A New Year & A New Site

It’s a new year and I’ve launched a new site at neiltortorella.com. Along with the site, there’s a new blog and an e-newsletter. The focus of this effort is to provide marketing tips, resources and information for independent professionals, freelancers and small businesses. The site will also carry information about my writing and speaking stuff.

I’ll be kicking off the new blog with a series about email marketing. This won’t be heady theory, just practical tips and how-tos. In the series I’ll cover:

• Why email marketing is still a viable and very useful tool
• How to find a topic for your emails that won’t fizzle out
• How to choose an online email marketing service that’s just right for you
• Creating your first email – dos and don’ts
• Writing must read subject lines
• The best days and times to send your messages
• Understanding email metrics and reports

My monthly e-newsletter, News & Views, will provide useful tips about getting the biggest bang for your marketing bucks without breaking the bank. The premier edition will cover dumb marketing mistakes and how to avoid them.

The Store section will carry selected white papers, reports and other tools, books, audio and video, both by me and others whose products I believe to be of value.

Swing on over and let me know what you think along with what you’d like me to cover in the blog and e-newsletter. If you have some sites or favorite articles and links, email them to me and I’ll post them on the Resources page. Over time, I’d like the Resources page to evolve into a meaty section covering all things marketing for folks like you.

If you like what you see, please Stumble it and / or forward the link to friends, associates and colleagues you believe will benefit from the content.

Recap of Low & No Cost Marketing Presentation

Last night’s South Florida Freelance Network presentation – Low & No Cost Marketing: Tools, Tactics & Techniques for Success – went pretty well. I’m happy to report that not a single rotten tomato was tossed. Gatsby’s, in Davie, FL, is a great venue and Vanessa was a darling hostess. Our dedicated server, Kristen was excellent, as well.

I covered a variety of topics you can find within the archives of Inside the Marketing Mind. The main point was that it doesn’t take a boat load of dough to get the word out and position yourself as the “go-to” expert within your niche. What it does take is savvy, time and dedication.

Here’s a quick recap:

Avoid these common marketing mistakes:

• Not doing anything
• Not understanding your audience and focusing on their needs
• Not having a plan
• Not focusing on a niche or specialty
• Not actively marketing when you’re at your busiest
• Nervous rabbit syndrome – trying this and that, but not giving any one activity enough time work ... or not work
• Not understanding that marketing takes time
• Not having a referral system in place
• Not marketing to current clients
• Not leveraging the power of your business and personal network
• Forgetting that even though you’re a designer, web developer, writer, photographer, etc., you’re really in the business of marketing. You need to be your own best client

The second half of the presentation focused on an how to implement an assortment of low and no cost marketing techniques. Some of them are:

• Editing down your portfolio to include your best work, but also the kind of work you want to get.
• Direct mail with a solid primary offer and secondary offer
• Having an information-packed, search engine optimized website
• Using blogs & social media
• Building a media list & developing a press kit
• Writing news releases, tip sheets & articles
• Generating interview inquiries and speaking engagements
• Networking the right way

I’ll be presenting Low & No Cost Marketing again on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at the Margate Community Center as part of our Broward SCORE Workshops Program. Click here for information about the event. If you can’t attend, feel free to email me and request a copy of the presentation notes.