Attract Attention To Your

Website and Business

By Terry L. Brock

We’re swamped with way too much information today. I’m not talking the junk, but really good stuff that we’ve asked to receive at some point in the past. Your customers are overwhelmed with information that they want, but just don’t have time to process.

We’re in a world where, for the first time, it is easier to produce than to consume. Think about the situation for, say, a newspaper back in the 1700’s (about the time of Benjamin Franklin). It took a lot of money, time, effort and special skill to generate a daily newspaper. It was far easier to read the newspaper than to produce one.

Roll forward a few centuries to today. The situation has flipped. Today it is very easy to produce a Blog, even a Podcast (audio on the Net) or a video. Just look at all the videos on YouTube.com with themes like “My cat sleeping.” Ugh! We can’t keep up with all the information that is coming through.

Forget the “My cat sleeping” type of videos for a moment. There is a lot of good, solid, usable information out there --- but we just don’t have time to process it all. We can’t consume all that we’d like to consume. Instead we get the psychological equivalent of overweight consumers---we’re inundated with information.

Your customers face the same challenge when you have a real, legitimate sale or promotion. They’ve heard it all before (at least they think they have). They don’t have time for your thing along with the myriad of other things going on in their lives.

So, how do you stand out and get attention from those that can best profit from your information? Here are some steps that can help:

1. Use Audio. This can take the cold, silence of cyberspace and provide the warmth of a real human emotion. We want to connect with real people today more than ever. Think of how you can use audio interviews with satisfied customers to communicate your message. Think how you can tap into the wisdom of industry experts to communicate time-saving tips and important information to your audience. This is already paying off in rich rewards for others. Bonus: Think about using audio with a Podcast so people can listen on their iPod or other MP3 players.
2. Use Video. The enormous success of YouTube and other video outlets like VMIX, Google Video and many others attest to the power of video. But go beyond mere talking head video. Use graphics, text and music to take a step up from the competition. I use Movie Studio for editing. Adobe Premier or Final Cut Studio are other good programs. Find one that works for you and make it yours. Video can illustrate how your products work and demonstrate it for a wide audience better than mere text.
3. Text. Yep, even text can help a lot. However, we don’t lack for stuff to read. But we do want to read relevant, pertinent information that can help us. Create a Blog that will provide solid answers to questions. Write PDF files that can show important information that your buyers want. Combine text with vivid graphics which show product illustrations, how-to demonstrations and more.
4. Make it Relevant To Buyers. Just having audio, video and/or text won’t cut the mustard! You have to produce information which buyers want and are willing to invest their time in to solve their problems. When you see “Free Report” on the Internet, we all know it is not really “free.” It costs us the most precious resource---time. So, before consumers are going to invest their most precious resource (time) into what you have to offer, it has to be exceptionally good to stand out from the blizzard of other information available. Management consultant and author Michael LeBeouf said “To be successful, follow the pain.” Find where they are hurting and provide relevant information that can solve the problems your buyers have.
5. Make It Entertaining. Notice the information that is consumed the fastest and the most---it has to be entertaining. The late great Steve Allen said that people will pay more to be entertained than to be educated. What you want to do is blend your education about your products and services with entertainment. This makes it so your buyers will 1) Be more willing to open the file and look at it, 2) Remember it, and 3) Buy from you (the reason you do it in the first place!).

These steps and more will help you to attract interest to your website and your business. The world has changed a lot and people want more information that can help them in a practical, relevant way. As you develop your message around these themes, you attract more and better quality buyers.

Terry Brock is a marketing coach and regular columnist for The Wholesaler who helps businesses market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days using the right rules and tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

Copyright © 2007, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission.

Your Tech Online and VMIX Provide Small Business Solutions

By Terry Brock

Your business is faced with challenges. You try to do as much as you can on your own but if you’ve been in business for a while, you know that you can’t do it all alone. That is where you need a team.

Today, that team can be virtual and you can stretch your ability much farther by building the right team around you. Here are some examples of services that help to stretch your ability much farther than you would be able to before for your small business.

Your Tech Online

Ever have a problem with a computer? It seems to go with the territory. Now, with fast Internet connections you can bring a competent technician to your assistance anywhere you happen to be---as long as you have high speed access to the Net.

I recently used a service called Your Tech Online (www.yourtechonline.com) (We’ll call it YTOL) to check out my computer. Things were going well but I wanted them to tweak and check for viruses, etc. that I might have overlooked. I got an account with YTOL and called for assistance. Eric was the technician assigned to me and I was able to connect with him in about 2 minutes.

Eric happened to be based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and I was in Orlando, Florida, but the distance was irrelevant. He connected me to his computer so that he could control my computer. It was as if Eric had been “beamed” over to my computer for a moment to check it out. I was able to watch everything he did on my computer as he did it. Because he could control it, the process was fast.

Eric went through many features on my computer to get it to run faster. He tweaked and helped with the computer. When finished, I felt better that he had checked out everything to see it was running fine. Also, I did notice a slight increase in speed (always nice for computers).

If you’re a small business and need technical help, this is a viable, cost-effective way to bring in the IT resources you need, when you need them. The services range in price from 30 minutes for $49.00 to 180 minutes for $179.00. Think of the minutes you purchase as minutes in the bank to use as you want. This is a much cheaper approach than hiring someone with the technical expertise needed to fix most computer repair problems.

In business, you need to devote your time, money and effort to those areas where you have a competitive advantage. For many of us, that is not in the technical area of computers. A service like YTOL provides this on an as-needed basis and can be one of the smartest business decisions you’ll make.

(www.yourtechonline.com , pricing varies)

VMIX Leverages Video For You

You have probably seen the rage in video. Knowing how to make video work for you can be a challenge. Recently I had the chance to interview Greg Kostello, CEO of a new service called VMIX. This service provides video on the Net like other popular sites (Youtube, Google Video, Streetfire and more added all the time).

VMIX takes an approach to work with producers of video and help build communities that work in different areas. In my talk with Mr. Kostello, he indicated that they work with communities to put a wide variety of information on the Net. The trend today is for rich media to be available including audio, video, text, graphics that are available from archived information as well as live data streams.

A key factor is the ability for audiences to interact with producers. In the past, the interaction with a TV station, radio station, newspaper or magazine was largely one way---from the producer to the consumer. Today that has turned around so that the consumer of the information has the ability to provide feedback. Now in order to remain competitive, you have to provide the ability for consumers to interact with you.

This has enormous ramifications for the way you advertise and market. You have to provide rich media opportunities for customers to see what you have and to interact with you. Live video adds a rich dimension to the buying experience for your customers.

The really good news is that it is much easier and quite cost effective today. Learn about this and experience it for yourself. To hear the interview I had with Greg Kostello, go to http://snipurl.com/VMIX_Kostello to listen to the full audio interview. Get all your sales and marketing team to listen to this and think about ways you can deploy new media and interaction to reach and better serve your customer base.

Implications For You And Your Business

Looking at these two services provides just underlines the trends in technology and the implications for your business. Instead of hiring a full-time person to support your tech needs, outsource that solution. Pay for what you need, when you need it. This is a smart business decision for many small businesses.

Watch VMIX to keep up with current technology trends and capabilities. Then stretch your mind thinking about how you can enable your community of customers, employees, prospects and others with the power of video, audio and more online. Don’t think you have to do it all by yourself. Leverage the capabilities that others, like VMIX, have already.

This is smart business. It’s also more profitable for your bottom line.

Terry Brock is a marketing coach and regular columnist for The Wholesaler who helps businesses market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days using the right rules and tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

Copyright © 2007, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission.