Image courtesy of joeltelling.

Not only are product reviews an exceptional tool to drive traffic to a website, but they are a great way to overcome a bout of blog writer’s block. When you are out of ideas for fresh content a product review can be a fairly quick and easy post to write. And a well-written review becomes very valuable content as shoppers seek them out regularly. Product reviews are also an excellent marketing tool for affiliate marketers to pre-sell products. (Note: When using reviews as affiliate marketing tool, be sure to understand and comply with the FTC rules and guidelines for disclosing affiliate relationships and using testimonials.)

To be effective, a product review must be believable. Here are a few tips for writing great product reviews.

1. Answer these questions in your review:
   • What does the product promise?
   • How well does it achieve those goals?
   • Is it a good value?
   • What are the drawbacks of the product?
2. In addition to writing a single product review, consider comparing two similar products. Consider what features to compare. If you talk about the cost of one product, be sure to talk about the cost of the other. If you have a bias toward one product, be honest and tell readers that you prefer one over the other but don’t leave out features or drawbacks simply because they place a preferred product in a darker light.
3. Be honest. You want visitors to respect your opinion and in the case of affiliate product reviews, make a purchase. Write the review as if talking to a friend. This not only enhances the copy because it’s written conversationally, but it will ensure that the review feels genuine to its reader.
4. While it is possible to learn enough about a product to review it without trying it, I don’t recommend it, especially when you’re first learning to write reviews. Again, consider your readers. How might they react if they buy something based on your review and then learn that you never tried the product?

Product reviews can end up being some of the most frequently read content on your sites. Use them to your advantage to not only attract visitors, but to build trust.

Image courtesy of robynejay.

Direct sellers, along with many others who are marketing their businesses online, have embraced social media to connect with customers and prospects. And many continue to market on the message boards and forums that they’ve participated in for years. These are venues I enjoy and have also used successfully to build my businesses.

While many people post using their real names, I still see quite a few people posting anonymously. It just doesn’t seem right to me. How can you be social anonymously?

I understand the reasons for posting with a company name or using a keyword for your username, but when you do that be sure to put your real name in your profile or sign your post with at least your first name. I find it awkward to say, “Hi CandleBiz” or “Nice to meet you, SilverBaubles.” I much prefer “Thanks for the information Susan.” On occasion I’ve decided not to respond to a Tweet or post when I don’t know someone’s name; I’ll move on to offer an answer or introduce myself to someone who uses their real name.

In person, offline, you wouldn’t introduce yourself as “Jewelry Inc.” It’s no different online. Your prospects want to get to know you. Business will follow.

What do you think?

by Kelly McCausey

Do you realize that most local brick and mortar business owners feel lost and overwhelmed by the idea of marketing themselves on the internet? It’s true.

As a long time internet marketer, I have a good understanding of how the web works. I can create a website that attracts relevant traffic and makes a profit. I realized a few years ago that I could take this knowledge and apply it to serving a local market – offering my services as a website creator and marketer.

There’s no lack of providers out there offering to help the local business owner take their business online, but the sheer volume of options is confusing and the price point is often far outside of the small business budget. So when I opened my doors to provide affordable services from a local source, I found clients who were hungry for what I had to offer.

I used the knowledge I have about building a simple website to set up a WordPress blog for a local consignment shop. We publish pictures of some of her new products and pipe the RSS Feed into a Facebook fan page. These are just some simple promotion strategies that come as easy as pie to you and me – but to her, it was like magic!

Imagine her delight when a lady walked into her shop with overflowing bags of great product to consign, saying ‘I found you on the internet and decided to bring my things in!’. The cool part? The lady drove almost an HOUR to get to her shop – passing many other similar stores along the way.
My client is now totally sold on the power of the internet to accomplish her marketing goals.

Before she met me, she was scared stiff to even think about doing something online. Most local small business are and that’s why they need YOU!

When you focus on a local business community, you have home field advantage. If you’re good at what you do and deliver real world results, word of mouth travels fast among these business owners who regular network together.

A phone call came in to my office a few weeks ago. So and so had mentioned me to so and so and now another so and so wanted to meet to discuss a project. I setup a time and looked forward to learning about their needs. I admit my jaw dropped a tiny bit when I learned the client was a famous food brand that has its home here in northern Michigan. (Of course I quickly hid my surprise and pretended that I consulted on major brands every day of the week.

When local people ask me what I do, I say that I do web design and consulting. If the conversation progresses, I go on to tell them about how I help businesses develop powerful, interactive websites with simple tools that help them attract more clients and customers.

It all sounds very professional, right? And of course it is – but the reality is that I work from my home, usually in my slippers. I rarely meet clients face to face and I choose my own work hours. I love what I do and thoroughly enjoy seeing how my skills benefit my clients.

If you have even some of the skills that I do: If you understand how search engines work, how to create a website with WordPress, how to set up a simple mailing list, a Twitter account and a Facebook page; you could be running your own consulting business.

Even if you lack some of these skills, if you delegate well and enjoy serving as a project manager, you can outsource the work that falls outside of your expertise and still provide all of the necessary services to your clients.

The needs exists. Local business owners know they should be taking advantage of the internet. They just need you to show them how to make it happen.

Kelly McCausey shows you step by step how to create, launch and grow a local business consulting business at Become a Blog Consultant.

Article printed from LadyPens: http://www.ladypens.com

Image courtesy of sidewalk flying.

As the school year comes to a close, parents and teens begin looking for ways for the kids to occupy their time off. For many teens a summer job would be ideal, but there are probably very few jobs available. If your teen has the maturity and independence required, a summer business may be the perfect solution to a productive summer.

There are traditional choices such as lawn mowing, car washing, and pet sitting and many other choices for self-starters. Here are some of our previous posts containing business ideas that might work for your teen.

• Teen Business Idea
• Ways Teens Can Make Money Online
• Starting an In-home Pet Sitting Business
• All summer will you be hearing “Mom, I’m bored!” or…”

Some businesses involve a good deal of responsibility, so be sure your teen can handle what they are taking on before allowing him or her to proceed. There may be some risk involved as well, whether risk of physical injury from the tools being used or some “stranger danger” when going to others home to perform work. Be sure your teen understands the risks, knows how to avoid danger, and knows what to do if they are in danger or get injured.

Earning money is just one of the rewards of a summer business. In addition to learning valuable business skills, additional benefits including building self-confidence, gaining more independence, and enjoying a sense of accomplishment.

With a little entrepreneurial spirit, some imagination, and a lot of hard work, the summer can be profitable for a teenager.

Are you a teen (or parent of a teen) with a business or a plan to start one this summer? Please post a comment and tell us about it.

This is the last post in this series on communication with customers and prospects: It All Adds Up To Great Customer Service.

Communication is the core component to providing top notch customer service. From the first moment a customer or prospect visits your website, meets you at a home sales party, or calls on the phone, until their last order is delivered, good communication is the best customer service.

It’s not too hard.
Providing great customer service is not difficult nor does it require a lot of effort. What good customer service requires is a belief in the philosophy that the business is dependent on the customers, and that their needs are important.

One of the most important customer service skills is the ability to understand and effectively respond to the customer’s needs and concerns. Excellent customer service starts by first taking the time to get to know the customer and her needs. Customers want to buy from businesses who demonstrate a sincere desire to help them with anything they need, and they are willing to pay for it. Yes, they want quality products to work. More importantly though, they want someone to provide good service and to care when something goes wrong.

Everything discussed thus far in this series leads up to this point. By following the communication tips you are essentially creating the manual for a customer service plan. Making the customers feel appreciated and listened to will keep them coming back for more and make team members loyal and hard-working.

Looking over this article it’s easy to sense a general theme. Communication is key!

Communication is the most important tool that a direct sales business has to establish, grow and maintain a customer base and productive team Communication is found in every aspect of business. In fact it is not just in every aspect of day to day operations; it is the core of them. We are never more than a click or number away from talking to someone about what is needed and how it is going to be provided.

Technology provides the necessary functions of phone and email. These tools are used daily to make first contacts, follow up, and provide ongoing updates.

With customers looking to get the best for their money, it behooves consultants to focus on continually evaluating and improving communication as needed. The tips in this series are a good starting point. Not only do they outline the importance of communication, but they create a basic protocol, that if followed, will help consultants firm up a strategy for customer and team communication and training.

Good communication can be one of the most important tools you have.

Missed the other communication tips? Here they are:
Tip one – Listen
Tip two – Email Etiquette
Bonus – Mailing List PLR
Tip three – Phone Etiquette
Tip Four – No One is Perfect

No matter how successful you and your company are, and no matter how well you communicate, mistakes and misunderstanding will happen. How you handle those times is probably the true measure of your communication and customer service skills. When things go amiss, placing blame is not productive, but it makes good business sense to take the time to review what went wrong and why.

There are going to be times the ‘why’ is because the business made an error. Never be afraid let your customer or team member know an error was made, and more importantly, that it is being corrected immediately. Communicating issues makes it clear that your customers are dealing with someone that recognizes mistakes and doesn’t try to cover them up. It isn’t the occasional error that will hurt your relationship. Mistakes happen. However, an attempted cover-up, denial, or lie will have negative and far-reaching consequences.

Other times the “why” will be because of a customer’s miscommunication or mistake. Whenever possible, apply the old adage, “The customer is always right.” Remember, even if it costs you a bit to correct their error, it’s can be far more costly to lose a good customer. Making the customer “right” doesn’t mean you have to pretend the error was your fault. A skillful consultant will listen to a customer and communicate the desire to fix the problem. Taking steps to rectify the situation without admitting fault or placing blame is great communication and customer service.

It can be difficult to deal with a customer or team member who is upset over an issue, but it’s the time when a professional, calm approach is most needed. Even if the customer becomes unreasonable and insulting stay focused on solving the problem. How you handle the whole situation can result in gaining one of your most loyal customers. Mishandle an upset customer and you’re likely to end up with a very vocal, unsatisfied ex-customer.

No matter what you do, there will be situations when there’s nothing you can do to please your customers or team. When you’ve exhausted all attempts, you’ll have to accept the consequences and move on. Exit with an apology, follow-up with one last offer, and let it go.

Always remember, no one is perfect. Admit your mistakes, forgive others’ mistakes, and let criticism roll of your back. You’ll be less stressed and more successful.

What’s the biggest mistake you or your customer made recently and how did you handle it?

Next in the series (later this week):
It All Adds Up To…
Subscribe to our email notifications so you won’t miss it.

Missed the other communication tips? Here they are:
Tip one – Listen
Tip two – Email Etiquette
Bonus – Mailing List PLR
Tip three – Phone Etiquette

In direct sales you are likely to have telephone contact with your customers fairly often, particularly if you regularly hold home sales parties. Many people still like the immediate response they get in a telephone conversation.

Talking on the phone is second nature to most of us, but making a plan for business phone calls can improve relations with your customers and prospects. Here are a few tips to make sure things go smoothly on the phone.

1. Minimize interruptions and background noise. If you have small children it can be challenging to find a quiet time to make phone calls, but it is worth the effort. If you have call waiting you might want to disable it before you call customers. Customers appreciate your undivided attention.

2. Stay focused and on topic. It’s easy for a conversation to go off track so make an effort to stay focused on the purpose of your call. Everyone is busy and while your customer will definitely appreciate the customer service, she will also appreciate taking care of business in a relatively short amount of time. Of course you also don’t want to seem like you’re cutting her off if she has additional questions or needs. Find the balance.

3. Follow-up. A follow-up email or postcard summarizing or confirming the conversation can keep misunderstandings to a minimum. It also shows customers that you really listened and understood their needs.

A little common courtesy and focused attention will make your customer feel important and appreciated, and help assure customer loyalty.

Next in the series (later this week):
No One is Perfect
Subscribe to our email notifications so you won’t miss it.

Missed the other communication tips? Here they are:
Tip one – Listen
Tip two – Email Etiquette
Bonus – Mailing List PLR

Do you have any tips to add? Leave them in a comment below. Thanks!