Welcome to the Social Media Marketing Success Series! There are 4 things you have to do in order to be successful in using social media to market your business; you have to Build a Web Presence, Build a Brand, Build a Base, and Ask for the Sale. We’ll go over each of these this week and give you everything you need to succeed in social media marketing!

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Note: The series recap – 4 Steps to Social Media Marketing Success is now available!

Part 4 – How to Ask for the Sale

A couple of years ago I worked as a technology specialist in Officemax. It was my job to sell the latest computers, printers, and other gadgets to meet customer needs. I remember an older lady coming into the store needing help finding a printer. After about 45 minutes (yes, 45 mins!) of explaining the different features of my top printers she said, “Young man, you’re a good teacher but you’d be a great salesman if you’d just ask me to buy one already!”

I didn’t realize it, but I spent so much time explaining the different features of each printer I never really “sold” her either of them. The mark of a great salesman is asking for the sale. Explaining the feature set of my best printer then asking her, “would you like to take this one home with you today?” could have saved me 45 minutes of my time and hers.

What Category Do You Fall Into?

When it comes to social media marketing many entrepreneurs either;

• Ask for the sale too often – Aggressively pitching a product or service over social networks.
• Don’t ask for the sale the right way – Come across as “pitchy,” forced, or non-caring.
  or,
• Are too scared to ask for the sale – Constantly giving but scared their market base will rebel against them if they offer a product or service.

You CAN make sales with social media marketing!

Hopefully, after this post, you’ll be empowered to ask for the sale and never again fall into one of those three categories. Keep these things, about social media marketing, in mind and you’ll be on your way to success;

a. The Bible says, you have not because you ask not - James 4:2 (King James Version),

b. Social media marketing is all about “giving to get,”

and

c. What’s the point of building a marketing base if you’re too afraid to market to them?

There are 3 steps to asking for the sale in social media marketing, you’ve got to warm-up your market, lead them into your sales funnel, and ask boldly for the sale. Let’s review each step and I’ll share some power tips with you along the way!

Step 1: Warm-Up Your Market

Is Your Market Warmed Up?

You can’t just ask your Facebook fans, Twitter followers, or blog readers to buy your product or service if you barely engage with them on a regular basis. You have to “wake them up” if their asleep, give them more reasons to share your content with their friends, and get their friends to follow you if they don’t already. Here are some ideas on how to do it;

• Consistently share articles, news, podcasts, videos, and tools related to your product or service across your social media channels.
• Create a blog, video, or podcast series that addresses a common problem for your followers.
• Start a guest blogging contest to get some interactivity going on your blog.
• Use giveaways and sweepstakes to generate interest in your blog and get people ready for “what’s next from you.”
• Guest blogging is a great way to bring awareness to your blog and generate new life blood.

Step 2: Lead Them into Your Sales Funnel

Do You Have a Sales Funnel in Place?

Once you’ve got people’s attention and the traffic is flowing on your blog, then it’s time to drop a bomb and get them into your sales funnel. Before executing any of these ideas, be sure to have your payment automation system in place. If wouldn’t make sense to have a market ready to buy but you’re unable to accept payments now would it? I recommend starting out with Paypal’s business merchant services. The fees are small and the service is great. You can even get a virtual terminal for taking orders via phone, fax, and mail! Ready for some sales funnel ideas? Here you go!

• Launch a free e-book and include links to a product or service sales page at the end.
• Offer a free seminar or workshop based on your most popular content. This is an excellent way to position yourself as a “thought leader” and expert. Be sure to sell a product or service at the end of each session!
• Launch a webinar and provide your best advice for free and offer an exclusive 1-on-1 session afterwards.
• Did you create a video series of “How-to’s?” Put them together in a DVD package with a “special offer” at the end.
• Conclude your blog series with a final blog post that offers a product or service to solve your reader’s problems.
• Promote your “sales funnel project” via email, newsletter, blog, and all your social channels.
• Offer exclusive coupons and discounts to your newsletter subscribers or Facebook fans.
• Announce your project at peak times throughout the day and remember to engage, share, and connect while you do it!

Step 3 – Ask BOLDLY for the Sale!

Are You Asking for the Sale?

You’ve established a web presence, built a solid brand, established a marketing base, warmed-up your market, lead them to your sales funnel, and now the moment of truth is upon you. It’s time to ask for the sale. You’ve come this far so you might as well go all the way! Here are some tips to help you succeed;

• Make it easy to buy your product or service. Use “buy now” buttons versus links, large and bold type, and visible “calls to action” in your sales copy.
• Make your case! Don’t just explain what a product or service is, illustrate the benefits of using it, and the value of having it.
• Show the quality of your work with testimonials. If you don’t have any from past clients offer a limited free trial or sample in exchange for freshly written testimonials.
• Make sure your sales copy is tight! That means; no typos, grammatical errors, and etc. Edit like you want to make a sale.
• Make a simple offer and don’t ask for the whole world. Offer between 1-3 products, services, or package deals at a time. Giving too many options confuses people, overwhelms them, and they’ll just leave your sales page.

If you’ve warmed your market up and got them into your sales funnel with a helpful project, then you’ve earned the right to ask for the sale. Don’t miss your opportunity to make the money you’ve always wanted to online. It’s not hard and it definitely isn’t easy, but it does take a little work. I hope you’ve gained a better understanding of social media marketing and what it takes to truly be successful.

Don’t go too far, because, tomorrow I’ll be making some major announcements (what kind of success coach would I be if I don’t follow my own advice?). It’s something that I think will bless your business tremendously so stay tuned. I’d love to get your feedback on the blog post and the others in the Social Media Marketing Success Series. What did you think? Did you learn anything? What will you take away from this series? What would you like more information on? Sound off in the comments below!

Note: Read the series recap – 4 Steps to Social Media Marketing Success here!

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Rod Kirby

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Working Hard on the Weekend? . . . Not!

Tomorrow is Valentines Day for all you lovers out there. For others, it’s just another day. No matter which category you fit in, at some point you’re bound to get online and look for interesting stuff. Well, here are a few things I found that I think you’ll enjoy. Have a great weekend and a fun Valentines Day!

Most Popular Article at The Success Center

• The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter Success 25 Tweets and 36 Comments

Popular Posts from Around the Web

• What Love Teaches Us About Social Media: 15 Tips

• The Life, Times (and Death?) of Internet Explorer 6 (Comic Strip)

• Successful Strategies For Selling Ad Space On Low-Traffic Websites

• Build Ecosystems for Your Content

• The 6 Pillars of a Seemingly Successful Blog

• 5 Questions You Should Ask Every Customer

Enjoy the articles. Don’t forget that another edition of my Success Tips! Newsletter drops on Monday morning. Check out older editions in the newsletter archive.

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Rod Kirby

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Working Hard on the Weekend? . . . Not!

Welcome to weekend update, a new posting strategy to update you on this week’s top articles from The Success Center and around the web. I read a lot of blogs and share a lot of things I find on Twitter and Facebook. If you want more than I list here you can find other great articles on my Google Reader Shared page.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS feed so you can stay up-to-date on the latest from The Success Center. Don’t know what RSS is? Watch this video for a quick explanation in plain English.

Most Commented Post at The Success Center

• Why Business is Not Bad…But Good – 9 comments

My Favorite Post This Week at The Success Center

• 8 Big Things That Lead To Success
  

Great Reads Around the Web

• The Power of Uniqueness [19 Starting Points for Being a Unique Blogger]

• 5 Ways to Live Your Best Life with Social Media (This is my guest post for Annie Sorensen’s blog)

• What’s Your Value Proposition? (Another guest post from me for Jtrigsby’s blog.)

• How to Make Extra Money Online (you won’t find blogging or typical “internet marketing” schemes here!)

• 10 Tips to Getting More Retweets

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Rod Kirby

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Want to Grow Your Blog's Community?

Do you want to have people talking about your blog and sharing it with their friends? Do you want to grow a group of fans that are on fire for what you post and ready to share it at will? Well, strap in kids, because we’re going for a ride!

In this guide I’ll show you how to grow your blog’s community no matter how much traffic you get or don’t get with plenty of resources to help you tackle each step.

There are 3 things you’ve got to do in order to grow your blog’s community; get serious about your blog, optimize your blog, and connect with people outside of your blog.

So, let’s get started!

Get Serious About Your Blog

Remember, even if you’ve got a brick-and-mortar store, your blog becomes your digital storefront open to the public 24/7. It can be your most powerful marketing, engagement, and sales tool if you want it to be . . . but you have to take it seriously.

People want to be a part of something great, something that creates value, and enhances their lives. They can’t get that if your blog hasn’t been updated in weeks, is sorely lacking in the “looks” department, or is just plain boring. Here are a few tips that’ll help you get a bit serious about your blogging;

• Get on a schedule and blog consistently – I’ll be preaching this message till I die; consistency breeds community. The more you stay on schedule the easier it is for people to anticipate your posts, show up when you’re ready for them to engage with it, and share it with their friends. Here’s a 17 minute video that’ll show you How to Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog. This will help you get on a schedule and plan out your blog posts.
• Produce quality posts not a high quantity of posts – If you consistently put out crap then you’re not going to grow your community. No body wants to read your random thoughts, incomplete articles, or poorly thought-out blog topics. Take your time and write something you want the entire world to read. Something worthy of a reader’s time and attention.
• Respond to as many comments as possible – If you already built a small community on your blog and your posts are being commented on and shared . . . engage with your community! Don’t think that just because you’ve built it, they came, and commented means you can go home. Get in your own comments section and respond.
• Invest in a great theme – Think of your blog’s theme as what you would wear to a professional networking event. Are you going to wear those sloppy clothes you used to wear back in high school or the professional and clean threads you got for Christmas? People love to visit a great looking blog. It’s a fact. I’ve visited blogs that didn’t get a single read from me because I left after punishing my eyes with their design. A great theme gives the eyes room to play and to interact with what’s on the screen. If you’re going to get serious about growing your blog’s community then you need to invest in a theme that looks great and can grow with it.Shameless Promotion (affiliate link to follow): I invested in a WooThemes template that’s been really good at capturing my reader attention’s. What’s great about WooThemes is there commitment to quality and building each theme from the ground up. Each theme also comes with different color templates and are highly customizable. Give the boys at WooThemes a try for yourself!

Optimize Your Blog for Community Growth

I use a self-hosted copy of WordPress for my blog. I love the fact that with plug-ins you can turn your simple blog into whatever kind of website you want. (Case in point here are 11 Non-Traditional Uses of WordPress) Here is a list of plug-ins you can use to grow your blog’s community;

• Disqus – This is what I use for my commenting system here at The Success Center. What I love about the plug-in is #1 – It makes commenting super easy and the ability to comment using your Facebook, Twitter, or even Yahoo account. #2 – There’s a great tool within the Disqus software that lets you display your top commenters, posts, and recent comments. This is great for highlighting your community and showing a little love for what they contribute on your blog. Speaking of love .  . .
• Comment Luv – This is a great plug-in that let’s people share their latest blog post when they comment on your site. Another fantastic way to grow loyalty and really get people in the spirit of commenting on your blog. Note: I don’t run this plug-in because it isn’t compatible with Disqus, but if I could I would!
• Comment Relish – Remember, ever new comment your blog receives is an opportunity to grow your community. Why not send your new commenters an email and thank them for commenting? This is exactly what this great plug-in does.
• Google Friend Connect – Let people officially “join” your community and show them off with this free widget from Google. Not only does it allow you to track the blogs your friends (or visitors) join but allows you to send newsletters amongst a slew of other features it has.
• BBPress – Remember joining a forum back in the early 2000′s? Surprisingly, they’re still a popular way to connect with like-minded individuals, share ideas, and information. If you don’t mind moderating, kicking spammers to the curve, and keeping it alive then this may be a good choice for your blog’s community. BBPress is forum software made by the same great folks who created WordPress. Give it a try.

Connect with People Outside of Your Blog

An empire doesn’t grow within it’s own borders . . . it goes outside of it’s four walls and spreads dynamically. You have to do the same if you want to grow a community that is active and valuable to your blog. Here are a few suggestions on how to do just that;

• Twitter – I love Twitter for the connections it creates and the conversations that are started there. I use it to run polls and then use the answers in blog posts. This is a great way to get your social network community to become a part of your blogging community. Try using Twitter PollDaddy for your next poll and see how easy it is!
• Facebook – If you’re not deepening relationships on Facebook then you’re sorely missing the point of maximizing it for your business. One way to do this is to connect your blog with your Facebook account by using the Networked Blogs app. Once you’ve got your account set-up people will receive your latest posts, be able to comment, and share it with their Facebook friends.Another great tool for growing your community outside of your blog is to start a Facebook fan page. Consider this as a “mini-site” for your brand or blog. You can stuff them full of exclusive content like videos, notes, or photos just for your fans. My fan page isn’t maximized like I would like it to be, but someone who does this extremely well is my friend, Naomi Trower. She creates videos and other exclusive content just for her fans. Follow her lead!
• Youtube – Everyone is watching videos on Youtube, of course, by now you know that. Try creating video countdowns of your top articles for the week, bi-weekly, or monthly and sharing it their. This is a great way to get people involved in your blog before they even visit it!

Conclusion

Remember, the three keys to growing you blog’s community are to get serious about your blog, optimize your blog, and connect with people outside of your blog. If you follow the information here you should be well on your way to attracting new followers, visitors, and readers of your blog.

Best of all, you will have done it by not spending a dime . . . just a little bit of your time. What would you add to this guide? How are you cultivating relationships and community on your blog? Share your best advice, tips, and resources in the comments below.

For more advice on being successful with your blog check out, “5 Keys to Blogging Success”

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

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Inside the Success

Welcome to “Inside the Success,” where I take you on the inside of small business owners, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and how they are finding their success.

Small business ownership used to be an American dream and in some ways I think it still is. . . it’s just a harder dream. In today’s economy you’ve got to be smarter, wiser, and more prepared to start a business. You can’t just take your idea from zero to sixty in six months with a little financing anymore.

The SmallBizLady

Today I’m chatting it up with Melinda Emerson. Melinda is a veteran entrepreneur, speaker and small business coach whose areas of expertise include small business start-up, social media marketing and work/life balance. Known as “Smallbizlady”, she hosts a weekly talk show on Twitter called #smallbizchat. Melinda has become a well-known expert in achieving bottom line results and business success. Her first book “Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide To A Business That Works!” is due out in early 2010.

In this interview you’ll learn;

• What it really takes to be a small business owner
• Why you should have a life plan before a business plan
• How to plan for success
• What is platform development and why it’s important to your business
• How to maximize social media for your small business

Enjoy the show, let me know what you think in the comments below. When you get done, check out the Inside the Success show archives for past audio and video interviews!

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Rod Kirby

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Inside the Success

Welcome to “Inside the Success,” where I take you on the inside of small business owners, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and how they are finding their success.

David McClearly

Today I chat with the author of “Leaving Prisons: Release Your Trapped Value!,” David McCleary. David is a “social scientist” working with leaders and organizations. He is the CEO of Flawless Leaders, LLC and has worked directly with leaders from organizations around the world including Volvo, Home Depot, Dell, and countless others.

We’ll talk about his road to success, the skinny on his new book, how he brands himself, and how he maximizes social media to bring it all together. Curious about the title of this post? Listen in for the answer!

Check out David’s New book – Leaving Prisons: Release Your Trapped Value! Visit David’s website for more info on him or his projects.

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

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Inside the Success

Welcome to Inside the Success, the show that strives to inspire, empower, and equip you for success by taking you inside the success of entrepreneurs and small business owners who are really “making it happen!” 

Today I’m chattin it up with singer and song writer Amelia “Amaha” Akpotu. She explains how she started singing, her branding strategy, and how she maximizes social media to get the word out.

Please, leave me your feedback of the show in the comments below. Also, if you haven’t done so, sign-up for my Success Tips newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes.

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Rod Kirby

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Inside the Success

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally ready to drop my most ambitious project to date. Welcome to Inside the Success, the show that strives to inspire, empower, and equip you for success by taking you inside the success of entrepreneurs and small business owners. This is a preview of the first episode and an example of more to come. A full show includes an in-depth interview, entrepreneurial advice, tips, and other goodies.

The clip below is approximately 15 minutes long, a full episode will run around 25-30 mins. The first full episode will debut at the beginning of next month. For those of you who don’t, please subscribe to my “Success Tips!” newsletter so you can be among the first to see it. Just enter you email address below and you’re golden! (I hate spam just as much as you, so you’ll never receive anything unrelated to The Success Center or Inside the Success from me!) Did I mention that you also get a free treat when you sign up to my newsletter? Or, you can subscribe to The Success Center via RSS or email if you like.

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Rod Kirby

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Welcome to Inside the Success the show that takes you on the inside of entrepreneurs, professionals, and industry experts from all walks of life.

This quote was taken from 4 Secrets to Small Business Success,

What company comes to mind when you hear “We love to see you smile?” What about, “Just do it?” These are themes associated with company brands. You can have that same power but it doesn’t come over night. It’s something you have to build piece by piece consistently. When I went to Social Camp Memphis this year there were people who knew who I was before I said anything to them. That’s the power of personal branding.

Ronald Wilsher

As an entrepreneur your brand is your unique magnetic tool for attracting the right clients to your business. I had the opportunity to chat with Ronald Wilsher who is a personal branding expert and coach. In his own words,

He helps people make more money (and have more fun!) by building and developing their own personal BRAND but most importantly, he helps people develop the courage to be who they were created to be.

I chatted with Ronald on personal branding, it’s importance, tools of the trade, and his definition of success. Check out this episode of Inside the Success and let me know what you think about it in the comments below.

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Rod Kirby

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The past 2 weeks have been rather interesting around The Success Center. We’ve been exploring social media;

5 Tips on Managing Social Media for Entrepreneurs

4 Steps to Success with Social Media for Entrepreneurs

Even with this week’s poll question

Why Get Social Anyway?

The whole idea is to help you be successful within this new frontier because it’s here to stay. Smart marketers always put their messages where their market is. If your target customer is on Facebook then you need to be on Facebook. If they use Twitter then you should have an “outpost” on twitter as well. Go wherever your market is, reach, connect, and engage with them there as well.

What’s the Power of Social Media?

I believe the power of social media lies in it’s transparency. I can see you and you can see me. It’s like the George Foreman grill of marketing. Social media can potentially cook more meals (sales) because it cuts the fat (distrust). However, just like with anything, it only tastes good (successful) if you cook it right.

What Should You Do Next?

To help you gain further knowledge, wisdom, and understanding I want to present to you a buffet of social media goodies straight from The Success Center’s kitchen.

Maximizing Social Media after you Start a Business

5 Keys to Blogging Success

“3 Money-Making Magazine Strategies for Blogging Success,” (At Problogger.com – written by yours truly)

8 Magazine Strategies that add Value to Your Blog

Twitter 101 – Getting Started

These are my thoughts on social media, what are some of yours? Is it a huge part of your marketing strategy? What challenges are you facing in maximizing some of the many tools out there? What have you yet to master and need more instruction on? Sound off in the comments below.

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

About The Author

Rod Kirby

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