Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

December Decisions for Solo-Preneuers

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norm picking the perfect treeThe end of the year can cause a lot of anxiety for many small business owners. We’re trying to squeeze all we can out of the year, wrapping up projects and getting prepared for the big exciting projects coming in the New Year. From a marketing perspective there’s a few decisions you have to make as well that I thought I’d remind you of. Don’t stress out – none of these are required, all of them are worth making sure you consider!

  1. Your December Newsletter – if you send out a regular newsletter, when should you send it out? The last week of the year is often a dead time to send newsletters since so many people are on vacation. And how far into the week before Christmas can you send out a newsletter? My suggestion is to send it by the 21st. If you don’t send a regular newsletter – consider sending out a Happy New Year email newsletter in January when inboxes aren’t quite as clogged (wait till the end of the first week of January so inboxes are cleaned up from vacations)
  2. Client Gifts – If you plan to send gifts to clients make sure you have them ready to send by the 2nd week of December and hopefully get them sent out that same week. Pro Tip – I like making a donation in my client’s honor, no one needs more stuff, and this is a thoughtful way to show your appreciation and give to an organization (CPA husband tip: donations are tax deductible!)
  3. Holiday Cards – I was labeling holiday cards today to send out to our friends and family and I know many businesses also send out email or mail holiday greetings – if this is on your to do list get them in the mail at least a week before Christmas to ensure delivery. And if you’re card is more general or you prefer, aim for Happy New Years and mail them out the week of New Years when you might be less busy!
  4. Prep for Early January – If you’re taking time off at the end of the year – make sure to consider what tasks you typically accomplish at the end of the month and beginning of the month. Make sure to do these in advance if you can, or add them to the top of your to do list when you return to your office!
  5. Take a Break! I’m a big fan of taking time off, especially if my clients are. I know that most of my clients will be on vacation and taking time off the last two weeks of the year, and I plan to take most of that time off as well. It’s certainly not required, but if your schedule allows, take some time to rest so you aren’t exhausted in January!

What other year end tasks and “December Decisions” do you have?

5 Ideas for Better Speaker Follow-Up

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norm being difficult
I didn’t have a good pic for this post, so here’s Norm being a puppy

I was talking to a friend of mine a while ago about speaking and list growth. She mentioned when she talks she encourages attendees to go to her website to signup and download her giveaway and get added to her newsletter. Then she mentioned her conversion isn’t great for this. So we talked about an alternative to get more subscribers to her list when she speaks. Here’s what I suggested:

  1. Ask for a list – When I speak at an event I always ask for a list of attendees WITH email addresses. Let’s be honest, email is the currency of choice (besides cash, duh) when speaking. If I can’t get a list of attendees (which is OK) I ask if I can have a signup form passed around or I will do a drawing for a free phone consult or something along those lines. Pro tip – MailChimp has a sweet app you can download to save yourself a lot of time. 
  2. Pitch the follow-up email – When I speak I mention that I’ll send them a couple of things in the follow up email they’re going to get. “If you give me your card and write X on it, I’ll send it to you after the event.” “I’ll send you an example of this after the event, just make sure to give me your card.” Let them know they’re going to expect something after your talk.
  3. Write the follow-up email before you talk! You know exactly what you’re talking about and what you’re offering or pitching at the event. Save yourself the time and energy and write that follow-up email before you walk into the room. You’ll thank me later.
  4. Get that follow-up email out within one day – Ideally you’ll have time that afternoon to input all the emails into your newsletter program and hit send. If you’re using the MailChimp app it ‘s super easy to do this, if you have a box of business cards to input, turn on some Housewives, pour a “reward” drink and input those bad boys!
  5. Do the Follow-up – People this isn’t hard. If you’re speaking at an event make sure that if someone asks you for something specific or wants to buy into your program but has questions, DO your follow-up. Once you hit send on that email you’re going to get responses, so make sure you have time blocked out to do the follow-up from your event.

What other follow-up best practices do you have when you speak?

4 Stress-Free Ways to Get Media Coverage for You or Your Business

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Sandra NomotoToday’s guest post is from Sandra Nomoto of Conscious PR Inc., in Vancouver, BC. Sandra and I met through eWomenNetwork and she’s a rockstar PR professional! Since I often get questions about PR, I asked Sandra to share a few tips for small business owners. Thanks Sandra!

Despite the almost instantaneous ways in which we can reach people today, potential clients come to us thinking that appearing in a particular newspaper, online magazine or blog, or TV show is a big mystery that requires a quantum physics degree to solve. Not so.

PR has never been easier to learn, and you’re already doing SOME form of PR if you’re in business. Any form of communication you’re doing to inform the public of your products, services, events, or other news is a form of public relations.

With that in mind, here are 4 stress-free things you can do to get media exposure for you or your business.

  1. Relationships first. Escape temptation to purchase an expensive and (ultimately) outdated media database. Research the outlets YOU want to get into and the people who are writing or reporting about the topics related to you or your biz, and cultivate relationships with them. You can do this online via social media, or offline if face-to-face over drinks is more your style. It’s called “Media Relations” for a reason.
  1. Ditch the news release template. Most media loathe the news release now. When you have news ready to share, send a 3-sentence e-mail pitch introducing yourself, your story, perhaps with a link to a newsroom online (containing the items in #3 below), and with your contact info. That’s all you need.
  1. Have video and high-resolution photos ready. Broadcast and online video outlets will want to know you’re a good speaker, this is where a YouTube or Vimeo channel helps, even if it’s just a few lines in a promotional video. Make sure you’ve got headshots of yourself and good high res photos of your location, staff, products, service-in-action, or events that print media can use in their story.
  1. Relax. If you’ve gotten to the interview stage and are having the jitters, try and remember that you’re talking to a human being and that you’re just having a conversation. The more natural you sound, the better the interview will be. And time ALWAYS moves faster in the interview dimension.

Need additional help? Learn the tools I’ve used in the last 10+ years to get media coverage for our clients through our Be Your Own PR Star in 90 Days online course. Members of eWomenNetwork, B Corporation, and 1% For the Planet receive a 20% off discount – just contact me at the link below to ask for the promo code.

Sandra Nomoto is the President of Conscious Public Relations Inc., a certified B Corporation and virtual PR agency that helps game-changing companies communicate their stories in traditional or social media.