Exciting Announcement: We’re Simplero Certified!

by Amber Miller | Jun 16, 2018 | Business Development, Marketing, Uncategorized, Virtual Assisting

We have been utilizing Simplero for some time now, and can attest to its ability to bring ease
and profitability to our clients. By packaging multiple systems into one source, Simplero
provides a software program that delivers all the Sales and Marketing functions an information-
based business needs. At Smart To Finish, we’ve assisted several of our clients to integrate this
service into their business – and we are delighted to announce that we are now officially
Simplero Certified!

What exactly is Simplero?
We think Simplero sums themselves up best when they say “Simplero gives you everything you
need and nothing you don’t”.

Some key features include:

Comprehensive email marketing
Tools for creating and selling infoproducts (PDF e-books, webinars, audio, video)
Built-in member sites
Fully customizable website (includes shop, blog, etc.)
Create landing pages, invoicing, affiliate programs, and more

Trying to decide if Simplero is right for you? Let’s talk! As certified Simplero consultants, we can
help you determine the best options for your business!

5 Tips for Choosing Effective Marketing Content For Your Blog Or Newsletter

by Amber Miller | Jun 4, 2018 | Blog, Blogging, Business Development, Marketing

Content marketing is the best way to get information to your clients or customers. This is also the perfect way to gain the trust of your customers and increase your sales.

The problem is choosing the most effective type of content and presenting it in an attention getting manner.

Here are some tips on choosing the most effective content for your content marketing.

Point out the competition’s mistakes. People, in general, want to avoid painful experiences as much as possible. Pointing out all the ways your competitors fail to make life easier for your potential customers works to your advantage. Top ten lists on this kind of thing such as “10 most common mistakes” or “10 things you don’t want to do” are especially effective in driving people to you, rather than your competitor. I’m not saying you should specify or point fingers at specific competitors here!! That’s not professional (or nice). Instead, use general statements and point out what makes your company better than others.
Give out industry “secrets.” They are not really secrets but if you let people think they are then their trust in you grows. Create content with bulleted lists showing how to do things faster and easier or how to make something work better. People love lists about things because lists are easy to filter through and pick out those points that pertain to them specifically. They also help people retain the information.
Organize it for them. One of the biggest hurdles for some people is the organization of certain things. Do the work for them by giving them plans and ways to organize things to make their life simpler. If you can make something straightforward and easy for someone, they will appreciate it and repay you with their business.
Answer common questions. When you’re discussing a common problem or situation, people tend to have the same questions. By providing the answers before someone even asks the questions, you make them feel more comfortable. It gives them the impression your company truly cares about them and their needs because you’ve taken the time to learn what they want or need.
Latest trends reports. This is a way to help your clients and customers keep up to date with the latest information from your company. This type of content lists the newest information or technologies and explains them in an easy to understand fashion.

Effective content marketing is all about continually giving the client or customer whatever information they deem useful. It demonstrates to prospects your company is paying attention to the needs of their clients and responding in an resourceful and expeditious manner. If the frequency and/or quality of information begins to slow down, your client base will begin to find another source of information, taking their sales dollars with them.

Making use of a virtual assistant writing service is a good way to fulfill the needs of consistent and effective content writing. By using writers to help create your content, you can easily continue to provide fresh, new content. Once you have the articles, reports and other documents, offer them to your customers freely through email or a blog. Not only will your customers thank you in replies and comments but, more importantly, with their continued loyalty. The Smart to Finish team can help you create content and update your blogs and newsletters. Let’s talk 🙂

10 Things You May Not Know About Andrea, our Administrative Assistant

by Amber Miller | May 30, 2018 | Marketing, The Team

What is a unique fact about you?

I’m a twin! I have a twin sister who lives in Washington D.C.

What is your favorite food/drink?

Coffee with a side of coffee.

Where was your favorite vacation?

Colorado. Always 🙂

Do you have pets?

Yes! Two dogs. A boxer and a pitbull. Both 5 years old!

Favorite movie or TV show?

Good Will Hunting.

The BEST gift you ever received?

My daughter, Nora.

What is your favorite number?

4, my birthday is 4/4!

What are some of your hobbies?

I love reading.

Where is your favorite shop or place to shop at?

Target!

What is your favorite music?

Country and blues!

What Is a Sales Funnel and Why Do You Need One?

by Amber Miller | Apr 12, 2018 | Marketing

Congratulations! You’ve started your online business. But no one is buying your products. In an effort to find out how to make more sales, you may have heard the term “sales funnel” and asked yourself “what is a sales funnel, and why do I need one?”

Running an online business without a sales funnel is like opening a brick and mortar store and not having a grand opening sale. It’s how you convert website visitors into paying customers.

So how do you set up a sales funnel? It can range from a simple process to a very complex one with lots of moving parts. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll focus on a simple sales funnel process.

Sales Funnel Stages

In order to understand any sales funnel, you need to understand the four sales funnel stages:

Awareness: Your prospect stumbles across your product or service thanks to seeing a Google ad, a Facebook ad campaign, or another traffic source.
Interest: This is when your prospects likes what they see and starts following you and subscribes to your email list.
Decision: At this point, your prospect is deciding that they are interested in your product or service and starts paying attention to what you have to offer. This is when sales offers like sales pages, webinars, calls are made.
Action: Your prospect likes what they see, and they decide to buy your product or service.

Creating a Simple Sales Funnel

All sales funnels follow the same stages seen above. If you’re new to sales funnels, we suggest following these four simple steps:

1. Create a landing page (or sales page) delving into all of the reasons why your prospect should buy from you. It should have a clear CTA (or call-to-action) button or link for them to take action now or lose out on your offering.

2. Develop an opt-in page where people provide you with their contact information (first name and email). This is where they will land after clicking on your CTA.

3. Don’t forget the thank-you page! While it is optional, you could be missing out on a chance to redirect your prospects to your product page (the end of your funnel), have them follow you on social media, etc.

Note: We recommend LeadPages, our landing/opt-in/thank-you page creator of choice. But you can also try InstaPage if you want to shop around.

4. Promote your offer via an email series: Send emails to your prospects encouraging them to buy your product or service before your cart closes. An email service like Mailchimp or AWeber has great tools for automating this process.

Of course, there is a little more to it than this, but this quick overview should give you an idea of what’s involved. If you need help with your sales funnel, Smart to Finish has created and launched hundreds of successful sales funnels for our clients. Why not contact us today to learn how we can help you convert prospects into sales!

How to Avoid the Gmail Promotions Tab and Improve Email Marketing

by Amber Miller | Mar 28, 2018 | Marketing

While the Gmail segmented inbox is a great feature for most users, if you use email marketing to reach your customers, it can be a nuisance. Why? Well, most of your emails end up in the Promotions tab where they are likely lost in the sea of coupons, store sales, and the like.

If you want to know how to avoid the Gmail Promotions tab and increase your visibility, here are our top suggestions:

1. Ask your subscribers to whitelist your emails and/or move them to the Primary tab

It might seem scary, but asking your subscribers to be added to your address book is really effective. Plus, it guarantees that each email they get from you ends up in their Primary inbox. And when your emails are there along with personal emails, you will likely get more views and actions on your emails.

Another method is to ask your subscribers to move your campaign from the Promotions tab to the Primary tab. When they do this, Gmail will ask if it should always deliver the email there. If they need more assistance with this, direct them to these Gmail Help instructions.

However, even if they don’t add you to their address book or move you to the Primary tab, you can always incorporate a brief reminder and instructions in your emails.

2. Segment your emails

Sending out all of your emails to everyone on your list is not the most effective marketing method. Good email marketing is all about delivering targeted emails with relevant, entertaining content that are more likely to get opened. Make sure you add in a call-to-action with every email. The more emails that are opened and clicked on, the more Google will see that your subscribers like your emails. And once that happens, you are more likely to avoid the Gmail Promotions tab.

3. Keep your emails simple

While pretty emails are great for style points, too much HTML in your emails is a red flag to Google. It tells them that your email is commercial content that is almost certain to land in the Promotions tab. So if you want to avoid the Gmail promotions tab, try sending a plain-text email or an email with no more than one image and/or one button with a call-to-action.

Need help avoiding the Gmail Promotions tab and your email marketing? Why not contact Smart to Finish. We have email marketing Divas standing by ready to help you, so reach out to us today!

10 Things You May Not Know About Amanda, our Digital Marketing Strategist

by Amber Miller | Feb 21, 2018 | Marketing, The Team