New WBO Email Newsletter, Website and Forum Coming

IN THIS ISSUE
1.    Thank You/Survey Results
2.    New WBO Email Newsletter, Website and Forum Coming
3 .   "Taking Care of Business" coming to TLCQuote of the Week
4.   New F~REE Articles in Brainy Article Bank
5 .   Quote of the Week
6.   Attend FC Blog Jam
7 .   Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers
8.    A Little Fun
9.   Smell the Coffee



Don't forget to tell all your friends and business associates about this informative newsletter! You don't want to be the only smart one in your group, do you?

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1. Thank You/Survey Results

I appreciate all of the good feedback you gave me when you filled out my survey last week. A total of 57 people filled it out, which was a 4 percent response rate, normal for a direct response campaign.

To summarize what you said:

• 50% of you are business owners
• 11% are marketing or sales directors
• 4% (each) checked salesperson, PR director, education, nonprofit exec, and business owner wannabee.
• Other responses included IT consultant, project estimator, artist, reservationist, novice webmaster, assistant to president, Assistant director of marketing, association staffer
  
  
• 54% of you have been in your field of business 0-5 years
• 14% fit in the 5-10 year category
• 21% have been in your field 10-20 years
• 11% have been in your field for over 20 years
  
  
• 3 (or 5%) of the respondents have purchased products from us; all of you were happy with your purchase
  
  The remaining respondents have NOT purchased because (multiple answers were allowed, so this doesn't add to 100%):
• 6% think the topics aren't interesting
• 9% say the price is too high.
• 3% don't know the writers
• 17% enjoy the newsletter but don't want to read an entire book I have written.
• 6% said the sales copy isn't enticing.
• 9% said they were afraid to purchase online.
• 69% gave other reasons including that they read the newsletter too fast and don't stop to think about the offers, my offers are the same promotions other people have sent and they purchase from others before I send my offer, unemployed or low on cash, and no time to read in-depth materials
  
  
  Topics that interest you are (multiple answers allowed):
  
• 58% said Internet marketing.
• 45% said public relations.
• 23% said sales training.
• 45% said creativity
• 33% said start-up business information
• 35% like the resources for women business owners (see next article!)
• 55% like the offline marketing ideas.
• 33% like the ideas for generating website traffic.
• 53% like the resources and tools provided in Brainy Tidbits.
• 5% said project and time management and financing information
  
  
  How much have you paid for downloadable products brought these responses:
  
• 12% have spent $20 or less
• 35% have spent $21-$50
• 21% spend $51-$100
• 15% have spent $101-$200
• 9% (each) have spent $201-$500 and $501-$1000
  
  Comments about what you liked and would improve varied greatly. There were several comments about the warm personality of Brainy Tidbits, the information, tips and resources, and the ease of reading it. A few people said the content rarely catches their attention or I write too often. One person told me I should give y'all more reason to come to my website for things you can ONLY get there (I suspect I know who this is!...good tip!)
  
  In the last question (anything else you want to tell us), most people were very complimentary. One person didn't like having to provide his or her name and contact information in order to get my free gift and told me to keep it. Others shared who they were and personal tidbits. (Thank you!) One suggested that I do more solo mailings/offerings because it's easier to stay focused on one product for sale while reading such a mailing.
  
  Readers, I'm always open to your comments and suggestions. The survey is closed now, but if you would still like to send me your comments and suggestions, I'd love to hear from you. Send them to me here.
  
  And here's what I plan to do in response to your suggestions:
  
• Create more unique content for you
• Give you more of an introduction to the ebook authors I promote
• Focus less on sales training and more on online and offline marketing, PR, and search engine optimization
• Continue to provide useful resources
• Send out more solo mailings with lots of benefits listed
• Add some business financing, time management and project management ideas
• Write better sales copy focusing on benefits
• Give you more reasons to visit my website
• Try to help you get over your fears of purchasing online.
• Provide some bigger packages of products (bundle them) to offer better value
  
  
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  2.  New Email Newsletter, Website and Forum Coming for Women Business Owners
  
  By the end of September our new WomenBusinessSuccess.com website will launch. I'll be writing another newsletter focusing on women business owners and their informational needs, too. I'm calling it "Success Secrets of Women Business Owners Ezine" because it will profile one woman entrepreneur in each issue and she will give the readers her top 5 tips for creating a successful business. So it will be a very quick read. I think you'll like it.
  
  WomenBusinessSuccess.com will include a membership forum where you can get your specific questions answered, and discuss business and personal topics related to creating a successful business and maintaining quality of life and balance. [You may recall that in my last survey, several people asked me to add a forum.]
  
  You'll be able to connect with other women business owners, post questions, offer comments, and find lots of help. I will be looking for a few moderators for the forum. If you are interested in moderating the discussion on a particular business-related topic, please send me an email request to me here and let me know what your specialty is. Moderating part of the forum will, of course, take time and effort, as well as expertise. But the benefit to becoming a moderator is you can help position yourself as an expert, draw traffic to your own website, increase subscribers on your own newsletter, and help other women business owners in the process. If you are an expert in your field, please consider volunteering.
  
  The website will include an online library with articles and short ebooks, free to download. If you would like to submit an article for this section, please send it in the body of an email to me here and I'll consider including it.
  
  An ongoing, frequently updated list of business resources will also be available on the site. You'll find links to all the important government and association websites, great websites with tons of free information, and links to related businesses.
  
  And, of course, our store will be open for business. You'll find ebooks and special reports that I have written as well as information products written by lots of marketing and PR experts. We will also be continuously adding more products to help you solve particular problems.
  
  To subscribe to "Success Secrets of Women Business Owners Ezine" send a blank email here and you will receive a reply with instructions for downloading "Build Website Traffic by Writing Articles: 16 Sites to Publish Your Articles" (a $9 value) FREE when you sign up.
  
  I encourage you to subscribe. You won't want to miss any of the women business owner profiles. They are all phenomenal women who will later be included in my ebook SUCCESS SECRETS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS. I have about 150 excellent candidates waiting in the wings to be interviewed and written about in a future issue of "Success Secrets of Women Business Owners Ezine."
  
  If you think you or someone you know should be one of the profiled business owners, please let me know. Send a note with a brief description of the WBO along with the contact information to me here.
  
  
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  3.  "Taking Care of Business" coming to TLC
  
  Struggling small businesses undergo big changes in
  TLC’s new series taking care of business
  
  Expert entrepreneurs help fledgling shops reinvent themselves for success
  in new series to premiere in October 2004
  
  
  From a corner bakery in North Carolina to a micro brewery in New York, behind every business lie the hopes, dreams and life savings of one person who risked it all to pursue the American dream. But behind the counter, sometimes sales don’t add up to profits and store owners lose hope. So what happens when the bills are stacking up and the thrill is gone?
  
  A new TLC series hopes to move small businesses from "in the red" to "in the money." Taking Care Of Business, a new 13-episode series on TLC, tackles small business troubles in a big way, and sends a team of gurus "equipped with fresh ideas and plenty of inspiration" to identify problems, turn things around and let their owners realize their dreams. Together, the "dream team" examines all aspects, from location and product offering to marketing and customer service. They present concrete ideas to help businesses be their best.Taking Care Of Business is scheduled to premiere on TLC on Saturday, October 16 from 10-11 PM ET/PT.
  
  Meet the fearless Taking Care Of Business team:
  
  Richard Laermer, a former journalist turned public relations guru whose specialty is building a buzz and creating hype, Laermer is CEO of RLM Public Relations and bestselling author of five books, including FULL FRONTAL PR: GETTING PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT YOU, YOUR BUSINESS, OR YOUR PRODUCT.
  
  Christina Manca, a veteran retailer and designer whose sense for merchandising and penchant for creating eye-catching visuals helped drive sales at Macy’s and Victoria’s Secret among others.
  
  Mitch Kates, a management maven, strategic consultant and principal at Kurt Salmon Associates in New York, who helped bring brand strategy techniques and discipline to many major U.S. and global corporations including Procter & Gamble, AT&T, Levi Strauss and Co. and Calvin Klein.
  
  Mark Becker, whose "go with your gut" philosophy helped him make the company he founded, Max and Mina’s Ice Cream, into a nationally distributed brand of exotic gourmet ice cream and a multimillion dollar ice cream empire.
  
  In the Taking Care Of Business premiere episode, the "dream team" works to resuscitate American Terrain Outdoors of White Plains, N.Y. Founded in 1993 by Manny Polloni, the store offers customers rugged outdoor clothing and equipment. Sadly, the great outdoors doesn’t always bring business indoors. The problem? No brand identity, Manny’s micro-management, and a kayak showroom dubbed "The Dungeon" by customers and employees.
  
  Reviewing hidden camera footage of the store, the Taking Care Of Business team issues a small business S.O.S., implementing new customer service procedures, crafting a new logo, signage, and eye-catching window displays including a rock-climbing wall, and creating an in-store layout that gives the space more energy and a fresh look. The team also tackles "The Dungeon," adding greenery, a faux-lawn floor, a wall mural and arranging the product offering in a way that doesn’t scare customers away. The team focuses on creating more of an in-store experience and gives a lesson in how to reach the local media with low-cost PR and buzz.
  
  When American Terrain Outdoors reopens its doors, will its professional overhaul bring prosperity? In 2003, there were about 23.7 million small businesses in the United States (Small Business Administration). Sometimes a small business can take off and change the world. Krispy Kreme, Starbucks and Apple Computer are all living proof that giant corporations can begin as small businesses. But more than half of all small business fail within their first five years (SBA). TLC’s new series Taking Care Of Business will capture the spirit of the American dream embodied by these businesses and help them achieve their own success.
  
  Online, viewers can go to http://www.Discovery.com and click on TLC for more information about the featured businesses, see dramatic before and after pictures of each, find out more about the "dream team" and apply to have their own favorite businesses featured.
  
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4. New FREE Articles in Brainy Article Bank

Here are a few of the new articles you can download from our Brainy Article Bank:

"To Be A Champion, Become A Child" by Priya Shah
"Where to Find a Cash Windfall of $10,000 to $1,000,000--You Never Knew You Had" by Jay L. Abraham
"Why eBooks Bring Their Authors More Money than Print Books Do" by David Garfinkel


Here's the link to check them out (and in this library, there are no late fees!;-):

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5.  Quote of the Week

"You can't have too big a dream."

Beverly Sills
Opera Singer

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AND NOW, A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSORS...


What's your definition of success?
Email your comments to me.


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6.  Attend FC Blog Jam for FREE Ideas

On Thursday and Friday, August 12 and 13, the Fast Company Blog will have many guest bloggers -- me included! -- during their first Blog Jam event. There will be lots of interesting information and ideas flowing about business, leadership, innovation, and change. You won't want to miss it. Bloggers will be posting throughout the two days, so visit often. Here's the link to visit FC's Blog.



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7.  Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers

• 2004 Venture Funding for Women Entrepreneurs Available
  
  Are you looking for venture capital? Here's a terrific resource for you! In this 400-page downloadable ebook, you'll find contact information for 200 venture capital firms and investors who recently invested in companies that are women-owned or women-led. You'll also have access to contact information for the 671 companies led by women that received funding. This is a wonderful tool for you. And you get it all for just $249. Read more about it or buy it here and begin your financial investment ride.
  
  
• Women's Business Groups
  
  Here are a couple of interesting women's business groups that you might want to join.
  
  WORLDWIT is a 5-year-old organization that claims to be THE opinion leader for professional women. It is the leading global online and offline network for women in business and technology. The group offers networking, events, publications and services. Learn more here
  
  EWomenNetwork is committed to helping women and their businesses achieve, succeed and thrive in the new economy. You can learn more and join online here.
  
• Want to Capture More Profits?
  
  Yanik Silver and Alex Mandossian have developed an extensive program, 21 Mind-Motivators: Psychological Tactics to Capture More Profits, to help you. Yanik Silver is one of the best direct marketing writers working today. He is a master of Internet marketing and has not only made millions himself, but also helped many others make millions. Alex Mandossian is a recognized postcarding and copywriting expert.
  
  This is a recording of a sold-out 3-hour teleseminar during which the tactics they revealed that day are the same marketing secrets used by:
  
  ** Direct marketing guru Jay Abraham who sold over $7,210,000 worth of collectible coin sets.
  
  *** Legendary adman David Ogilvy who sold hundreds of Rolls Royce automobiles
  
  ** Direct response wizard Joe Sugarman to sell over $42 million worth of Blu-Blocker(TM) sunglasses
  
  ** The Wall Street Journal(TM) to produce their famous "Two Young Men" letter (the most successful direct mail letter of all time!)
  
  ** Legendary copywriter John Caples who increased the pulling-power of his space ads and direct mail headlines
  
  ** Joe Karbo to sell millions of his world famous "Lazy Man’s Way To Riches" books at $10 each
  
  Read more about it or buy it and download it immediately, along with $166 worth of bonuses, here:
  
  
  
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  8. A Little Fun

Here's an example of viral marketing. It's political (no, I'm not a Democrat and I don't care how you vote. Just vote!) and rather funny. My daughter, Erin Fay,sent it to me:

http://www.kintera.org/atf/cf/{06DAEF0E-9000-4422-B4DA-AFBAA10CAF60}/STRAIGHTTALKHI.ASX

(Thanks, Erin.)

Help keep the smiles coming ... please send me your marketing, PR or sales jokes. I'll be happy to give you credit and list your website! Email me.


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9 . Smell the Coffee...

We leave for our summer vacation on Friday. We're driving to Michigan and Wisconsin to see relatives and friends. The kids are excited. They will get to see their mom (my sister), go to 6 Flags Great America in Illinois, visit the Harley Davidson Plant for a tour, go to the Milwaukee County Zoo (it's terrific!), and lots of other fun things.

Milwaukee offers loads of inexpensive fun for families. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it.

Don and I are excited, too. We will see our two oldest kids, Abbi and Erin, and enjoy seeing our granddaughter, Madeline. Plus, we're going to a Brewers vs. Cubs baseball game and Irish Fest! What fun. We also have a couple of business appointments while we're in the area, including having breakfast with Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound. [You can sign up for her insightful newsletter here and get "Top 10 Tips for Free Publicity"]

Lois


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Published by:
Lois Carter Fay, APR
Marketing Guru, Marketing Idea Shop, LLC
411 Rainier Road, Massanutten, VA USA 22840
Voice 540.289.3840 or 800.203.8660

Visit our blog.

© 2004 Marketing Idea Shop. All rights reserved.

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