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Holiday Guilt for Creative Professionals
Guilt, guilt, guilt. Guilt is a terrible
feeling and is often self-inflicted by creative
entrepreneurs, especially during the holidays. Find out
how to overcome your holiday guilt and still have the
business you want and the life you deserve.
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Guilt, guilt, guilt. Guilt is a terrible feeling and
is often self-inflicted by creative entrepreneurs,
especially during the holidays.
Most people who
work for themselves say they chose to do so because they
wanted to "control their time." People who value time
over money, recognize that time is a precious commodity
that cannot be created, bought, or borrowed. You have to
use it wisely or else it is gone.
Having the
luxury to control how, with whom, and where you spend
your time is one of the bonuses of working for yourself.
So, why is it that an overwhelming number of female
entrepreneurs also say they feel guilty when they are
not working on their businesses or with a client between
the hours of 9 am to 5 pm?
To be truly happy and
successful as an entrepreneur, you must break the
corporate-created walls of time and learn how to set
your day according to your needs and the needs of your
clients. There is no law chaining you to your desk eight
hours a day between 9 am and 5 pm.
Here's my
advice: stop feeling guilty about when you are working
and when you are not, and ditch the idea of playing by
rules set up by other organizations. Make sure you
benefit from the freedoms of entrepreneurship and
maximize your time by performing regular activities such
as food shopping at off times like 10 am on a Tuesday or
having your teeth cleaned at 2pm on a Monday. You will
spend less time waiting in line, you will be less
stressed, and actually have more time to devote to your
clients and other activities, then if you went on a
weekend or during a busier time.
Of course, be
sure to take a day or two off completely during the
holidays to go gift shopping, ice-skating, or for
decorating your home. Give yourself permission to enjoy
your life and do something for yourself, even if it is
on a week day between nine and five. You deserve it.
Happy holidays!
Kick Off Your
Holiday Marketing Campaign With These 5 Strategic
Internet Marketing Tips!
NOW is the time to launch your strategic
Internet marketing plan for the upcoming holiday season.
If you think it's too early, consider this: A recent
study by BizRate found that 34.9% of online holiday
shoppers will start their shopping by Halloween this
year!
In order to capture their attention, you
want to make sure the first fold of your web site is
full of the information holiday shoppers need to know
before they'll decide to buy. (For those of you who
aren't sure ...
Internet Marketing
NOW is
the time to launch your strategic Internet marketing
plan for the upcoming holiday season.
If you
think it's too early, consider this: A recent study by
BizRate found that 34.9% of online holiday shoppers will
start their shopping by Halloween this year!
In
order to capture their attention, you want to make sure
the first fold of your web site is full of the
information holiday shoppers need to know before they'll
decide to buy. (For those of you who aren't sure what
the "first fold" is, it's the portion of your web site
people see before they scroll down or click on any
links.)
If you want to maximize your holiday
conversion rates, make sure your top fold includes...
- Holiday-ready headlines and sales copy: In order
to make your headline really speak to your visitors,
make sure it addresses the need they're trying to solve:
choosing a gift for a friend or family member.
-
Be sure to explain exactly what kind of benefit they'll
get from your product or service -- and then also
mention the benefit the giver will receive from offering
it as a present!
An opt-in offer that speaks to the
needs of holiday shoppers. For example, you could put
together a "Holiday Buying Guide" that tells people more
about your products and explains why they'd make great
gifts.
- Holiday specials and discounts: Make
sure you offer some special deals on your products to
entice your visitors to buy! How about an early-bird
deal if your customers make a purchase before a certain
date? Or a special discount for those panicky
last-minute shoppers?
- Your shipping
information: If you're able to offer free or discounted
shipping, be sure to include some mention of it in the
top fold of your site.
- Provide an ironclad
shipping guarantee and return policy so customers know
their gifts will arrive in time. Put both at the top of
your right- or left-hand sidebar so your customers won't
miss them.
- Free gift-wrapping service: It's
another great way to give your customers an extra perk
without much additional cost to you. For the cost of
some paper and ribbon, you can make any humble package
look like a fabulous holiday gift!
- Urgency
builders: Another thing you could include in your first
fold is a little "countdown" box that tells your
visitors exactly how many days are left to Christmas, or
to the shipping deadline for gifts to arrive in time.
Or try installing a Hover Ad with an urgent holiday
message that lets them know right away exactly how long
they've got to make a gift purchase.
You could
also use the Hover Ad to advertise your holiday specials
and encourage your visitors to sign up for more info, or
offer a special discount coupon to people who join your
mailing list.
Now that you've got some quick and
easy ideas to get your marketing plan underway, don't
let your competitors beat you to the punch!
Remember, it's never too early to launch your strategic
Internet marketing plan for the holidays. Give yourself
the gift of a boost in profits this season!
Using Holidays To
Put Some Extra Cheer In Your Cash Box
No matter your age or station in life, we
all look forward to holidays. They give us a reason to
decorate, celebrate, and most of all, spend.
Think back to any of last year's holidays. Did you buy
some new decorations? Probably. Did you plan a party or
host a dinner? Likely. Did you buy gifts or take
advantage of special sales and promotions? Undoubtedly!
Well, instead of being on the spending end of this
year's holidays, why not turn the tables and put on a
promotion o...
marketing, holidays, writing,
christmas, halloween, advertising, ads, sell, copy,
marketing
No matter your age or station in life,
we all look forward to holidays. They give us a reason
to decorate, celebrate, and most of all, spend.
Think back to any of last year's holidays. Did you buy
some new decorations? Probably. Did you plan a party or
host a dinner? Likely. Did you buy gifts or take
advantage of special sales and promotions? Undoubtedly!
Well, instead of being on the spending end of this
year's holidays, why not turn the tables and put on a
promotion of your own? During the fall and winter
holidays especially, people are jolly, joyous, and a
little more willing to open their wallets.
Of
course, no honest person wants to take blatant advantage
of people and their money, but for those who are already
ready to buy, why not take advantage of the season by
giving them a special deal?
If you have a
brick-and-mortar shop, why not have a holiday open
house? These events are obviously more common from
Halloween to New Year's, but have you ever though of
holding this kind of party at your store for the 4th of
July? Advertise free refreshments, music, and giveaways,
and people will come in droves, no matter what holiday
it happens to be. At the very least you'll have a good
time showing others a good time, and you'll probably
make a lot of extra sales. If holding such a bash
requires you to stay open a little later, why not? After
all, 'tis always the season to please.
If your
business has its only home on the Internet, put some
festive touches on your web site. Try decorating it with
lights, fireworks, or other festive delights. Play some
holiday music, or offer free holiday sounds or screen
savers for those who stop by (if you do this, you might
want to register your download site with search engines
to make sure people can find it). People love to
decorate their home or office computers with the free
stuff they find online, so why not join the club?
Another fantastic way to use holidays for marketing
is to send out festive cards to your current and past
customers. Wish them a happy holiday and thank them for
their business. If possible, have them hand-signed for a
personal touch. Be sure your company logo appears
somewhere on the card.
During the Christmas
season, why not buy some attractive but inexpensive tree
ornaments or other decorations, and stamp them with a
small version of your company logo? Offer them free to
those who make purchases, or sell them at your counter
(or on your site) for a ridiculously low price. People
tend to keep and collect decorations over the years, so
your cheap little ornament is bound to make a lasting
impression.
Whether it's Halloween,
Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or Ant Farm Harvest,
holidays offer a great chance for your business to show
its stuff. Let people see your kindler, gentler, jollier
side and have a little fun with your promotions. When
January rolls around again, your bottom line will be
glad you did.