remote business

Keep on networking.
This is often the first thing that gets dropped when you become busy with clients work. I know; I’m guilty of it myself. But when you suddenly disappear from groups you have been a regular at, often the assumption is that you are no longer in business. Accept that networking is part of the ongoing development of your business, choose one or two groups that you will remain a regular at and keep going. Even if you are not looking for more clients, you will still establish relationships that you will benefit from later on.

Review your marketing activities.
Set aside time each month to review your marketing activities. How many enquiries have you had in the previous month and where have they come from? Have a look at what is working for you and what could be improved.

Writing your blog.
The same writing advice applies here as it does to newsletters but with the added bonus that you can schedule your posts for in advance. I’m actually writing this on 3rd June but you’ll be reading it weeks later!

Writing your newsletter.
If you write a newsletter, be it weekly, monthly or whatever, try to write in blocks. It can be hard to find a quiet time to sit and write but when you do, often you feel like you could write for hours. Do it when you feel inspired and then split the content over several newsletters.

Check and update your web site.
Check your web site is up to date and current. Set a side time, perhaps once a month, to check all the information is current and add anything new your clients and prospects might find useful.

Create checklists.
Have checklists for every process in your business. For example, when you take on a new client, have a checklist that prompts you to check you have received back the signed contract, you have sent your Welcome Pack, you have set up an appropriate email address, you have their stationery, etc. This saves time and prevents things being forgotten.

Do your filing.
In addition to your client files, have files for everything related to running your business. Then set aside time each week to file everything you have dealt with that week. I use the last half hour on a Friday for this.

Book keeping and invoicing.
I’d recommend allowing time on two days of the month, about two weeks apart, for paying all your bills, inputting all your expenses, raising all your invoices and checking payments have been made.

Back everything up.
If you’ve ever deleted something accidentally or suffered a computer crash, you won’t need to be told about this. Back everything up at least once a day. I use Carbonite and it automatically backs up my whole system everyday at 6pm. Then if I lose something or my system dies, I have a copy of everything easily accessible online.

There’s nothing more annoying than being inundated with unsolicited sales emails. We all hate it. If you are boosting your subscriber list by adding email addresses from business cards you’ve picked up, mining the yellow pages or your local Chamber of Commerce’s mailing list, you’re messages risk not only going straight to the junk mail folder, but alienating people you could have established good working relationships with. Make sure the owner of the email address has requested that you send them information, or at the very least agreed to receive it.

15.    Include a link to your newsletter sign up page on your Facebook profile and from time to time include it in your status. The day that you have sent out your latest issue is a great time to do this.

14.    When you’ve added previous newsletters to your web site, add the page address to your Facebook status. Make sure there is a link to ‘sign up for more articles like these’ at the bottom of the article page.

13.    When you’ve added previous newsletters to your web site, Twitter the link to the article page. Make sure there is a link to ‘sign up for more articles like these’ at the bottom of the article page.

12.    Host back copies of your newsletter on your web site as an archive. At the foot of each article, include a link to your sign up page with a message to ‘sign up to our newsletter for more articles like these’.

11.    Collect business cards and email each one asking for permission to add them to your newsletter list. Do not add them directly without permission as this will not win you many friends!

10.    Ask telephone callers if you can add them to your newsletter list. If they have enquired about any of your products or services, they are a prospect and won’t mind your keeping in touch in this unobtrusive way.

9.    Offer email only discounts and tell visitors to your site that you do so. If they are interested in your services, they’ll sign up in the hope of getting a discount.

8.    Include a Forward to a Friend link in your newsletters so that your readers can forward an article to a friend that may find it interesting. For this reason, also include a link to your sign up page in each emailed newsletter.

7.    Consider a popup window which appears when a visitor leaves your web site. Ask for their email address so you can keep in touch – make sure it links to information telling them about your privacy policy, how to opt out and how often you will contact them.

6.    It’s simple but very effective, include an opt in form on every page of your web site. It’s also worth checking your web statistics to see where people leave your web site. Check the last page they view before they leave and make sure there is a note asking them to sign up for your newsletter at the bottom of this page.

5.    Run a joint venture with a complimentary business. Chose a business that provides services to a similar target market, for example small businesses. Include a link in your newsletter for readers to opt into the other businesses list, in exchange for their running an opt in for your newsletter on theirs.

3.    Send an opt-in email to everyone in your address book asking them to sign up for your newsletter. Make sure your don’t just include everyone in your contacts list in your newsletter list, ask their permission first.

2.    Include a newsletter sign up link in the signature of all your outgoing emails. You can include this in a PS at the bottom of your email after your name and before your contact details.

We all need to fill our marketing funnel with the contact details of potential clients and referrers of our business services. The following series gives you some ideas about how to collect contact details, and in particular email addresses, so that you can begin to build relationships with your prospects.

15 Tips to Build Your Newsletter Subscriber List
1.    Put an offer on the back of your business card to get people to sign up for your newsletter. For example, “Visit www.mywebsite.com/freereport to download 20 Top Tips for Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant”. When they land on your page, ask for their email address in order to receive the free report.