More Than A Few Words

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball, founder of the Digital Toolbox  Social media used to be fun and games. But if you're doing it for your business sometimes it's a little stressful. Our guest Tamay Shannon says it doesn't have to be if you know how to approach it.   She says much of the stress comes from the overwhelming feeling you get when you try to decide what to say or how to say something. Business owners also feel stress as they wonder if  they are saying the right thing. But all those questions and worries distract from what is really important, consistency. Even if the content isn't perfect consistency is what will bring you clients.  About Tamay Shannon She is the founder of W2S Marketing. Where 2 Start Marketing was created especially to serve small businesses. Social Media doesn't have to be hard, ineffective, or time-consuming. Tamay Shannon takes the overwhelm out of social media for small businesses. It can be an integral and money-mak

More than a few words is a marketing conversation for business owners.  Each week, host Lorraine Balls spends a few minutes chatting with guests about things every business owner should know.  This week, Kris Ward, author of Win the Hour, Win the Day shares tips on how to shift how you spend your time. Her formula is 60% creation and only 40% administration., because it is the time spent on creation which moves your business forward.     About Kris Ward She is an author, podcaster coach, and speaker. She is a team building and system strategist and a leading authority in building your business by building your team. She is the founder of Win the Hour, Win the Day day philosophy and she helps entrepreneurs create their WIN team. 

Last week I shared a few tips building effective landing pages. This week we're going to turn our attention to the submission or inbound form because this is where the magic happens. The first rule of submission forms is the more you ask for, the less you'll get. Every question you add is going to reduce the number of people who take the time to fill it out. So only ask for what you really need. If you're never going to call the person don't ask for a phone number. Keep it to name an email address and start sending them information and you will earn the right to ask for more.  Beyond the questions, the design of your form matters. Remember many people will complete the form on a mobile device, So make it easy to access on mobile by left aligning the questions in a single column.  

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners.  Hosted by Lorraine Ball marketing experts from around the globe share tips, tricks and inspirational marketing and business ideas.  With Neuro freedom  your objective is to align our mind, how you view the world to create your reality. It takes practice but if you can identify core beliefs that unconsciously drive your behavior you can begin to shirt your world.   Many business owners have money blocks which are unconscious and conflicting thoughts and feelings about money that prevent you from creating your desired level of financial success.   About Dr. Amanda Barrientez Dr. Barrientez is a NFA - No Fucking Around/NeuroFreedom® Alignment - Business Consultant who helps coaches and online entrepreneurs unblock and more than double their money flow using her proprietary Manifesting Profits™ strategies. After going from food stamps to building a 6-figure business fast, she's been on a quest to teach work-from-home business builders how to

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners.  Each week, podcast host Lorraine Ball chats with marketing professionals from around the world.   This week, David Trotter shares his formula for creating social media content in just five minutes a day.  The key is planning ahead.  Take time to look at the month and map out your content.  Start with the holidays, not just the major ones, but the annual pet day or donut day.  Next think about the big promotions in your business and plot those on your calendar.  Next you need posts leading up to and following those big promotions, and suddenly you month is almost full.  About David Trotter David Trotter is a business growth consultant dedicated to helping new business owners rise above their biggest barriers to reach their greatest goals. After consistently hearing from his clients about the challenges of creating content for social media, lead magnets, and webinar slide decks, he launched Rise Up Creatives, a membership platform to help b

Last week I shared a few tips on building your offer.  This week we're going to focus on the landing page. The landing page is your opportunity to convince prospective customers to say yes, I want that. When building a landing page remember it is a single purpose page.  Your visitors are not going learn anything else about you.  That information will simply distract them from completing the submission form. A great landing page starts with a clear, concise headline, you want to keep it short, ideally, five to nine words,.  Add a compelling photograph and then a very prominent call to action. Below the call to action, you may add testimonials and additional reasons to complete the form.  Then present that call to action one more time . Be sure to come back next week for tips on designing a great call to action. 

More than a Few Words, hosted by Lorraine Ball is a marketing conversation for business owners.  Social media can be overwhelming, because it seems as if there is a new platform every week.  So, as a small business owner how do you decide which social media platform is right for you?  Our guest Megan Brame suggests you commit to just a few so you avoid creating Zombie accounts that seem to stumble around with no real life Start with your ideal customer.  Once you understand that person, then  look at the social media platforms they use and how they would use that platform. On Instagram, for example, people go there for inspiration and aspiration. They are looking for beautiful images. but they're not going there for education. They're not going there for app development. So, if that is your business, Instagram is not worth your time.  What you should be doing if you have a business that is not visual? Use a platform where it's the lowest hanging fruit for you to be.  Go where it's your ideal customer is going

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners, hosted by Lorraine Ball In this episode, our guest Anna Parker-Naples explains podcasting can be an incredible business tool when it's done properly. Part of the value lies in the connection that often happens between the listener and the host. As a host you can go from virtually no audience on other platforms to having thousands and thousands of downloads.  The trick is to start by thinking about who to you actually want to reach and bring into your business.  Then figure out what you want them to know.  The mistake people frequently make is starting podcasts without a specific audience or point and they just ramble.  That's not enough. Maybe you have what it takes to be a host, and maybe you don't.  Podcasting may still have value or you.   Anna explains there are two main routes to ROI return on investment.  The first comes from your listeners, and getting them to join your email list come into your funnel. A podcast can accelerate the

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your week A great auto response campaign starts with an exchange, you offer something of value to a prospective customer, and in return, they give you their contact information. What can you trade? The short answer is anything; any information that you have access to, that a prospective customer might be interested in.  Here are just a few examples: Industry data, survey results and how-to guides. Customers always want to know how other people use your product or service. Case studies also answer those same questions. Consider creating white papers, resources, checklists, and scorecards. Customers are always curious how they stack up to other customers. You can also create invitations to special events, discounts, or product previews.  And one of the the very best thing to offer is something you probably already h

If you are like most entrepreneurs, you always have too much to do on any given day. It often feels like you are a gerbil on a treadmill, because I keep running, but you don't get anywhere. This week, our guest David Rule, author of Done by Noon.  shares some tips on how to take control of your time.  He starts by stepping back to the reasons most of us started our business to begin with, FREEDOM.   He divides the conversation in three freedoms, time, creative and financial.  We want to do what we when, when we want and not be concerned about negative financial implications of those decisions.  The problem is that life, the world and external pressures, pull you way from those freedoms.  It doesn't happen all at once, there is a slow, steady drift.  Listen now to learn how to get back on track.   

The hardest thing about blogging is staring at that blank sheet of paper trying to decide what you should be writing about.  The answer is pretty simple, write  about the things that you know that your customers don't.  That may be is a little oversimplified so here are some ideas on what you can write for your next blog post. Start with industry trends. Customers like to know you're staying up on the latest industry information. Share things you've discovered.  Then there are frequently asked questions.  Dive into your email and find the questions you answer over and over again.  Write a blog post to answer it. The next time the question comes up, you've already got an answer. Do features on new employees and let your customers get to know the people behind your brand. Certainly focus on new products and services. also include case studies and testimonials, and maybe even information on an upcoming event. Okay, you've got some topic areas, go ahead and start writing and be sure to read our blog at round peg

More than a Few Words, a marketing conversation hosted by Lorraine Ball. If you are like most business owners, it is a struggle to stand out in a crowd. You can elevate yourself above the rest with a little bit of publicity. Before you begin, you need to understand the difference between editorial and advertorial content. You can't approach the news editor with the idea in mind that you are going to pitch  your product or service You need to bring an informative angle that will educate their readers.  One tip that Tracy Lamourie shared was to look for writers who are working on stories you can contribute to.  Where do you look?  HARO and Source Bottle are two sites where writers post questions and request for information.  About Tracy Lamourie Tracy Lamourie,a high profile international award winning publicist, is the Founder and Managing Director of Lamourie Media Inc. a  Universal Women's Network 2020 Woman of Inspiration Winner for the Women In Media award and the author of the upcoming book GET REPPED - B

More than a Few Words is a marketing and business conversation hosted by Lorraine Ball. Why do business owners need to build social relationships?  Aleya Harris is pretty clear when asked that question. She believes relationships equal sales. You're posting on social media to position yourself as a helpful expert, to show you understand the problems of prospective customers.  You want to show  people that when they work with you, they're going to get quality solutions.  And while you are building that relationship, people want to see a little bit of your personality because people want to feel an affinity for you. People can be hesitant to part with their hard earned cash so getting people to know you, like you and trust you via relationships built on social media is a way to help ease your sales process.  Build relationships by starting from the inside. Many people just start talking at people, but messaging strategy starts from the inside out,.  It is an internal process, as you decide what you want to be k

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your week How do you decide which digital trends deserve attention and resources and which don't? So how did I answer the question? Simple, our strategy is explore, evaluate and embrace. The first part of the strategy is staying ahead of the curve by reading, reading, reading. There's no single expert in the field so I have several websites I check on a regular basis. When I find something that piques my curiosity, I switch over to evaluation mode.  I dive into by reading product reviews and searching for discussions on Twitter and LinkedIn. Then we kick the tires for ourselves to see if the product works the way they say it will. Finally, we look at how this addition fits with the rest of the marketing program.  This is where many exciting ideas get sideline because even if a tool looks great, if it doesn't fit w

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball, founder of the Digital Toolbox  Today we are going to dive into local marketing, connecting with customers who are around the corner and down the street. The range of marketing choices for local businesses can be overwhelming. Our guest Laura Cole broke the conversation into three buckets: online, search, and then mobile marketing, Online marketing: Get your website in good order. This is your online storefront to showcase the work that you do your specialties, your expertise. Search Engines.: Google and major directories, ensuring that your listings are up to date with your name, address, phone number hours of operation and details about your business.  Make sure the information is current and accurate. Mobile optimization:  This is more than just does your website look good on mobile? It is the entire experience that happens on mobile. It encompasses all the mobile tools you can use to reach out and connect with p

This marks the 600th episode of More than a Few Words, a marketing conversation hosted by Lorraine Ball. Even if you’ve never thought of yourself as a teacher it is time to look strategically how a course might support your business. Start with the opportunity that is right right in front of you, people who would love to work with you and hire you but aren’t quite ready. Maybe they can’ afford your services, or they are still in exploration mode. A course can fill the gap. Our guest Jeannie Sullivan advises if you want to be a wonderful teacher, you need to stop sharing so much information. When people are learning something for the very first time, they need simple actionable steps, They need to experience success  quickly. Skip the background and deep dive.  Put yourself in the beginner’s mind of a learner to recognize that they really only need a small percent of the information that you have available in order to start making real changes. About our guest In her own words …   Officially, I’m a coach and c

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your week    There was a time when the doorbell rang, you would jump up and fling the door open in the hopes of entertaining a neighbor, friend or unexpected guest. But things have changed. We're a lot more cautious these days about who we invite into our homes. This can create real challenges for companies in a home service industry. The trick is to look for ways to make customers feel like they know you. You can do this by adding photographs of your team members on your website showing a little bit of personality on social media. And last but definitely not least, encouraging reviews. There's nothing that reassures a consumer about inviting someone into their home, like seeing their friend or neighbor saying, "we've worked with these guys, and we would do it again". So the next time you provide service for someo

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball, founder of the Digital Toolbox  What if you could determine who in your audience is your best client in just 180 seconds?  With a well designed quiz your prospects will actually self-select, telling you with their answers if the are good, great or mediocre prospect.   It starts with asking people to self-assess where they're at on a scale of one to 10 in relationship to the results you can help them achieve.  Keep the quiz short and sweet, and deliver useful information based on their answers Finally use the quiz to gauge their commitment to talking action to achieve those results.  About Juliet Clark Juliet Clark is a six- time author, speaker and podcaster who has spent the last twenty years helping authors, coaches, speakers, and small businesses all over the world build expert audiences. Corporate companies and author/ speaker incubators world- wide have benefited from Juliet’s unique and effective process of ma

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your week  Social media is all about ego. No matter how many followers and fans you have, it's always fun to see a new follower, a retweet, or reply, like, love or share. All of those things signal to us that we've been accepted and esteemed by the community. And that feeling of acceptance is really one of the most basic human needs. When you are using social media for business. Your objective is to make other people feel that way. If you spend the majority of your time on social media, liking and commenting and interacting with others, making them feel valuable and important, there is a great chance that they will return the favor.  They will be more likely to like, share and interact with you  both personally, and with your brand. So your assignment for today is to get out on social media and be active and frien

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball, founder of the Digital Toolbox  As a business owner, the most important thing is for people to be able to find you. More often than not, they're going to Google to look for you. Unfortunately, you're competing with companies that are much larger than you. But you have an advantage if you're a local business, That advantage is Google My Business because  Google plays such a vital role at each touchpoint throughout the entire customer journey.  Whether they are gathering information, considering alternatives or getting ready to buy, they are turning to Google. If your GMB page is there ready and waiting with just the right information, you will have a better shot at closing the sale. About John Vuong John Vuong is the owner and founder of Local SEO Search. He helps small and medium-sized businesses rank on Google and dominate their local market. John puts a strong emphasis on relationships and treats his client’s like