Client Attraction Tips - Who Is Your Ideal Client?

“How do I attract more clients?”

Without a doubt, client attraction is one of the greatest challenges for businesses when developing an online marketing strategy. This is true not just for emerging online business owners, but even for veterans of the internet marketplace. Regardless of past success, client attraction remains an important element of your business, leading to increased referrals and long-term growth – as well as a steady revenue stream.

Attracting new clients requires two basic steps:

1. Creating or enhancing your brand

2. Identifying and appealing to your target audience

Being recognized as an expert in your niche, someone who can offer solutions is critical to your success. However, it’s just as critical to understand the needs, wants, and desires of potential clients. In other words, HOW you present yourself is as important as WHAT you have to offer, while knowing WHO to target is as important as knowing WHY they will benefit from your services.

Identify Your Ideal Client

To become a client attraction guru for your online business, you have to be able to step into your ideal clients’ heads. If you can create a clear profile of who they are and what they need or want, you’ll be able to speak to them in a way that will make them WANT to work with you! You can repeat this process over and over again when creating new products or services. The result is marketing materials you can use in multiple ways.

Of course, to accomplish this, there are a number of questions you’ll need to answer:

• Who is your Ideal Client?

• What are their Pain Points?

• What are your Solutions?

• What do they need to Know/Learn/Do to find a Resolution?

• What is their Ultimate Why for Seeking your Help?

• What is their Ultimate Outcome?

• What will Success look like?

Ultimately, your goal is to answer the most basic question of all for them, “What’s in it for me?” If they can’t identify a benefit from working with you or from buying your product, they won’t.

When you’ve completed your Ideal Client Profile, develop one simple sentence to put it all together: what’s often called an “elevator statement”. When you’ve finished, you’ll discover a stunning type of clarity around who you want to work with and what you can do for them!

Your elevator statement can then be used in multiple ways: in conversations with potential clients; in networking situations; as material for your home page – and as inspiration for blog posts, articles, newsletters, and list-building materials.

If you have more than one ideal client, work your way through this process again to create a new profile. It’s just that easy, and that hard.

Once you’ve created your unique, identifiable brand and developed your ideal client profile, you can begin to generate content that enhances your identity and speaks directly to your target audience, enabling you to take your client attraction strategy to a new level.

Remember, Ted remains available for marketing and business consulting to the trade. Simply… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Types of Optin Offers to Build Your Email Subscriber List

With the diversity of interior designers and furnishing dealers we work with across the country, it’s virtually impossible to share every type of optin offer that you might choose to offer. However, the following are some of the most common – and effective – examples we have seen.

As we shared in an earlier post:

Once you receive a subscriber’s email address in exchange for the valuable piece of information you offered them to opt-in to your list, you have an audience with whom you can engage. You can do this through newsletters, nurture email campaigns, “check-in” emails, event notices, and promotional materials.

This is how you begin to build relationships with your target audience in our digital world; relationships that show your expertise, create trust, and have the potential to generate conversions. (Yay, sales!)

Interior Design Optins

It goes without saying that many, if not most, people who consider working with an interior designer are interested in reimagining a particular space in their homes. Then again, some may be searching for nothing but new paint colors, high-end wallcoverings, or designer rugs. Potential clients like these will not be interested in tips about remodeling a kitchen, living room, or the whole house. So, your optin gifts must be targeted to smaller segments of your local design market.

• Paint color of the year

• Secrets of hand-tied springs for seating and/or bedding

• What does “Artisanal” mean and why they should care

• The value of Craftsmanship in luxury home furnishings

• What is the difference between tufted and woven carpeting and rugs?

• Types of wallpaper

• What to know about an Interior Design Consultation (with questions they might ask)

Since each of these optin gifts will appeal to a different segment of your target audience, you will be able to build your subscriber list with a diverse mix of potential clients whom you know are interested in what you offer.

Remember, free stuff generates interest and interest can eventually lead to conversions! This is why it makes sense to give away information you might be inclined to sell instead. So…

General Remodeling Tips

While many business owners are hesitant to simply give away their expert knowledge, it’s important to remember that you must build value and interest with the gifts you offer – value that is equal to or greater than the priceless remuneration you will receive in return – the email address of potential clients.

• Top 5 DIY Remodeling Tips

• 4 Easy Steps to Hang New Wallpaper

• Interior Designer Consult Checklist for Homeowners

• How to Select and Install New Bathroom Fixtures

• Best Space to Remodel to Increase the Value of Your Home

Now don’t start sweating at the thought of giving away such valuable info, with no guarantee of a return on your investment (of your training and experience).

The Secret Behind Valuable Optin Gifts

You see, the secret to this approach is this: even if you give away explicit, step-by-step instructions on how to install and finish the tile surrounding a beautiful new step-in bathtub (for example), it’s likely that 99% of those who need one will not have the patience or willingness to do it.

In other words, giving subscribers to your email list information that would otherwise cost them dearly has little to no risk for you. For example, anyone who would take your advice to start and complete a DIY remodeling project would be extremely unlikely to hire a designer anyway.

For the rest, they will receive your gift and think, “Wow, this designer knows their stuff. I should at least ask them about a consultation and estimate for remodeling my master bath.”

That about does it for a blog post, where space and attention spans are limited. In closing, it’s important to remember that a good optin gift solves a single important issue for your audience. It should then be followed with a series of emails to discover if the information you shared was helpful, eventually offering them a consultation.

Whether you offer a design consultation at no charge or for a minimal fee is entirely your choice. (Again, the high-value offer equals a high value in return – their time in front of you.)

And remember, Ted remains available for marketing and business consulting to the trade. Simply… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Grow Your Client List by Building a Solid Email Subscriber List

Building a strong email subscriber list remains one of the most productive marketing tactics you can use to grow your client list. The most popular approach to accomplishing this involves giving things away, or, the use of opt-in gifts.

The most important thing to remember when you are working on list-building opt-in gifts is this: there are no one-size-fits-all solutions to the pain points of your clients.

Now, we know you tell your design clients the same thing, and we know that you offer customized, real-world solutions for their home remodeling needs. And yet, we also know that, being human, you are hoping we will tell you that there IS a single solution to your email marketing and list-building questions. Unfortunately, we can’t.

What we can tell you is this… You will need a variety of opt-in gifts to generate interest, based on two things:

1. The varied needs of your target audience.

2. The range of services you provide.

After all, it will benefit no one to create an opt-in gift about high-end rugs if a visitor to your business website is searching for information on designer wallcoverings. Then too, offering advice on a service you do not offer, or a line you do not represent, will do you no good.

Therefore, you will need to tailor your list-building gifts specifically to the needs of your target audience and let them know that you can help them find solutions beyond your high-value opt-in.

Creating Effective Opt-in Offers

Let’s define some terms here, first:

• An optin offer is the presentation of a gift (usually digital) in exchange for the email address of a visitor to your website; perhaps the most valuable thing they have to offer in the age of online relationships.

• Typically, the optin offer is a bit of high-value information designed to resolve a particular issue important to a member of your target audience.

• The most common form of opt-in gift is an article or “whitepaper” that can be downloaded in document form, though a mini eBook (a 3–5-page PDF) is a very popular choice. Free video or audio training are also very popular optin gifts.

• Critical to the success of such an offer is that the information you share must be targeted to a particular portion of your audience and that your solution be laser-focused on a specific issue. Do NOT try to be all things to all people. Instead, provide a REAL solution to ONE problem.

• Finally, the most successful optins offer huge value in exchange for something of equal value – your visitor’s email address. In other words, the solution you share in your optin MUST be something that a client would be otherwise willing to pay you for.

Now that they’ve given you their email address in exchange for a valuable piece of information, you have an audience with whom you can engage. You can do this through the use of newsletters, nurture email campaigns, “check-in” emails, event notices, and promotional materials. This is how you begin building relationships in our digital world; relationships that show your expertise, create trust, and have the potential to generate conversions.

Well, this is some pretty heavy marketing info so, we’ll stop here and give you a chance to absorb it. But soon, we’ll follow up with some types of opt-in giveaways you can use to grow your client list by building your subscriber list.

And remember, Ted remains available for marketing and business consulting to the trade. Simply… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

What Does Success Look Like… To You?

Pretty much everyone wants to be successful, right? Few people say that, as a child, they wanted to grow up to be a failure but, success has no universal meaning. That is why the most popular question among consultants, mentors, and coaches is usually: What does success look like?

You probably noticed the part that’s missing there: To you.

For us, that’s the most important part of the question because each of us has our own definition of success. “A state of prosperity or fame”, which is found in a dictionary, seems far too narrow and narcissistic. “An event that accomplishes its intended purpose” is too shallow. “An attainment that is successful” too circular (success is about being successful).

Plus, in the face of our new changing world, each of us will surely answer that question differently than we would have just a year or two ago.

So, perhaps we should ask instead: What does success look like – to you – among shifting today’s paradigms?

Set a Flexible Business Vision

While it may be true that life seems like it hasn’t changed much for those of us who work in the virtual world, many feel isolated, and others are living in fear. Moving forward, there may be some serious residual anger from folks who lost income or loved ones. Even relationships are being stretched to their limit in some cases, with differing views on causes and potential solutions causing conflict.

With these things in mind, preparing your business for our current business environment should be high on your list of To-Do Items now. In other words, whatever you're doing now to keep your business viable, be conscious of the fact that your short-term choices may have long-term consequences. So, be prepared, and be flexible.

Without sounding too negative, there could be some significant changes in how you're able to do business. Granted, for first-world economies like ours, a dystopian future is unlikely. Yet, you should probably take into account the range and severity of the challenges others are facing.

Whatever your niche, your vision for the future of your business should include the evolving needs of potential clients, such as:

• Safety – Set conditions that ensure the safe operation of your business.

• Authenticity – Be sincere in all you do, and respect others’ need to express their needs, fears, and frustrations.

• Stability – Be the rock they can rely on, the stable foundation from which to move forward.

• Reliability – Bring back as many familiar faces as possible and commit to being there for your clients.

• Meaning – Significant changes require a significant response. Be true to your vision of the future and share it freely.

It should also be mentioned that, if you work with a team, they too will seek these qualities (and more) from their leader. (Maybe our recent blog post on goal setting for your business will be helpful.)

It’s becoming a bit of a cliché in the world of sports, but it is no less true that, for a leader, the greatest ability is availability. Be available. Be visible. Be relatable.

Are you struggling to decide what success looks like for your business? Maybe we can help. Simply… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Professional Copywriting – Outsource it and Save Mental Energy

Specialists dominate our economy, whether online or in the “real world”. There’s a reason for this and it’s pretty simple: we recognize that no one can be an expert at everything. For example, baseball pitchers can’t hit; quarterbacks can’t catch; public speaking coaches aren’t dieticians. And, more important for us today – none of them are or excel at professional copywriting.

Now, when it comes to types of copywriting, there are several areas where professionals will specialize. Some copywriters focus on website copy. Others spend their time creating landing pages and sales pages (and some of those go further, specializing in products over services, and vice versa). Some writers are great at creating emails and newsletters for you and some are great at writing blog posts for you.

Finally, there are the ghostwriters. These are specialists who can write “in your voice” and can speak to your audience in ways you simply can’t. They are excellent collaborators who can literally write a book for you. They can also generate high-value opt-in content on a variety of subjects you can give away to build your email subscriber list.

Stop Wasting Mental Energy on Onerous Tasks

Did you know there is an increased cost to doing tasks that you struggle with, or simply hate to do? Besides the time wasted and the focus diverted from areas where you excel, there is a huge price to pay in mental energy!

Entrepreneurs and small business owners are often proud of their ability to multi-task, taking on any challenge that affects their business at any time and dealing with it effectively. But there’s a real cost to working this way, in both emotional and mental energy that is physically draining.

Why? Because, as explained in an article at PsychologyToday.com, “Apparently, the human brain is not designed to be able to do two or more things at once.” This is especially true if the tasks are difficult or dreaded.

Further, “Multitasking involves two distinct stages: one is goal shifting and the other is rule activation. Goal shifting consists of deciding to focus on another task than the one you are currently [working] on. Rule activation consists of turning off the ‘rules’ for one task and turning on the ‘rules’ for another.”

What does all of this have to do with outsourcing copywriting for your business?

If you find writing particularly difficult and taxing, you're wasting mental energy that could better be used to – oh, maybe get more clients – or devote more time and energy to the ones you have.

Why Outsourcing Copywriting Makes Sense

Spending so much time and energy on a task that you find especially burdensome doesn't make sense. We’ve supported some great clients who simply stretch themselves too thin and wind up exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Too many of them get that way because they hate writing copy, emails, and lead magnets instead of focusing on acquiring and servicing clients.

It makes sense to stop wasting your valuable time and outsource that work to others who can do it faster and more effectively. And we can help!

Do you still have questions? We can help with that too. As a business consultant to the trade, Ted is familiar with and can introduce you to a professional copywriter or two who can help. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Business Growth and Change – Lessons Learned from Both

A couple of interesting articles at the IandS.Design website recently caught our eye(s). From managing client expectations in our recently changed world to lessons we might learn from the past (where else could they be from?), we began pondering just how much these changes might affect business growth.

Not to get too philosophical here but, the Universe has managed to once again remind us that change is the only constant in our lives. How we respond to it, and the lessons we learn from it, will largely dictate our success in both life and business. And, not to get too pedantic about it but, acceptance is the key to adapting to the changes recently wrought upon our world.

Business Lessons Learned – Design Client Needs

Many designers like to declare themselves a “boutique house”, with all that implies. Too often, such houses are more than happy to sign just about any client who comes along, contradicting their claims of a customized, intimate feeling that makes their clients seem special. Rather, growing the business is their true priority, often beyond their ability to control.

This type of business philosophy is counter to what the average homeowner wants their interior designer to offer.

For author Michael Thomas, business growth is no longer a priority: “The first lesson is to keep a small, manageable number of clients – where quality services can be consistently provided. In times past, it seems that growth was added for the sake of growth – taking advantage of abundant numbers of clients and seemingly lucrative projects. It was the ‘bigger is better’ mentality that overtook a number of us. Adding more projects often meant the need to add more staff, additional workspace and with those, the increasing costs associated with such overhead.”

Further, many of today’s homeowners feel the need for increased emphasis on mental well-being. As explained by Pierluca Roccheggiani, U.S. design director and vice president of luis vidal + architects in another context, folks are "increasingly looking for specific areas dedicated to relaxation and calmness, like yoga rooms and meditation areas. Bringing natural light and open buildings to exterior views plays an important role … Another design aspect that has been increasingly sought-after post-pandemic is access to outdoor space. It’s becoming a vital component for comfort and well-being.”

Naturally, the first concept, that of keeping one’s client list smaller and more manageable, makes the second concept much easier to follow, that is, knowing your clients well enough to offer them the well-being they’re seeking.

Business Lessons Learned – Designer Needs

Perhaps one of the most difficult lessons for interior designers and even furnishing dealers to learn is again expressed by Mr. Thomas: “The next lesson is to become much more ‘choosy’ about which clients to take on.”

After all, when someone is offering hard cash for your products or services, it seems exceptionally counterproductive to refuse their business. Yet, one must keep in mind that not all clients are created equal and that too many of them are more trouble than they’re worth. Running a business (and a life) is difficult enough without the hassle of a bad client.

“Next, build strong alliances with others who have the same or similar profiles of clients. Collaborate with professionals whose expertise is complementary (not competing) with your own. Develop ways to share common workspaces, as well as marketing and operational expenses such as administrative staff.”

In other words, shared values, a similar business philosophy, and acceptance of the fact that finding business allies with whom we can engage will make all of us stronger and more adaptable to change.

Finally, feel free to display your expertise in a niche that matches your talents and training. Clearly, doing this will increase your comfort level and should help you to find the business growth you need to succeed without overtaxing your ability to keep your business running smoothly.

If any of these ideas resonate with you but you’re having trouble implementing them, Ted’s 25-plus years in the trade makes him an excellent business consultant for both interior designers and luxury furnishing dealers. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Email Marketing Tips - Success in 7 Easy Steps

Many of us have grown tired of the daily hassle of deleting unwanted email pitches from unknown marketing sites every day, sometimes many times a day. Yet, email marketing remains an effective tool for promoting your products or services – if used correctly – and not abused.

The seven steps that are critical to success in an email marketing campaign are:

1. Define the target audience for your email campaign

2. Set your email marketing goals

3. Create fresh, engaging content

4. Settle on the frequency of your email campaign

5. Establish a timeline and editorial calendar for your email campaign

6. Choose an email marketing service

7. Track your results and modify your plan accordingly

If you're new to the concept of email marketing, you may have no idea what the listed steps mean. So, let’s define our terms a bit and help you better grasp what each of these 7 Easy Steps for Email Marketing Success means.

• Define the target audience for your email campaign

It goes without saying that regular visitors to your website or blog appreciate the information you have to offer. The key to growth is to increase the size of your audience, and email marketing is a great tool for doing this. Determine exactly who it is that is visiting your site on a regular basis, and work to tailor your message for them.

• Set your email marketing goals

Every email you send to your list should include a call-to-action: whether you are trying to build a larger audience; generate more shares in the social network; have recipients get in touch with you for more information; or make a sale. Whatever you would like your recipients to do, you must ask them to do it.

• Create fresh, engaging content

Stale content in an email; that is, content that has been previously featured on your blog or website, will generally not inspire your audience to take the action you are asking them to take. Timely, compelling content is always preferred when you ask your audience to take action.

• Settle on the frequency of your email campaign

Daily emails are annoying. Even weekly promotional emails can upset your audience. Based on the nature and value of the information you have to offer, as well as how time-critical it may be, once or twice a month is usually more than sufficient for an email marketing campaign.

• Establish a timeline and editorial calendar for your email campaign

Once you’ve determined the frequency of your outgoing emails, you must create a calendar for creating your content and a timeline for sending out your emails. Doing this will help you to remain consistent, which is something your readers will appreciate.

• Choose an email marketing service

Email marketing services such as icontact, Mailchimp, and constant contact have a proven track record of successful support for effective email marketing campaigns, regardless of the niche involved. The services are not free, nor are they cheap, but their value simply cannot be argued.

• Track your results and modify your plan accordingly

The services mentioned above all can provide you with critical information on the success of your email campaign; including who is reading your emails, who is sharing your emails, who is clicking through for more information, and who is buying, among other things. Another critical feature of these services is to help you ensure that your list contains only those who've agreed to receive your emails.

Of course, if you still have questions about this email marketing tip, Ted has more than 25 years of experience helping designers and furnishing dealers market their businesses successfully. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.

The 5 Most Common Online Marketing Questions – With Answers!

Along with some help from one or two online resources, and based on our own experience, we'd like to offer a short list of the most common online marketing questions.

Let’s not waste any time and get right to it, shall we?

5 Online Marketing Questions

1. “How hard is it to build my own website?” Well… It’s hard! Especially if you've never built a website before, the task can be daunting. Using WordPress certainly helps because they offer ways to simplify website construction (and WP is very Google-friendly!). You can even get a free website from them but, they won't allow you to monetize one of their free websites. (It can be a great solution for a blog-only site though.)

For a commercial website, you’ll need to pay for a hosting service, buy a domain name, and discover tons of patience. (Better get ready for a pretty steep learning curve!)

There are also multiple site-building apps available online. These tend to make all of their sites look alike but, if you're looking for the cheapest solution for building a business website, one of these may work for you – temporarily, anyway.

2. “What about a blog? Do I really need one?” Like most things, that depends: on your goals, your products or services, and whether you hope to be found through organic search or are willing to pay for ads and clicks (PPC). (Did we just hear a big “Huh?”)

It is almost always important to educate your target audience about what you have to offer them, be it a unique product or a helpful service(s). After all, they have no idea who you are and why you believe you deserve their attention, not to mention their hard-earned dollars. So yes, having a blog on your business website is a great way to educate and stay connected with your target audience in a real, relevant way. It also keeps your site fresh with new content helping to boost your SEO (see below). Some website owners write their own content, while others outsource the task to experienced professional copywriters. (We can help you there, no problem.)

3. “Oh, Kaaay… What do you mean by organic and PPC?” Being found online is always a challenge. The information you share on your website is regularly “crawled” by the search engines which then “index” and “rank” your site. The more fresh, relevant, and timely your blog content is, the higher you’ll be ranked and the more easily prospects will find you. This is known as “organic” search engine optimization (organic SEO).

Or, you can pay Google, Bing, or Yahoo to put your website at the top of their search results (SERPs). Based on the relative value of certain key phrases you use (your keywords), they will charge for every “click-through” from their SERPs. (That’s why it’s called “Pay Per Click” or PPC.) Depending on the number of clicks you receive per month, this can get pricey. Also, whether that click-through results in a sale is moot to them. They charge you for sending a prospect to your site. What happens then is irrelevant to them.

4. “What about social media? Do I have to use it for marketing my business? No, but…Yes! The real question for an entrepreneur is where to engage your target audience on social platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and many others have such massive audiences that it becomes imperative to have a presence on at least one or two of them.

Choosing the best platforms for your business depends on a few things (at least): what you're selling, where your target audience is most active, and where your competition has built a following. If your offerings are best described visually, Instagram and Pinterest may be your best choice. If you need to educate your audience, Facebook and its audience of two billion subscribers may be your best bet. As for Twitter, well, if your audience has a brief attention span, yeah. Maybe. (Can you tell we’re not huge fans of twitting? Oops, we meant tweeting.)

5. “I've heard email marketing is dead. Is that true? OK, that’s a big NO! Email remains one of the most effective marketing tools you can place in your toolbox. The brief explanation is that you need to first build a subscriber list of email addresses, which is one of the most valuable business assets you can acquire. Then, you can begin to engage with them through an email nurture campaign, enabling you to generate more interest, enhance your reputation as an expert in your niche, and begin building trust.

Once they get to know and trust you, you can lead them toward conversion; that is, entice them into doing something that will benefit them, such as watching your free videos, they optin to another informative gift or something else of value. Soon, you should be able to guide them toward buying from you, whether a solution-based service or a product.

As you can see by this brief list of the most common online marketing questions, making an impression out there – not to mention making sales – is challenging indeed. In fact, it may be more demanding than becoming an expert who has something valuable to offer.

We know this is a lot to take in from a single blog post, and it can be intimidating. That’s why we have a couple of ways for you to get more answers to the most common online marketing questions. Research the links we shared above or get in touch with Ted for business consulting to the trade. To find out more… Contact TD Fall today.

Your Strategic Marketing Foundation Bears Quite a Load

Everyone says you need a strategic marketing plan, right? In fact, you may feel like you're getting hammered with that little bit of advice (including from us). Then you find out you need a marketing foundation to build it on. That’s not so bad; until you discover the foundation has parts that need to be included.

Wait, wut?

Since when does a foundation have PARTS? It’s like, a simple slab of concrete with a few load-bearing walls. There are no parts to a foundation! Are there? Argh!

Turns out, as long as we don’t take it too literally, there kind of are parts to a foundation. Plus, and more importantly, we have to remember the purpose of a foundation: To distribute the load of the structure – your marketing strategy – over a large bearing area to bring the intensity of loading within the safe bearing capacity.

In other words, as a metaphor, your strategic marketing foundation must be able to bear a pretty heavy load or your marketing plan may collapse. Then where are you?

With a metaphoric roof and four walls crushing your hopes and dreams of success! (Youch!)

Identify the Parts of Your Marketing Strategy

Now that we understand how the foundation of your strategy supports your marketing plan, supporting and keeping it functioning properly, let's take a look at some of the component parts you need to put in place.

All of the preceding begs the question of exactly what that foundation you’ve worked so hard to build will be supporting:

• Identify your ideal client – Who do you want to work with and whom do you think will want to work with you? Have you answered these questions? You need a profile of precisely whom you will be targeting in your marketing plan. Without it, you're going to be all over the place with your messaging.

• Create your unique customer avatar – Success is in the details. An avatar helps you take that profile to the next level and makes the ideal client real to you. Instead of trying to appeal to some kind of vague “them”, the focus of your marketing message will be on individuals with an identity, the real human beings who will benefit from doing business with you.

• Hone and build your individual brand identity – Who are you? What do you have to offer? How do clients relate to you? All of these questions (and more) must be answered as part of establishing yourself as an expert in your niche. That is where brand identity comes from.

• Narrow your target market to engage them more effectively – You simply can't be all things to all people (and you must stop trying). While it might be nice if every person on the planet wanted what you're offering, that is simply not realistic. You need to fully commit to the ideal client profile you’ve created and accept that your client avatar includes your entire audience.

• Build your initial market strategy on these foundational steps – Wow. That looks like a lot of market research and planning, doesn’t it? It sure does. And, once you complete it, you'll have a concise, straightforward approach to basic marketing concepts and the foundation of your strategy. Yay, you!

Truly, nothing that lasts can be built without a solid foundation. Plus, considering the stress and confusion of the past couple of years, overcoming uncertainty and even fear of failure moving forward could be really tough. The solution then is to take bold action that will enhance your online reputation, build brand awareness, and engage with your target audience in ways that lead to conversions!

If you’d like to learn which sorts of strategic marketing foundation and strategies will work in the interior design and luxury furnishings industry, Ted remains available with practical, industry-focused strategic marketing tips. With more than 25 years of experience, he could be an invaluable resource on whom you might rely to grow your business.

For business consulting to the trade… Contact TD Fall today.

Grow Your Email Subscriber List - How Many Opt-ins Do You Need?

While it’s not literally true that you will need 100 opt-ins to get 100 subscribers, all things being equal, you will need more than one giveaway to substantially grow your email subscriber list – or to get one started. (Of course, with something like 1.7 billion websites competing for attention worldwide, all things being equal in online marketing is a bit of an oxymoron, so… )

The critical thing to remember when you are working on list building is this: there are no one-size-fits-all solutions to the pain points of your clients.

Yes, we know you tell your clients this, and we know that you offer customized, real-world solutions to their interior design and furnishing challenges. And yet, we also know that you are hoping we will tell you that there IS a single solution to YOUR email marketing and list-building questions. (Yeah, we’ve been doing this a while now. LOL)

What does this mean for your list-building strategy? First, ask yourself how many times you’ve visited a website that promised you a great gift for opting into their subscriber list, only to discover the so-called freebie they’re promoting does not resonate with you? Then think about how many categories of questions your clients or prospects ask you during an initial interview. Those are the types of things your opt-in gifts must address!

Does this help you understand you will need a variety of opt-in gifts to generate interest, based on the varied needs of your target audience? (Yes? Yay us!)

What Your Opt-in Offer Should Accomplish

Let’s define some terms here, OK?

• An opt-in offer is the presentation of a gift (usually digital) in exchange for the email address of a visitor to your website; perhaps the most valuable thing they have to offer to you in the age of online relationships.

• Typically, the opt-in offer is a bit of high-value information that is designed to resolve a particular issue that is important to a member of your target audience.

• The most common form of opt-in gift is an article or whitepaper that can be downloaded in document form, though a mini-eBook (a 3-5 page PDF) is a very popular choice, as well. The link to a free video of you speaking directly to a typical client’s pain points would offer huge value.

• Critical to the success of such an offer is that the information you share must be targeted to a particular portion of your audience and that your solution is laser-focused on a specific issue.

• Do NOT try to be all things to all people. Instead, provide a REAL solution to ONE problem at a time. Then, create a new gift to address other challenges you’ve run into.

• Finally, the most successful opt-ins offer huge value in exchange for something of equal value – your visitor’s email address. In other words, the solution you share in your opt-in MUST be something that a client might otherwise be willing to pay you for.

Now that you have their email address, you have an interested audience with whom you can engage through the use of newsletters, nurture email campaigns, “check-in” emails, event notices, and promotional materials. This is how you begin building relationships in our digital world; relationships that show your expertise, grow trust and have the potential to generate conversions. (That means Make a Sale in the language of online marketese!)

We’re pretty sure you’ve already figured out we’ll have more to say on the subject of how you can grow your email subscriber list using opt-in offers and, you’ll see that here soon. Until then, if you have questions that we’ve not answered here, just… Get in touch with TD Fall today for answers.