Today, so many people are touting the benefits of authentic marketing. When we start our businesses, we put so much of ourselves into creating the business of our dreams and when you market authentically, you are essentially saying this is who I am and what I stand for – take it or leave it. This concept is absolutely fabulous because, honestly, would you really want to do business with someone that wasn’t accepting of you and what you bring personally to your business?

If you are ready to start marketing your business authentically, then here are three keys to bringing authenticity into your business:

Key #1 – Knowing Yourself

The first step to being authentic is to know yourself completely. What qualities and values are important to you? Which parts of yourself are you willing (and unwilling) to share with your business? Remember the most important thing to know is that it can be really, really hard to keep up a persona, however, it is a cakewalk to just be yourself. So many times I see entrepreneurs that shy away from being themselves because they are afraid that other people won’t like them or do business with them based solely on something about them. Honestly, would you really want to work with someone that didn’t like you or expected you to act a certain way that was not in align with your true personality?

What are your core values? What is important to you? Let that shine in everything you do and make sure it is very, very clear in your marketing message. Don’t try to be what you are not just for the sake of a sale as you will come to begrudge both the client and yourself for asking you to be someone you are not.

Key #2 – Knowing Your Ideal Client

The second key to authentic marketing is to know who you truly want to attract – which clients are most ideal for you. I am not talking about their profession (although that is important too). I am talking about their personality, their characteristics and their beliefs. Do you want to work with someone that gives you “free reign” or someone that is with you every step of the way? Would you want to work with someone that is very professional and staunch or are you more the happy go lucky type of attractor? Some people find it easiest to work with someone that is very similar to them, but they work better with someone that is their complete opposite.

Key #3 – Aligning This with Your Business

To truly market with authenticity, once you know yourself and your ideal client, it is important that you are very clear in your marketing message to allow these things to come through. Many entrepreneurs worry that if they are very specific in their marketing message, they will scare clients away and, although this may be very true, what they will also do is attract the exact clients they want to work with. Being very honest with what you stand for and exactly who you work with is actually a great way to build your business. Entrepreneurs that are very clear in their marketing messages actually obtain much better marketing results because their clients feel as if they were “talking directly to them.”

When you begin to market with authenticity, it is amazing how quickly you will see your business grow and prosper. No longer are you trying to market to the masses and be what you believe you should be but rather you will be marketing to who you really want to work with as yourself. The even bigger advantage is, once they become your client, it is so much easier to maintain them as a client because the expectations, your personality, what you stand for, and how you work are all “on the table” and the surprises and disappointments that cause us to sever a working relationship are fewer and farther between.

Many business owners are leery about delegating their marketing as they feel that they will lose their authenticity and that people will be able to recognize that it isn’t actually them doing the marketing. Marketing, and especially authentic marketing, is very personal and we would all like to believe that no one can promote our business better than we can.

Letting go can be very hard and if you follow these five simple steps you will be amazed at how much extra time you can have for your business (and believe me, you will need it because when you ramp up your marketing the leads will quickly follow).

Step #1 – Be cautious with the parts of your marketing where your voice and authenticity are predominant

Those parts of our marketing that are a direct reflection of who we are and what we want to bring to our business are perhaps the hardest things to delegate. A perfect example of this is anything that has to do with writing for business; newsletters, blog posts, social media posts, website copy, etc.

Each and every one of us has a voice that is unique to us and us alone. We all have a way of getting our message across differently and uniquely. This is exactly why any good ghost writer would ask you for samples of your writing so that they can imitate your writing style and voice, making it next to impossible to tell the difference between something you wrote and they wrote.

Similarly if you were to look at anyone’s social media pages, the posts and tweets and the types of things they like to share are unique and different. Luckily, for the time strapped business owner, these things can be learned and replicated.

When you decide to delegate any writing projects to a subcontractor, be sure to read through everything before it is made public. Discuss with them any changes you would make or if you aren’t comfortable with the way that something is said, tell them exactly why and how you would have said the same thing in your own words. As your subcontractor learns your writing style, you will find that you need to make fewer and fewer changes.

Also, if you are not completely comfortable having someone else writing content for your newsletters and blog posts this may be a task that you want to keep for yourself. However, that said, a competent subcontractor can easily take the content in your newsletter and blog posts to create tweets and Facebook posts.

Step #2 – Marketing plan maintenance is critical to your success

Every savvy business owner understands that a marketing plan is important in the business planning phase of your business, but many of us forget the importance of maintaining and updating that plan. As we begin our business, we take the time to do market research, review our competitors, study our ideal client, and research innovative ways to stand out in our industry. For many that’s the last time we ever think about these things.

When was the last time that you looked at what your competition was doing? Have you taken the time to review your website and other marketing materials to ensure they continue to “put your best foot forward”? Do you know what the leading edge thing that your industry is talking about is?

If you want to stay ahead in this fast paced world of business, you need to stay on top of what is current in both your industry and your ideal client’s industry/world. This is one of those tasks that many of us neglect until often it is too late and we have “missed the boat” so to speak. This is perhaps the easiest task to delegate and/or automate so why aren’t we?

Step #3 – Bring in the professionals for a polished look

So many marketing platforms these days are geared to allowing business owners to handle it themselves. Many software developers understand that businesses are money conscious these days and looking for “do it yourself” type models. Thanks to templates and tutorials, given the time and patience, business owners can quite easily handle all of their own business marketing needs.

WordPress is a perfect example of this very point and given the time you can quite easily learn all you need to know to setup your own website and maintain it as well. However, if you want to make your business stand out, moving away from the “cookie cutter” templates to a customized website is going to mean bringing in a professional (or spending some serious time learning website coding).

When determining whether you should subcontract any project out or learn the skills to do it on your own, ask yourself these three questions:

• Do I have the time to figure this out?
• Does customization matter to me or am I okay with running the risk that one of my competitor’s may use the same template?
• How much would doing this myself really cost me in the end? (Remember that if you weren’t doing this task you could be doing money making tasks for your business)

Step #4 – Customer service is the key to success

Customer service is so much more than keeping our current client’s happy. Setting up a system so that previous clients and new potential clients are not forgotten is so important. This is perhaps the easiest and best marketing task to delegate.

Your subcontractor can assist with exit surveys, maintaining databases, keeping contact continuous with all levels of your clients, providing resources and information for potential clients and follow up, follow up, follow up.

Many of us believe that our clients want to speak with us, but honestly they just don’t want to be forgotten. Whether your previous clients, your current clients or your future clients make sure that a representative from your business maintains the contact and I guarantee your client’s will appreciate the gesture.

Step #5 – Automate whenever possible

As much as subcontracting is fantastic and will free up your time to focus on revenue generating tasks, even more fantastic is automation. When you automate your systems they can run seamlessly in the background with very little maintenance.

Use your subcontractor as a tool for getting your systems documented and your processes automated wherever possible. Quite often a subcontractor, such as a Virtual Assistant, will have endless ideas for you on things that can be automated you never even thought about automating.

With a little patience, a little education and a willingness to let go and embrace the benefits of subcontracting your marketing, your efforts will be returned tenfold. Remember that the more your market the more your business will grow so get ready because letting go is the first step.

Over and over I hear that people aren’t marketing because it feels “icky.” Well for those of you that think marketing is icky I am happy to tell you it doesn’t have to be!!

Perhaps the biggest reason that marketing tends to feel icky is because many of us are not natural sales people. If someone told you when you started your business you would have to be a sales person would you have actually started your business? For many the reason is no and for many unsuccessful businesses the reason they fail is because they don’t master “selling.”

The good news is that selling doesn’t have to be sales in the approach many of us are used to. Do you remember the days when you would go into a store and be “pounced” on by every available salesperson? Over and over you would mutter the words “I’m just looking.” Today many retailers are taking a different approach … they are asking their salespeople to take a conversation approach; ask about the weather, engage in a conversation about a familiar topic or simply say hi. The reason is because they are finally starting to get it … you can have much greater success if you build a relationship with someone first.

When we move into sales mode we naturally will get someone’s back up and they will take the “just looking” approach. Unfortunately many of the traditional sales and marketing methods take this approach. Several examples are the sales letter, the elevator pitch, the traditional sales page … and the list goes on. How many times have you gotten an email from a complete stranger pitching their services or product to you? Our natural reaction is to delete it.

Thankfully today many business owners are taking a relationship approach to sales. Build the relationship first, show them you can “walk the walk and talk the talk,” and use subtle ways of selling. In my business I have completely adopted this approach of building relationships first and thankfully it has paid off immensely.

I encourage you today … if marketing feels icky then stop what you are doing immediately and adopt an approach that works for you and feels natural.

Don’t forget to share what marketing strategies are working for you and which ones feel “icky.” For many of us finding a marketing method that is natural comes from hearing what others are doing successfully.

Picture the teenage girl sharing her most intimate thoughts and desires in her diary and then keeping it hidden under lock and key. For many of us, this is the first image we first think of when we think about a journal.

Today, the Internet has allowed us to take this image of writing down our thoughts, desires, dreams and knowledge and has created a fantastic way for us to boost our business. Web logs, or “blogs” as they’re better known, have become a way to engage readers and educate potential customers of our businesses, whether big or small. Blogs are today’s “diaries”; just more of a marketing tool for business than a place to share your intimate thoughts.

No, blogs aren’t for everyone. But if you want to build an on-line reputation for your business they are perhaps the easiest marketing tool you can consider. Here are some reasons for you to consider adding a blog to your marketing arsenal. Blogs are high on my priority list as an effective marketing tool for your business and I include one in the marketing strategy plans for each and every one of my clients.

Reason #1 – Position yourself as an expert in an industry or field

I can’t say it enough…the key to building a successful business is to get your potential client to know, like and trust you. How better to do this then to show them what you know? When you use a blog to share your expertise through comments, articles, tips and resource links you build your credibility as the expert. People want to know that you know what you are talking about. They want concrete evidence that you can give them what they want and answer their questions about your area of expertise. A blog allows you to do this, it also sends a positive message about your credentials through the marketplace and more importantly gives your business a face and a personality.

Reason #2 – Improve your search engine rankings

Without getting “technical” search engines are looking for fresh content. Each time you provide fresh content on your website the search engines take notice and it helps with your website rankings. Also, remember that most people find your website by searching on one of the search engines and utilizing key words that are relevant to your service or product. When your blog uses these key words, leads are more likely to be directed to your web site.

Reason #3 – Engage Your Potential Customers

Having an avenue that your potential customers can reach out to you is a great resource for any business. Just think about the retail and hospitality industry, so many of them offer customer feedback surveys and there is a reason for that. They want to know what they are doing right and what they need to improve; it allows them to build a better business.

Just as important, blogs that solicit reader comments can provide a sense of immediacy with your customers. It becomes their source of feedback on what you’re doing right and what you need to improve. Ultimately this allows you to build a better business too and in turn will give you a source of testimonials to utilize in other marketing efforts.

In today’s marketplace, blogs are an avenue for business owners to “have a voice.” Oftentimes, these business owners can have just as much of a sway on public opinion in one single blog post as larger, more established media brands have in spending thousands of dollars on an advertising campaign.

Many people disenfranchised with today’s corporate world, decide to start a business by taking a skill they love and believing that after they start their business, life will be great. Quickly they realize that it is not as easy as it looks; a successful business takes work and there are so many other aspects to running a successful enterprise than they ever realized. In order to keep your business running smoothly it is important to avoid making costly mistakes, yet so many entrepreneurs make these same 5 mistakes over and over.

Mistake #1 – Not having clear objectives

Many business people fail to set realistic goals for their marketing and consequently set themselves up for failure. They think that they have “hung out their shingle” and the business will definitely follow. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Successful businesses require successful planning and a clear set of goals and objectives. If you do not have company goals and objectives you are like a car driving without a road map. If you don’t know where you are going, how on earth can you get there? A marketing plan is a must have for any business to grow and thrive.

Mistake #2 – Not being clear on your ideal target client

Neglecting to truly know your ideal potential clients is a dangerous mistake. When you don’t take the time to analyze the best client for your product or service and then learn everything you can about their needs, wants and desires, how can you expect to attract them to your offering? Improper analysis can lead to targeting the wrong market, using the wrong sales approaches, techniques and sales copy and ultimately stop your business in its tracks. An effective target market analysis will allow you to create a focused and targeted marketing strategy that will allow you to attract your ideal clients and maximize sales.

Mistake #3 – No budget

Budgeting is extremely important in business. This is especially true with your marketing and advertising ventures. Within that budget don’t forget to put aside money for each marketing effort you want to explore and undertake within that given time period, whether it be a month, quarter or annual budget. The best road to success is to start small, test and then build on successes. If something works, continue with that effort and if something isn’t working than move onto something else. Also, remember that with today’s internet usage there are several “free” options for marketing that will cost only your time. If your budget is tight, why not explore these avenues first.

Mistake #4 – Giving up too soon

I’ve seen this time and time again. A company tries a marketing effort and then gives up after only a couple of days or a couple of “impressions.” [Impressions are the number of times a particular marketing effort is sent out to your target market] I would suggest giving your promotions at least 3 months before you decide to scrap them. Some promotions will take longer than others to bring results. Although not easy, patience is one of the hallmarks of business and you need to learn to implement it.

Mistake #5 – Poor Sales Copy

How often have you wanted a product but when you read the sales page you had serious doubts that this product was exactly what you thought it was originally or what you truly need? Without good sales copy you will not be able to sell effectively at all and it will cost you business. It is critical to your business to get this right and especially with the copy on your website. Many times you only have one chance to make a good impression on your potential client and move them enough to purchase from you or at the very least bookmark your site. If necessary don’t be afraid to get an experienced copywriter to assist you; it is worth the investment.

Remember the golden rule is to diversify. Don’t concentrate all of your efforts in one single area, but rather be marketing in several different avenues concurrently. Also remember not to be afraid of change, if something isn’t working explore new avenues. Finally, what works for one may not work for another; test, test, test until you find the formula that works for you.

By avoiding these mistakes you will take your company to the success you deserve and it will all be worth it!!

So many times I am asked, “How do I keep people coming back to my site?” My clients not only want to keep their current clients informed of news, resources and updates, but they want the opportunity to reach potential clients that are still “on the fence” in their decision. They want those potential clients to keep their site top of mind so they will eventually return to them and not their competitors when they are ready to make a purchase.

The key to getting people back to your site is simply offering them a reason to return. I don’t mean to make it sound simple because it will take work, but here are seven things you can implement in your website “maintenance” system that will keep customers coming back to your website:

1. Keep it fresh and update your content regularly. Why would a user want to return to a website that rarely changes? Keeping your information up-to-date sends a message to visitors that your company is current and serious about doing business. It also helps with Google search engine ranking when your content is continually updated.
2. Stay informed of local, national and international headlines and make your site topical. The internet has opened the doors for us to find out about anything, anytime from anywhere. Creating a link between your business and a hot news story can be a great way to attract visitors to your site. This is a common tactic used by public relations firms to get media coverage, and could work equally well for you. Take a current news story (especially one that is ranking high in Google searches) and give it your business spin. If you have a valid opinion on a hot topic, don’t be afraid to share it, especially if it is within your expertise. For example, health industry – widespread obesity, legal experts – legal issues, financial advisors – recession advice.
3. Hold a contest. This is a great way to get visitors excited about your website and what you do. There are several ways to run these contest and competitions and you can do this right on your website, on your blog or even on a Facebook Fanpage. The best ways to run a contest is to ask users for feedback on a certain topic or current event, this can also double as a market research tool. Prizes don’t need to be extravagant, but should be fun and appropriate for your target market. Perhaps you can even offer a free product or trial of your services as a way to get others talking about your business.
4. Send out an e-mail newsletter such as this one. This popular promotional tactic is an effective one, but one that many don’t invest the time in. The key is realizing that you don’t need to build a list of thousands of subscribers, but instead focus on building a high quality list of targeted readers. When sending a newsletter, keep it short and informative and always give them a reason to visit your site, pass the newsletter on to a friend and/or join you on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
5. Join niche e-mail groups or on-line forums. If you have the time, participating in a targeted e-mail list is a great way to connect with potential customers and keep reminding them about your business. You can remind them about your business by participating and answering questions that show your expertise. For example, the owner of a pet store might join a mailing list for pet owners and begin answering their questions about their pets. This shows his expertise, builds his credibility and ultimately drives people to want to learn more about the pet store owner’s business. Remember that you can subtly direct people to your website by including a simple link in your signature line (just remember to review the rules of you email group or forum).

No matter which of these strategies you choose to implement, remember that it is important for you to know your customers. An understanding of the needs and goals of your clients is the best way to ensure that your marketing efforts are effective and you are driving the “right” traffic to your site. Statistics and tracking reports will help you gauge the interests of visitors to your website. Website usage statistics will help you understand how people come to your site, and what they do once they have arrived. Are they finding what they want, or do certain pages on your site trigger them to leave? Was the contest you ran successful? This understanding will help you hone your online marketing efforts and ensure that the right people are returning consistently.