What is your call to action?

The first time someone asked me this, I looked at them like they were from Mars.  I seriously had no idea what they were talking about and this was only about 3 or 4 years ago.  After getting over my embarrassment, I got really excited about it and implemented one on my Simply Sarah website – Join our list, Get 25% off instantly.  Can I share how thrilled I was when we started to get a flood of orders using that discount code – it was about 7 per week – it was amazing. Once I got into it, I really understood the power of a good call to action.

Whether you are selling a product or a service, figuring out what will get your target market to buy from you is the key to success right?  This awesome list of suggestions from my Entreprenette experts covers ideas from free samples, try-it-out-samplers, discounts, how-to articles, and specific language to get someone to click now.

Post a screen shot of your call to action on my Facebook page!

1. Testimonials Get Users to Buy

My call to action is: I give away promotional codes to influential bloggers and magazine editors. I encourage them to download my product, test it and then write a review. Play with it. Spin through the slideshow, leave a comment or share a great photo with a friend. Even better take it with you to your local yarn store and shop. That's when it's most useful. You can pull up the yarn you're considering buying to see the pros/cons of that yarn. Those pros and cons alone could save you a lot of money and heartache.

Thanks to: Mary Beth Klatt of Yarn U iPhone/iPad App.

2. Book it Baby!

My call to action is: When I send a copy of my book along with a max of two sheets of info: one on the book and one on my speaking I get by far the best response. I consider my book the best business card ever and by sending it I also have a great reason to follow up with them later to make sure they received their 'free' gift of a signed copy. If they did not receive it I also offer to resend another copy!

Thanks to: Darla Arni.

3. Big Orange Button

My call to action is: I've personally seen the best conversion rate on a website using a BOB - Big Orange Button. Orange is an attention-grabbing color much like red but doesn't have the same subliminal "stop" connotations to it that red does. A big, clickable "Get Started" button is your best bet to grab a visitor's attention and convert them into a customer.

Thanks to: Tony Adams of Electricians of Dallas.

4. The gift of Baker's Dozens

My call to action is: I think discounting lowers the perceived value of the product. Adding an additional item to an order feels more like a gift. Plus... (and most important) it doesn't reduce the amount of the purchase like a discount does.

Thanks to: Robin Brown Davis of innerSpirit Rattles.

5. Discount Does it

My call to action is: Offering a discount does it for me. I offer a discount and a free report for signing up for my mailing list. I suspect that the discount is probably more the draw than the free report.

Thanks to: Bola Ajumobbi of Slimy Bookworm.

6. Convey a Sense of Urgency!

My call to action is: Compelling ad messaging is a huge competitive advantage and can have a tremendous impact on advertising performance. To capture your target customer, I recommend utilizing messaging that conveys a strong “sense of urgency” around the timeline to buy a product or service, or to get the best savings (use competitive price points and percentages off regular price).

Thanks to: Anna Hutson of Formic Media, Inc..

7. With our compliments...

My call to action is: Anytime you are offering a "free" service - remember to describe it as "complimentary" instead. No one works for free! By Supplying your customers with a complimentary book, consult or DVD is perfectly acceptable.

It is far more gracious to give compliments than freebies!

Thanks to: Rebecca Maguire of Maguire Media Group.

8. Knowledge is Power

My call to action is: Give away knowledge and you'll have fans forever. Make it as simple as possible: one click to download a PDF report, whitepaper, or newsletter. Your potential clients will remember your generosity!

Thanks to: Laurel Sutton of Catchword.

9. Charge a Small Fee

My call to action is: If you run a service business, you will inevitably run into competitors who offer "Free Consultations" on their site as a way of generating leads. Instead of following their model and generating potentially low-quality leads from people looking for something free, make it clear in your call to action that a small service fee comes with any consultations. This leads to higher quality leads from people willing to pay a little more and saves you time and gas.

Thanks to: Pam Pennington of Foundation Repair DFW.

10. Time Sensitive Works Wonders

My call to action is: Ever notice how every infomercial on late night television uses the "Call in the next 10 minutes and receive half off" approach in their call to action? Do the same thing with your website! By making your call to action time sensitive, you stand out from 99% of the competition immediately and create a sense of urgency that more people will react to, beyond a standard "Call Now" button or banner.

Thanks to: Terry Jones of C&J Roof Repair.

11. Having A Professional Website!

My call to action is: My ONE best tip about "What Is My Best Call To Action On My Website" is doing interviews on T.V. and or radio to talk about my ministry and my products. In this same process, I get the opportunity to plug my website which draws a lot of attention. The reason is because people tend to want to find out more information about me and what I have to offer. What assists in customers buying my products is making sure that my website is professional, easy to navigate and provides credible social proof.

Thanks to: Kevin Benton of Kevin Benton Ministries.

12. Share the Wealth!

My call to action is: The best way for people to "buy from you" is to "buy into you."
Give them your best stuff!Let your prospects see you shine--in newsletters,PR,sales calls,in the media,as guest experts, and in person. That includes talking on the phone and meeting for the first time face to face. Everything you do (or have done)is part of your brand. Testimonials, feedback from colleagues, even your image on social media. Show your best self and have others talk about you the same way. Success is sure to happen.

Thanks to: Robin Samora of Let's Make You Shine.

13. Ship for Free!

My call to action is: I give free US shipping to all of my customers who order from my website. This is what everyone tells me they love about shopping with me. It allows them to spend a little more than they might normally since shipping is already included in the price!

Thanks to: Heather Niziolek of Goosie Girl Boutique.

14. Prove Yourself Up Front

My call to action is: In my experience offering a free piece of training, such as a webinar or access to a video or worksheet, works really well to engage potential customers. It's likely that most visitors to your website are not going to buy from you the first time they land there – they have to get to know you. If you can prove to them that you're the one they should be spending their money with by giving them helpful information at no charge, they will eventually become a customer, and be happy to refer you!

Thanks to: Eryn Willard of Inside Story Out.

15. calls to action

My call to action is: The first page the visitors see must immediately display what THEY want and what YOU want. They have to find the items and prices fast. You want them to place those orders. So don't make them hunt because they won't. There should also be a clear call to action and a reason for doing so. "Order today and get free shipping!" "Order today and save 10%!"

Thanks to: Izzy Goodman of Complete Computer Services.

16. Goodbye to Cold Calls

My call to action is: Want to simplify setting meetings with prospects & cut out cold calls?

With TimeTrade software you can put up a "Click to Schedule" button on your website and in your email messages-- to let customers pick a day & time of their own choosing for sales or service appointments. Much better than waiting on hold, standing in line at a store, enduring the headaches of cold calls and back & forth e-mail or voicemail tag to set a time to meet. Sales happen quicker & customers are happier.

Thanks to: Patrick Rafter of TimeTrade.

17. Money for Nothing!

My call to action is: In other words, your website visitors should not be spending money for anything to start. On your site, you need to focus on providing a call to action which delivers something of real value to your visitors for free, before they become customers. So if your call to action includes "100% free, no strings attached", that is a good start. This can be a for a free download, free giveaway, free content, or whatever. What matters is the call to action offers something of value for nothing in return.

Thanks to: Mike Sprouse.

18. Getting Readers to Response

My call to action is: My readers respond to calls of action when asked to contact local and state legislators, leave a comment, or click on a site. Their actions help change animal welfare laws, feed shelter pets, or raise awareness about important animal welfare issues. I often team up with larger organizations or businesses to promote these causes. My site focuses on promoting animal welfare, and my readers are generous with their time and willing to help. I do a lot of outreach on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Care2.

Thanks to: Michele Hollow of Pet News and Views.

19. Tempting Fruit

My call to action is: How to get potential customers to buy?How do you get kids to eat fruit?I believe if you discover simple things that make people feel comfortable, you get results. If you use fun signs, deals, games, contests, giveaways, events and promotions (get creative) you will attract people to your business or product! It's human nature to get excited, feel good and I believe if you can convey that, you will get results.BTW- I get my kids to eat fruits and veggies with creative bowls, utensils and signs!

Thanks to: Karin Caro of Blu Chip Marketing.

20. Call to Action Next to a Video

My call to action is: My conversion rate was awful, but then I changed my main page to follow the following advice: Your call to action should be a big bright button with actionable text on it & near it should be around 3 bullet points of benefit statements (not features). Then right next to the call to action & benefit statements should be a nice video explaining your site/service/product. You can use free programs like Jing & Camtasia to make your video. When I did this I saw a 40% improvement in conversions.

Thanks to: Pavan Katepalli of Bloggers Compete.

21. A Free Trial And Some Goodies

My call to action is: Our best call to auction is free trial membership to our website. We give every new member a three-day trial that gives them full access to all content on our website. They receive live and online government auction info, tutorials, videos and photos of live events, and much more. This trial is a good enough attention grabber that people activate this membership and stick around with us for at least another few months. In addition, we offer a free hotel stay certificate and gas saver guide.

Thanks to: Ian Aronovich of GovernmentAuctions.org.

22. Drive Action with Video

My call to action is: From my experience the most effective call to action is what we like to call "actionable video." We allow businesses to place targeted calls to action inside of their videos that are shared on websites, Facebook and Twitter. For example, the rap label Sky High Lab uses our platform to promote their merchandise business inside of their music videos or interviews that get shared by fans. After fans watch one of their videos on-site or off, they are given a special discount to buy a product.

Thanks to: Neil Joglekar of ReelSurfer.

23. Free Personal Trainer

My call to action is: Our best offer that helps make a decision to go ahead with our software is a complimentary "personal trainer" who will be providing guidance and advice through the product implementation. We warn our prospects that like any personal trainer in a gym, ours is going to push them. Just a bit, just to make sure they can step out of their comfort zone and achieve peak results. Our clients like the analogy and respond well, because product implementation and adoption is always one of key concerns.

Thanks to: Vadim Katcherovski of Easy Projects .NET.

24. Better than a free trial

My call to action is: It's a common practice to offer a free trial to give your potential customers the chance to see your product without risking their money. But what's just as important as offering a free trial is to put a deadline on it. People are incredibly good at procrastinating (I am!), so unless there's a deadline, there's a good chance most people won't even take a free trial. So at Impact Dialing, we offer a free trial that's only good for two weeks from the date they sign up.

Thanks to: Michael Kaiser-Nyman of Impact Dialing.

25. Give them a reason!

My call to action is: Social media is extremely powerful. We must establish ourselves on these sites and learn to operate them effectively although few people have mastered the art. A significant increase in followers often does result in an increase in sales. The conundrum is, how do we get more followers? Give people a reason. Invest in it! Offer a $25 Starbucks card to the first person who responds to a status. "Like us today & enter to win a free flat screen!" Odds are, one new client will outweigh the cost.

Thanks to: Samantha Kuchlik of CharitableYou of Blu Chip Marketing.

26. Want To Get Unstuck?

My call to action is: The best call to action is one that helps others get what they want...

Our company gives people access to a 30-minute video on how to live their vision-7 Simple Steps to put the law of attraction into action.

We then send 100 days of e-mail tips, videos, and invites to tele-seminars on how to achieve your vision in life.

We over-deliver easy to implement tips and strategies to help people live their life's vision.

Thanks to: Bonnie Bruderer of V.I.S.S. The Vision Board Training.

27. free trial / free product

My call to action is: At Post Planner, we offer a free version of our service to a not-so limited audience i.e. Facebook profile users who get to enjoy our app for free for an unlimited time.

On the other hand, we also offer a paid version of our service but still grant subscribers with a 30 days trial period to test the Pro version of our app.

In all cases, clients are invited to test for free our service so they get a concrete feel of the app's capabilities and added-value before they become paying users.

Thanks to: Julie CROS of Post Planner.

28. A bite from what they want

My call to action is: If you're an indoor golf facility, give your prospects free 9-holes of golf rather than a whitepaper discussing putting techniques. Your call-to-action incentive should be a product or service that is part of your core offering, so they get a taste of what you offer and come back for more. Instill a sense of urgency by making the freebie time-based or only available for the first x number of customers.

Thanks to: Reem El Shafaki of BlueStone Marketing.

29. Financial Growth is Good

My call to action is: We sell a service; part-time or interim Chief Financial Officer services.

As such, we use a tag line which is in itself a call to action; "Financial Growth is Good".

All businesses want financial growth, and together with "Let us help you grow" and "Let us be your Chief Financial Officer" we have our tie-in and bring the customer closer to understanding the need and benefits of our firm.

Thanks to: Wayne Spivak of SBA * Consulting, LTD.

30. The Call to Action Combo

My call to action is: Our most successful call to action so far is a combination of social proof and free cash incentive. We’ve added a live “actions powered to date” counter on our homepage and call to action buttons throughout the site offering $5 free credit upon signup. Our signups doubled the first month and continue to grow steadily. The counter helps build trust with first time visitors. It proves the popularity and effectiveness of Agendize conversion tools up front…. And who doesn’t love freebies?!

Thanks to: Nancy Essebag of Agendize.

31. Connecting, Then Selling...

My call to action is: A website entirely about selling something is mundane. We all want something more interesting. Our Blog is our #1 asset. We write about things we love, and answer questions about health, beauty and life experiences; which introduces and enhances our Brand. Women connecting with women over health & beauty rituals is ancient, and we want to be part of that experience. We also stay away from ridiculous S/H charges, which annoy us, so we know it'd annoy our customers. And everyone loves samples!

Thanks to: Melissa Picoli of BijaBody health+beauty.

32. Give Them What They Want!

My call to action is: Potential customer want something of value that they can use to make better business decisions. So we provide complimentary website ranking reports to our prospects. The complimentary report shows them where their website ranks for their top 5 competitive keywords. Once they request the report we can follow up via email with tips and strategies to help improve their ranking. This helps us establish trust and ultimately create a new customer.

Thanks to: Asya Rahim of einfusion Web Design.

33. Top Right Corner!

My call to action is: I work with clients in several different industries. I always try to think like a consumer, never like a marketer. Every call to action i feature needs to be easily seen - and the human eye goes top right every time! That's on an eBlast or website, etc. It also needs to have words that people are looking for. A hotel needs "Book Now" or "Best Rates Here", restaurants need "Reservations" or "Specials". And when in doubt, the words "free" or "win" work every single time.

Thanks to: Renee Cutaia of Hillgate Communications.

34. Read this button tip now.

My call to action is: Put a call to action inside the submit button on your landing page and use the word "now."

For example, instead of "Submit" or "Checkout," try "Buy Now" and "Act Now."

Put a little arrow pointing to the right.

Thanks to: Tadd Rosenfeld of TeamLauncher.com.

35. Give something away for free!

My call to action is: Visitors to my website see a "lightbox" with a special offer: the opportunity to download (for free) my Building Trust Assessment. The assessment allows visitors to discover 12 essential elements of trust building, identify their strengths and areas for development, build credibility as a leader, and create more effective teams. The assessment is powerful because it offers real value to visitors without cost, avoids the "hard sell," and gets them interested in my work. It's been effective!

Thanks to: Michael Brenner of IdeAgency.

36. Focus on What They Will Lose

My call to action is: Your customers don’t care what you have to give them – they care what they are losing. If your current approach (with what your customer will gain) is not working, you should consider what your customer will lose by not selecting your solution or by continuing to delay a decision? If she will gain $50,000 by working with you, what does she lose by waiting or not deciding? Isn’t that message more powerful? Wouldn’t it make you want to decide now?

Thanks to: Rhondalynn Korolak of Imagineering NOW.

37. Where to Play and How to Win

My call to action is: Spies are an army's most valuable weapon. Competitive intelligence about the enemy before going into battle minimizes the risk of loss and exponentially increase the chances for victory. Businesses invest time and resources without fully knowing what their competition is doing.

The Internet is today's battlefield for gaining consumer awareness,loyalty and retention. We know how to spy on your online competition & find out where they're strong and weak. Call for a Free Competitive Analysis

Thanks to: Marc Levin of WSI - Internet Marketing Management.

38. By offering Freebies

My call to action is: The freebies work the best for our company especially the free tools and e-books that we offer to our users. These tools not only help us getting some recognition in our target audience but also establish us an expert in our niche.

Thanks to: David Smith of Conversion Optimization.

One of the main reasons that I wanted to move my website to a new server was that I was never happy with the wholesale shopping cart on my current site. And since wholesale is about 80% of my business that was a BIG problem for me.  The other reasons were all finance related….too many extra charges and a 1% fee for each transaction.  When I sat down and actually calculated what I could SAVE by moving it…..I was thrilled…..at least a months worth of diapers and a few lunches out!  Yoo Hoo!! My sister’s new client Webgem has gone out of their way to help me build a website exactly to my specifications.  I want to share a few tips with you to help you create a website that is easy to navigate (= easy to purchase from) and with good descriptions and an easy shopping cart. I will announce my launch in a couple of weeks so will be sure to show you the new website and all the cool features!!

Your website represents your brand to the world and needs to be consistent with the look and feel you have worked so hard to achieve.  Whether or not you sell your product or it is just an informational website (if you license it out and don’t sell it for example), your site needs to be easy to read and grab persons attention in 3 seconds.

Here are the key points that you can follow to make sure your site is well on it’s way to success.

1. Look and design – There are many different designs and looks out there so do some research to find what you like and use those to show your website designer, or to use on your own. I personally am annoyed by long loading pretty graphics so think about how that makes you feel before you choose to add that feature. Once your site is up, have some people test it out and give you feedback.  You want to be sure that the “not so web savvy” can navigate your site easily and be able to make a purchase without becoming frustrated – that will only lead to them leaving without purchasing – which means less sales.

2. Managing the website - There are many ways to build a website these days.  You can choose to hire a web designer or you can do it yourself with many of the easy to follow sites out there. You can also hire the expert to get the site up and then teach you to maintain it yourself.   This can be very cost effective and easy if they use a template site-builder.  Here is a list of a few DIY that colleagues and clients have used in the past.

• Webgemnet (my new host for Simply Sarah)
• Hutdogs (my host for Entreprenette)
• Yahoo!
• GoDaddy
• Volusion

3.  Content – Content is all the written and visual material on your website. Obviously this is important as it will convey the nature of the products you are selling and what they look like. Think of the words as your virtual sales person. Write the content as you would need someone to explain the product to you to get you to buy it. Keep it simple but be sure to cover all the bases.

• Home page –Be sure anything important is above the fold – meaning can be seen on a laptop. Ask a friend to check it out for you if you don’t have one.
• Catalog pages – These are the various pages where items can be purchased. Sometimes there is a main catalog page for a category and then individual pages for each item with it’s own description “buy” button. For example – on my website the Handy Hold All® has a main page and it displays all the different fabric versions we sell. You click on one and then can read more about it and buy it. Often the “main catalog” pages are listed on the home page to make the access easily available.
• About us – This page should tell about the creator (probably you), their background and how and why you created the product. If you are not a good writer then this is a good thing to outsource.
• Information pages/FAQ – This should be information about your companies shipping policy, returns, exchanges and ordering process. You can check out some examples on other similar vendors websites.
• Check out page/shopping cart – This should be part of the site builder template that you use and is the page where the buyer reviews the products they are buying and can pay here.
• Press – This is where you are going to display all the wonderful things people write and say about you. Visit other sites to see how they display their press and decide what works best for you.
• Sign up button – You want to be sure you have a way to capture email addresses of everyone who comes to your website if possible. Usually this is done with a newsletter builder – once you sign up they give you the code to make the signup box on your home page. We recently started offering an instant 25% off coupon for first time subscribers and our list is building 3x as fast as last year. See if you can offer an incentive to get them to sign up and even buy something right away!
• Follow Me Buttons - Be sure to link to your Facebook Fan page and Twitter and any other Social media, blogs etc…

4.  Sales – Obviously this is the most important part of your site. No matter how pretty or cool your website looks, selling is your ultimate goal.

• Selling text – The selling text needs to be clear, concise and descriptive without being boring. If you have repetitive items like I do, then perhaps think about having the general info on the main catalog page and the individual description on the sales page. Again, if you are not a good writer this can be outsourced. Be sure to include any measurements you can give, and feel free to write in a “friendly” tone as that is more inviting than a stone cold description.
• Product image – You also need a good image of the product. You don’t have to be a great photographer, but the product does need to look good to attract buyers. Most images will need to be altered and cleaned up in Photoshop or another program of your choice.
• Special features – Sometimes a special feature like the ability to enlarge the image or roll over a special detail can make or break a sale. If your item needs this be sure your webhost can provide this or suggest a place that can add this feature to your site.

5. SEO – Search Engine Optimization – These are a series of words and groups of words that when properly implemented can help improve the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results. This is a very complicated and evolving methodology that is difficult to implement your self. There are lots of DYI books out there on SEO and you can give it a try – but as you have more money, you may decide that it is a better use of your time to hire a firm who specializes in this. These are some of the most important things to remember when building your site for optimum SEO on your own. This is only some basic stuff you could do on your own but for the major work….look into a VA or a vetted company to help you out.

• Key words – Having relevant keywords on your home page is important in helping the search engines find your website. A good place to start is the google keyword tool. From there you can create a list to help you make up your BEST keywords and incorporate them into your text on the home page for optimum SEO.
• Title tags – These are specific page headings that when implemented can help index your site faster. There is usually a place on your website (ask the company you are working with) to add these words.
• Social Media – As you all know, I am BIG into free everything and try to suggest as many places that you can bootstrap and save your money for more important things….(like me for example!) Try to use your social media outlets as much as possible for SEO purposes. Link as often as possible to as many people and places as you can each week, and try to create a list of blogs that you can comment on frequently leaving a breadcrumb trail back to yourself.
• Ad words – Using pay-per-click ads can be a great way to drive traffic to your site. You can differentiate a paid ad from an organic web ranking as it is usually placed along the right side if using Google or Yahoo to search for something. Paid ads can often be seen on top of the organic rankings as well. There is nothing wrong with paying for ads. Lots of people do it because it works. But mounting a targeted campaign is the key to success. If you need some guidance, Lana Goldenberg is awesome! Working with her over the past few months has raised my subscriber rate by 200%.

Let’s be real – we all want to make as much money as possible each year, yet as we get closer to shutting down for the holidays, we sometimes just get into “shut down” mode a little too quickly!

Let’s change that this year and take a vow together, to make the MOST of the last two weeks of every year and to think outside “outside the box” to make as much money as we can…..because we can!

Here are some ideas that we are using to generate more sales in both of my companies, Simply Sarah and Entreprenette.  Jump on board and let’s end in a BIG way this year.  Obviously, a lot of people are done with their shopping by now, and on their way out mentally as well. But every few orders add up to a larger sum at the end of the day……so let’s just piece it together.

1. We called Curves, a national Women’s gym and asked to do a holiday sale.  They were thrilled and my assistant went yesterday for a few hours and cleaned up!  The women there were excited to get their last minute gifts and work out at the same time.  Park once, accomplish twice.

2. We took advantage of tomorrow being the last day to ship UPS ground and we put up a ONE-DAY only 50% off sale yesterday.  We got 15 orders in the first 30 minutes……the rest of the day more trickled in.  Again, ching ching.

3. We have been commenting a lot on fashion blogs for the past 3 months testing the waters to see what kind of traffic we could get from each site by tracking through google analytics.  Luckily a blog we had commented on a few times wrote a review mentioning the Handy Hold All yesterday and we got about 6 orders.  Not a huge response, but every penny counts!

4. I took out an ad on Facebook Monday to test it out and see if new fans convert to sales.  We are getting new fans (which is always great) but I can’t figure out how to tell if they are converting……working on that part!!

5. Twitter, twitter twitter.  Can I say that again???  If you missed last weeks awesome demo by Kerrianne Mellot go back and try out her suggestions of how to get more sales using twitter.  I have gotten 2 paying clients for Entreprenette through twitter connections. I have also made some other great connections on Twitter for speaking engagements, as well as new friends etc..  all good stuff.

6.  Affiliate programs.  Get one going now!!  It’s not too late to offer someone a year-end bonus for promoting you or selling your product.

7. Start a drop ship program.  We have recently been promoting this again because it’s like making money in your sleep.  Someone else sells your product and all you do is ship it.  Let them do all the marketing while you do something else to bring in money!

8. Create a twitter storm.  Write to your list and ask them to contribute to a blog post you are doing (today). Tell them you are writing a last minute holiday gift guide for the slackers out there who can’t find the “perfect” thing.  Ask them to tell about the best “white elephant” gift they ever got – post all the responses in your blog and call it the last creative gift on earth…..or something like that.  Email all the contributors and tell them the blog post is up and ask them to tweet it out…..they will because they can tell their friends and followers they are # so in so.  NOTE: Be prepared to twitter a bunch of cool relevant things to attract all your new bees to the hive!

9. Create a last minute contest on your blog. Now that we are not allowed to post contests and giveaways on Facebook (ggrr)…..blogs and twitter seem like the places to do this now.  Get your fans to leave comments on a blog post you wrote and twitter another one to be entered to win something….because everyone loves to win!  Make them refer to your twitter name so you can see the mention.

10.Throw it all in the pan: Get your best customers on the phone and offer them a deal. Offer free shipping to one lucky person.  Email your friends a great deal and ask them to send it to 5 friends for you. Ask friends to repost your deal on their FB pages.  Post about your last minute deals on forums, meet up groups, networking groups and any on-line budget fashionista website you can find.  Find mommy groups, lactation centers, or the YMCA and see if you can go sell your stuff there.

Ok, I am fresh out of ideas……give it all you have and bring home the bacon baby!

BONUS: If you don’t have a product, give yourself a gift and let’s get one going!

All this thinking about how far I have come in my “internetsphere” (did I just create a new word?) has of course made me dive further into it all.

I don’t know if many of you are aware of the new fangled “Launch” that is all the rage now in getting customers to purchase from you on-line by creating the KNOW, LIKE, & TRUST factor.  In other words, they need to know who you are, like you, and trust you before they will purchase from you.  When you think about it, it totally makes sense.

I am actually in the middle of one of these launches right now with my accessory company Simply Sarah.  These launches involve a lot of psychology and marketing expertise, and to be honest, I have someone assisting me in all this as I am still learning.  All I know is that I have learned so much MORE about my customers from simply asking them questions!  Who knew right?

I never thought about asking my customers questions to find out useful information about them! It really just never occurred to me……. and now that I have, I can honestly say that I know (in all certainly) that I am giving them some special deals they really desire, and will purchase.

If you want to get to know your customers better – kick out a great survey and see what comes back to you…………you might be pleasantly surprised!

The whole idea is to survey your customers to find out what they want and the give it to them.   The questions you want to ask them are these two.  You can reword them to fit your product line.

a. What’s your biggest obstacle/frustration in BLANK right now?

b. If you could ask me any question about BLANK, what would it be?

If you do throw a survey at them, let me know how it turns out.

This Know, Like, and Trust Factor is also why I have been pushing you so much with your social media outlets.  You all know by now that I am super into all the FREE stuff that is available on line now……..use it or loose it!

I have been thinking a lot this week how hard it can be to decide to move forward with a new plan of action. The ladies in my current 26-week Tele-seminar are all moving forward with new ideas and it got me thinking about myself and what I am doing to move forward these days since I am not actually designing anything new right now. What I came to realize is that I wanted new solutions – fresh ideas and a new plan.

I too can get stuck and not know what to do next, or how to improve sales, attract new customers, or just feel stale about how I am doing things. I LOVE new ideas and try to always be coming up with something or some new way to do things – but no one is perfect right?

When I first started my handbag line I didn’t have plan of action. I just had an idea and thought it’d be fun to try to make it. As I progressed and my line started to take off, I realized how important a plan is, as well as a support team to help you execute it. Since I didn’t know the first thing about anything to do with manufacturing, selling, promoting or how to build a website I relied on people I met along the way to give me some advice and tried it all myself. I am a big believer in trying it all yourself first so you understand what needs to be done so you can know how to instruct the person helping you do the task.
I realized last week, that with everything I have going on in my life with work, my 17 month old twins, classes I am taking and teaching, that I had sort of let the delegating fall by the wayside – actually off the cliff the truth be told.

I recently met a very interesting man through a mastermind group I go to once a month at Ketchup in West Hollywood. I love this group. I find sitting with other entrepreneurs is so invigorating and gets your creative juices flowing. Anyway – this guy has a company that does market intelligence research to help you determine the best approach for your brand. He states “Information is the key to the market knowledge and success”. I was so taken by his presentation (and the fact that he thought he could really help me get a competitive edge going with my handbag hanger) that I hired him to consult for my Simply Sarah Company. I am so excited by the prospect of all the new information and the ideas he is going to bring me I don’t know how I am going to wait the 4 weeks for the full report! By just taking this ONE step, I feel totally reinvigorated and have a brand new excitement towards my own products.

I feel like I have a new plan of action and am looking forward to implementing it.

* What is your plan of action?
* What can you change about they way you are doing things this week?
* How can you take the first step towards realizing your ideas?
* Can you get something down on paper this week?

Here are a few simple steps to get your new ideas in motion:

Once you are armed with this information you may feel inspired to get an action plan and turn that “big idea” into a real product!

1. Write a description of your idea
2. How did you come up with this idea?
3. What does it look like?
4. How does it work?
5. Does it solve a problem for people?
6. What are the benefits?
7. Do you have a name for it?
8. What makes it unique
9. Who will buy it?
10. Where will you market it?

I want to hear from you – are you inspired?

10 Ways to Use Your Simply Sarah Cosmetic Bags

1. Purse Blunders?- Make sure to keep all your make-up and toiletries in our bags that are coated with plastic on the inside.  When on the go they keep messes to a minimum and style to a maximum!
2. Simple Garden Secret- Keep all your gardening supplies in a large square bag so you always know where your favorite tools are!
3. Arts and Crafts - Make sure your arts and crafts area is neat and tidy! Our assorted sizes of bags will cover all your crafting needs! The large sqaure bags are perfect for watercolors and paint brushes since they are coated on the inside.
4. Spills in the Luggage got you down? No more spills in the luggage for our jet-setting fashionistas with our coated travel bags.
5. Night Stand Styling- Keep a small sasha on your night stand filled with all your bedside essentials
6. Baby Diaper Overload? Make any bag a diaper bag! Fill a large square bag with diapers and toss it in your bag and fill a small sasha with baby powder, creams and everything else.
7. Guests Coming into town? Show some hospitality by giving your guest a sasha bag filled with toiletries on the night stand.
8. Kids toys scattered in your car? Have your kids each fill a large square bag with their favorite toys for car rides.
9. Jewelry All Over? Place a few clutches around the house in the spots you find yourself taking your jewelry off.
10. Summer Fun- Sasha Sets are the perfect graduation gift for the grad heading off to college.  Also the fun bright colors make our cosmetic bags great for children going off to summer camp to keep all their essentials in.

Posted by Sarah Shaw | Entreprenette | Simply Sarah

I am so excited! I was interviewed on the MS. CEO Radio show earlier this week.
If you want to learn how I launched my first handbag line and got tons of press for myself then tune in to Build it with Buzz.

To purchase a Handy Hold All go to Simply Sarah.
Use coupon code MOMPRENETTE for FREE shipping.

1. Organize your handbags.
The Handy Hold All is the perfect solution to keeping your closet neat and your handbags looking like new!

2. Clean up your hubby’s baseball caps.
Are baseball caps scattered all around your house? Now you can put them all in one area. And the next time he asks where is favorite cap is you will actually know!

3. Coat Closet Boredom?
The next time guests walk in your front door and you offer to take their bag and coat, you will impress them with your super organized and cute coat closet!

4. Hang up your favorite scarves.
Keep your favorite scarves from getting wrinkled or lost by hanging them up on The Handy Hold All.

5. Dorm Room Disasters?
No more! Keeping small dorm rooms organized and cheery is always a challenge. Not any longer! Make sure to send one in your next care package!

6. Tight on Closet Space in the Guest Room?
Hang a Handy Hold All on the back of your guest door and slip some hangers through the loops and Voila! An instant closet!

7. Are Bulky Winter Jackets Taking Up Excess Space in Your Closet?
Solution, hang The Handy Hold All up in your attic, slip some hangers through the loops and add your winter jackets/coats. Now go shopping for some new spring/summer clothes to fill up all your new found closet space!

8. Too Many Necklaces? Too Little Time?
Let The Handy Hold All help you out! Collect all your necklaces around the house and hang them up. Problem Solved! Now get back to what you were doing!

9. Baby Bags and Packs Weighing You Down?
Pick a bright fun Handy Hold All that your baby will enjoy looking at and hang all your baby bags on back of your baby’s room door.

10. Gifts!!  Gifts!! Gifts!!
*Need a last minute hostess gift?
*Know a High School Grad going to College and need the perfect Gift?
*In a bind because it’s your friend’s birthday and she already has everything?
*Still searching for that perfect anytime gift?

The Handy Hold All comes in a box with a over the door hook making it the perfect instant gift!