Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday. Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers. We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog! If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired! Today’s topic? Spark an Idea for Enjoying a Holiday Business Free.

So, I have a confession to make. I’m a closet workaholic. Despite me talking about work/life balance and how I have time to spend with my son, I find myself sneaking in to my office on the weekends to check email. Why? I don’t know, honestly. I guess I’m afraid something exciting will come in while I’m relaxing. But I honestly enjoy what I do, so it’s not a stretch for me to want to work all the time.

So I’d like to make a pact with you other work-from-homers. This Fourth of July, we shall not work. We shall shut down our laptops and close our office doors. Are you with me?

I know it’s not easy to just turn off the entrepreneur side of you, so here are some tips to help.

• Look at your workload for the next week and divide it out so that you finish everything pressing before the holiday.
• Don’t be afraid to put things off until after the holiday. No one else is doing work around a holiday, so no one will expect it of you.
• If it makes you feel better, set up an autoresponder saying you’ll be out of the office for the holiday. Not that anyone will be emailing you, but if it makes you happy, do it.
• Mentally prepare to not think about work for a few days. I know it’s hard, but disconnecting yourself from the computer and your work can help you rediscover something special: your family!

Do you really know who your target audience is? Please don’t say “everyone.” It’s important to drill down and determine exactly who buys your products and how they like to be marketed to. Today’s how-to will help you do just that.

Step 1: Make a list

Make a list of all the attributes of your ideal client. Make her/him into a character, if that helps. If it’s important to understanding your target, describe the kind of clothes she wears, what she enjoys doing, what she eats, where she lives. Also how old she is and how much money she makes are key. If you sell high end jewelry, you are probably not selling to broke college kids.

Step 2: Look at where she shops

Now that you have the first list, make another list of where that person would shop. Banana Republic or Wal-Mart? Macy’s or Target? This can give you an idea of how your audience makes its shopping decisions. A Wal-Mart shopper is probably swayed more by price than brand loyalty, while Banana Republic shoppers are likely to stay loyal to the brand.

I know it may be difficult to come up with some of this information, but don’t be afraid to generalize or assume, if you have nothing in the way of research.

Step 3: Do some research

Visit Google Ad Planner to get statistics to help you if you’re looking to promote online (and of course you are!). I’ve written about this resource before, so go back and study it. It will help you search for the websites that your demographic (based on age, income, education, and/or geography) visit the most. This can help you decide what websites you need to have a presence on.

It’s important to know how your target audience likes to be marketed to. If the results show up that your demographic is heavily into Facebook, then it’s a no brainer that you need to be on there. It doesn’t matter if you’re not into Facebook: if you want to sell, you have to speak your customers’ language.

You can also research those companies you listed in step 2 and see what their websites and ad campaigns look like. If they’re motivated by sales, that needs to be part of your marketing strategy. If they are brand oriented, you need to work on building your brand so that customers become evangelists.

Need help figuring out your target audience? Let’s brainstorm together.

Hooray! Egg Marketing & Public Relations turns three today! I’m so proud of her growth. My baby girl has grown leaps and bounds since I hatched her three years ago.

Let me tell you Egg’s story.

After finding myself out of a job in investor relations, I started freelancing. I wrote a few press releases, then realized that I’d probably get more work if I started a company versus being an individual. So I set out to find a name.

I was watching Funny Face, with my role model, Audrey Hepburn. She works in a bookstore at the beginning of the film…something like Embryo Books. I liked the idea that the word ‘embryo’ portrayed: giving birth to something. But Embryo Marketing was kind of gross. So I kept thinking. What else gives birth or life to ideas? EGGS!

And so Egg Marketing & Public Relations was hatched.

Since then, I’ve added staff and services, and we now offer everything from press releases to social media management. I’m proud to have survived the bad economy (and just barely at times) and been able to work from home. I love what I do, and hope to have many more birthdays.

My Gift For You

Now, I have a tradition to give others gifts on Egg’s birthday. So what I want to do today is offer you any of my marketing ebooks in The Marketing Eggspert Library for just $3 (Egg is 3, $3…get it?). They’re normally as much as $30, so this is a tremendous opportunity for you! But the offer expires at midnight tonight so get on it! Start your birthday shopping now!

PS The products are already marked down, so everything’s $3 today only!

I’m embarking on an exciting marketing adventure for one of my clients, ioSafe. ioSafe produces fireproof and waterproof external hard drives, and hired me and a few other PR pros to boost its web traffic. So of course, we’re working with press releases and blogs, but then I had an idea.

What about a video?

I have devised a storyline for Ima Iosafe, a personalized external hard drive looking for a little getaway from the drudgeries of being blasted with flames and dunked in water. She’ll have many adventures, and I don’t want to give away too much right now, but here’s a sneak peek of Ima IoSafe.

So relating this back to you, don’t necessarily do what everyone else is doing when it comes to marketing. Think of something wild and crazy that will get people’s attention and curiosity.

What kinds of marketing have you done that was outside the box?

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired! Spark an Idea About Email.

Regular readers of my blog know I love email marketing as a way to establish yourself as an expert and stay on top of the minds of your future customers. I wanted to give you some quick tips to help you get the most out of email marketing for your business.

1. Send out a newsletter once a month, then a promotional (or announcement) email 15 days later.

2. Send your email Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, after 10 am if you’re sending to people’s work addresses. Any day in the evenings is fine if you’re sending to consumers. You’ll get the best open rate during these times.

3. Offer free articles and advice relating to what you do. If you have a cleaning service, offer quick tips for cleaning carpets, getting out wine stains, etc.

4. Include a special offer that only your email subscribers get.

5. Anywhere you encounter an email address (your inbox, business card, trade show), put it in your database. Send an initial email to new contacts asking if they are ok with receiving emails from you.

6. Mark your calendar with the days you put out your emails each month to be consistent.

7. Use a program like Constant Contact to send professional looking emails, NOT your Outlook (screams unprofessional).

8. Organize your contacts into groups, like Past Clients, Present Customers, Met at XYZ Conference. You can customize the emails you send out to each group.

9. Pay attention to your stats. What emails got a really high open rate and clickthrough rate? Can you put out similar ones in the future? Which ones had a lower rate?

10. Offer a signup box on your website.

11. Offer a freebie, like a whitepaper or ebook if people sign up to get your emails.

Do you have any tips to share?

If you’re like me, you network with other professionals, in the hopes of finding new clients. But what are you supposed to do after you meet the people and give them your card?

It’s important to get organized after the event. I know, I know, I’ve had business cards scattered all over my desk and not done anything with them for a week after an event. But it’ll help you in the long run.

Step 1. Organize your contacts. Sort your new business cards into different piles:

• Potential client
• Same industry
• Good to know

Anyone who you even touched on business with (as in you providing them with it) goes in the potential client pile. If they work in your industry, put them in the same industry pile. And for everyone else, including those people you’re not quite sure how they might be able to help you, keep in mind that they can refer business to you even if they don’t need it. Put them in the third pile.

Step 2. Send a handwritten note. For each person you meet, send a handwritten card or note saying it was nice to meet them. Include something that lets them know you’re paying attention, like a reference back to your conversation or a comment about their website. Send the very next day after you meet them.

Note: While handwritten notes stand out more than email, I do make an exception sometimes, especially if the contact is web savvy (and they contact me first via email or social media). Depending on how casual the relationship is, you can also send a note on Twitter or Facebook once you find and connect with them there.

Step 3. Connect online. As I just mentioned, Twitter and Facebook are a great way to keep up with your new contacts, and if you’re active in the social media space, it’s a great way for your new contacts to see what you’re up to. Send a note with your friend request reminding them where you met.

Step 4. Add contacts to your database. However you manage your contacts, be it in Outlook or your email program (PLEASE don’t tell me it’s a Rolodex), add your contacts with notes. If you send out an email newsletter, add them to the list.

Step 5. Checking in. Decide on a schedule to check in with contacts. Maybe it’s once a month for warm leads, every other month for everyone else. Just drop a line in whatever method of communication they like best (more and more, this ends up being social media) and just see how they’re doing. Often this can remind them of what products or services you provide and be a good source of sales.

You might need to move contacts from one category to another as you develop your relationships with them. The more you reach out, the more sales you’ll get!

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday’.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired! Today’s topic? Spark an Idea to Finish What You’ve Started.

We all have those projects that never got finished. Maybe it was a quilt, or in my mom’s case, a crochet project she bought before I was born…31 years ago! As a business owner, it might be your business plan, a book, or a revamp to your website.

Last week I wrote about achieving your goals, which goes a long way to this week’s objective: finishing what you start.

But let’s face it, goals or not, sometimes you’re just not motivated to get the job done. Here are a few tips to help you.

• Think of the end result. If you complete that web design project, your website will look sleeker and bring more business. Cha ching!
• Take a break. When I wrote my books, I had to take breaks. After all, a writer has certain times when creativity flows better. Step back from the project, get coffee, then come back.
• Get feedback. Talk to employees and co-workers about the project to get new perspective.
• Delegate. You don’t have to get this done on your own. Break up the project into smaller tasks and assign them to others.
• Eat chocolate. This works for just about anything!

Have ideas for getting the job done? Leave a comment!

Check out my post on the product packaging from Code Nutrition!

If you have examples of good product packaging, leave a comment and we’ll discuss.

If you plan to use press releases to spread the word about your business, you first need a topic, right?

For some reason, this seems to be the hardest part for people. On today’s How to Tuesday, I want to help you decide on a topic for your release.

Why is it so hard to toot your own horn?

I guess when you’re in a business, it’s hard for you to see it from above. You may not recognize your achievements as such. You may not think that promoting an employee is newsworthy. That’s where this post comes in handy (as does this one, which gives you lots of ideas to start with).

1. Review your last 6 months. Go back through old emails, documents, et cetera, to refresh your mind about what your company has done. You’ve likely forgotten some good press release fodder.

2. Make a list. As you come across items like securing a new client, adding a new product, or donating to a charity, write it down.

3. Talk to employees. Get another perspective on press release ideas. Your sales department may be pretty proud of exceeding its sales goals. That’s a great release to show your company’s success. Or R & D might want to share its recent discovery that will cut costs by 35%.

4. Look to the future. Don’t only focus on the past. You can write a press release before something happens, such as announcing plans for expansion, or the start of an important project.

5. Map out your releases. Decide how often you want to put out a release, and assign dates to each topic. If you’ve followed these steps, you probably have enough releases for several months. Put them in your calendar so you can remember what you decided to write your release on.

6. Don’t be afraid to change. If some major news happens out of the blue, don’t be afraid to bump a scheduled release in favor of the more exciting news. You can always add to your list and change it around.

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired! Spark an Idea About Goal Setting.

Whether it’s personal or professional, we all have goals. And I’m willing to bet that some seem insurmountable to you. Impossible. You’ll never achieve that one. You should just give up now.

Or not.

What I do (or tell myself that I do, even if I don’t always) is break it down. Make the overall goal. The big one. The Mecca of goals.

Then I figure out how to get there. What can I do today, right now (or stop doing) to get closer to the goal? It might just be opening a website so I can read it when I have time. Or contacting someone. Or getting my hair cut. Whatever. It has to be digestible and doable.

Then I find the next step. Maybe it’s just thinking and planning what’s next.

You get my point. Take tiny steps until you achieve your goal.

• It may help to write down your goals. If you blog, blog about the goal so others can hold you to it.
• There are websites where you can post your goals and others will help you stick to them.
• Review your goals just as you would a business plan. Make sure you’re still moving toward them.

How do you achieve your goals?