SEO What?
ARE YOU CONFUSED?
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the Big Kahuna of driving traffic to your website. If you can’t get traffic you can’t get business online. It’s also as confusing and frustrating as heck when you’re first starting out online. unless you’re an online marketing guru, that is.
A lot of people out there are charging a lot of money to optimize your site for you. But, what if you’re not working with a big budget?
Recently, I had the opportunity to meet Paul Counts via a webinar given by Paul Cooley. Both of these guys are great at what they do and you should check out their websites.
Paul Counts has been helping people with SEO for a while now. He’s come up with a 24-hour Do It Yourself Online Marketing Plan that makes sense.
1. Submit your site to social book-marking sites. Here are links to two recommended social book-marking sites:
• http://www.onlywire.com
• http://www.socialmarker.com
2. Make sure your site has an opt-in box so that visitors can sign up for RSS feed. RSS or “Really Simple Syndication” in a conglomeration of web feed formats used to publish your blog posts or other updates. Also, submit your site to free RSS feed directories such as:
• http://www.feedity.com
• http://feedbase.net
3. Write Press Releases!
You can submit these to a variety of free press release sites:
• http://www.free-press-release.com
• http://www.pressreleasespider.com
• http://www.i-newswire.com
4. Create a short video about your business and submit it to:
• http://www.youtube.com
• http:// www.revver.com
• http://www.realpeoplerealstuff.com
5. Join an online forum in your niche.
6. Submit an online classified to:
• http://www.usfreeads.com
• http://oodie.com
7. Create a weekly radio show on Blog Talk Radio
• http://blogtalkradio.com
8. Definitely start a blog. A blog develops your online credibility, provides accessibility to your target market and provides you will real time feedback.
I hope this information proves as helpful to you as it was to me. This is truly a workable plan to get you started. If it seems daunting, you have questions or you need help with any of these steps, please contact me via e-mail at ROAR! My e-mail address is: jfreeman@roarcorps.com.
Until next post – ROAR on!
How To Deliver A ROAR-ing Sales Presentation!
Presentations Part III.
I’ve been preaching the theory for years. Keep it short. Keep it simple. Use BIG fonts. To think Guy Kawasaki actually had a formula all along. The 10/20/30 method. Guy Kawasaki is my hero – and one brilliant dude.
Here it is in a nutshell.
Point One
10 Slides. If you are doing a power-point presentation, you should use no more than 10 slides. It’s a sales presentation, not an Odyssey. When you prepare, think. Is the slide there to prompt you? If so, pitch it. You need to prepare. End of story. A bunch of stuff that you read directly from the slide is boring, cheesy and does not make you look like a professional. It makes you look sloppy and unprepared. You need to be on your game. You need to engage your audience.
Rule of thumb: If the slide is in the presentation to illustrate a point that the prospect or customer needs to see, then keep it. It’s all about them understanding your product or service. Make sure graphs are clear and easy to understand.
Point 2
20 Minutes. It should take no longer than 20 minutes to deliver a fantastic presentation. Keep your opening and call to action short and sweet. 2.5 minutes a piece. That will leave you with15 minutes to deliver the body of your presentation.
Honestly, people can’t pay attention for much more than 15 minutes without their minds drifting off to someplace else. You cannot afford that. You need to keep them focused on you from the get-go.
Point Three
30 Point Font. The font on your presentation slides should be not less than 30 point. If the people you are presenting to can’t see what is on the screen they will get frustrated and you’ll lose them. Keep it large enough to see from the back of the room.
I challenge you to try Guy’s 10/20/30 method for your next five sales presentations and see what happens. Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Here’s to making your business ROAR!
KISS-ing Your Presentations - Keep It Simple
“KISS-ING” Your Presentation
Keep It Simple
As I said in my previous blog post, I have been to presentation hell. I have been called to presentations where I thought, “Oh dear God, not again!” I have sat through lonnnngggg drawn out presentations with hundreds of slides.
And, if I’m honest with you – I’ve been guilty of giving some long boring presentations with lots of information and lots of slides.
It’s time to STOP THE MADNESS!
About five years into my career, I asked myself a critical question (with the help of a great coach). I asked myself if I could sit through one of my own presentations?
Could you?
The answer was that I could sit through my presentations, but I probably wouldn’t be so happy about it (big yawn). Things needed to change.
I went to work.
I stopped using cards and slides as a crutch. I started using a simple principle – Keep It Simple…(well you know that last word).
I took a look at my slides. I decided if they were really benefit my audience, they were keepers. If they were more a “prompter” to me, they got scratched.
I scratched jargon.
I added stories to illustrate points.
I decided that if I wanted people to listen and remember I needed to be somewhat entertaining.
I practiced and practiced and practiced.
In short, my presentations became simple yet entertaining, informative and with a clear call to action.
It worked. No one in my classes was nodding off or bleary eyed! Even though I was teaching important stuff it didn’t come off as dry.
I got calls and thank-you cards. My business increased by 50% in six months.
Stick with me on this series on presentations. Next week I am going to share a dynamite sales presentation skill that I learned from the best of the best.
If you’d like to follow along my e-mail, sign up for the RSS. Share the article with friends and associates. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Facebook!
Until next time, ROAR!
I’ve Been To Presentation Hell
Have you ever been forced to sit through a sales presentation that was so boring you just wanted to cry? What made it boring? Was it the material presented? How it was presented? The tone of the presenter? All of these things combined?
Have you ever given a sales presentation that was fabulous? Or one that tanked? What qualities made them work or not?
There are two types of memorable presenters, the best and the worst. Everyone in between kind of gets forgotten. Personally, if I’m going to be remembered, I want to be remembered for being the best.
Sales professionals are in steep competition to win the business of a very discriminating consumer. They need to be sharp, articulate, informative and yes, entertaining to win the sale. But, there’s one more quality to being a great sales presenter. You must be persuasive. This might seem like a no-brainer, but I’ve sat through many a presentation where there was a lot of information given, but no persuasion. If you can’t tell your audience why they need your product at your price and now, you’re not closing. If you don’t close – guess what? You don’t get the sale.
Experts say that usually, people have about a ten-minute attention span when being presented with new ideas. Generally grasping three new ideas or concepts is the limit. I suggest you build the foundation of your presentation n these three questions:
• Why me?
• Why my product?
• Why now?
Can you see how answering these questions lead the customer to be persuaded without making them feeling pushed?
If you can answer these questions well, you will be giving a balance of information and persuasion. You will be starting to close the sale the moment you open your mouth and you will be able to give a clear call to action.
The call to action is the final step in the sales process. The call to action is in your control. It’s what you want to happen next. It “brings the close to a close” so to speak.
Practice answering “Why me? Why my product, and why now?” as the basis of your next sales presentation. Along with a clear opening and call to action, you should be closing more deals in less time.
This is the first of a series of posts on the subject of Giving Great Presentations. If you want to read more, sign up for the RSS or follow me on Twitter. Until then, make your day count!
