I have a confession to make. I have been using social networking to build my list and market my business long before it was the “it” thing to do. In fact, social networking has been a solid list building performer for me ever since I have started my business.

However, something happened in 2008. Social networking went from being a solid performer to being the star list building referral for my list. You see, in 2008 social networking became very hot and everyone, and I mean *everyone* jumped on the social networking bandwagon. I saw people who have never used social networking in their lives create new accounts on Facebook and Twitter and jump right in.

More people than ever are using social networking, but how does it affect your business? More people using social networking means there are more people in your target market who are using social networking. You can reach many more people through social networking now than you could just a year ago. What are you waiting for? Now is the best time to use social networking to reach your target market and build your list. Here is how:

– Spend Time On Creating/Updating Your Profile Page. It amazes me that when I visit business owners’ profile pages on Facebook and other social networks, some do not have their web site listed. If your web site is not listed on your profile, you are missing a golden opportunity to expand your list.

When your target market is visiting your profile, they want to see your web site. If you do not have your web site listed, you will not be able to get subscribers from your social networking efforts.

– Link Directly To Your Newsletter Subscription Page. You want to get subscribers from your social networking efforts, right? So make sure that the links that you use on your social networking profiles link directly to your newsletter subscription page.

– Build Relationships With People You Meet. People buy from those they know, like and trust. Don’t just promote yourself all the time. Get to know your contacts and they will get to know you.

For example, on Twitter, spend 80-90% of your twits to help others, share useful content and network. Limit promotion to 10-20% of the time. When you do this, more people will follow you and more people will want to get to know you, which will translate into more subscribers over time.

– Blog And Share Your Blog Posts On Social Networks. Sharing your blog posts is another great way to demonstrate your expertise to your target market. And you don’t even have to share your posts manually. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all have tools that will automatically check your blog and post your blog post to the network automatically.

All you need to do is to set it up and your blog posts will be shared with your followers every time you have a new blog post.

– Offer Events. A great way to invite more people to your list is to offer an event and invite your social networking contacts to join you for the event.

Take action on at least one of these tips today and start building your list with social networking today!

I think that social networking is extremely important for list building. This is why there is a lot of information on using social networking to build your list in the Build Your List Home Study Guide.

Get the Home Study Guide now at https://www.EffectiveListBuilding.com

Biana Babinsky

P.S. This is the only time this year that I am offering this Teleseminar Series. Make sure to register to join me on the calls at https://www.EffectiveListBuilding.com

Article marketing is a great technique to use to build your list. In fact, each of your articles can bring you dozens or even hundreds of subscribers if your article and Resource Box speak to your target market. Here is your 3-Point Plan to build your list using article marketing:

Step 1. Write an article that is of interest to your target market.

Step 2. Create your Author’s Resource Box that convinces your article readers to subscribe to your newsletter.

Step 3. Submit your article to Article Directories, so that your articles are seen by your target market. Once your target market reads your article, your Resource Box will convince your target market to subscribe to your newsletter.

I have read hundreds of articles written by business owners and it is clear to me that many of them are making a mistake in Step #2. Some don’t spend any time on their Resource Boxes, and as a result, are not getting any of their article readers to subscribe to their newsletter.

Writing effective Resource Boxes is crucial to your success. If your Resource Box does not convince your reader to visit your web site and subscribe to your newsletter, then your article marketing efforts are a big waste of time because they will not produce the results that you want.

Here is how to create a Resource Box that will get results:

– Set aside time to create effective Resource Boxes. For many business owners a Resource Box is an afterthought that they spend just a few minutes writing. Don’t make this mistake. Your Resource Box is the most important part of your article. Take the time to create an effective Resource Box.

– Create a few different Resource Boxes to use with your articles.

– Test your Resource Boxes to see which ones produce the best results.

I have spent a long time testing different Resource Boxes, both for myself and on behalf of my clients. In the Build Your List Home Study Guide, you will see the examples of effective Resource Boxes and we will also talk about how to rewrite your current Resource Boxes to make them extremely effective. Get the Build Your List Home Study Guide at https://www.EffectiveListBuilding.com

Biana Babinsky

Viral marketing is a wonderful way to share your message and reach out to people to whom you would not ordinarily have had access to.

And no worries, viral marketing has nothing to do with diseases. It is a marketing strategy that helps you spread your message and your branding by engaging others and having them help you spread the message. You want your message to reach many people and replicate like a virus, hence the name.

One of the biggest benefits of viral marketing is being able to reach people in your target market that you would not have been able to reach otherwise. When your message is shared virally, people will let others know about you and your offers, helping your message reach many more people.

Social networking is one of the best ways to share your message virally. This is because different social networking web sites provide you with tools to facilitate sharing messages. For example, on Twitter others can re-tweet your message, meaning they will share it with their followers. When they do this, their followers are going to see information about you and your offer.

On Facebook there is a ton of tools that help you virally market your business. When someone writes on your wall, for example, the information about this is posted to their page. Now when people come to their page, they can click on your name and visit your profile.

If you are promoting a teleseminar on Facebook and someone agrees to come, this information becomes visible to their friends. Now their friends are able to check out your teleseminar. Information about your teleseminar is being spread through viral marketing.

So, how can you use social networking to share your message virally? Here are three steps to help you do that:

– Have something to offer. Don’t just promote your business; have something else to share. People are much more likely to share a blog post, a product or a teleseminar than just your business web site.

– Share information. People can’t share information about what you have to offer unless they know about it. Don’t market all the time, but do spend a bit of time on sharing information about what you have to offer.

– Use social networking tools available to you to your advantage. There are many tools available to automate your networking. For example, you can connect Twitter and Facebook and have your twits appear on Facebook without your doing anything extra, thus helping you spread the word much faster.

Many of your friends’ actions are visible to their friends. When your friends write on your wall, agree to attend your teleseminar, join your group, etc – those actions are visible to their friends. You, your group, and your teleseminars become visible to friends of your friends through viral marketing.

Your action item for today is to see how you can use viral marketing to promote your teleseminars and products.

Biana Babinsky

P.S. Learn more about using the Internet to get clients – get my FREE Report, “How To Get Clients Online”

One of the goals that my clients make every year (this is also a goal that I make every year) is adding more people to their lists. If building your list is not your goal for 2009, go to your goal list right now and add it!

Why should you build your list? There are probably over 100 reasons to do that :), but here are top 5:

– Become Known To Your Target Market. It is hard to get people to do business with you when they don’t know that your business exists. Once you publish your newsletter that reaches your target market, many more people will be able to get to know you.

– Get MORE People To Come To Your Teleseminars. If you struggle with getting participants for your teleseminars, a large list can help! When you need more teleseminar participants, just send an email to your list to invite more people to register.

– Be Seen As An Expert. One thing that many experts do is publish a newsletter. They use it to learn more about their target market, share tips and ideas, and promote their products and services. Start building your list to be seen as an expert!

– Get MORE Clients. Do you need more service clients? Let your subscribers know about your services to get more clients!

– Get MORE Customers. Looking to sell you information products? Your list is extremely important when it comes to selling ebooks, home study guides and other products.

As you can see, your list can help you dramatically increase your number of clients and revenues. Make sure to make list building one of your 2009 goals and watch your profits increase!

Not sure how to build your list? Join me for FREE Teleseminar, 3 Most Important Keys For Building Your List!

The teleseminar will take place on Friday, January 9th, at 2pm Eastern (NY) Time. If you are not able to attend at that time, you will receive the audio recording of the call.

Register at https://www.effectivelistbuilding.com/a/

Biana Babinsky

Happy New Year! Today, on the first day of the new year, I wanted to take a look back at 2008 to see what we would like to take with us into 2009:

– Social Networking. Social networking has been around since the Internet was around. I have been participating in discussion groups and forums ever since I got online.

But 2008 was the year of Social Networking. Social networking has finally come of age – everyone started talking about it and using in 2008. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn – seems that everyone, including people who have never used a discussion forum before were jumping in. Social networking has helped me meet some great people, create business connections and get new clients for my business.

I am looking forward to hearing more about social networking in 2009 and, of course, using it as well.

– Learning New Things. I believe that we should never stop learning. I learned many new things in 2008 and am looking forward to learning even more in 2009.

Join me in learning! Decide what you will learn this year and take action! Pick up a book, find a few blogs you like to learn from, subscribe to a few newsletter, attend teleseminars or workshops.

– Cooking More Food. Well, you knew that I will mention this, didn’t you? Cooking is something I love to do, so when I am not teaching marketing, I am probably cooking or reading about cooking.

I even started a cooking blog in 2008, that I am looking forward to updating more in 2009.

– Creating Products. I have created a few different products in 2008 and I have plans for creating more products in 2009. One thing that is very clear to me about 2009 is that it is going to be more important than ever to offer products in the new year. Many people are slashing their budgets, which means you will see many potential clients in 2009 who will not be able to afford your services.

To still be able to help these clients, you must package your expertise into products. Your products will fit your clients’ budgets when your services won’t. So join me in planning (and creating) new products in 2009.

– People. This list would not be complete without thanking all the wonderful people of 2008. Thank you all – my clients, customers, colleagues, friends on social networks, blog readers, newsletter subscribers, and more. Thank you for making 2008 so great and I look forward to connecting with you in 2009.

Now it’s your turn – comment on this blog post and let us know what you are taking with you into 2009!

Biana Babinsky

P.S. Don’t forget to get your New Year gift from me, FREE Teleseminar 3 Most Important Keys For Building Your List

Here is a question I got recently:

Biana, I have been following your advice and I am seeing great results. I am now using my article marketing and blogging to bring in web site visitors, turn them into newsletter subscribers and then into clients. Last month I got 74 new subscribers!!!

I was on your social networking call a few months ago where you talked about social networking and Twitter in particular. I am wondering how I should incorporate Twitter into my existing online marketing strategy. Should I use it to bring people to my web site? Should I use it to get more newsletter subscribers? What’s the best way to do that?

Biana’s answer: I think it is great that you are thinking about adding Twitter to your marketing lineup. Social networking has been a part of my online marketing strategy for a long time and social networking has been bringing great results year after year.

I also find it’s great that you are creating strategy for using Twitter and how it is going to fit into your online marketing plan before starting to use it. I see many business owners starting to use Twitter and other social networking web sites, use them for a while and only then try to understand how to fit them into their online marketing plan to generate leads and clients. By thinking about this before you jump in you are way ahead of many business owners.

I recommend using Twitter for listening to your target market, creating awareness for your brand and expertise, and building your list. You can also use Twitter for promoting your products, teleseminars and services. But if you use it first to accomplish the first three tasks, you will see much better results when you do start promoting your products, teleseminars and services. Here is how it works:

– Listen To Your Target Market. One of the biggest benefits that Twitter provides business owners with is the ability to connect with their target market and hear what the target market is talking about.

One of the biggest challenges that business owners face is not knowing what they target market needs. At Twitter you are able to listen to your target market, see what kind of issues your target market is experiencing and what kind of help your target market needs.

Now use this information to offer a product or a service that your target market needs and you will see great results!

– Create Awareness For Your Brand And Expertise. Twittering, sharing and connecting with others will help you create more awareness for your business. Many people learn about their new Twitter friends by following their profile link. So make sure you include your link and watch your web site traffic increase!

And, twits are listed in search engines, thus helping you increase awareness of your business even more!

– Build Your List. The bigger your list, the more successful your business is. Use Twitter to build your list by sharing information about your free gift and your newsletter with your followers. Don’t promote it all the time, but it’s perfectly fine to mention your offers from time to time.

Make Twitter part of your Online Marketing Strategy – you will see that with some thinking and planning, you can start seeing results from social networking! For more information on using Twitter to promote your business, join me for How To Use Twitter To Promote Your Business Teleseminar at https://www.avocadoconsulting.com/rlinks/ztr

More tips for using Twitter to market your business:

– What Is Twitter? Answers To Popular Questions About Twitter

– 7 Things To Do To Promote Your Business On Twitter

Biana Babinsky

In the past few months, many business owners have asked me about what a business should do in order to make money and get clients in a recession.

My answer is very simple. If you want your business to be extremely successful at any time, you must continuously market it. Marketing is not a one-time event; rather, it is a continuous process that will bring leads and clients to your business on an ongoing basis. If you want to be healthy, you can’t only take good care of yourself sometimes; you must eat healthy, exercise and practice healthy habits when you are sick and when you are well. In business, whether you are succeeding (even despite a recession) or struggling, the prescription is the same.

Here are my five strategies to help you make money and get clients during recession:

– Create A Marketing Mindset. Many business are not marketing their business, because they feel that marketing is somehow sleazy. However, as the economy gets worse, you will have to market even more in order to get clients.

Remember, you are not trying to sell people what they don’t need. Your potential clients have real problems and they need real help. When you market, you let them know that you can help them. What can be more valuable than that? You are not trying to sell them something they don’t want, but something they want and need!

– Build Your List! The most important ability that a business can have is the ability to contact many people in your target market at once. You want to be able to share your expertise and information about your new offerings with many people at one time. Doing this is the best way to get service clients and product buyers.

In uncertain economic times, the ability to contact many people in your target market at once becomes even more important, because doing this is still an extremely effective technique to promote your offerings.

When you have a large list, with subscribers being members of your target market, you will be able to fill up your teleseminars and get more clients by just sending an email to your list.

– Offer Products In Addition To Services. It has always been extremely important to offer products in addition to services, because it is easier to convince your potential customers to spend $20-$50 on a product rather than $200-$500 on a service.

In today’s economy, it is even more important to offer products in addition to services. Many of your potential clients still need the solutions that you offer, but they may not want or be able to pay for your one-on-one services given the current state of the economy.

However, since they need what you have to offer, they will be more willing to pay for your products, such as seminars, teleseminars, and e-books.

Having products and services in different prices ranges will help you introduce your expertise to a wider audience, reach more people, and, ultimately, gain more clients.

I discuss how to make money and get clients during recession in-depth in my FREE Special Report, 5 Keys For Getting Clients During Recession that you can download at https://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com

Biana Babinsky

It has been just twelve days since we launched the FREE 5 Keys For Getting Clients During Recession special report, and we have already had well over 2,500 downloads!

My goal is to get the report in the hands of at least 5,000 business owners this December, to help them change their marketing mindset and get clients during these economic times. That way they will be ready to get the ground running and start getting clients once January starts!

This is where I need your help. I would love it if you could share the information about the free report, “5 Keys For Getting Clients During Recession”, with other business owners. And I would like to give you a gift for doing that. Keep reading for more information.

Here is how you can share information about the report:

1. Recommend the report to a few of your contacts by letting them know that they can go to https://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com to get the no charge report, “5 Keys For Getting Clients During Recession”

2. Click here to reprint one of my articles. You may reprint articles in your blog, in your newsletter or on your web site. Each article provides valuable content for your readers, so you will be sharing useful marketing information with them. The Author Box contains information about the report.

3. If you are on Twitter, please twitter about the report by letting people know they can download it at https://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com

4. If you use social bookmarking tools, you can bookmark the blog post I wrote about the report,
https://www.avocadoconsulting.com/marketing/c/2008/12/04/609

If you take any one of the steps above (or you can do all of them!), I would love to give you my “How To Turn Your Visitors Into Customers” special report at no charge. This report sells for $17 on my web site, but it is yours at no charge for helping me spread the word.

Once you let people know about the 5 Keys For Getting Clients During Recession special report, fill out the contact form at https://www.avocadoconsulting.com/contact/ and let us know that you have shared the information and we will send you the link to download your copy of the “How To Turn Your Visitors Into Customers” special report. No proof necessary; we are doing this on the honor system.

Thank you very much for helping me help 5,000 business owners get clients! I really appreciate it. And don’t forget to get your own copy at https://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com

Biana Babinsky

This article is an excerpt from the “5 Keys For
Getting Clients During A Recession” Special Report, available for you, FREE, at https://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com

I have taught hundreds of business owners how to market online and get clients. What I always find interesting is that some people who have hired me to work with them didn’t need to be taught marketing. They knew a lot about marketing, what kind of marketing techniques were available and how to apply them.

What they actually needed help with was changing their marketing mindset. Many business owners feel that marketing has an aura of sleaziness around it. They feel that marketing is somehow dirty and an honorable business owner should not be engaged in it. They don’t feel that they should market – they feel that their customers should just find them and come to them.

Unfortunately, customers can’t just find you on their own. They need to know that you are out there, that you are an expert at what you do, and that you can help them with their problems. You must market to communicate all of that to them.

The good news is, though, that marketing does not have to be sleazy or dirty. Marketing can be fun, honorable and ethical and still be effective. And the first thing that you need to do to market ethically and effectively is to change the way you approach marketing.

You need to create a good marketing mindset. This kind of mindset will not sabotage your marketing efforts, and it will help you get the best results from marketing. It will also help you identify marketing techniques that will make your marketing authentic, as well as effective. What’s better than that?

Here is how to create a marketing mindset that will help you get clients, fill up your teleseminars and multiply your profits honestly and ethically:

– Be honest with yourself. Understand that you must market to get clients and be successful. You will be able to pick how you market, but you must do something to bring in clients.

– Understand what marketing is. Marketing is a process designed to introduce your target customers to your business, to invite them to request more information and to get to know you.

– Realize that you are not pushing things on people that people don’t want. Rather, your potential clients need your help and your expertise enables you to provide that help.

Your potential clients have real problems and they need real help. When you market, you let them know that you can help them. What can be more valuable than that? You are not trying to sell them something they don’t want, but something they want and need!

– Find marketing techniques that you enjoy the most, and start using them! Of social networking, article marketing, search engine optimization, blogging, which ones do you like the most? You will get better results, make a difference for your clients and enjoy marketing in the process!

Make your mindset work for you – you will help more people, get more clients and will be happy about the way you market your business!

For more information on how to market your business in today’s economy, download my FREE report, “5 Keys For
Getting Clients During A Recession” Special Report, at https://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com

Biana Babinsky

Hi,

As you probably know, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced on December 1st that we have been in recession for about a year. I am sure that you, as a business owner, have seen the signs of recession before the National Bureau of Economic Research made the announcement.

I have been seeing the signs of recession as well, because I have been getting emails from dozens of business owners every single week asking me about marketing in recession. To help these business owners, I decided to write an article on how to get clients during a recession.

However, as I started to write this article, I saw that I wanted to say much more than I could fit into a one-page article.

So instead I wrote a report: “5 Keys For Getting Clients During A Recession” and it is available for you, FREE, at
https://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com

Get the report and discover:

– – How to find a target market filled with people hungry for your products

– The best marketing techniques to use in recession

– Five keys to building your list easier and faster

– Two questions to ask yourself to make your social networking extremely profitable

and much, much more.

Download the report, FREE, at

https://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com

Biana Babinsky