A Mailing List is More Than Just Numbers

Posted on 13 July 2012 by

If your sole focus on building a mailing list is to get as many people on it as possible, you’re missing the point.  I recently did an interview with my mentor, Bernadette Doyle, and she shared great insights on the purpose of a mailing list and how to build one that’s more responsive. She noticed when she started building her mailing list, that she got a much better result and was spending less time marketing, because her focus was not on adding as many random people as possible.  In fact, she was spending less money on marketing and was getting double the results. Here’s why:

Who Should Be on Your Mailing List?

A good mailing list is effectively a group of people who have raised their hands and said “I’m actually quite interested in what you’re doing, tell me a bit more.”  Many people online will say, “The money is on the list!” and as a result the emphasis is misplaced and is too focused on how big is your list.  You can almost become obsessed with the number of names you have. The path to success is not the number of names that you have, but the quality of the relationships you have.

That’s really important to grasp, because if you want 5,000 names, you probably have that in your home office already. It’s called the yellow pages. You could start sending emails to them right now, but that doesn’t mean that those individuals are predisposed to buy from you. The reason is, you haven’t done anything to make them step forward and say, “Yeah I’m interested, so I’m more likely than anybody else to buy from you.”

What Is List Building, Then?

Building a mailing list is building a responsive prospect list. It’s about getting those people on your list that have done something to tell you that they’re interested. They’ve responded in a certain way so that you know for sure that they are prospects for the service or products that you are offering.

What have you done to motivate prospects to raise their hands and join your mailing list? Share your tips by leaving a comment below.

Tax Season Prep – How did you do this year?

Posted on 18 April 2012 by

Taxes? Forms? Receipts? Wha?

Before I begin this blog post and as I do with any blog post that might discuss finances of any sort – it is always highly suggest, recommended at, pointed to, and nodded at the belief and suggestion that you should always consult an expert when dealing with your finances at any time. Especially at tax season!

So this year in the US (Where I am) – today is the last day to file your taxes. If you are an owner of your own business like I am, no doubt you know how hard it can be to get motivated to deal with it all. Each year I have more and more friends, even family, that come to me in frustration, pulling out their hair and screaming from the top of their lungs that they haven’t…

  • Had time to prepare..
  • Had the chance to gather all their information…
  • Don’t know how to file for their income bracket..
  • Don’t know how to file deductions..
  • ..Insert reason X, Y, and Z here…

Because of this, I wanted to talk about the best ways to be prepared for your tax season. So regardless of if you are beginning, ending, or in a mad rush to meet with your tax expert on the last day of tax season (and you know who you are) – you finally have some great methods for ensuring that you are doing what you can to prepare. Here are some of the things I do:

Make a pre-tax season checklist

Each year, at the end of the current tax season and the beginning of the next one I make a pre-tax season checklist and either post it to my computer or post it on a corkboard by my computer. This checklist is helpful because as I go along the year, I am able to list the items and forms I will need at the end of the year, and I can check them off as they are collected. When tax season comes, guess what? That checklist is there to help guide me and show me what I do and do not need for that year.
No running around like a chicken with my head cut off. No fuss.

Collect and Sort

After I make the checklist I start to collect and sort through any receipts from that year that I am going to need at tax season. I grab each and every receipt that I know will be needed and I pile it up in front of me, categorizing it and then storing it in it’s own folder. After these are categorized I then scan them all and make copies, storing them on my hard drive and in a closet.
By the time tax season comes – I’ve got it all done and dusted.

Keep up with EVERYTHING

I see too many of my friends scrambling to get through tax season and look in 823234234 billion places for information on what they are able to deduct or what credits they may be eligible for. To reduce this, I admit I am diligent. Because I am in the states I check out the internal revenue service website and consult a tax professional. I make sure I keep up on the news and whenever I hear of a potential credit or a change to the laws I note it on that checklist and then investigate.

The point of this post is to tell you that a successful and RELAXED tax season all comes down to preparation. It doesn’t have to be hard, it doesn’t have to end in tears, it doesn’t have to have you run screaming down the road if you’ll only remember that preparation is key.

E-Learning & You

Posted on 11 April 2012 by

Learning! It's great for you!Alright so we have to admit it, the digital age has transformed how we learn.

No longer bound by the tradition (although beloved!) of going to the library and researching or checking out that old dusty book, we have moved decidedly forward. We, students of modern technology have embraced how we learn. Our thirst for knowledge cannot be contained and e-learning, once something that was more curious than familiar is now a staple in our everyday lives. So let’s examine it!

What is E-Learning?

E-learning is the constant virtual flow of knowledge by both teaching and being taught information.

If you are a college student much like me, who is attending an online University, then you are accessing those virtual libraries, corresponding with classmates via discussion forums and virtual classrooms, and researching using online databases. If you are a technical support manager then you are no doubt training your support technicians by way of online content, a help desk, or even a series of PDF’s and videos. If you are a coach who has had their coaching programs in the more “terrestrial arena” and are not using platforms like JigsawBox to take it live, congratulations! You, too, are participating in the e-learning process.

So how does e-learning benefit over traditional learning?

It’s mobile. It’s convenient. It’s global.

We don’t have to bind ourselves to books that are not in store or worksheets that we have to fill out. We no longer have to go to an actual library to research information on a subject or paper. Laid out before us we no longer find seven thousand papers, two hundred pencils, and twenty pens. We do not have to file anything physically away and if we are the ones that are distributing content – it’s no longer about two hundred legal pads filled with notes.

Now it’s in the form of releasing information digitally. With Web based training and Computer based training, we are bringing our knowledge to the masses by allowing anyone with access to a computer or telephone the ability to direct connect to what they need to know. At JigsawBox, we look to that future and embrace it.

JigsawBox is that unique spot on the internet that is not just easy to use, but that also caters to e-learning. We encourage coaches and more to join us by signing up for a trial and just taking a look at how you can add your content and information by way of the module, create that package, and then send out that link for your clients to sign up immediately and start learning from you TODAY.

You can use your JigsawBox to promote your method of e-teaching your students via learning logs, questions and answers, forum discussions, trade documents and files, and so much more.

E-learning is not just the present, but it is the future. We here at JigsawBox appreciate how to stay ahead of the curve.

Blogging – Business and Personal

Posted on 04 April 2012 by

Blogging!Blogging for business doesn’t have to be boring, but it does have to be you!

If you are a business, coaching or not, and you have found your way to the internet then you have no doubt also found your way to your very own blog. Consciously we know that using blogs to advertise our products and services makes a dent in our business. If you are like many others when you start to focus solely on the business you start losing the personality that you bring to the party. No matter what you blog for, it’s important that you retain the best part of your organization – YOU!

So let’s talk about using the blogs for business. True, it is about blogging to talk about your company and give your clients (current and future) the facts about what you do. It’s also true that making an impression is and defining your place in THEIR success story. Make your blog not just one that meets their business needs, but one that introduces you as a coach and as someone that they need in their lives. Insert your product or service into their dreams of attaining whatever goal is at the forefront of their minds and let them know YOU understand what they are going through because you have:

  • Been there.
  • Shared similar experiences.
  • Can relate because you’ve helped others in similar situations.

Use the blog to give them the 5 W’s: Who, What, When, Where, and Why they need YOU specifically. Don’t drown those clients in the “OMG MUST BUY NOW”, be an effective marketer by connecting and the convincing. Remember, whatever you promise make sure that you can commit to and provide. Give the outside world an in-road into your expertise so that you become the only expert they turn to when they need an infusion of the possibilities that exist to them.

You are the catalyst of change in the lives of those that find you. Show them the light that you provide.

JigsawBox
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