Today I was interviewed on Cindi Dawson’s Blog Talk Radio show, Profiting From Teleseminars, on the topic of joint ventures and how to use them to grow your business. We covered a lot of really good stuff, so I wanted to make sure you had an opportunity to give it a listen.

We covered:

• What are joint ventures?
• How can you use JVs to grow your business?
• How can use teleseminar joint ventures to grow your business?
• The importance of knowing your goals before planing a joint venture.
• How you can entice potential joint venture partners to do a joint venture with you … even if you’re an unknown.

And so much more! This was an information-packed hour that brought together both Cindi’s and my knowledge to bear on the subject of joint ventures and teleseminars!

Joint Ventures Can Turbo-Charge Your Business is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

Social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, allow you to connect with other people with a greater presence and in less time than doing it in person. I’m not suggesting that attending live events and networking locally is not important, but doing it online truly leverages your time and efforts.

On Facebook, tell people about what you are doing online. Join groups where your prospects are already spending time. Those groups are the very best place to find new friends. Create your own group, using your keywords in the title.

Twitter is great for connecting with people in just a few seconds. Share what you are doing two or three times each day, but relate it to what you do online. When someone asks you a question or makes a comment about something you know about, answer them quickly and let them know you want to help. This will make a
huge difference over a period of time.

I use a site called FriendFeed to tie all of my social media together. There are other sites that do the same thing, so find one that is easy to use so your time will get out to as many new people as possible.

Social media and social networking will save you lots of time and money, and will definitely increase your bottom line. It doesn’t take long to learn how to use the sites quickly and effectively. Continue to network with others in person and at live events and seminars, but do not overlook the power of social networking and how it can help you in a variety of ways.

How to Use Twitter and Facebook to Connect With Prospects and Clients For Your Business is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

What do successful businesses know about publicity and promotion that is empowering their success and create a huge competitive advantage? Businesses can use publicity strategies to help them create an ongoing and consistent presence in their target market helping them gain the competitive edge for themselves.

One thing many businesses may wonder about is if accessing the media for publicity and brand name awareness costs a ton of money. The answer is no. You can get publicity for your business easily and within your budget.

In addition to staying visible to your target audience using publicity on radio shows, in newspapers and magazines and on TV shows, successful business go the extra mile for their customers and your clients and customers love these businesses for it.

No client wants to throw their money away on what might happen if they buy your product or service, they want clear deliverables that they can use to further their income, growth and ability to serve their clients.

Be center stage in your industry. Consistency is important to creating a strong presence in your industry as you don’t want to give your competitors the opportunity to surpass you in media exposure.

Stay consistent in your publicity outreach as this is important to creating your company’s competitive edge as clients want to do business with the vital companies making a difference.

Get quoted expert media placements, publicity on your company, be seen and heard in media including Radio, TV, Magazines, Online and Newspapers.

Be engaged in the success of your target market. When your business becomes part of the success model of other businesses you have achieved a great goal. Put yourself in your clients’ shoes, what do you need to go to your next level? When you identify the needs of your clients your next step is to simply create the products and services your clients want so they can increase their own profitability.

One of the best business strategies is to understand what your client needs to go to their next level of success and create these resources for them. Don’t fall behind or skip a beat regarding the trends in your industry. You want to be able to create next level products and services and to do this your finger needs to be on the pulse of your industry.

As your clients integrate your products and services in their business model, be working on the next higher level product as soon these new products will naturally be in demand. Never stop innovating as success leads to more success!

Publicity Tips to Get the Competitive Edge in Business is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

In a tour around the blogosphere looking for excellent business blogs, it’s not uncommon to observe a variety of conditions that reflect poorly on the state of business blogging.

• Many business blogs are languishing
• Some haven’t been posted on in weeks or months
• Some are all over the map with their content

And it gets worse! One of the most common mistakes being committed is little attention to branding for the business.

What does that mean?

When visitors land on your blog, in a blink of the eye, they should know:

• Who the blog is for
• What the blog is about
• Why they should stick around and read your content
• Why they should subscribe
• Who you are and why they should believe what you have to say

Without following best practices that address these points, a blog is confusing and ineffective. It will not reflect well on you professionally; it will not work to build your list of prospects and most likely will not convert readers to clients.

These common mistakes are on blogs written by intelligent professionals who are very good at what they do, in their fields. They just haven’t understood and mastered business blogging yet. Perhaps you might be experiencing a few of these problems on your own blog as well. If that’s the case, you aren’t alone. These are actually quite common challenges.

Your blog must pass the “blink” test: It must be immediately recognizable and memorable.

Branding goes beyond finding a clever name, though that is critical as well. Along with a clearly defined core message, there are a few elements must be in place for you to create a well-branded blog that attracts massive visibility:

A descriptive name – if you’re starting your blog, are you branding YOU, your business, your book? Know the purpose of your blog so you can name it appropriately.

Tagline – who is the blog for? What are the benefits for your readers? Who you are, your name and your expertise

A customized banner – ties in with your brand, your website, logo, brand colors; it extends the look and feel that represents you and your values

Your photo and bio page – These two items should be a good representation of you as a professional.

Once you have established the name and brand for your blog, then it’s easier to stay focused and build visibility with a consistent image of your business throughout the blogosphere.

How to Have a Poorly Branded Blog… And How to Fix It is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

The “About” Page, also known as your bio page, is one of the most visited pages on a blog. Readers want to know the author of a blog: their story and why they are blogging. Yet most business bloggers are missing this opportunity to connect with readers. Many blog authors write about their education and job history in a dry manner.

Your ‘About’ page should be written appropriately for your blog – not copied from a professional bio or CV where you talk about yourself in the third person.

Remember a blog is a conversation, more like writing an email to your favorite client. The more you can connect with readers by using the “I” and “you” pronouns, the more it will feel and read like a conversation.

More importantly, rather than delivering your past experiences and education, your about page is an opportunity to connect with readers on an emotionally profound level.

• What’s your story?
• Why did you decide to start a blog?
• Why are you passionate about your niche?
• What were the pivotal moments in your life and work that led you to where you are now?

People want authentic stories. They want to know who the person is talking to them through the blog. Why should they care what you have to say? What makes you the expert? Why should they believe anything you say?

Tell readers about the challenges you’ve faced and how you’ve overcome them. Be real with readers. When you are transparent, you become someone readers can relate to; readers will begin to connect and see more than words written on a web page.

Your business blog is more than a brochure or a marketing tool. It’s an opportunity to establish intimacy with readers who are searching for inspiration and solutions to their problems. People do business with people, not companies. It’s up to you to breath life into your blog and the “About” page is the place to start.

How to Write a Better About Page For Your Business Blog is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge