Most of us seem to have problems sticking to just one New Year’s resolution, don’t we? The truth is that if these resolutions really meant something to us, deep down inside, then we would keep up with the changes and wouldn’t even have to wait until the new year to implement them! When it comes to your business, there is certainly a lot riding on your commitments. Yes, we know that there are 101 things tugging at us every moment of every day and it is difficult to stand back sometimes and truly focus. Seeing as the upcoming new year also represents the start of a new decade, now is as good a time as any to really take a pause for thought and implement your New Year’s resolutions for your business. Here are 12 to get you thinking –
1. Be the blogger you always knew you could be.
Your business blog must be vibrant, alive and must be updated daily. Essentially, your blog either works or it doesn’t and there is no in between. If you are going to take advantage of this great medium and build up an avid list of followers, you have to produce great content – and regularly. Aim to compose a blog post every day and allocate time to interact with those who comment, as well.
2. Shout it from the rooftops.
Have you ever thought about a press release? Why not allocate time to do one of these every month. If your business is as dynamic as it needs to be, you will have something tangible to say at least once per month and can create a press release accordingly. There are many distribution vehicles available to you, a number of which have no cost attached.
3. Become the voice.
Have you thought about going on the radio? This is becoming a popular medium as well and you should get involved, seeking to become the voice of your particular niche or micro-niche. As conventional radio stations are also often looking for expert guests, consider approaching a station or two here and start talking to local businesses about the importance of your organization to them.
4. Video is where it’s at.
Video marketing continues to be the hot trend. Establish your own YouTube channel and investigate video marketing distribution sites. You don’t have to be another Steven Spielberg to create a video around your subject matter. You could use a product such as PowerPoint to create a slideshow-based presentation of interest to prospects.
Check out our Viral Video Here!
5. Socialize.
You surely realize by now that you must have a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account and must again allocate time to interact regularly. Research individuals, companies, groups or pages where those interested in your niche could gather. Start interacting with those sites, their friends and followers.
6. Gather intelligence.
Locate and sign up for the blog rolls and RSS feeds of experts in your niche and expand your horizons. Keep up with the posts and ramblings on a regular basis and methodically increase your intelligence base.
7. You are “the man!”
You have to try and own your niche. This means that you should try and become a perceived expert. This may require you to devote time to creating targeted and educational content – articles and blog posts. Consider writing regular articles on topical subjects and distributing them to the main directory sites.
8. Appreciate them.
Go out of your way to do something for your regular clients every now and again. You may want to offer them an item from your products or services on a complimentary basis, just for being loyal. Try and be creative and look to establish the feel-good effect.
9. Be alert.
Google has a great service called, simply, ” You can sign up to receive daily or archived alerts about almost anything under the sun.” Whenever the keywords you specify come up within news items or blog posts online, Google will send you an e-mail to tell you.
10. Build your list.
Are you keeping up with your e-mail subscriptions? Hopefully you will have a means of gathering e-mail addresses and names in return for your latest newsletters, e-books or the like. Don’t just let these people sit on your list. A regularly scheduled newsletter will help to keep your name in their radar and over a period of time you will start to convert e-mail subscribers to clients.
11. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
While you are analyzing your prospective New Year’s resolutions, you may realize that you did not focus very well during 2009. Don’t try and fix everything all at once, because you will likely become overwhelmed. Prioritize and make sure that you can pay attention to those areas that you need to, regularly, without extending yourself too far.
12. Aim to make a difference.
Considering everything, 2009 was not too bad a year for Internet marketing and it appears that 2010 will be a year full of prospects. Make it the year when you finally break through and make a difference to everyone and every organization that you touch.
Share your New Year’s resolutions with us?
Adam Toren
