Shotcallers #33 - April 2022

6 Email Marketing Mistakes That Can Doom Your Business in 2022 15 Ways to Improve the Customer Experience on Your Website Traditional Marketing vs. Content Marketing: Is One Better Than the Other?

5 Tips for Managing Your Brand’s Reputation 3 Ways You’re Compromising Your Customers’ Trust 10 Tips All Working Women need for Success without Burnout MotivationandSuccess.com April 2022 FREE

Learning How To Be a Moneymaker With Dr. Izdihar Jamil “One of the biggest things

people say about me is that they love my energy. That energy comes from being uncomfortable all the time.”

- Izdihar Jamil

INSIDE THIS MONTH’S ISSUE Marketing Calendar- pg. 3 This month,the wewinter take a months dive intobring the World Wide Web Whether in a cold-front orwith pilesarticles of that’ll have surfing through emails, flowing into website snow, thisyou month’s issue is sure to help you HEAT up the market and set your creative genius on fire. design, and waving “hello” to new customers.

Learning How To Be a Moneymaker With Dr. Izdihar Jamil - pg. 4

settle in and getspring ready cleaning! for a waveWith of tips & tricks used by It’sSo time to do some everything involved professionals everywhere, from big to small businesses and in everywhere managing your business, it can be hard to follow online in-between! trends. We’ll help you dip your toes in the water with 15 tips e’re goingatoclean, help you capitalizewebsite on someforof your the mostonWdesigning comfortable customers.

15 Ways to Improve the Customer Experience on Your Website - pg. 8

cost-effective and easy solutions that can be done in a few minutes or clicks.

From identifying mosthighlighting effective the Focus on client acquisition with our the article marketing channels for small businesses in 2022 to pros and cons both marketing, providing youofwith tipstraditional on the most effective such waysasto radio createads, and content marketing. want hearhas what’s captivating social mediaIf you posts, thistoissue it all.going on in the comments section, we’ll give you the inside scoop on Want toyour knowbrand’s the seven golden rules to email marketing, boosting positive reputation and how to build what it takes to run your first influencer marketing campaign, lasting trust with your customers.

or the ways to make your blog titles enticing? Or maybe you want it all? From start to finish, this issue is your answer.

Finally, we’ll take a break from the internet and chat with Dr.Still Izdihar wantJamil more?about how she wrote her recent bestselling book, “Money Makers,” in just 72 hours while eight months This month wereushonored to have Capano write a pregnant.

Shewe gives insight on a fewClara chapters in her book, special article on how women in business can not only shares beautiful stories of how her grandmother influenced thrive, but dominate the week! her success, and gives us the key to step out of our comfort zones to shake off winter and meet Graband yourgrow—just coffee andinlettime us help you grow your business knowledge! the new you!

yoursuccess, business, ToTo your Dennis M. Postema

Dennis M. Postema Founding Editor & CEO

entrepreneurs and business owners a P.S.P.S.Help Know aother business owner who wants to spruce up get their headstart on 2022 community building by sending them to brand this spring? Send them this link for a FREE subscription https://motivationandsuccess.com/shotcallers/ to sign up for to SHOTCALLERS their own free SHOTCALLERS subscription!

The content in Shotcallers Magazine is made available on the terms and conditions that the publisher, editors, contributors and relatied parties; shall have no responsibility for any action or omission by any other contributor, consultant, editor or related party; disclaim any and all liability and responsibility to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause; are not responsible in any way for the actions or results taken by any person, organization or any party on basis of reading information, or contributions in this publication, website or related product.

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motivationandsuccess.com (855)-694-4426

Traditional Marketing vs. Content Marketing: Is One Better Than the Other? pg. 12 5 Tips for Managing Your Brand’s Reputation - pg. 15 6 Email Marketing Mistakes That Can Doom Your Business in 2022 - pg. 19 3 Ways You’re Compromising Your Customers’ Trust - pg. 22 10 Tips All Working Women need for Success without Burnout - pg. 26 Fun Facts - pg. 27 Infographic: Blog Post Ideas for Businesses in 2022 - pg. 28

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Marketing Calendar Plan your marketing messages around these upcoming holidays and proclamations.

April

Parkinson’s Awareness Month National Volunteer Month Autism Awareness Month Sexual Assault Awareness Month National Humor Month Lawn and Garden Month Stress Awareness Month April 1st - April Fool’s Day April 15th - Good Friday April 17th - Easter Sunday April 15th to April 23rd - Passover April 27th - Administrative Professionals Day (US) April 22nd - Earth Day 2nd - Autism Awareness Day 6th - National Student-Athlete Day 7th - Burrito Day 7th - No Housework Day 7th - Beer Day

7th - National Walking Day / World Health Day 8th - Day of Silence 9th - Winston Churchill Day 10th - National Siblings Day 10th - ASPCA Day 11th - National Pet Day 12th - Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day 13th - National Scrabble Day 15th - Titanic Remembrance Day 18th - Tax Day 19th - Wear Pajamas to Work Day 20th - Look Alike Day 22nd - Jelly Bean Day 23rd - Picnic Day 23rd - World Book Day 26th - Pretzel Day 26th - Get Organized Day 28th - Take Your Daughters & Sons to Work Day 28th - Superhero Day 30th - Adopt a Shelter Pet Day 30th - Bugs Bunny Day

May Mental Health Awareness Month Military Appreciation Month Employee Health & Fitness Month National Pet Month National Barbecue Month National Blood Pressure Month May 1 - May Day May 5 - Cinco de Mayo (US) May 8 - Mother’s Day May 30 - Memorial Day (US)

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2nd - International Harry Potter Day 2nd - Brothers and Sisters Day 3rd - Teacher Appreciation Day 4th - Star Wars Day 5th - Hoagie Day 6th - Nurses Day 7th - Fitness Day 9th - Women’s Checkup Day 10th - Shrimp Day 10th - Clean Your Room Day

11th - Technology Day 11th - Eat What You Want Day 13th - Fair Trade Day 13th - Apple Pie Day 15th - International Family Day 15th - Chocolate Chip Day 15th - Peace Officers Memorial Day 16th - Mimosa Day 16th - Love a Tree Day 16th - Barbecue Day 20th - NASCAR Day 20th - Bike to Work Day 20th - Endangered Species Day 20th - Rescue Dog Day 21st - Whisky Day 21st - Armed Forces Day 24th - Brother’s Day 25th - Missing Children’s Day 25th - Senior Health & Fitness Day 25th - Wine Day 26th - Ascension Day 28th - Brisket Day

Learning How To Be a Moneymaker With Dr. Izdihar Jamil Today, we’re happy to have our second visit with Dr. Izdihar Jamil. Dr. Jamil is a media expert who has been on Fox, Forbes, NBC, CBS, ABC and the CW. She is also a thirteen-time number one international bestselling author. Her latest book, “Money Makers,” has already hit number one in four different countries.

Dennis Postema: I heard that this book was written in 72 hours, while you were eight months pregnant. How did you do it?

Dr. Izdihar Jamil: It wasn’t easy. When you’re eight months pregnant, all you care about is having your baby—making sure that everything’s taken care of and ready for the baby. This was our third child, and we didn’t get everything prepared until the day I gave birth.

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a calling that I should do it right then. The book pays homage to my grandma Mamin, one of the people I loved the most in the world. She was not an educated person, because at her time, girls were told not to go to school. But she loved money because she wanted things: jewelry, nice furniture. She had to figure out a way to make money based upon her skill set. She cooked, she sewed, she sold jewelry, hijabs, clothes— everything.

I remember going into The reason this book was the fabric shop with her. written in 72 hours was to I couldn’t stand it! There answer a burning desire … were so many colors, and

shopping stresses me out because there’s so many options. But Mamin would choose this blue, this red, this green, this pattern, and all of a sudden, I end up carrying these bags of thirty different fabrics home. She would first pick out the one she loved for herself, then the rest she would sell. So at a very young age, I learned about making money from her.

Dennis: How does having your grandmother’s voice in the back of your head on a daily basis help you be a successful entrepreneur?

Izdihar: My grandma

passed away a few months ago, and I hadn’t seen her for a few years, but she’s with me. I can feel her every moment, the things she taught me.

I remember she always bought spices in twos. I asked her why she bought two, and she said, “Because then, if one finishes, I have one immediately.” She always had a plan ready.

When Mamin wanted things, she would figure it out. She didn’t have any website, she didn’t know how to use tech, but she was able to make money using her own skills, and that’s what I wanted to share in “Money Makers.” You don’t need sparkly things. Most of the time, entrepreneurs are thousands of dollars in debt, but they haven’t found any clients because they’re so focused on ads or websites or having a great office, having great team members—all without having the clients.

I wanted to bust through the BS that the industry has created. You don’t need all that. What matters is: Go out there and find the right person for you.

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In England, my husband and I started an organic business delivering produce from the farm to the customers’ door.

We just had a simple business, and didn’t have any website, any ads, any flyers—nothing. All I did was go to my friends and ask, “I’ve got chickens. Do you want to buy some organic chickens?” It was just as simple as texting, emailing, calling, and that’s how I made money.

I wanted to share that it really is simple. If you take away all the glittery stuff and master the fundamentals, you will always be a moneymaker.

a system, a person, or anything you can think of.” Simplicity isn’t about adding things, but what can you take out? What is it that you don’t need in your business? Keep things simple, take away everything else, and make life easy for others.

Dennis: So it’s about keeping your eye on the prize?

Izdihar: Absolutely. My son loves playing hockey and wants to be an NHL Dennis: There’s a chapter player. The key to him and in the book called his team winning comes “Simple.” Do you want to down to one thing only: share what that means? Keep your eye on the puck. That’s all that you do.

Izdihar: The chapter called The same with business.

“Simple” started when Focus on helping people I was in Bali at a female every single day without entrepreneur’s retreat. I wanting something in was sitting in the water, return, without expecting living the life, and one something. of my coaches, a multiseven-figure business Dennis: Can you tell us owner with six kids— a bit about the Loving someone I respect—said, Sales chapters?

“Izzy, I’m gonna tell you this: If you want to do your Izdihar: I remember when business, you have to keep I was in a leadership things simple.” program, I had to call people. I couldn’t do it. I That is the key. Keep would hope they wouldn’t things simple. One be there. I hated every guideline I wrote in the moment of it. I felt like a chapter was, “What can pushy salesman, talking you take out to streamline to strangers. I hated it so your business? It can be much. Then there was a a process, a software, point where I learned that

sales are just a meeting of the heart, and I’m there to share what I can offer to help people. The rest I’ve got to let go because I can’t force people.

Loving sales happened when I was a gracious, generous listener, then shared my ideas. Loving sales is just me thinking, “I’m going to talk to my best friend today. It’s just a meeting of the heart.

It’s the warmth and the connection.” All I have to be is a generous listener and let them know that when they say yes to themselves, I will take care of them just like family. I’ll invite them to my home, I’ll cook with them, I’ll listen to them, I’ll hold their hand.

is not a great place to be.

But I feel that the more uncomfortable I am, the more successful I become, the more things I create, the more people I attract, because people are attracted to those who are committed, courageous, willing to do whatever it takes, and who have warmth and connection.

smile and I just prayed, “God, just let me be. Help them hear my heart. Help me touch their hearts.

Help me help one person, and I’ll be so grateful.” And I walked up on the stage, said my first word and I don’t remember much else.

Then I cried on the stage because it’s a lot. Because One of the biggest things of the spotlight, I could people say about me is only see four people that they love my energy. up front. When I said That energy comes from my last word, the first being uncomfortable all person stood up, then the the time. Sharing yourself second, then the third, and putting yourself out until everyone stood. My there every day is not easy. husband, who could be The main thing is touching biased, said, “You had people’s hearts. Whatever the longest and loudest resistance that comes is standing ovation.” I walked part of the package that I off the stage and after have to go through. that, people’s husbands, people’s moms, people’s I know when you hit friends came over to me I remember for my TED resistance, you want to to say my words touched Talk, I was so scared of pull back. I will hold your their hearts or made them speaking onstage, I just hand all the way and take couldn’t. I froze. I had to cry. care of you, so you feel train myself a lot. Building heard and important and that resistance, that That’s what I feel like when special and loved, and, to resilience, training myself I push myself every single me, that’s what being a every single day, asking for day, so uncomfortable, so family is about. help, and figuring out my scary, you don’t even want story. to do it—I would rather Dennis: How did you watch Netflix. But when deal with pushing On the day of the talk, you play the big game yourself out of your I was so nervous, I did for others, you’ve got to comfort zone? jumping jacks in the green see how it touches other room. When the organizer people, and hopefully it Izdihar: Being announced me as the next plants a positive seed in uncomfortable all the time speaker, I looked at her people’s hearts.

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Dennis: What was it like to prepare for the TED Talk?

Izdihar: Not everybody can be a TED speaker, and that’s why it’s so prestigious. With the TED talk, every word is scripted. I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, the first thing is that you have to know what your unique idea is—what you want to share with the world. It takes a lot of brainstorming.

directing me to the best place.

Then it comes to crafting your story. There’s a particular way to craft a TED story—I had to learn it. It takes a lot to craft a story and put it into motion. Essentially, it’s twenty years of my life in that eight minutes.

Then comes the practice part, because I’m so scared of the stage, I had to learn from the best coach how to be so attractive onstage You also can’t give up. I that people can’t look applied to ten different away from you, how to TEDx Talks. Ten. Six of those own your physicality, how didn’t even get back to to tell the story with all me, three said no, one said the emotions and just let yes. I knew that was the yourself be, because that’s best one for me, because what the audience wants.

I knew that when God They don’t want a stucksays no to me, He’s just up, perfect kind of person.

Izdihar on Relationships: “The currency to any business is relationships. When you find a good relationship, someone who understands you, someone who supports you, you hold on. You take care of that relationship.

You nurture it. You give everything that you’ve got in that relationship.”

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___________________

They want the real one.

Relentless practice was my approach. As my coach, Bo Eason, said, “The key is when you have relentless practice, your life will be predictable. So practice every day, every moment, over and over and over and over again.”

When the day comes, it just goes out. You don’t even have to think anymore because on the day of the talk, all the hard work has been done.

Watch Izdihar on Motivation and Success TV where she hosts, “Yes, I Can.” You can find her book “Money Makers” on Amazon. You can also visit her at izdiharjamil.com.

15 Ways to Improve the Customer Experience on Your Website If you’re like most business owners, you want to provide the best possible customer experience on your website. After all, happy customers are more likely to return and make a purchase. When it comes to your website, the user experience is key. Here are 15 ways you can improve the customer experience on your website.

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One: Use Responsive Design

in a prominent location.

Make it easy for your customers to find information. That means More and more people having a search box where are using smartphones they can look up product and tablets to access the names or categories, a internet, so it’s essential FAQ page with answers that your website is to common questions, responsive. That means it and other ways people will automatically resize can locate what they’re and adjust to fit any looking for without screen size, whether it’s a desktop computer, laptop, needing assistance from customer service. smartphone, or tablet.

Responsive design isn’t just a trend; it’s now an industry standard. If you don’t have a responsive website, you’re missing out on potential customers.

Two: Create Easy Navigation The most important thing you can do is make your website easy to navigate.

If a customer has trouble finding the products or information they want, or if the checkout process is confusing, then it’s likely that they’ll abandon their cart or endeavor and go elsewhere.

You don’t want to overwhelm viewers with too many options, so keep the main navigation simple. Use clear and concise labels and place the most important links 9

Three: Avoid Flashy Banners and Music Some business owners think that the flashier and loud their website is, the better. But in reality, this can be offputting for customers.

They don’t want to visit a website that’s constantly bombarding them with an abundance of busy ads or music they don’t want to hear.

It’s essential to keep your website’s design simple and professional. Stick to neutral colors and avoid using too many animations or graphics. If you do have audio on your site, make sure it can be turned off easily.

Four: Provide Quality Content Content is king, and that’s

especially true when it comes to websites. If you want to keep customers engaged and coming back for more, you need to provide quality content that’s relevant to their interests.

This means publishing blog posts on a regular basis, sharing engaging social media updates, and offering helpful resources such as eBooks and whitepapers. When customers see that your website is a valuable resource, they’ll be more likely to return in the future.

Five: Use Images and Video If you want to keep people engaged, don’t just rely on text. Photos and videos are a great way to tell stories about your products or services in an engaging format that’s easy for customers to consume.

Use high-quality images throughout your website, especially on product pages and landing pages where they will have the most impact. And consider adding video content as well -- YouTube is one of the largest search engines online, so it pays

off big-time when you create quality videos with valuable information in them!

Six: Make Sure Your Website Loads Quickly One of the biggest complaints customers have about websites is that they load too slowly. If your website takes forever to load, people will get impatient and leave. Your site should load in less than three seconds.

To speed up your website, try optimizing your content and evaluating your plugins. Website plugins are known to weigh websites down, as are oversized images.

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your company or make a purchase from you.

If people aren’t sure how to proceed, they’ll leave and go elsewhere for answers.

same browser or device, so it’s important to test your website on a variety of different browsers and devices. This way, you can make sure that your website looks great and Eight: Keep Your Website functions properly on all of Current them.

One of the best ways to keep customers coming back is by keeping your website current. That means regularly updating your content, redesigning your layout, and adding new features.

You don’t want customers coming to your site only to have it look completely different or not work at all because they’re using a different browser than you expected.

If you don’t update your website often, people will get bored and go somewhere else. Show that you’re an active business with a vested interest in providing quality information by making sure your website is always fresh and up to date.

Ten: Use Professional Web Design Services If you’re not confident in your ability to design and maintain a quality website, consider hiring a professional web design service. These companies have experts who know how to create an effective site that’s easy for customers to navigate.

Seven: Include Clear and Concise Calls to Action

Eleven: Listen to Customer Feedback

Your website should include clear calls to action that encourage customers to take the next step.

When a customer visits your site, you want them to know exactly what they need to do in order to find out more about

Your customers are the best source of information about what does or doesn’t work on your website. Listen to their feedback and make changes accordingly.

They’ll appreciate it!

Nine: Test Your Website on Different Browsers and Devices Not everyone uses the

that provides a great customer experience.

Keep in mind that it’s always important to listen Fourteen: Make it Easy for Customers to Contact to feedback from your customers and make You changes accordingly. Use One of the best ways these tips as a starting to improve customer point and tweak them satisfaction is by making to fit the needs of your it easy for customers business. to contact you. Include When designing your prominently placed website, keep in mind how contact information you want customers to on every page of your website, as well as an easy- feel when they visit. You want them to be excited to-use contact form. about what they see, so Make sure you have a system in place to quickly use prominent colors like reds, oranges, and yellows respond to customer on buttons throughout inquiries so that they feel the site. It’s also important valued and appreciated. to keep your website current by regularly Fifteen: Use Live Chat updating content, Support redesigning layouts, and Another way to make adding new features. it easy for customers to Don’t forget that people contact you is by using are more likely to spend live chat support. This time on a website if it feels allows customers to like home. As such, make communicate with a sure there’s plenty of white representative from your space around text blocks company in real-time, and images, so they’re which can be helpful for easy for visitors to read resolving any issues they or view without being may have. overwhelmed by clutter.

Offering live chat support can also help increase If you follow these customer satisfaction and tips, your website will loyalty. provide an excellent customer experience! Just By following these tips, remember, it’s all about you can create a website the details. searching for information related to what you offer.

Twelve: Add Social Media Buttons People love sharing things online when they find an article or video interesting enough, so give them the opportunity to do so by adding social media buttons to your website.

This will help spread the word about your company and increase traffic to your site.

Thirteen: Use SEO Tactics Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the art and science of improving the ranking of your website on search engines like Google.

By using effective SEO tactics, you can ensure that more people will see your website when they’re 11

Traditional Marketing vs. Content Marketing: Is One Better Than the Other?

Traditional marketing has been around for decades, and many businesses still practice this form of advertising and promotion. The traditional marketing approach involves print media, direct mailings, radio ads, and TV spots. However, with the rise of technology, content marketing has become increasingly popular among both small entrepreneurs and large corporations alike as it’s cost-effective to create highquality content with little more than time and effort.

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Advantages of traditional marketing

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weeks or months before an ad runs. Even daily newspaper ads may Traditional marketing can require a lead time of be a fantastic method several days. Changing to generate leads for broadcast ads requires a business. It involves time and additional creating ads that will be production expenses. Yet, consumed by potential a business can change prospects, attracting them Facebook pages, send to a compelling offer. tweets, or update a website in a matter of One of the main benefits minutes. of traditional marketing is that it’s a very efficient Another drawback of way to reach a lot of traditional marketing people. You can place your is that it is difficult to ad in front of millions of track the success of an potential customers. ad campaign. Print and broadcast outlets provide Another benefit of media kits with audience traditional marketing demographics, but once is that it allows you to a magazine is delivered, target your audience very a paper is printed, or a specifically. You can target radio spot is aired, there is people based on location, no way to know for sure age, gender, interests, and who read, heard, or saw more. This allows you to your ad. This can make reach the right people it difficult to determine with your message, which whether the campaign increases your chances was successful. of generating leads from those people.

While traditional advertising is still popular, Pitfalls of traditional it can be quite expensive. marketing To buy TV spots, you’ll need to commit to One of the main spending thousands of disadvantages of dollars. And that’s just traditional marketing is for the airtime -- you’ll that it is not as flexible also need to pay for the as newer forms of development of your communication. For commercial. Radio ads example, you may have can be less expensive, but to create your message they usually don’t have the

reach of TV spots. Print ads are the cheapest option, but they also have the lowest reach.

Advantages of content marketing Content marketing can help businesses build trust with a specific audience. By creating and sharing valuable content, businesses can connect with prospects and drive traffic to their site.

Additionally, content marketing is cost-effective, as it requires minimal investment and can be executed through various channels. While some companies choose to hire content creators, producing quality content consistently only requires some time and effort.

Content marketing can help a business be found on search engines.

Creating keywordoptimized blog posts and videos will draw attention from search platforms like Google and Yahoo, which leads to higher page rankings when a prospect searches for a solution to a problem.

Drawbacks of content marketing While content marketing is a wonderful way to attract

to music. While there are interruptive digital marketing strategies, Keeping up with the most of the time, people latest trends in content discover content. They marketing can be consume it whenever they frustrating. The latest want to, and usually, they technologies and Google’s have given permission to algorithm updates are be marketed to. continuously influencing content marketing best have used practices. You will struggle Businesses marketing to remain competitive and traditional to attract leads relevant to your audience methods and sales for a long if you cannot devote It can be difficult to keep time. While sometimes enough time to keeping your content marketing expensive, traditional strategy fresh and unique, up with these changes. ads can bring in leads especially with any real quickly, but will stop The main difference experience creating working once a business between content content. Without new stops paying. On the marketing and ideas injected into a other hand, while content traditional marketing content marketing marketing takes time to strategy, visitors will lose The distinction see results, it can be just interest quickly and forget between the two is that as effective. Yet, superior about your company. content marketing is a quality content brings in permissive marketing prospects for months or A business must develop approach, whereas years without spending a good search engine traditional marketing any additional money. optimization (SEO) is an interruptive one.

Both forms of marketing strategy to get the most Traditional marketing hits have advantages and out of content. Bad SEO customers while they disadvantages, and and poor content will get are doing something businesses must find a left behind by the search else, such as watching simple, affordable balance engines and quite possibly television, reading a between them to survive never even be indexed, magazine, or listening and thrive. new customers and boost your business, it does have some drawbacks. Probably the biggest disadvantage is that it takes time to see results. Businesses often are not willing to invest the time needed for a successful content marketing strategy and give up before it brings any significant website traffic gains.

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meaning no one will ever see it.

(800) 277-7398

5 Tips for Managing Your Brand’s Reputation A business’s reputation matters. The internet has reduced the size of the world and given people the ability to share information quickly. It’s made the world a bit cozier, but it’s also meant that one bad review can travel around the world in a matter of seconds.

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Brand reputation is about managing the perception of your company. The adage of thinking before you speak rings true in this area. The Internet and social networks have made it easier for customers to share their thoughts, both good and bad, about their customer

experiences. Negative reviews can be damaging, while positive reviews help drive sales. But how do you foster good reviews, deal with negative ones, and monitor and protect your brand?

It’s important to monitor and protect your brand reputation at every possible touchpoint, including social media channels and customer service interactions but remember that a few negative comments do not define your online reputation. It’s still possible to have a positive online reputation even if there are some unhappy

customers out there.

Monitor Your Company’s Name and Brand The first step in reputation management is to know who is talking about your business. Track mentions of your company and know what is being said about your company. You could use a reputation management firm to do this, or you can also do it yourself.

To monitor your company’s name and brand yourself, set up Google Alerts for any mentions of them in the news, on blogs, or on

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social media. You can also like a discount on their use a free tool like Mention next purchase. to monitor mentions of your business on the Web. Even if you feel a negative review was unfair, choose your battles. Don’t Also, monitor online fight every bad review, reviews on sites like especially if it’s an isolated Google Local and Yelp.

Be active on social media incident. But if you get a and monitor social media lot of similar complaints, there might be something platforms for mentions worth addressing. Take the about your business. information in a negative Respond to Negative review into consideration.

Reviews Does it point out a problem your company Getting a negative review needs to address? is painful, especially if Negative reviews can be a you feel like you don’t blessing if they identify a deserve it. What should weakness in your business. you do? Respond! You should always reply to Use Social Proof reviews, both positive and negative. This shows One of the most important potential customers aspects of reputation that you listen and care management is getting about what they have to customers to leave say. If someone leaves a positive reviews. The task negative review, let them itself is simple, but getting know you’re sorry for it right requires marketers their experience and try to know exactly how and to make things right by when to ask customers to offering them something write a review.

The best times to ask are: After a purchasing event.

This is the number one time to request a review, no matter what type of product or service you offer. When someone makes a purchase, they are satisfied enough with your business to spend their money. This is the perfect time to ask for a review because they’re more likely to share a positive experience than at any other time.

After a customer service interaction. When someone has an issue with your product or service, chances are they’ll contact you via phone or email to help them before they take their complaint public online. When this happens, you can convert an unhappy customer into an advocate by resolving their issue and then asking

for an honest review (as long as the solution was satisfactory).

Encourage people to leave reviews on Google and Facebook by sending them emails after a transaction or visit. Make it simple for them by including a link directly to your business page on each site.

Watch Your Personal Reputation Too

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look at your business. That is why it is important to practice good reputation management on a personal level and ensure your online profiles are upto-date and accurate.

Also, be proactive about things that could harm your reputation. For example, if someone quotes you in an article, review the piece before it’s published. If you disagree with something said about you or your business, don’t hesitate to ask for a correction or clarification.

Your personal reputation can impact the reputation of your business. When people search for you Become a Thought online, are they finding Leader in Your Industry positive press about you or are they finding negative Are you a thought leader? content?

Build your brand’s In the past, people often reputation by becoming a searched for a business thought leader, someone name to find information who is sought for advice about it. But now, many and expertise in your people also look at the industry. founder or CEO of a company too. If you have a To achieve this level of strong personal brand and trust, you need to be online presence, this can visible online and offline only help your company’s and show up where image. people are looking for information about the While your business may products or services you be a distinct entity from offer. You also need to yourself, you cannot demonstrate your mastery always keep the two of the field through blog separate. The way others content, social media perceive you personally interactions, webinars, and can affect the way they conferences.

Thought leaders are also active contributors to their industry’s online discussion, sharing ideas widely on social media and other channels. In other words, they are often at the center of a storm of useful information and commentary.

Imagine how it would build your brand’s reputation if you and your business were thought leaders in your industry. It takes time and patience to become an industry leader, but it is worth the effort. Be active on social media, share your ideas, and network with other thought leaders in your field.

A company’s reputation is one of its most valuable assets; it attracts and retains customers. A business with a reputation for reliability and value has a competitive advantage over those that don’t. A strong brand name, good customer service, and positive online reviews can all be major drivers of revenue, while a poor reputation can seriously impact your company’s ability to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Use these tips to manage it.

6 Email Marketing Mistakes That Can Doom Your Business in 2022

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Email is one of the most powerful ways to market a business, generating more leads than any other marketing method.

However, without proper planning and advice, you can tarnish your brand reputation. Thankfully, these email marketing mistakes are easy to avoid, and you can turn them into free email marketing lessons. Here are five email marketing mistakes to avoid in 2022.

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Instead, focus on building up your list organically by giving people incentive to sign up for your emails like offering coupons or early access to products and services. You could also send them useful information such as free reports or eBooks in exchange for an email.

Always require a double opt-in. The EU’s privacy regulations have forced marketers to clean up their lists and start taking list management seriously.

Failure to Respect the One way to prevent dead Inbox emails or spam traps from making their way onto You might be tempted to your list is by requiring buy a list of contacts from new subscribers to confirm a third-party service but their signup via email. This resist the urge. When you method also prevents send an email to people people from accidentally who didn’t sign up for your signing up for your newsletter, they have no newsletter if they don’t idea who you are and what want it. (We’ve all signed your product is about. up for something before we realized we didn’t want Even worse, if someone it.) gets an unsolicited email from you and doesn’t No Segmentation or recognize your company, Targeting they’re likely to ignore it or report it as spam. When If you’re sending emails this happens your sender to everyone on your score takes a hit and future list, you’re missing the emails end up in junk opportunity to segment folders instead of inboxes and target, which is where they belong. This one of the most useful is a terrible way to start ways to make the most a relationship with new of your email list. By customers. dividing your customers

into groups based on factors like age, gender, geographic location, and even customer lifetime value, you can send highly targeted emails that your customers are much more likely to open and engage with.

Segmentation is the most powerful email marketing tactic. It allows you to send more targeted messages to your subscribers, and that leads to better results.

It also engages them more effectively because the message is relevant and personal to them.

Treating Email as a Marketing Campaign Having an active email list is crucial to the success of an online business. But many businesses get this wrong by treating their list as a marketing campaign.

When you treat your email list as a marketing campaign, you’re likely to make sales in the short term but it won’t be sustainable in the long run. The success of your business depends on how many people you can sign up for your email list with discounts or other incentives. Then, when you sell them something, they’ll probably never buy from

you again.

Emails should provide value to the customer.

Every email you send shouldn’t be a sales pitch. One of the biggest mistakes people make with email marketing is treating their list like an ATM instead of treating it like the audience they are.

Think about what they want to receive and not just what you want to write about or send. People get a lot of email nowadays, and they want to hear from someone who cares about them personally.

Not Testing You’re not going to know what works unless you test it. Every email platform has A/B split testing built in, so you can see what gets better open rates. Try testing different subject lines, images vs. text-based emails, etc., until you find out what works best for 20

your audience. This kind of information will help you refine your email marketing and make it more profitable.

Making It All About You, Not the Customer Many companies mistakenly send an email that focuses entirely on their own business or products. Your customers don’t want to read a sales pitch -- they want interesting and relevant content that helps them solve problems or get better at what they do.

care about your business unless it can help them solve their problems or make their lives easier.

Write with your audience in mind, not yourself. Steve Job said, “People don’t care about you, your product, your service, or your company. They care about themselves, their dreams, their goals.”

Writing Poorly Crafted Subject Lines

The subject line of your email is the headline of your message. It gets people to open your emails. If you don’t have a compelling subject line, Focus your content on your you don’t have a chance to get anyone to read the customer and how he or she can benefit from your rest of your message. It’s what gets you noticed in a product or service. When crowded inbox. you write a marketing email, consider the reader When people see a poorly and his or her wants and written subject line, they needs. Make it about what’s in it for them -- not may think it’s spam or will not bother opening up the you. email at all. Keep it short Your subscribers don’t

Sending Too Many Emails Many people have become desensitized to email marketing messages because there’s and sweet and make it so so much of it out there that it instantly grabs the every day. The best rule attention of anyone who is not to send more than sees it and is relevant to what your customer signed one commercial message per week per customer up for.

-- any more and you risk overwhelming them with What’s the best practice for marketing messages they crafting an email subject don’t care about, and even line? Put the point of multiple messages a week your email in the subject may be too much for some line. Subject lines should customers. tell the reader why they should care, not what As email marketing your email is about. For becomes increasingly example: “How to write a crowded, the only way good email subject line (that gets opened)” tells the to build and maintain a robust list is to win over subscriber that this article is for them and offers value your readers’ trust. You do this by creating relevant, to them. interesting, and informative Here are five key features of messages. Keep your subscribers engaged, and an effective subject line: they will keep opening your emails; lose their 1. It’s personal attention and trust, or use 2. It’s relevant tactics that are misleading 3. It provides value or dishonest, and you risk 4. It’s easy to understand alienation and humiliation.

5. It’s not too long Keep email marketing but be smart about it!

Optimize each of these components and you’ll skyrocket your open rate.

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(800) 277-7398

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3 Ways You’re Compromising Your Customers’ Trust

Businesses are in a relationship with their customers. Some of these relationships will be short-term, but hopefully others will be long-term.

Even if you’re only acting as an affiliate for another company, you must have a relationship with people to move that product or service. If you fail to do this, your business is dead in the water.

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common with another person is very important in a relationship, but they really are more akin to lead magnets in marketing terms. No, the foundation is trust.

Too Much Hype in Your Sales Pitch

If you’re in the niches of working from home, owning an online business, marketing, or making money online, especially within the realm Relationships where distrust plays a significant of digital products or as an affiliate, you’ve seen these role are doomed. Even ads. They mostly feature if you have so much in young men dressed common or if the other person looks like he or she casually, talking quickly should be plastered on the and excitedly as they try No matter how good you cover of magazines, trust is and sell you something.

It could be a product are at generating traffic or essential. they’re promoting or creating an irresistible lead Sometimes, a relationship something they’ve created magnet, those prospects can survive some hiccups themselves. and customers won’t in the trust department, do a thing if there’s no The goal is to feel but only if both partners relationship blossoming. relatable, like they’re no know the strengths and different from you aside weaknesses of the other Business growth and and are willing to live with from the success they’ve relationship growth the fact that, for example, had. They’ll explain how aren’t mutually exclusive. they were nobodies, just Providing a good product they may not be able to like you, but had success trust one partner with or service and offering drop shipping, selling money. valuable freebies are on Amazon, selling as the cornerstone of a an affiliate, or building a In business, however, business, but you have fantastic downline in an there are no hiccups to be able to convince MLM company. They’ll skeptical people that said that can be overcome. In promote this image business, without trust, offers are worth their money and time. In other your customers will never by showing pictures of themselves on exotic feel wedded to you. words, they have to trust vacations, standing in the This specially applies in that you wouldn’t offer foyer of some beachside something like affiliate them junk or lead them mansion, or showing off marketing or network astray by recommending their sports car. something that doesn’t do marketing, where many, If these salespeople many others are orbiting what they think it should. feel somewhat false to the same company. you, you’re not alone.

But what is the foundation But how are you alienating Humans are used to of a relationship? It’s not sales talk, and most of your customers and being good-looking or prospects? Here are three the time can pick out a having similar hobbies. ways you’re killing trust in salesperson regardless of Those are fine things how they try to package and having something in your prospects:

mistakes made at MOBE that eventually got it shut down. Many of those errors can be chalked up to the astronomical price tag of drawing in older prospects who had money saved up and the more excitable employees making artificial This works against you in guarantees (MOBE also two ways: downplayed the length 1. It makes people’s radars of time it takes to achieve go off and they won’t give success). The example was to show you that a quieter their trust. personality that doesn’t overhype their product 2. It promotes making an and exudes knowledge emotional decision, and that easily leads to buyer’s and authority in a subject is more than capable of remorse, which leads to bad reviews and a break in creating trust. trust.

Too Many Upsells and Downsells The antidote is to sound more real.

Upsells are part and parcel of many businesses, and For example, Matt Lloyd no one will blame you for drew many people into offering an upgrade or My Online Business an additional service, but Education (MOBE), of sometimes businesses which he was founder, simply by being so down- take this way too far. They to-earth. He was obviously feature online funnels that stretch on for pages a very knowledgeable young man, but he never and pages, offering a new upsell every time a sounded like he was trying to sell you a course. customer buys something or goes through the hassle He never bounced up of declining an upsell and down beside a new until a company’s entire sports car or took selfies product line is exhausted. of himself in the foyers of mansions. He merely When businesses do this, it made you trust him with inspires distrust. After all, it his calm voice and the abundance of information starts to feel less like you’re being helped and more he’d give you. like someone is trying to squeeze every last drop This isn’t to defend the their presentation. The aggressive sellers usually acquire sales through hype, as they skip the hard work and willingness to learn new skills that it takes to really be successful.

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out of you. Moreover, there’s no incentive to pay the initial price of anything offered because some businesses will downsell once or twice just to get a prospect to buy.

What’s the antidote?

Never offer more than two upsells. If your upsell is for a better package than what they just bought, just lay out all available packages on the landing page and let the customer decide. Using McDonald’s as an example, can you imagine if their menu only consisted of one thing and every other item was an upsell in a funnel?

If you’re wondering how you’ll move your other products or sell your other services, this is where your email marketing should come in handy.

Bring awareness to those customers through email marketing and bring in new traffic to those other products by making their own dedicated landing page.

As for downsells, don’t do them in your funnel. They hurt your credibility and integrity, so it’s best to offer them as special offers in your email marketing sequence. Build greater trust through your emails first, then draw attention to your other products or special prices.

Being Far Too Aggressive bought.

No one likes pushy salespeople, and it’s not just your sales closers that excel in this, unfortunately.

Excessive pushiness can crop up in your sales copy, your email marketing sequences, and even your social media. Some funnels require people to push buttons that say things like, “Yes, I know I’ll never see this offer again, and I know I’ll have to struggle because of it,” just to get to the next page of the funnel. It puts people on the defensive and makes them feel bad about themselves and even doubt the worth of the product they just

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Businesses have to make offers, naturally, to move your product or service.

However, your customer should never feel backed into a wall. If a customer buys under pressure, they might feel buyer’s remorse as soon as they feel able to breathe again, and that damages you.

an ailing person needs a doctor, that’s one thing.

However, most people are capable of making decisions for themselves once you let them see the potential and pitfalls.

Be open and honest, and if people get that you’re putting them first, they’ll respond.

Trust is important, and it’s easy to break. Even if Your goal as a business and within sales is to help you trigger a sale upfront, people. This means giving you won’t do yourself any them the information they favors if your customer loses faith in you. Honesty, need to make the best decision for themselves. If as they say, is the best policy. you see people shooting themselves in the foot, pushing is fine. If you know they need you like

10 Tips All Working Women need for Success without Burnout Burnout is real. Millions face it daily and it can dramatically affect how we show up and manage our time, energy and focus. I know. Burnout led me to complete breakdown, but it didn’t stop me; through my journey I was able to identify a few simple tips that have helped me to face and breakthrough burnout to keep me on track, in control of my time and more fulfilled in all areas of my life, personal and professional. Here are the tips: 1.Create a Mindset of Abundance and Gratitude.

It sounds simple, but how we choose to look at the world and its offerings we impact our results. If I see the world as challenging and one that is set up to work against me, that is exactly what I will create.

I focus on creating a mindset of opportunity and abundance; looking at the good each day brings, even the challenging ones. There truly is beauty in each day.

2. Hold a Weekly Success Planning Session with Yourself. When you can plan your week before it starts, you can see what is ahead 26

and plan accordingly. As you identify the weekly priorities, you can then be honest about the time you have to give to each area and go into the week with more direction and focus, elevating stress and being reactive in your days.

loneliness and stress can build, leading to a feeling of even greater burnout.

6. Disconnect. Just as we have to connect, sometimes we also need to disconnect and get away.

Rest and recovery are key to overcoming burnout. Find 3. Protect your Mornings.

Our mornings set the tone for something that brings you joy and do more of that. It the day. Work to protect this time, and your mindset during can be gardening, cooking, going into nature, or yes, a this time and you will find you can go into your day with vacation. Sometimes I just take a “nothing” day where I lay more energy and focus and in bed and do …. NOTHING. It also become more in control re-energizes my soul and fills of your time. me back up, so I feel more in charge and ready to take back 4. Build Your Skills. Think on the world. about the skills you need to perfect to show up as the best version of yourself. When 7. Give back. One of the best ways to feel whole is to give you have stronger skills, you back to others. It allows us are more confident and in control, therefore less stressed to connect on a higher level and feel a part of something in your days and interactions with others. Less stress = less bigger than just ourselves. It shifts us from thinking about burnout. ourselves and brings us to a feeling of community and 5. Connect. We are social knowing our place in it. You beings, and we are not can volunteer, mentor, or meant to live alone. When anything else that works for you are feeling Burned out, you. Giving back feels good get connected with good and when we feel good, we people who will help bring you up and fill up your energy. show up happier and more productive.

When we become isolated,

8. Create a Success Environment. Just like a plant, we can only grow the right way when we have the right environment to nurture and nourish us. Make sure your workspace is one that fosters creativity, positivity and productivity. Surround yourself with others you can learn from and collaborate with. When you plant yourself in the right environment, you will have all the nourishment you need to stay on your game and keep burnout at arms-length.

9. Ask for Help. No one needs to be alone. We can learn so much from each other, and others want to help

us too. If you are struggling, GET HELP. This was something I did not do, which lead to me falling deeper into my Burnout. As I started to share my turmoil and open up, I found others were struggling too and it allowed us to bond together and help each other. Asking for help is not weakness, but one of the greatest points of strength.

10. Celebrate! We work hard and far too often we put off celebrating life and our wins.

You do not need to wait until the end of the year or until you close that big deal to celebrate. Make sure you are celebrating the small wins of each day and week. If

we do not pause and focus on the good things we are accomplishing, we never see that we are moving forward.

Burnout happens. When you are passionate about what you do, you want to give your all. But you also need to pay attention to the signs of burnout, because when you start to fall, it takes you away from doing your best and giving your best. Implement these tips and you will see you can be more in control of how you show up, stay connected to your path and show up happier, more energized and focused.

April was formerly the second month in the ancient Roman year, when March began the calendar. The real origin of its name has been lost.

• April 12, 1955 - The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, was declared safe and effective • April 14, 1912 - The famous ship “Titanic” sank • April 17, 2011 - Game of Thrones premiered on HBO • April 20, 1926 - Western Electric and the Warner Brothers film studio officially introduced Vitaphone, a new process that would enable the addition of sound to film

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• April 24, 1990 - STS-31 - The Hubble Space Telescope was launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery