement, frame it, and hang it in your office to remind yourself that you’re growing and succeeding.

It’s time for you to trade in your old habits that don’t work for new ones that elevate your business. Businesses have a lot of systems in place to create efficiency and results. This is a system that you can rely on as part of your professional development.

Do you think this process can help you? What tip would you like to add? We would like to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Blog

DSEF Top Ten Business Tips

DSEF Top Ten Business Tips

Have you been keeping up with our daily business tips? We are always researching tips that are quick, practical, and easy to integrate into your business. Here are our top ten business tips from the past few weeks:

Create a Referral/Recommendation Exchange for small businesses. Offer to refer & recommend people to your auto mechanic, dry cleaner, hair dresser, baker and others in your community. In exchange they refer & recommend you.
Keep yourself focused during the day by creating a mantra to help you accomplish difficult tasks. For example – Move my feet and get it complete!
Are you always searching for the right words? Develop and use a script to engage, and start conversations with people you meet. Practice the script until it becomes natural and the more you use it the more you will connect with people.
Your brand promotes your strengths and how you service your target market, and it establishes a clear difference from your competitors.
Organize a food collection for your local food bank & as you pick up the food leave a coupon w/ a discount for your products/services. Offer to donate a percentage of their purchase amount to the food bank (make sure you get permission from the food bank).
Establish your business in your local market. It will make it easier to nurture and interact daily with loyal customers.
Choose your social media tools based on your available time. If you’ve only got 20 minutes per day, choose just one, probably Facebook.
Sell more by making it easier to purchase, adding more choices, promoting value, personalizing products/services and anticipating customer needs.
Use testimonials to make a point, promote your message and/or overcome inherent objections to your business.
Remember that when you are engaging a prospect/client, you are not only promoting the value of your products/services, but establishing the value of your relationship.

Do you have any tips to add to our list? Please share.

Here’s to your success!

Blog

DSEF & CBBB How Responsible Are You?

DSEF & CBBB How Responsible Are You?

Today’s highlighted blog post from the Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB)

How Responsible Are You?

Many years ago, when I was growing up, my dad told me: “A man is only as good as his word.” (My dad is one of these old-fashioned Idaho guys who says “man” when he means “person.” But I got the message.) I didn’t get it from what he said though.

Blog

6 Ways Mistakes Can Benefit Your Business

6 Ways Mistakes Can Benefit Your Business

You get a great idea to offer free shipping. Your customers love it, but you then realize that it is too expensive and you have to discontinue it.

How could you make such a big mistake? Before you berate yourself too much, here are some benefits to consider.

The benefit of realization – You’ve realized that your customers want free shipping. And you realized it was too expensive. That you have to find ways to lower shipping costs and that you can’t just implement something new without investigating the cost.
The benefit of research – You call up other shippers to try finding lower shipping rates, you join a business network to find out more about logistics, and you start talking to neighboring businesses about their shipping suppliers.
The benefit of finding options – You get a lot of advice from peers, you connect with a business advisor at SCORE, weigh options, and think out of the box.
The benefit of learning – You’ve learned that free shipping can bring new customers and make them happy. You’ve learned that certain products are cheaper to ship than others. You’ve learned about SCORE offering business advisors. And you’ve added great new people to your business network.
The benefit of solutions and conclusions – You’ve created new solutions for your business. You can continue to offer certain items with free shipping. You implement a loyal customer rewards free shipping program. You also offer free shipping if people purchase over a certain amount, which helps offset the cost.
But hold on – there’s more! Because of this mistake, you find out that free shipping is a crucial part of your business, you now belong to a business networking group that brings knowledge and referrals, you’ve connect with a SCORE business advisor that has helped you in other areas of your business, and you’ve gained new insights to build your business even stronger.

A keen business person turn mistakes into benefits and these experiences create the building blocks for success. What mistakes have you learned from? Which mistakes have led you to more opportunities? Pleas share your comments with us.

Blog

DSEF & CBBB Facebook Adds Virus Protection

DSEF & CBBB Facebook Adds Virus Protection

Today’s highlighted blog post from the Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB):

Facebook Adds Virus Protection

Facebook has announced it will now check outgoing links for viruses, reports The Next Web.

Viruses, phishing attempts and Trojans have become increasingly prevalent on Facebook. People often fall prey by clicking on links on the social network itself or on their walls, which in turn posts to their own wall for others to click.

Blog

Turn What You Love Into Income

Turn What You Love Into Income

Have you ever thought to yourself, “If I could only get paid to do what I love?”

Maybe you can. In fact, that’s how many entrepreneurs get started. But you don’t have to be an entrepreneur to want to make some extra spending money. The bonus is doing something that you love!

Here are some steps to help you get started:

If you have more than one idea, start by imagining them and pick the idea that brings the biggest smile to your face.
Next, do some research:

Is there an obvious way to make income with what you love?
Talk to other people with the same interest and see if there’s a void that needs to be filled.
Take a look at what’s in the market now and ask yourself if you could that and/or do it better.
Talk to a diverse group of people about your income producing idea and ask if any of them would purchase something like that from you.
Ask yourself what’s the least expensive way to start that will still provide greater value to potential customers.

Write down your goal or your mission statement. Include your specialty or uniqueness that only you can bring to this product/service. But keep it simple. For example – I will work part time and would like to generate $300. My uniqueness is to provide personalize service and offer customers buying my scented candles a chance to join my weekly Yoga club at my house.
Consider your first 30 days a trial and error period, and be sure to fully commit yourself to doing whatever it takes to be successful. During this period assess how, where, why, who, what, when you can improve, and make sure you can earn a reasonable profit for your efforts.
You may also want to create a simple business plan (optional for now). Include your goals, operational expenses, who your customers are, marketing strategy, and an overview of competitors.
Nurture testimonials and word of mouth to attract new customers and grow.
Keep asking your customers for their feedback and continue to improve and learn.

The key is to keep it simple. You want to share your passion, avoid wasting money, and earn some extra spending money. In the end, you want to still love what you do while you gain some financial benefits. You may be surprise to find yourself a budding entrepreneur, or you may simply want to keep a good thing going.

Do you love what you do? How did you get started with your business? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below!

Blog

DSEF & CBBB For Businesses & Consumers

DSEF & CBBB For Businesses & Consumers

Today’s highlighted blog post from the Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB):

Social Media and Customer Service

Social media can be a tool to strengthen customer service and to give consumers an outlet to complain about a company. According to Convergys Corp, one bad tweet or one negative comment on Facebook can lose a company up to 30 customers.

How do you use social media to strengthen your customer service? Does your business have social media policy in place to deal with complaints? We would love to hear from you. Please share with us in the comments below.

Blog

Professional Development is Critical for Your Business Success

Professional Development is Critical for Your Business Success

Whether you’re just starting out in business, or have been working your business for years, a key to continued growth is ongoing professional development. The world around you is constantly evolving, and the only way you’ll keep your business relevant and growing is by keeping up. It’s one of the most valuable investments you can make in your business.

Think about what things you regularly spend time and money on to grow your business: a website, business cards, inventory for product demonstration, etc. Professional development should be on this list. New ideas, technologies, consumer needs, and product lines are constantly changing. Don’t get left behind!

Here are some ways you and your business can grow through professional development:

Time management – This skill is vital to the self-employed. By learning to manage your time well, you can run a more efficient and profitable business.
Product expertise – Do you feel a dual sense of both excitement and anxiety when that new catalog or product line from your company debuts? It can be overwhelming to re-educate yourself every time new products are introduced. Get yourself to that quarterly or annual training that the company has in place. There, you will learn the essential features and benefits of new products and the best ways to market them to your customers.
Interpersonal skills – Even if you are a seasoned veteran, there is always value in improving your ability to engage with others. Running your own business requires the building and maintaining of relationships with existing and potential customers, colleagues in your upline and downline, and even those in the corporate division of the company. Devoting your time to your company’s professional development will help you perfect this aspect of your business.
Renewed motivation – Let’s face it: self-employment, although rewarding, is not always easy if you want to do it well. However, the support system of those pursuing the same goals as you will reenergize your commitment to your business. Make it a priority to physically attend local and national training opportunities; the rallying and motivating words of others are infectious. Use them to your advantage.

Successful companies have already invested time, money, and resources into creating effective professional development for sellers. Take advantage of the training they have to offer; it’s there to help you achieve your business goals.

And don’t forget to check out our resources here on our Direct Selling Education Foundation Blog as well. We provide new content every week to help you grow your business.

How do you grow professionally? What are some of your favorite resources for ongoing professional development? Would love to read your tips and resources in the comments below!

Free e-book “Business Owner’s Road Map to Success.” It has over 50 pages of techniques for everything a small business owner needs to master, from business planning and ethical selling to a success mindset. It’s all there and it’s free for you. To get it, just “Like” our Facebook Page here: http://on.fb.me/KsIN6P Pass it on!