Are you ready for 2009?

I am so excited for the new year! It’s the perfect time for strategic planning. Every year, I sit down and brainstorm about all of the new services and programs I will offer to help my clients succeed. With a bit of creativity and dash of passion, there are so many opportunities to take our companies to the next level.

Lately, I have been getting a lot of questions about online marketing. How do I get started with an ezine? How can I drive more traffic to my website? Can online marketing help my company? What can blogging do for my business? Should I be on Facebook? So, in 2009, I am going to be offering YOU a lot of fabulous and affordable products and programs to help your business succeed online! I even have something ready for you this month to help you out.

I am so excited to announce the upcoming launch of the Brilliant Blogging for Business program. It has everything you need to get up and running quickly and inexpensively (a blog costs WAY less than a website). I give you step-by-step details to get started and how to create a buzz in the blogosphere. I’ll be posting all of the details in the next few days, so watch for my special announcement!

Of course, the best way to stay “in the know” is by signing up for my ezine at http://www.GoMarketingMaven.com

To your success,

Wendy

Tomorrow, I am going to be enjoying a very yummy and wonderful Thanksgiving. It’s a small one this year since we have our little son with us and didn’t want too much chaos.

When I sit at the dinner table, I will be sending out lots of appreciation and gratitude for all of the wonderful people in my life including you! Thank you for your ongoing support and caring.

I wish you the very best.

With warm regards, Wendy

Marketing opportunities are ample during the holidays even in a time when the economy is rough. The period of time between Halloween and New Year’s Day presents a wonderful opportunity for your company to thank your customers and stand out from your competitors. It also is a time that you can drive new business to you through creative promotions.

Here is a list of easy and effective marketing ideas to help you promote your business for the holidays:

1. Send a Card: Send a holiday card to all of your customers - depending on your target audience, it can be for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or simply “Seasons Greetings.” You can also send a Happy New Year card. But don’t stop there. Don’t forget about your vast referral base. Be sure to send business holiday cards to your friends, family, associates, and vendors.

2. Send your database a gift: Hopefully, you have a list of both clients and prospects. Whether these individuals have purchased from you or not, treat them well. Take the holiday season as an opportunity to send them a gift. It can be as simple as a $5 gift card to Starbucks. Small gestures are what impress people - they work to keep customers loyal and to convert prospects to customers.

3. Offer a “Something of the Month” club: People are always looking for unique gifts to give. Why not help them out and create ongoing cash flow for your company? You can do this type of gift series with almost anything. Seriously. Did you know there is a Bacon of the Month club? You could sell CDs that you record each month, massages, dinners, jelly, or even a teleseminar series. With a little creative brainstorming, I’m certain that any business could develop this type of program.

4. Bundle items as a holiday theme: Sell holiday specials to entice people to buy bundles of products or services. Instead of selling single items, offer a theme. For example, a financial planning company could put together a New Year’s Planning Kit that includes a book, tax software, and a one-hour consultation. A spa could put together a Stress-Free Holiday package of a steam bath, facial, and body lotion.

5. Give a coupon or discount: As both a gift to your customers and a way to boost your seasonal revenue, why not offer a discount or send out a coupon that promotes one or more of your services or products. This could be for a report, a CD, a session, or a special program. Again - be creative! People love discounts.

6. Offer a holiday special: You can encourage larger purchases by offering a holiday special like Buy Two and Get a Third Item for Free. Here is a different variation on this same strategy: Tell your customers when they purchase a certain amount, the will get something for free.  For instance, Buy $100 worth of products and get a free CD.

These are just a few ways that you can both thank your customers and offer them something special for the holidays. By being creative, holiday marketing will also help build customer loyalty, convert prospects into customers, and help to bring cash flow into your company.

For even more holiday marketing ideas, this post is superb:

12 Low-Cost Marketing Ideas for the Ho-Ho-Holidays

Best of success to your business!

Wendy Maynard

This past year has been hard on a lot of people - mortgages, plummeting stocks, job loss, divorces, and more. I have friends and family members who have been through the ringer. And this past year have brought my husband and me our own share of financial pressures.

I saw this post on the Webmomz blog and wanted to share it since we all need a little inspiration from time to time:

You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.

Next time…

• You wake up unmotivated to build your business…BUILD it anyway!
• The phone feels like 1,000lbs when you’re trying to pick it up and make that prospecting call…PICK it up anyway!
• You want to send an email, card, or flyer to someone but you get “too busy”…SEND it anyway!
• You see a business owner who know could benefit from your product/service but you get too nervous because of their “prestige”…SHOW it anyway!

Finally…

• Next time you see your dreams flash before your eyes and it seems like they are too far away…DREAM BIG ANYWAY! Why? Because doing your daily activities in this business IS building your dream!

Remember, the sweetest part of the “dream” isn’t the end outcome. It’s the journey of who you become along the way.

Look fear in the face and always remember to… go for it and get it done!

Best, Wendy Maynard

I am thrilled to announce the arrival of our son, Ripley Asher Riddle, born on his due date of October 17th. He weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces and was 19.25 inches. I had an unexpected C-section, but I am recovering quickly. Both Nathan and I love being new parents and are so delighted to have our little son. I have been working from home instead of my office and adjusting to life as a new mommy. It’s definitely an interesting juggling act so far.

In celebration of Ripley’s birth and as a “thanks” to you, I am running a special on my best-selling Maven Marketing System. Through his birth month (until midnight of November 17th), you can purchase the Maven Marketing System for 50% off! You’ll see the discounted price when you checkout. You get all of the bonus items that come with it too!

Best, Wendy

Experts are sought after, are well known, command higher fees and get more business with less effort. The media calls experts to get quotes for articles. Associations call them to speak at their events. People remember them.

Becoming an expert is no accident - it takes hard work that follows strategic planning and ongoing effort. But it is a crucial part of your marketing if you want to customers to seek YOU out. Get known as the go-to guy or gal in your field. The more well you are known, the more prospects will trust you. You become part of their world and will be invited to be other people’s center of influence.

Here are a few things that can help you to position yourself as an expert:

•    Write articles for industry magazines and online directories.
•    Start a blog and update it regularly.
•    Write a book.
•    Begin podcasting to your audience.
•    Ask for customer testimonials to include with your marketing materials.
•    Become a public speaker.
•    Give radio interviews.
•    Send press releases to your local media.
•    Give interviews for other experts’ teleclasses and online events.

Remember, the first step is to believe in your own expertise. People will perceive you in alignment with the way that you present yourself. But, it starts in your own mind.

When you believe in yourself as a capable, valuable provider of a service, your audience will also perceive you as an expert. And people will begin to take notice of you. Are you confident in your own values and abilities? If not, what can you do to grow your skills?

Make sure you are walking the walk of an expert. Everything you do should reflect your expertise. Make sure you dress well. Don’t show up to at a meeting late. Make sure all of your marketing materials are professionally designed. Give away some of your expertise via tip sheets, fre.e reports, and articles.

Be professional in the way you act with prospects and customers. Provide excellent customer service always. If you have employees, they are also an extension of your expertise, so make sure everyone and everything that represents you and your company shines.

When you speak to your prospects, remember you are not “selling” them. Instead, you are offering them a solution to their problems. Ask plenty of questions to make sure you understand what your client needs and speak back to them in a manner that expresses your understanding of their issues. Keep the focus on your customer, not on you. Be honest, show integrity, and express a sincere desire to help them. Offer valuable information that gives people a taste of what benefits they will receive from hiring you.

ACTION ITEM: Have you positioned yourself as an expert in your industry? The time to get started is right now! What will help you do this? What can you do in the next year to accelerate your learning? What events can you attend? What new information do you want to attain?

Ready to boost the marketing for your business? Then order a copy of the Maven Marketing Home Study System! It’s everything you need to know to attract the best customers for your business. You’ll learn how to describe what makes your business remarkable, how to get new customers calling YOU, and lots of other valuable strategies to help you fill your sales pipeline quickly. (Why struggle with your marketing anymore?) Get it now at 50% off!

Sarah Palin winks, blows kisses, gives a “shout out” to the third graders back home who are getting extra credit, and drops the “G” off the end her words. She’s just so cute and folksy.

She actually says things like “Say it ain’t so, Joe!” and “Doggone it”  and “You betcha.” And, she sounds a lot like Frances McDormand playing Marge Gunderson in Fargo. Has she always spoken like this? Or is she just trying to play up her down-home brand appeal?

Palin is certainly creating her own personality brand, but it’s not working with most people. Recent polls show that skepticism of Palin continues to grow.

Though she initially transformed the race with her energizing presence and a fiery convention speech, Palin is now a much less positive force: Six in 10 voters see her as lacking the experience to be an effective president, and a third are now less likely to vote for McCain because of her.

Maybe folksy isn’t the brand that sells for this election…

As part of your marketing efforts, be sure to offer discounts and sales. People love them and it’s a great way to create cash flow. You can use incentives to entice new people to try your services/products. Sales are also a powerful tool to encourage past customers to come back to your company if they’ve drifted away.

Here are some pointers to help you with your sales:

1. Offer a trial discount: If you want to get people to try a program or product you are launching, you can have a pre-release sale or a trial membership like I offered for my Maven Success Circle. You can also offer an early-bird discount for a seminar or workshop.

2. Create pre-launch sales excitement: For the best example of this, review the buzz that was created around the newest versions of the iPhone and the iPod. Steve Jobs is a master. You can do this same thing prior to the release of your next product or service. Generate excitement in your ezine, your blog, and have pre-launch teleseminars.

3. Try discounting to groups: If you provide services or products to large companies or associations, you can offer a discount if a group signs up together. This can encourage more participation. You can also offer incentives to organizers to bring a group - for example, bring a group of 5 or more people and the leader can register for free.

4. Tell-A-Friend incentive: This is an effective promotional tool and can be used in a number of ways. For instance, a postcard mailing could promote “Register for XYZ program and register your friend for 5o% off with this postcard” or “Two registrations for the price of one with this coupon” and so on.

5. Make a reason for your sale: You can hold a sa1e because of a special event like Mother’s Day or your birthday or the anniversary of your business. Promote it to your customers in a way that gets them excited and be sure to let them know the offer is good for a limited time only!

6. Send out multiple reminders: Whether you are promoting your sale via e-mail, direct mail, or your ezine (or in all three), it’s important that you remind people several times about your sa1e. Why? Because all of us are bombarded by lots of information and it’s easy to miss a single notice about something.

7. Expect orders right before the deadline: Make sure to send out a reminder on the day of the deadline. Don’t be surprised if 50% or more of your orders come in at the 11th hour. Many of us are procrastinators and will put in the order at the last minute. But, if you don’t send a reminder…you probably won’t get the order at all.

The key is to avoid using any one discounting or sales strategy too often. Pull it out of your marketing tool box a few times a year. And mix up the types of offers you are making. Otherwise it can seem like you are simply inflating the original price and then you devalue your services/products. But when you need a cash infusion or are launching a new product…go for it!