Biz Growth Express - May 28, 2007

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ISSN   1649-8127 

IN THIS WEEK’S ‘BIZ GROWTH EXPRESS’     

Hi

Well I hope you are having a wonderful start to your week. I am afraid it feels as though we have receded back to the weather in March here in Dublin with grey skies, rain and strong winds. I have had to resort to putting the heating on in the office again.

As you know I am someone who really likes to be able to accomplish greater results in less time – in fact that is one of the premises of our programmes, mentoring and consulting at Oneocean.

One of the key strategies I teach my clients is how to use article marketing to differentiate themselves as experts through article marketing. It is a subject we have not yet covered in “Biz Growth Live” so I do hope you will be able to join me on today’s seminar as I will be covering article marketing basics.

And do make sure that you access our new podcast series. I am collaborating with two fellow female entrepreneurs with a new community called “The Podcast Sisters”. Our goal is to help women understand different aspects of the web from blogs to podcasts, from online networking to shopping carts – and we are especially for the non tech.

Our first two shows have already been highlighted in iTunes as staff favourites. You are most welcome to listen too if you are not female – remember you can download the audio to your MP3 player or stream it from our website so no one need know you are listening to three women talking about building your brand and your business online.

Next week is it a public holiday here in Ireland, so we will not have our weekly programme.

Do make sure though that you put the 11 June in your calendar as that week I am delighted we will be hosting a virtual book tour for a new book called “How to Talk to Customers” with Tom Larkin.

Each week we look to provide you with valuable content to build your brand and expand the success of your professional practice.

As you know, our goal is your success, providing you with strategies, inspiration and tips that you can adapt, adopt and apply to grow your business. 

I hope you enjoy this week’s edition of ‘Biz Growth Express’.

And if you have friends and colleagues who you believe would benefit from the strategies and tips we cover in the ‘Biz Growth Live’ calls and our ‘Biz Growth Express’ newsletter, I would be honoured if you forwarded this email to them or alternatively you can invite them to register at ‘Biz Growth Live’.

Your recommendation is how we grow! Here’s to bringing YOUR brand to life!

Thank you for being part of our thriving ‘Biz Growth Community’ and please do share your suggestions for areas you would like us to cover in future editions and that would support your business growth in 2007 or subjects for our weekly ‘Biz Growth Live’ calls.

Best wishes

Krishna

FEATURE ARTICLE: ’5 ARTICLE WRITING TIPS TO BUILD YOUR BRAND’

One of the key ways for professional services firms to position themselves as experts is to express their expertise in the written word – through articles.

Promoting your articles in your newsletter, your business blog and on your website is a great way to provide valuable resources for your clients and potential clients and will reinforce your credibility as an expert in your field.

You can also use your articles to drive more traffic to your website or business blog through article marketing.

However, less than 3 percent of professional services firms implement this no cost marketing strategy. So by taking action through writing articles you will certainly stand out from your immediate competition.

Writing articles and then submitting them to key online marketing sites or to sites who are looking for compelling and educational content extends your reach.

Article marketing is less difficult and time consuming than your might think and if properly executed can support you in attracting more of your ideal clients.

Authoring several articles, package them together and you are just a step away from having an information product or perhaps even your business book.

So why is it that many leaders in professional services seem to procrastinate in writing articles?

I usually get told by my clients that they do not know where to start or that they are afraid it will take them too much time to write an article.

So here are 5 tips to get you started in writing your first article – follow these tips and you will find you will write articles in less time than you ever thought possible.

  1. Stuck for content? If you are not sure what to write about consider the questions that your clients most often ask you and want to know the answers to.
  2. Concerned about the style? Do not worry about winning a Pulitzer Prize. Write as you speak so you keep the style accessible and conversational.
  3. Not sure how much to write? Take your subject matter and write down seven things that your client or prospective client needs to know about the subject you are addressing. Then just write one or two sentences about each tip.
  4. Will it read well? When you have written your article, read it again and check your spelling and grammar. Make sure that you have a compelling introduction that outlines what your article is about and why it is important. Finish your article with information about how your reader can find out more about the strategies and tips you are sharing – of course with a reference to your services, solutions and products.
  5. Will it get read? You might have noticed with the newspapers that articles with a strong and captivating headline grab your attention and entice you to read on. Write a magnetic headline would do the same for your article.

Now you have written your article you have effectively created for yourself a member of your sales team who can work for you 24/7 and 365 days of the year.

The key now is to continuing to write your articles and them marketing them wisely you will be sure to build your personal brand as the expert in your field.

THIS WEEK’S ‘BIZ GROWTH’ ACTION STEPS

  1. Set aside 60 minutes this week to write an article
  2. Follow the 5 step process for writing your article
  3. Put your article onto your website or blog and then look for other sites who would value your content and have your ideal clients amongst their readers.

And if you are interested in article writing and marketing, do not forget to join me in this week’s “Biz Growth Live” call where I will be talking about article marketing secrets to build your brand online.

PERSONAL BRANDING TIP OF THE WEEK: ‘IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MATTER’

Last week I had the opportunity to connect to some leading experts in their field who were visiting Dublin.

What was interesting was as an observer and attendee of the event that they were appearing at, it struck home once again that our personal brand is not expressed in just one or two actions. In fact it is the little things that matter.

Very often many business leaders will say that they are not detail people or focused on execution.

That may be the case but understand that if you do not take care of the small things your personal brand and reputation will become tarnished in a way that you probably will not appreciate.

Take for example, one of the experts who had just authored and published a best selling business book. This person was known to many people at the event that was being held.

The conversation over lunch however was not how wonderful their presentation was or how fantastic the book seemed to be.

In fact the conversation was about:

THIS WEEK’S PERSONAL BRAND ACTION STEPS

  1. Consider the touch points you have with colleagues and customers. Do you know what they really think and say about you? If you are unsure what their feedback will be, consider taking a confidential survey to access feedback.
  2. If you find that you are not able to take care of the small things consider what changes you could make to your operating processes or if you need to have a member of your team manage the finer details of transactions with clients.
  3. If you want to nurture your personal brand but are looking for expert guidance, make sure that you register today for details of our forthcoming personal branding programme for business leaders which will be starting in June. Just send an email to solutions(at)oneoceangroup.com.

BIZ GROWTH TELECONFERENCE – 28 MAY 2007
SUBJECT : ‘ARTICLE MARKETING BASICS TO BUILD YOUR BRAND ONLINE’

Guest Expert: Krishna De
 
Have you ever wondered how you could ensure that your name is propagated throughout the Internet so that you ideal clients and prospects are able to find you online when they search for your area o expertise?

Or perhaps you realise you need to position yourself as the centre of influence and resources for your clients but are not sure were to start?

Perhaps you would love to put your marketing on auto pilot so that instead of having to pitch event organisers and the media, they would find you and provide you with ways to extend your reach and enhance your profits at no cost?

Well article marketing can provide you with the ability to build your brand online, attract more clients and more profit.

This week I will be sharing with you article marketing basics that you will be able to implement immediately – in fact you could have your first article online and working for you as a member of your sales team within 60 minutes if the call even if you have never written an article yet.

NEXT ‘BIZ GROWTH LIVE’ TELECONFERENCE – 11 JUNE 2007
SUBJECT : ‘HOW TO TALK TO CUSTOMERS AND CREATE A GREAT IMPRESSION EVERY TIME’

Guest Expert: Tom Larkin, SVP of Communico  Ltd and customer service expert

Have you ever wondered what it would take for your clients and customers to consider that doing business with you was MAGIC?

Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a way to connect with your customers so that they felt so good about you, your business and the customer experience with your company that they not only want you to be their preferred supplier but that they unreservedly refer you to others time and again?

On our next “Biz Growth Live” call on the 11 June I will be in conversation with Tom Larkin, co-author of “How to Talk With Customers”. Embedding a customer centric culture is one of the 8 steps we teach in our “Biz Growth Academy programme” and is critical to building and nurturing a strong brand.

Ken Blanchard , co author of the “One Minute Manager” remarks “How to Talk to Customers presents a system for interacting with customers based on empathy, dignity and doing the right thing. Use these ideas to turn your customers into raving fans”.

If you have questions about how create a customer centric culture and how to engage with customers, you can post your questions before the call here.

BRANDING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PODCASTS

As you know, here at Oneocean, we are all about building brands, from your corporate brand to attract great clients, to your employer brand to attract and retain great talent, to your personal leadership brand to build your personal reputation as an expert in your field and expand your success.

NETWORKING STRATEGIES PODCAST:

Networking strategies for success part 2 of 4 – get ready to take notes as we provide an overview why the different ways we network including virtual networking (online networking) and networking face to face (off line networking).

This is the second of a four part series on networking and we provide ideas and tips on how to be a more effective networker to expand your professional and personal success.

How you network and the impression you leave behind with the people you meet is an expression of your personal brand – so make sure you leave the impression you intended by enhancing your skills in networking.

THE POWER OF BLOGGING PODCAST

Our most recent podcast at ThePodcastSisters.com, our new programme for women who want to engage with all things on the web, is all about blogging.

In this show we cover how blogging has helped our lives and our businesses. We discuss the different packages that you can use – Blogger, Typepad, WordPress and why we have all chosen different ones!

You can post your comments and questions against each of the podcasts, so I look forward to hearing from you with your thoughts, ideas and what works for you.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to leave comments at our media centre, you can call +1 214 615 6505 ext 6842 or if you are in Ireland, on 086 816 3096.
BRAND BUILDING AND MARKETING – LIVE EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS

There are a number of terrific events that are coming up in the next month, some of which I am speaking at and that I think you will find them of immense value.

LINK – DUBLIN CITY ENTERPRISE BOARDS NETWORK FOR STARTUPS – 29 MAY 2007

If you are based in Dublin, Ireland and starting a new business (you need to be less than 2 years old), you might want to investigate a new network that is being set up by Dublin City Enterprise Board.

Their next event is planned for Tuesday 29th May 2007 at the National College of Ireland, IFSC and will take place between 6.00 – 8.30pm. More details on the blog:

ASSOCIATION FOR COACHING IN IRELAND – 19 and 20 JUNE 2007

If you are based in Ireland and want to be part of a community committed to building a professional reputation and enhancing your personal credibility as a coach, then you will be interested to know that the Association for Coaching is holding it’s first meeting in Dublin on the 19 June and on the 20 June 2007.

The launch coincides with the Irish launch of their book “Excellence in Coaching, and industry guide”.

All the details about the event can be found on the blog – yes I am a member of the steering group for the Ireland launch and have been a member of the Association for Coaching since 2004 so I am delighted that we have an events calendar for Ireland on place – read the blog article to discover the leading names in coaching who will be guest speakers in the year ahead.

If you are involved in coaching or know someone who is, then do share the information as it would be great to have a full house for our launch event. 

RESOURCES FOR EVENT ORGANISERS

If you are an event organiser and are working on developing your forthcoming programme, I would love to hear from you. I regularly help event organisers plan their events and connect them to my network of professional speakers on a wide range of business development and personal development topics.

I am also available to facilitate your meeting, speak at your event, your workshop or as an expert interviewer for your virtual book tour or promotion of your programme or event.

Worried about travel costs? In addition to live face to face workshops, at Oneocean we are one of Europe’s expert consultancies in making use of new media and leading edge technologies including webinars, podcasts, on-line video or teleconferences which means that you can expand your reach and deliver your live event to your community no matter where they live.

I would be delighted to speak with you about your requirements. Just email me at solutions.oneoceangroup.com today for our event organisers questionnaire.

For details of our most popular live events and workshops, go here.

Wishing you continued success, so until next week.

Best wishes,

Krishna De
Bringing YOUR vision to life!
www.bizgrowthlive.com
www.bizgrowthnews.com
www.krishnade.com
www.oneoceangroup.com
www.todayswomeninbusiness.com

P.S. If you have friends and colleagues who would like to join the weekly teleconference call, they would be very welcome – please invite them to register at Biz Growth Live.

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007.  All rights reserved.

“Biz Growth Express” is a Oneocean Publication.  Oneocean Ltd is a leading business development consultancy with a difference – we focus on the unique strengths of an organisation and its people to unlock extraordinary performance and growth. You can learn more about our work here

TERMS OF REPRINT: You are welcome to publish extracts from “Biz Growth Express” in your own online ezine or news letter, providing the article is printed in its entirety and is left unedited and you include the copyright notice and the following statement:

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007. All rights reserved. Reprinted from “Biz Growth Express”, a Oneocean Ltd publication for leaders in professional services practices, featuring inspiration, strategies and tips to build your brand, attract your ideal clients and enjoy greater success with less stress.  Subscribe today at http://www.bizgrowthlive.com and access free weekly teleconferences where we interview experts from across the globe on how to build your brand and expand your professional and personal success.