This is an excerpt from my presentation at Entrepreneur Magazine’s Boost Your Sales With Online Marketing Event in Chicago.

In this cluttered marketplace  it is more important  than ever to keep your message simple. People just don’t have the attention span to work hard at  understanding what you have to offer.   Consider Google’s core message as they sought out venture capital years ago.

“Google provides access to the world’s information in one click” .

Can you do that with your business?

I hope you join us at one of our live events or online programs (stay tuned for a new program)

Since 1999 I have trained and certified hundreds of Guerrilla Marketing Coaches. This post is a collection of Guerrilla Marketing wisdom to help grow your business without spending hardly any money at all.

If you want start a new business designed for tough economic  times, our next  starts July 5th. Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification

7 Guerrilla Marketing Tips (click on the links to read each insight).

1.  Build the Human Bond: Learn To Turn Strangers Into Friends

2.  Develop Fusion Marketing Partners and Know How To Approach Them Correctly

3.  Reach Your Goals Using Unconventional  Means

4.  Use Your Imagination and Be Creative

5.  Give away useful free content.  Example

6.  Be consistent and lead with your passion!

7.  Four Ways To Grow Any Business

If you found these insights useful I hope you will re-tweet them.

What Are Affiliate Programs?

Affiliate programs are the Internet’s version of a retail company’s commission-based sales program.  Simply put, you refer a customer through your affiliate link and get a check.

The beauty is that as an affiliate you won’t physically handle products, create marketing tools, set up the sales process or collect the money. It is all handled by the affiliate manager.  You just refer a potential customer (via email, social media, website or blog promotion). Nice and simple.  It is a perfect way to start developing multiple streams of income which is essential in these economic times.

Some Points to Remember

• Promote products you truly believe in and that are relevant to your target market. Ask yourself: What other products and services do my customers need?

• Pre-sell prospects with your own testimonial. It is important that you use or a very familiar with this product and truly believe in it (For example I resell my shopping cart because I use it daily and know others need this e-commerce solution too).

• Be transparent and tell prospects you are an affiliate (The FTC mandates this)

Some Excellent Affiliate Programs (there are hundreds of great products on these sites)

www.CommissionJunction.com

www.ClickBank.com

www.AffiliatePrograms.com

Your Action Steps:

1) Go to the websites above and find one that has products your target market needs

2) Sign up for their affiliate program (sometimes called associate program or resellers program)

3) Read their promotional instructions and place your affiliate link (or graphic they provide) on your website
or in your promotional emails

4) Wait for your first check in the mail

Affiliate Programs are a terrific way to generate multiple streams of income– a very smart move for anyone building a business online.

P.S. Here is a video I created on this topic as well as my affiliate programs: www.PartnerWithMitch.com

People purchase products and services, but they buy dreams. Products are merely the delivery vehicles for them.

In other words, consumers purchase benefits – beauty, safety, financial freedom, island vacations, homes, popularity, sex appeal, and glowing health – not features – horsepower, sleek design, house color, or size.

Savvy marketers recognize that their single most important goal is to help their customers achieve their dreams. So, they find out exactly what their target audience is searching for, articulate it, and then deliver on their promises.

Many small business owners mistakenly talk more about themselves than their prospects! In other words, the public isn’t too interested in how long you’ve been in business, whether you’re family owned and operated, or if your warehouse is large or small.

They don’t want to hear a story about you, they want to hear a story about them. They want to know how you can help them save time, make more money, find their soul mates, improve their relationships, get promoted, reduce pain, or make them laugh.

Smart marketers know that their target audiences’ desires are usually not lofty, enduring, or huge. One valuable e-course, one shirt, one painting, or one tube of lipstick aren’t likely to have significant or lasting impact on their lives – but they may for a moment or two. And that’s okay, because for that brief period of time they shared a positive experience. And even though their customers might forget about the product, they will remember the feeling.

Savvy entrepreneurs realize that they’re not the only show in town and the main reason consumers buy from one company over the other, is because they have confidence in the seller. They have confidence in their ability to solve their most pressing problems. They have confidence that they won’t be abandoned after the sale. And they have confidence in their products’ quality, value, and selection.

Yet, if you can’t talk to them about these things, you might as well hang up your hat because you’ll just waste a lot of time, money, and energy.  The good news, however, is that you can learn to communicate more effectively with your intended audience if you study the masters and practice improving your communications every day.

Adapted from Guerrilla Marketing On The Internet by Mitch Meyerson, Jay Levinson and Mary Scarborough

The next Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification Program is starting this summer.

The good news is that great marketers are not born, they are made.  Marketing is a very teachable skill and one that you can easily learn with some time, practice, and dedication.  The following six key tenets should guide you in converting your prospects into customers.

Simply put, your prospects will choose to become your customers based on:

1.  Their experiences with you. Your prospects will judge your worthiness based on how you make them feel. This includes how well you communicate, your content “depth,” your website’s quality and much more. Your prospects will also be more likely to engage in “conversations” with you when you allow them to interact in ways they prefer (i.e some may resonate with a blog post while others are more engaged by video or audio content).

2. Your product or service benefits. There are two basic reasons why people purchase anything – to increase pleasure (e.g. glowing health, freedom, popularity) or decrease pain (e.g. stress, financial problems, poor health). Therefore, focus on your product or service’s most compelling benefits as you communicate with your target audience – then, make sure you deliver on your promises. Be specific.

3. Your trustworthiness and reputation. Protect your good name and do everything in your power to ensure that your customers, prospects, friends, employees, and colleagues view you as a person of value. Keep in mind that your credibility, plausibility, and truthfulness will also win you far more customers than exaggerated claims and over-the-top promises.

Great reputations are among the biggest assets businesspeople have… even though they are one of the hardest things to build and one of the quickest things to destroy.

4. The value they receive. Although most consumers are price-conscious, the vast majority do not consider price alone when making their buying decisions. Rather, they consider value: the difference between what something costs and its worth to the buyer. What does value look like in the social media world? Answer: great content, expert advice and personal connections.

5. Make transactions easy, safe, and secure. People are more likely to hand over their money when they perceive the risk as minimal. It’s best to reassure potential customers with robust guarantees, a solid privacy policy, and secure payment procedures.

6. How well you articulate their most pressing concerns. To market effectively you must get into your prospects’ heads. Listen carefully (and social media forums and blogs make this very easy) to your target audiences’ expressed opinions and feelings – particularly as they relate to your products or services – and be sure to address them directly. Research the marketplace to discover new trends and golden opportunities that you can leverage to benefit your business.

As any savvy online business owner knows …  your database of prospects and customers is probably the most essential asset to your business.

Today you will learn some specific tips for improving your opt-in conversions (getting more people to actually sign up for your mailing list).

But keep this in mind as you read through these tips: the size of your list is not nearly as important as the quality! You’ll be better off having fewer qualified and interested prospects (your target market!) than tons of “warm bodies.”

It’s not about getting everyone on the bus… it’s about getting the right people on the bus. For example, if you’re selling e-books on boats, having a list filled with people who live in the desert and are searching for cars will do you no good.

Here are some specific visual tactics you can use for improving your conversion rates:

1. Location, Location, Location… Make sure your opt-in box is positioned “above the fold” – the section of your web site that can be read without scrolling up or down. Many online experts agree that most online visitors look at the top right hand corner of a web page first, so you should consider using this area for your opt-in box.

2. Attention-Grabbing Graphics… Don’t confuse your visitors with too many pictures and graphics. While your web page itself should be softly colored, feel free to go bold on graphics (e.g. stronger colors, more daring designs, arrows, etc.) that direct their eyes to the most important information.

3. An Irresistible Offer… often referred to as an “ethical bribe,” this is your opportunity to offer valuable “freebies” which include things such as:  e-courses; members-only area access; surveys; software downloads; white papers; e-books, etc.  Over-deliver here and make sure it is relevant, specific and enticing.   (See example of the Toolkit on the right column of this blog)

Applying these tactics to your e-mailing list and website will definitely increase the likeliness of your readers spotting the opt-in, and consequently the amount of people on your email list.

This excerpt was adapted from Mastering Online Marketing by Mitch Meyerson and Mary Eule Scarborough

To fully participate in online activities you will be called upon to answer questions, join in conversations, respond to comments, upload videos, audios, photos and more.  And, you should expect to be judged on more than just the content of your communication. Others will evaluate you based on their entire experiences – and this includes every single touch-point you have with them.

This means that if your photos and videos look amateurish, your profiles are incomplete, and your writing is slipshod it will reflect poorly on you and decrease your ability to reach your goals.

If you want to stand out in today’s over-crowded social media landscape, you must pay close attention to seemingly small details.

Because so many online marketers ignore critical elements, many of us have lowered our expectations. “Sloppy” has become too common, not the exception but marketers who go the extra mile to ensure that their communication is error-free and well written (or spoken) shine like bright lights in dark rooms.

Think of your online communication as you would a job application.

Your target audience is your prospective employer and your written, spoken, and visual communication is your resume – one that demonstrates that you’re qualified for the position you’re seeking.

It’s not a mystery that people rarely get hired when they submit resumes that are difficult to read, long-winded, sketchy, and filled with typos, misinformation, and grammatical errors. Careless resumes scream, “Slipshod work!” and few employers willingly hire people who aren’t careful.

Therefore, as you maneuver through the social media environment, keep in mind the Guerrilla Marketing principle that every single contact you have with the public is part of the marketing process and details – no matter how seemingly small – are extremely significant.

What details might you be missing?

Mitch Meyerson
Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification

This short video clearly describes what Guerrilla Marketing is from The Father of Guerrilla Marketing himself.

Learn how to become a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach

For more videos visit our You Tube channel and subscribe

We created this fun little 1 minute video to give you an idea about how Guerrilla Marketing Coaching can boost your bottom line.. Enjoy it– then check out our five Guerrilla Marketing tips for today!

5 Guerrilla Marketing Tips:

1.  Build the Human Bond: Learn To Turn Strangers Into Friends

2.  Develop Fusion Marketing Partners and Know How To Approach Them Correctly

3.  Use Your Imagination and Be Creative

4.  Give away useful free content: Download 101 Free Guerrilla Marketing Coaching Strategies

5.  Action speaks louder than words: Be consistent and lead with your passion!

Effective marketing is a strategic mix of many factors ranging from developing a compelling message to a psychological understanding of your prospects and customers basic needs.  An important part of the mix to create a “look and feel” of your business that enhances your identity and core message.  With that end in mind today’s post is about using color in your marketing.

The colors you use in your marketing (stationery, signs, office decor, brochures, business cards)  — play an important role in engaging and motivating people. Colors make strong statements about your business. Guerrilla Marketers know that colors can sometimes speak louder than words. They stimulate emotions, excite, impress, entertain, persuade. They generate negative reactions if you don’t understand them. Lasting impressions are made more quickly than ever so consider their meaning to prospects.

While developing the curriculum for my Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification Program I came across this list of color descriptions created by Jay Conrad Levinson, the Father of Guerrilla Marketing.   I think you will find it interesting.

Red evokes aggressiveness, passion, strength, vitality. In business, it is great for accents and boldness, stimulates appetites, is associated with debt.

Pink evokes femininity, innocence, softness, health. In business, be sure you’re aware of its feminine implications and associations.

Orange evokes fun, cheeriness, warm exuberance. In business, it’s great to highlight information in graphs and on charts evokes positivity, sunshine and cowardice. In business, it appeals to intellectuals and is excellent for accenting things. Too much is unnerving.

Green evokes tranquility, health, freshness. In business, its deep tones convey status and wealth; its pale tones are soothing.

Blue evokes authority, dignity, security, faithfulness. In business, it implies fiscal responsibility and security. Plus it is universally popular.

Yellow is an optimistic color that almost always evokes a positive response. Yellow gets you motivated; it stimulates creative and intellectual energy; it’s cheerful and easygoing.

Purple evokes sophistication, spirituality, costliness, royalty and mystery. In business, it’s right for upscale and artistic audiences.

Brown evokes utility, earthiness, woodsiness and subtle richness. In business, it signifies less important items in documents.

White evokes purity, truthfulness, being contemporary and refined. In business, it enlivens dark colors and can be refreshing or sterile.

Gray evokes somberness, authority, practicality and a corporate mentality. In business, it is always right for conservative audiences.

Black evokes seriousness, distinctiveness, boldness and being classic. In business, it creates drama and is often a fine background color.
Spend some time this week looking at your own marketing materials and see if there are any changes you want to make to your color scheme.