In this edition:
- Article marketing – what is it and how do you make it work for you?
- Adding value to your website
- Thinking web design – think En Pointe
- Improving your business newsletter
- Welcome new clients
- Communication lighter moment
Article marketing as simple as ABC
Promotion is important for all businesses and one of the tools many smart business owners and managers are now using is article marketing.
This involves writing articles that are relevant to your business and then submitting these articles to free content websites. Why go to the trouble? There are many reasons why you might consider using article marketing to promote your business, including the fact that your articles can be exposed to hundreds, thousands and even millions of people.
To read more about article marketing, go to the news and tips page on our website.
Using your website as a valuable resource
We all want more visitors to our business website and to convert those visitors to customers, but have you also thought about using your website as a way to save time for you and your staff?
There are various ways you can do this and it will depend largely on your business, but possibilities include:
- Have a specials page for current deals and let your existing customers know.
- Develop a frequently asked questions page on your website.
- If you email forms to customers, put those forms on your website so people can download them. Better still, make them electronic website forms.
- In a similar way, if there are documents you post to people, put these on your website.
Look for ways that make life a bit easier for you and provide a valuable experience for your customer and you’re on a winning formula.
Make your website an En Pointe website
Whether you are looking to develop your first business website, update your current one or looking for support to maintain your web presence, En Pointe is your web designer of choice for value and service.
With our basic packages starting at $349 for a five-page website, and professional packages at $699, our services are possibly the best value in Melbourne. These prices include personal consultation and custom web design, to ensure your website reflects your business and target customers. We also offer copywriting (included in the professional package) to ensure your message engages your target market.
We can also maintain your website for you at the current rate of $50 an hour, ensuring your website is kept up to date and freeing up your time to run the business and make more sales.
Go to En Pointe’s web design page on our website (www.enpointeconsulting.com.au) for more information.
Making it good news
Do you have a business newsletter that doesn’t get results or gets put off until the last moment? Or perhaps you have a monthly newsletter that’s lucky to go out every three months?
A business newsletter – either in printed or electronic format – can be a valuable marketing communications tool for most businesses but there are many things you can do to make them more valuable for your customers and less of a chore for you.
- Keep the articles and the overall length of the newsletter short. You don’t need to give readers the whole story – just a taste can leave them wanting more. This can result in customers contacting you which, after all, is what most newsletters are trying to achieve.
- One of the keys to getting people to buy your products or services is to get them emotionally engaged. How do you do this? In simple terms, talk about benefits rather than features. If you sell widescreen LCD TVs, focus on the clear picture and superior viewing in all lighting conditions that will have your friends green with envy, rather than 1080 resolution and matt screen. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include the features, as there are people who like to know them, but they shouldn’t be the main focus.
- Don’t leave newsletters to the last minute. At the very least you should document ideas for articles regularly so that when newsletter time comes around you aren’t completely starting from scratch.
Welcome to the En Pointe family:
- 7Seas Estate Administration – business cards
- Stephen Oliver – copywriting and advice for e-book
En Pointe is also pleased to announce the launch of one of our existing client’s new website.
Finance Innovations are finance brokers, located in Mornington and servicing the Melbourne area and beyond. They specialise in home loans, investment loans, commercial finance, business loans, vehicle finance and equipment loans. Their aim is to help you find the best loan for your needs by taking the time to listen to you to determine your individual requirements. They then match these requirements with a loan from one of more than 30 lenders, saving you time, hassles and money.
Check out the website by clicking on the link above. You can also note Finance Innovations contact details so that you can give them a call when thinking about your next loan.
Communication – it doesn’t always have to be serious
If you’re having trouble explaining something to a customer, perhaps you will agree with author Freeman Teague Jr. who once said: “Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood.”
And after three months of winter most of us are probably sick of the weather, but it’s always worthwhile keeping in mind these words of wisdom from cartoonist, humorist and journalist Kin Hubbard: “Don’t knock the weather; nine-tenths of people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in a while.”