I don't know how to market my business - need serious advice

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Hi, I'm a complete newbie, and can't figure out how to properly market my business, to the point where my business is now failing!

I run an Ivy League College Admissions Consulting business (link in my profile), and even though I know the clients are out there, I'm not reaching them!

I have tried everything I know how to do -- a Google adwords campaign (no conversions in two weeks time, so I gave up on that), a Google+ page that I location verified. I've contributing to various online forums to try to create active links. I have social media pages up on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter (though, I am not so clear actually how to use all three to reach new people -- especially LinkedIn). I also have a WordPress blog, and I post ads for my business daily on craigslist.

Yet nothing.

Despite all these things, my google ranking has DROPPED, and I am making a fraction of what I made with my business last year.

Can anyone take a look at my site and offer any advice? I don't know what to do. I need like a step plan of action.
#main internet marketing discussion forum #advice #business #market #marketing #serious
  • Welcome to the community!

    If I were in your shoes and running an Ivy League College Admissions Consulting Business, I would personally hit Facebook Ads HARD.

    Reason being, you can hyper target your audience and get your ads in front of the EXACT demographics you need for such a business.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [3] replies
    • You know, I did that -- I spent $50 on Facebook ads as an experiment, ended up with 63 likes in one week's time, but no conversions at all, so I stopped the ad. I targeted my main region (NYC) and demographic, too. Not sure why it didn't work.:confused:

      I appreciate the input, though --
      • [1] reply
    • This should be the first step for everyone!
    • Is your bio true??? lol
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  • I think you are trying to do too many things at once. There is no point of setting pages up on all three networks if you don't have a set purpose for each and every of them. In my opinion, Twitter would probably be the least effective at reaching out to potential clients so you should focus on FB and Linkedin first.

    You also have to bare in mind that you are dealing with a somewhat seasonal market. You are more likely to see results starting from December as students start to finalize their college applications.

    P.s. I think there also needs to be more work done on your website. This is just from my perspective but the website looks slightly unprofessional so I would be reluctant to contact you once I see how plain the website is.
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    • Very interesting take, Justin! I think I agree with you. That's actually pretty great.

      And, yunoblog, this is actually the busy season right now. November and December are the best months (which is why it's so disturbing that I'm bringing in hardly anything).

      I do agree that I am trying to do WAY too much, as I am not clear what to focus on first. I would like to learn how to use LinkedIn better. I am not sure how to use it for marketing, to tell you the truth. I have a profile up, and have joined some groups, but need to figure out how to better connect.

      Facebook has done nothing for me, which is so odd, because that is where all the high school students are. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Will add my facebook link to my profile page, so anyone who wants to take a look at that too, can.

      Never heard the complaint about my website being plain before, though. But I am certainly open to any and all opinions. I just want to figure out what works, and then make it happen!

      Thanks for responding.
      • [2] replies
  • I am a rather new marketer--but I belong to facebook groups for college students amd I also use IBO toolbox to advertise..
  • You need to outsource this before you lose more money, find somebody who can setup your campaigns
  • Justin--- I like what you said about MBA's ad---that is sure one of the reasons I went back to college after all these years---was to increase my income!! I don't know much about mobile devices and mobile advertising---but I do know that young people I work with always have their phone in hand!!
  • I was thinking about off-line also. I am a RN---our nurse recruiter goes to career fairs at the local colleges and high schools..to let them know about our hospital...maybe your services could be marketed there also..
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    • Thanks goindeep (and judiD and Albert). I agree with elijah, that I actually may have to outsource this before I completely go under, but unfortunately, I need more funds coming in before I can even outsource! I need to pull myself out of this with practically a zero-marketing budget at this point. I have no money to spend.

      Going back to goindeep's comments, though - that's all really good advice. Given that I'm a professional writer, and could easily, easily create more content. I don't understand how WordPress works though -- just because I create a daily blog, how do people find it?? Do I have to market that, too?

      By "list" I assume you mean an email list, and I already have one of all my former clients, but then I don't know what to do with that? It's mostly composed of kids who have already gotten into school.

      I'm a little behind on how all the social media / marketing stuff works, even on a base level. Trying to figure it out...
      • [1] reply
  • do social media marketing and search engine optimization after 3 months your business will run online
  • I have no idea what you have done with it, but with the social media sites you need to be fairly social on them yourself to get things flowing.

    For your situation, I think you might want to check out James Schramko's stuff. His "Own The Racecourse" focus seems to be exactly what you need.

    His membership site has a lot of training and a knowledgeable community. You can actually get his "Own The Racecourse" training for free here --> Own The Racecourse (his site, not mine - no affiliate link)

    That page doesn't have much detail (I linked directly to the opt-in), but it is a great product and will likely be eye opening for you. If you hop over to the homepage there you will find a ton of other free content. Almost all of it available in audio, video, and PDF formats. There are also many interviews with other marketers.

    Are you running any type of analytics on your site? Do you know where your previous traffic was coming from? What keyword searches were bringing people to your site before, but aren't anymore? There's a lot you can learn from your analytics, so going through that could give you some insight.

    Hopefully "I have tried everything..." doesn't include creating spammy links, as that could account for the drop.

    You may also want to contact some of the colleges and see if you can get a link in one of their directories. You could get some direct traffic from them, and the .edu backlinks are always nice to have.
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    • Hi MBA Ivy,

      So your niche is helping kids get into Ivy colleges then?

      I don't understand what you mean when you say your business is failing. Do you have high overhead? That's the only way businesses ever really fail, if they have high fixed overhead and get into a debt situation. Otherwise you're just not making money yet, and that's okay. As long as you have a roof over your head you can get experimenting until you find something that works.

      My intuition here would not be to go with paid advertising yet. Unless you've already made a name for yourself, you need to make a name for yourself. And the way to do that in my book is to go where your target audience already is online. Yes, start your own blog if you don't already have that and share enough tips and information so people can understand you really are an expert. Make that the teaser and then explain your products/programs/how you can help them if they invest with you.

      I'd be looking for whether there are forums or blogs where people who want to get into these schools are possibly already socializing with each other. I don't know this market at all, but with high school kids being so web savvy now there must be a place to find them online.

      Let me know what you think. I thought my business was "failing" in 2010 and in retrospect I was being a bit dramatic. I just needed to hang in there a few months longer and be more disciplined about learning sales skills and making my offerings clear before it turned around.

      cheers,
      Erika
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
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  • #1 thing I would do if I was you?

    I would create a plan and run my numbers.

    E.G. how many sales do you need to crunch per day, week and month to hit your goals?

    How many website visitors do you need in order to hit you minum conversions from site visitor to client?

    Once you know your numbers you can begin work. This way you will know haw much traffic you need to generate.

    I would then create a marketing plan. How much time, money and energy do you have? What can you realisticly do with all of that?

    Put your energy into where you are going to get max bang and where it will be used efficiently without wastage for example blog content that i mentioned earlier is excellent but its more of a long term solution which would not be a good idea for you seeing as it seems like you need money NOW.

    Plan should be something like: Write one 1000 word blog post per day, produce one youtube video per month, post 20 forum posts per day etc. That's just an example, lol.

    As part of a more direct immediate short term plan > to get yourself one or two of those sales to get some money into your pocket that you can re-invest for traffic. Why dont you really target these kids with some killer copy and make them an offer they cannot refuse > > > I'd do a write up and flyer drop or do handouts at events where high school seniors hang out that would be interested in your service, in the write up tell them what you can do for them, how you can charge their life and make them an offer they cant refuse like for example tell them you will give them a free consultation so long as they bring one paying friend, get them to make the sale for you basically e.g. "Ill make you a deal you cannot refuse, Ill give you a 100% free consultation worth $400 that could get you into one of the most prestigious Universities - all you have to do is refer one paying customer to me".

    or target their parents, I doubt most kids have $400 or whatever you are charging...

    OR if your prefer keeping it all online and not going for the offline thing, I would re-design your site to get just one customer! Your site is currently designed for the long term business, which you dont have yet. Go the way of the old school long sales letter! then drive traffic via free methods such as yahoo answers, FB, Twitter, SEO, writing articles, guest posting etc...

    Get your mindset right and it will all fall into place

    All the best.
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  • Welcome! You have an interesting business.

    You mention that you spent $50 in PPC, but got only 63 likes. What type of ad did you run and where did you send the clicks?

    I agree that Facebook is an excellent place to be. You could get great results there if you knew what you were doing.

    First, you need to build a list of prospective clients. Second, you need to send them helpful information (via a regular, weekly e-zine) and offers for your services.

    To build a list, you need an enticing offer. Maybe something like a free report on "How to Ace the College Admissions Essay." (Terrible title, but you get the idea.) Then drive traffic from Facebook to that offer. Collect names and e-mail addresses.

    Your current site is nice but does not have an immediate, compelling offer. To make this work and see results the fastest, you need to drive traffic to an offer page.

    I'd strongly recommend getting an account with LeadPages.net and hooking it up to your current site. Then choose a template and create your offer and follow up autoresponder. THEN run an ad to that page.

    Without a clear, compelling offer and followup plan, you're wasting your time and money on Facebook and every other site.

    Also, I understand that money is tight. You can run a business cheaply, but you can't run it on NO money. LeadPages is $37/mo and AWeber is $20/month to get started. Very cheap!

    As you've seen though, lack of marketing know how is killing you. I STRONGLY recommend investing in a couple of Facebook marketing courses:

    1. Michelle Pescosolido's GetFansGetPaid.com
    2. Ben Adkins' Evil Facebook Magician (do a search).

    Opt in to their lists and watch what they do. They're both VERY savvy, successful Facebook marketers.

    Facebook is the best place for you to be and once you get some know how under your belt, you'll really be able to rock it.

    Good luck!

    Michelle
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  • You don't even have a blog on your site and I also found no social sharing buttons. That's pretty basic and the first thing you should start with. As said from others above post daily on a blog on your site and funnel the traffic to your offer/ build a list.

    Engage the audience to get social and give it some time. If your posts and your product are great it will work!
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    • This is all excellent advice, and I appreciate everyone's input so much.

      RanD - I have not learned (yet) how to properly use social media sites, but am trying to read articles and watch tutorials. I will check out the resources you mention.

      I have run analytics on my site, and I think one of my major problems is that I recently had to change my domain name for copyright reasons. I don't think my traffic dropped off so much because of the company name change, but MAY have dropped off because I (perhaps) did the domain pointing wrong, and didn't properly do a 301 redirect, but instead just pointed my old domain to my current one. In other words, not clear, but google may think I have two sites up with duplicate content, when I just have one??

      "I have tried everything..." does not include creating spammy links, as I don't even know what those are!

      erikaawakening - Yes, my niche is helping kids get into Ivy colleges and other "top ten" type schools. By describing that my business is failing, I mean that my client list has dropped from about 20 people a month to 2! (I charge $400 a client, so do the math). I have basically zero overhead though. It is all pure profit.

      However, this is my sole source of income so things are tanking fast. It's so odd, because I have such a great track record -- I am getting these kids into these top Ivy League schools...when I can reach them!

      I do need to develop some actual products/programs like you said. I also have tried posting on a lot of popular college forums, but they actually don't like independent admissions consultants posting on them, and I have been banned from advertising/posting in any way. Also, I really need to market towards the parents. The parents are the ones who pay me, and seek my expertise for their son or daughter. My service is very solid and based on strong experience. I just have to reach the people.

      Alex - Thanks. I sent you a pm. I remember talking with you! Putting the testimonials (or at least some) on the first page is a good idea, as are your other points.

      goindeep - great advice. I'm going to look at this more. I have run my numbers, but I don't know what to do with the information. I would like to have a client a day. 20-30 clients a month. This work is seasonal, and runs from August to April (because I work with MBA students, too) so I need to make the big money NOW, as I have no work, just naturally, May - July.

      I was pulling in this amount before. Something happened to my traffic. That's what's so disturbing!!!

      Nightengale - I ran a facebook ad campaign that had the same picture as the one on my homepage, and stated my credentials, with the tag "Get Into the Ivy League!" I knew my demographic, my best location, and from my data, the best time to show the ad. Only got 63 likes. Have no idea why.

      You're right about the offer thing. I will seriously think about how to set this up. The content itself isn't hard for me, where the bridge is out for me, is what I do with it -- do I buy a subdomain and create an offer "landing page" or do I simply ad another page to my website? This is the stuff that confuses me! This is really good advice, though:

      WordPressManiac - I do have social sharing buttons on every page of my site, top right, but perhaps I need to fix them so they're more visible, if you didn't notice them and were actually looking!

      The blog thing is exactly what I don't know how to do, though! So, do I add another page to my website, that is my blog?? Or do I just post my blog in WordPress? Or both? Creating content is easy for me, I am just SO TECH UNSAVY that I need a play-by-play regarding what to DO with it, once I have it.

      For example, I have four new articles just sitting over here. All about "Getting in to the Ivy League." What do I do with them?

      And, finally, if I did manage to come into some income again, I take it I could hire someone to do all of this. I can provide the daily content, but ideally, I would like to just hand that content over to someone who, at least in the beginning, could set me up and basically teach me, through example, how it all works. I guess I need a marketing manager. And I really have no idea how to use LinkedIn.

      My main problem is I don't have the luxury of taking time to learn this, as this is my main season (Nov and Dec) and I am losing money every day. I need to stabilize the business first, get some new clients coming in, and then once stabilized learn all I can.

      I have no idea why my traffic tanked as much as it did. It must have been when I pointed / forwarded my domain. Not sure how to fix this, and not sure who to even call to take a look at the backend (code? links?) and see if something is wrong.
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  • Banned
    Google Adwords could have worked very well if it had been done right. What was your daily budget? Did you use the right keywords?
  • Hmmm it does sound a little tricky with the confidentiality issues and schools not liking it ...

    Then I think an active blog where you're writing articles giving some info but not too much info would be the way to attract the right people ... ideally getting in the search engines so when people put in particular keywords looking to improve their chances, they find you.

    Did something happen when your list went from 20 to 2? It sounds like you were succeeding and then something happened. Often what "happened" is internal ... something that caused us to want it less, or lowered our confidence, or we're afraid something bad is going to happen ... is the copyright stuff possibly interfering with your mojo? It's so hard to give good advice on a forum ... there are so many questions to ask to get clarity on what's going on in your situation ....
  • I'd say you need to pound the pavement. Get on the phone, and/or email and get your info to every high school guidance counsellor in your state. After that work on the country. You need to specifically target your audience and engage them. Then once you're getting qualified leads driven to your site from great sources, hit all their friends with facebook advertising.
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    • MBA Ivy,

      People are always going to search by need. The more SPECIFIC or timely the need, the more likely it is you will make the connection and eventually the sale.

      You do not need a lot of searches, but you do need to reach those that ARE searching. Ask yourself, "WHO is the person MOST LIKELY to buy this product or service or business opp IF and WHEN they come to know it exists." :confused:

      What I mean by that is this. If I found your service through Google and I was in need of the value you could provide to me, what is my demographic. Age, Ethnicity, Gender, Location, ETC. You can use these details to target your focus within the PPC that you create on Facebook.

      A Question You May Need To Answer...

      Can you get more social media, article, blog post and high PR backlinks than the competition who are currently ranking on the front page of Google? Base this upon the keyword you are targeting for your SEO. If you cannot beat them skip that keyword and take another angle.

      I hope this finds to be helpful and good luck.

      To Your Success!

      Evan Bang


      P.S.

      Use Keyword Tools And MAKE A LIST:

      -Google Keyword Tool (Free)
      -Wordtracker.com (Subscription)
      -Market Samurai (Subscription)
      -Niche Finder (Subscription)
      -SeoCockpit (Subscription)
  • Have you tried doing any research on what relevant keywords people search for on Google or Bing, and then looking at creating relevant content, or guest blog posting.
    You could also see if there are any other people to connect to on FB or Twitter.
    Try looking for relevant FB groups.
    These are all long term options, unfortunately growing an audience takes a lot of work and time.
    hope this helps.
  • To succeed, you need to do two things: get targeted traffic AND convert your visitors into buyers.

    There are a lot of ways to get traffic, but Pay-Per-Click is the fastest. Facebook PPC lets you target by demographics (so you can go after your very best prospects). Facebook is also where your best prospects probably already hang out.

    I'd probably start there -- but it's going to take more than $50 to split test and start getting good results.

    That said, personally, I'm very fond of AdWords. I've been using it since its inception. Furthermore, if you're able to identify highly targeted sites, using the Google content network could also work.

    Again, there are many way to get traffic. The list of possibilities is long: PPC, banner ads, YouTube, content marketing, classified ad sites, podcasts, press releases, and forum marketing are just a few.

    Your next task is to convert your visitors into buyers.

    I took a look at your site -- this is where things really fall apart for you. There are a lot of problems. Your sales copy is EXTREMELY poor.

    For example...

    1) IMPORTANT: You need to use your name and make it more PERSONAL. Right now, you're completely anonymous. You're a ghost. That does NOT inspire trust. You're asking your visitors to trust a nameless, faceless "expert." Would you?

    2) Remove every exclamation point on the page. "Yelling" won't help. I can almost smell the desperation in your tone. That chases people away.

    3) Add white space to the copy. It's not a newspaper ad -- you're not paying by the column inch. Use white space to make it easy to read. In addition, do NOT justify your text. Your body copy should be left aligned.

    4) IMPORTANT: You need a headline that contains your most powerful BENEFIT. Right now, it just describes a generic FEATURE. But that's not what people are looking for. They want to how they'll benefit from your service. In a nutshell, your copy needs to provide a powerful benefit, explain why it's true, then make them an offer they can't refuse.

    I hope that helps.

    John
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Are you sending people directly to your website?

    it really looks like a school website or something....I had to scroll down past that huge picture of a professional looking building to read what was on the page, which was several big chunks of text that was a bit painful to read.

    I would put a video of yourself talking right on the front with a big headline above it and a lead capture form on the right....your list is where you are going to to actually convert....and I would get rid of the contact form where they have to fill out all those fields....do name/email address or even just email address.

    People pretty much don't want to read stuff unless its specifically solving a problem they are having (in my experience)

    People do however love videos. Just flip on a camera, think of a way to get people's attention immediately, introduce yourself, and then give a call to action to opt in to your list.

    Then create daily short little videos about little tips about getting into schools or whatever your business is. Connect with the people on your list. Make them feel like you are a real person.

    The videos don't have to be long at all just 2-5 minutes.

    I would have a blog on that site (if you don't already) and put your daily videos on it...so your visitors will have an archive of your videos that can check out and further connect with you.

    Put some videos together in a little batch and give it away as a "free bonus" for opting in to your list. I would make your site pretty much all about why your visitors want to opt in to your list.

    People probly aren't doing business with you because they don't know who you are. Start shooting videos. It doesn't matter if they suck. Just do it every day and you will get better and if you keep running ads and getting traffic to them, you WILL get leads.

    From there just send bits of value, which will give you an opportunity to sell them your services.
  • [DELETED]
  • I will advise that you go back and check your ad copy. What contents does your ad contain? Is your ad compelling enough to make people want to buy whatever it is you are selling? These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself. Providing the answers will help you get the results you desire from your ads.

    You may also want to try email marketing. Specifically, using solo ads may help you a lot. If you decide to do this, then you certainly will need a lead capture page where offer visitors a free gift in return for their email addresses. This is because most people that visit your website may not be interested at the time, but when you follow up with them with emails they may be convinced in the future to buy what you are selling.

    Overall, building success takes a great effort and somtimes takes time too. All you have to do is to be consistent and persistent. You will certainly have a breakthrough.
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    • Hey MBA, I kind of skimmed the comments quickly, so I don't know if this was mentioned yet, but with that list that you have of students who are already in school. Can you market to them to bring you leads for a commission? Are you facebook friends with them? Just a thought.
  • Take this business one step at a time. It is very important that you will research and read first. Take small steps and make sure you know the right terms for your business. Good luck!
  • I started my own studio from scratch last year with nothing to invest. I got an entire studio filled in 6 months (with only about 20,000 people in my area), which is extremely quick, ALL from Facebook marketing. Learn to use your Facebook page, and promote fantastic offers. I would be happy to help with any questions you have for me on what worked for me!
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    • any suggested reading material on successfully setting up a facebook marketing campaign!
  • advertising on social media sites like facebook, twitter, and linkedin should help you get the results you want....good luck to you!
  • In my pre-IM career I offered professional services in a competitive field.

    What I did was write a book and gave it away. Nothing new here. The book offered a ton of info and prospective clients requested it every day resulting in a truckload of clients.

    I think you could put together a great book "The Sure-Fire Plan for Getting Your Child into an Ivy League College - A Step-by-Step Guide for Securing Your Child's Future"

    Something like that and make it a great book. You could give it away or sell it. Target parents with kids in junior high school. I suspect parents with elementary school aged kids would also be interested. Provide a full plan from grade school that steps them through.

    Throughout the book mention you're available for consultation throughout the process. You could conceivably have long term consulting gigs with these parents guiding them along as their children approach college.

    Reaching parents isn't hard. Facebook and PPC. With Adwords/BingAds, target tutoring services, ivy league college school names, SAT prep ... you'll have to experiment. Use your ads to sell/give away your book. Be sure to get email addresses when giving/selling the book and keep in touch with them.
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    • Banned
      Greetings.

      The people that you have helped are your best source of new business. Make them all part of your team. Praise them, their good decision to utilize your service and how it has paid off for them. Highlight them on your site. Everyone wants to be a video star. :-) Put those people to work. Send them business cards, don't forget their birthdays, ask for referrals, offer finders-fees, etc.. They all have friends one or two years behind them, academically. Cultivate them early. The earlier the better.

      A blog and a freebie eBook are mandatory. The eBook should raise as many questions as it answers in the readers mind. Don't give more than one real secret away and make sure it's not one of your valuable selling points.

      Locate ALL of your competition. See how they market and promote their service. How do your efforts and channels compare?

      Additionally, produce your own series of informational videos that highlight the pitfalls and obstacles that you can eliminate for people. Put the fear of god into them and don't be afraid to bill yourself as one of the "leading authorities" in your niche. Who's going to tell you that you're not? Not, me.

      Finally, any and all of the shortcomings of your web site can be addressed for almost no money. Time, energy and patience are all that's required. If you know anyone that can help you with the social icon placement and getting your blog set up, I would not hesitate to ask for assistance. There are many places that you can go and find help. Most people are happy to help. As Blanche DuBois famously said, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." You can find help with minor tasks on Fiverr.com, oftentimes for just $5. I've done it.

      Not much of a techie, myself, or I'd do more than make suggestions. I'm one of those guys who pays for everything, the whole way. lol

      Don't give up. Remember, you gotta be in it to win it. Trite? Maybe. True? Absolutely. It's a great niche with an unlimited supply of potential customers that is fresh every year. WOW!!! A lot of people would kill for a niche like that and the proper experience to go with it. Of course, with all of that being said, I can certainly understand your frustration at not being farther along.

      I do wish you the best in your endeavor.

      Cheers,

      Frank

      P.S. I would also recommend writing a business plan. Not so much for the financial projections, but more along the lines of describing and outlining your business on paper, in words that a banker or investor wants to hear. It can help you spot marketing opportunities you might have missed as well as show you where you may be spinning your wheels. Can't hurt.
  • Banned
    Blogging, blogging, blogging. And, when everything else fails, anything that ends with an Ad, Facebook ads, Google ads. etc.
  • I'd suggest you create a targeted list (of the real addresses NOT EMAIL) and call each place and ask who the decision maker is... Get the name and HANG UP.

    Next, draft up a lead generation letter. If you need help, then hit up the offline section here on the forum and I'm sure you'll find some examples. Then, send them the letters with a hand-written address.

    Rinse and Repeat.
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    • Justin, I looked at your site, and I agree with Johnny - the copy is horrible. Most of it is credentialing you, not promising benefits or even hinting at your process.

      I'd also lose the generic contact form and replace it with either a much simpler opt-in form to learn more, or a much longer one with questions designed to help you create personalized responses based on that individual's desires.

      As I see it, you have two main markets - the first, and largest, is parents of high schoolers with Ivy League aspirations. The parents are the ones writing the checks, so they are actually your target. The second is college students with Ivy League aspirations.

      Notice the word "aspirations"?

      At the early stages of prospecting, you need to play to those aspirations. Make them believe that they deserve that Ivy League spot, and that hiring you gives them an unfair advantage over the other applicants.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Thanks all for such GREAT responses! I am looking in to each and every suggestion here.

    I will put this idea out to all of you as well: if anyone knows of any potential students who may want to use my services (or if you already have ways in place to market to them), I am offering a $50 referral fee for any student anyone brings me who signs up to work with me.

    Nice way to make extra money, if you guys can perhaps reach people better than I can. You can email me directly, if you want to try. Thought this might be an interesting idea and a way for everyone to benefit. I know some of you are already heavily marketing to my demographic...
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Have you considered paying someone to hand out flyers at various high schools? I remember seeing flyers from different colleges tucked under the windshield wiper of my car. We would also see them on our desks just before class. The funny thing was, they actually did get me excited about college and I would bring them home to my parents.

    Simple but effective, laser-targeted marketing in my opinion.

    To get your flyers distributed, simply post an job ad in the various online/paper classifieds for a flyer delivery position. You might spend a few hundred dollars in the process, but you'll get plenty of exposure in the right places. This should bring in some new leads/clients while you get your traffic issues sorted out.

    Good luck!
    • [1] reply
    • You know, I tried flyers twice, and it unfortunately didn't work. I do still think my referral fee offer (above) to other marketers out there, might be the best (fastest) way to go, and a way for everyone to benefit. I have the credentials to help students if they can just find me!

      MBA Essay Consulting | Ivy League Essay Consulting
  • So, is there anyone on the forum who maybe wants to actively help me market my business, for some agreed upon percentage of each client? This business is seasonal, and NOW, so I don't have time to play around and try things out until at least mid-january. Now is key to make the most in income.
    • [1] reply
    • If you listen to this very closely, you will find more than enough info to get you off the ground!
      I Love Marketing with Joe Polish and Mike Koenigs, Episode #32 - YouTube
      Let me know if you'd like me to point out the major ideas.

      And there's a difference between trying things out and just doing to maximize your potential right now.. I think it's more about your presentation, education (in the form of marketing) and making crystal clear and hard to resist your initial offer than than it is brute force exposure and advertising
  • There is no point of setting pages up on all three networks if you don't have a set purpose for each and every of them.
  • Advertise your referral fee offer on Craigslist, college papers or sites, to parents and students that have used your service.

    Use the...Looking to Earn Extra Christmas Money? Angle

    Contact local organizations that have activities for high school students and see if you can joint venture with them to distribute your information in return for a finders fee.

    Contact local organizations that parents might belong to and see if you can make a presentation at one of their upcoming meetings.

    Place flyers in dentist offices, pizza shops, etc.

    Think of who is already in touch with your target market and make them an offer.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • yeah man i would advise facebook PPC

    the company im with teaches you how to get clicks for like 0.02 cent man which is not too bad considering what you pay for adwords ae

    another good thing about asf is they say build relationships with people dont spam them with your link give them value it will help you out in the long run brother
  • For your business and know about marketing you can check Quickad site that allows you to post Free Classifieds in India in few seconds.
  • There are many ways of marketing your business. You can try social media marketing, PPC and SEO. The latest trend is social media together with SEO. Our Affordable SEO Company in Las Vegas and Hawaii| SuperGeeks | SuperGeeks.biz, Las Vegas SEO company can always help you.
  • There seems to be no point of sale or mention of cost of products/services you offer.

    People visiting wouldn't really know what they were getting into and most people won't make an initial contact unless they do have an indication of cost and purpose first. Everyone is very wary of E-mail and phone number harvesting these days and so won't part with either unless there's something offered in return or they already have 'specifics' of the products/services to hand.

    Just a thought
  • I will tell you simply look for the people that is searching for your Keyword on the internet,or also try Mega Comerciales.
  • Market your business through blog commenting on blogs in your niche and forum posting on forums in your niche. Be sure to leave a link back to your website though.
    • [1] reply
    • Yes, I have been trying to post on some forums, cyberzolo, and fred67 - I do clearly state my rates on my "about" page. I charge a flat rate of $400 for assistance with the first college application, than $200 for each additional school.

      I also provide my phone number so students can contact me directly if they don't feel comfortable filling out my contact form.

      If anyone knows any students who can benefit (college or MBA applicants) I am offering a $50 referral rate for any client.

      Thanks!
      MBA Ivy

      www MBAIvyLeague (dot) com
  • As a marketer, we should try to find where our customers are, then we appear there too, and pre-sell by providing value first, and sell to them slowly after warming up.
  • Hire some one to do get your business on top
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