January 2008
		Marketing In a Weak Economy
		Great Rates to Start Out 2008—through Jan. 31
		Claire News & Tools

A Note from Linda

Welcome to 2008...I hope that yours is looking as exciting as ours here at Claire Communications!

With all the sour economic news of late, I've been thinking of how that impacts us all in our client-based businesses. With our economy flirting unhealthily with recession, and people experiencing home foreclosures and layoffs, it's actually a time to market even more proactively than normal. I give you five good reasons why that is in the article below, Marketing In a Weak Economy.

If you've been thinking of using our newsletter or ezine service, now is a great time to sign up. We're running a special through the end of January that will save you from $125 to $570 this year! Not to mention all the time and effort it'll save you by giving you a professional newsletter you'll be proud to send—without having to do all the work of creating it. See the great pricing below in Great Rates to Start Out 2008.

We've got a number of new services and events planned for 2008—all designed to help you thrive in your business. Below, in Claire News & Tools are a few of the upcoming events.

Here's to a productive and exciting 2008!

Linda

Linda Puig, president, Claire Communications
Toll-free: 866-200-6945 or 707-824-8141

5 Reasons You Should Market More In a Weak Economy

As an independent professional, it may seem counterintuitive to increase your marketing efforts when the economy is weak. The tendency is to want to pull back. After all, it can be a time of belt-tightening, not only for your prospective clients but possibly for you, as well. Here are five reasons why now is a better time than ever to market your services, and some cost-effective tips on doing it.

1. People Are In Transition
Some are laid off. Others are changing jobs or positions (voluntarily or not). And some brave souls are doing career makeovers—starting a business or going back to school or taking time off. In each case, the key word is “change.” When people are experiencing lots of change, they may need more support, advice or consultations. From this place of need, they’ll be looking for the person who can help. Often the first person they’ll turn to is the one whose face they’ve been seeing on that newsletter all this time.

2. Anxiety Levels Are Higher & People Are Hurting
In a weak economy, anxiety levels rise, and folks need support of all kinds. The anxiety may kick off a panic disorder, cause insomnia, lead to depression or result in greater fighting between couples. Increased worrying can eat away at self-esteem. In short, people may need even more help than when the economy is robust. This is the time to build good relationships in the communities you serve. Also, in times of high stress or anxiety, people are more open to your messages of support, whether in a newsletter, in a workshop or on a teleseminar.

3. Clients May Leave
I’ve heard professionals say, “I don’t need to market; I’ve got a full practice.” However, if they’re worried about their financial situation, even longstanding clients may decide (rightly or wrongly) that they can’t afford your services. It can happen in less time than you imagine, leaving you in the same place, worrying about your finances. Whether you’re used to a full client load or are just starting out, consistent marketing means you’ll be able to replace departing clients quickly.

4. Not Everyone Is Hurting!
It’s so easy to fall into a collective worry pattern, spurred on by doom-and-gloom media reports. But the reality is that not everyone suffers during the economic doldrums. In fact, many are status quo, while others actually profit from bad economies. Your marketing needs to reach these people as well!

5. Marketing Works
If you’re that one in a million independent professional who has never had to market and has a voluptuous practice, yay! But the rest of us have to do our marketing to let people know we’re available to help them. If you want to have more clients in your practice or sell more products, you must market. Why would you stop doing this, or reduce your efforts, during an economic downturn?

Rules of Thumb for Marketing During a Slow Economy

1. Focus on your “biggest bang” efforts. Is it public speaking? Developing and disseminating case studies that showcase your skills? Leading groups and inviting all your current and past clients to attend? Placing an article or column in your local newspaper? What is it that gets you the most clients for the least effort? Whatever that thing is, double your efforts in this area when the economy simpers.

2. Consistency rules! A newsletter or ezine (or better yet, a printed newsletter AND an ezine) is one of the best ways to put and keep your message out there—before, during and after a bumpy economy. When people see your newsletter every one or two months (every quarter at the absolute outside), they connect your face with your expertise over an over again. When they need support or advice, they’re much more likely to call on you.

3. Ask for referrals. It’s just a question, right? Some people make it a habit to ask everyone they know for one referral. The more important habit is following up with those referred. A print newsletter is a great referral tool in that you can stack copies of your newsletter in the offices of all kinds of other professionals with a client base.

4. Get creative. Where do the folks you want to work with congregate—online and offline? Have you tried submitting an article to a local church's newsletter, for example? What about proposing your services to judges in your local court system for when they order people to self-paid anger management courses? What kind of products might you develop that your clientele and others would find useful, and that would get your name and services out there. Grab a friend or colleague for brainstorming out-of-the box ideas, and make a date so that it gets done. If you need to, check into a local hotel room for a day. Getting out of your normal routines can stimulate all kinds of great marketing ideas.

5. Get help. Repeat after me: "I can't do it all myself." Consider hiring a high school or college student to do tech-related tasks. There are any number of people looking for very part-time work. It doesn't have to cost much. Being able to hand off tasks that you don't know how to do, or find personally hideous, can free up so much time and energy for what you do well.

Please give us a call or visit our websites if we can help you with your newsletter or article needs.

www.NewslettersForCoaches.com
www.NewslettersForTherapists.com
www.ArticlesForSale.net

Great Rates to Start Out 2008!

Don’t wait until February to sign up for our newsletter or ezine service!

For a short while—only until the end of January—you’ll receive one, two, even three free issues when you sign up for one of our newsletter services. Why not let 2008 be the year that you let us do all the work of creating a high-quality, professional newsletter for you so that you can focus on your clients and other business tasks.

FOR THERAPISTS
Go to: www.newslettersfortherapists.com/prices.html.
• Sign up and pay for a year’s worth of print newsletters (four issues), but pay for only three. Save $125-170!

FOR COACHES
Go to: www.newslettersforcoaches.com/prices.html.
• Sign up and pay for a year’s worth of print newsletters (six issues), but pay for only five. Save $125!
• Sign up and pay for a year’s worth of ezines (12 issues), but pay for only 10. Save $270!
• Sign up and pay for a year’s worth of our print/ezine combo, and receive three issues free (two ezines and one print). Save $570!  

Claire News & Tools

Save These Dates

March 4
Using LinkedIn to Build Your Practice. This is a fr.ee teleseminar with Chip Lambert, my LinkedIn teacher. He’s just loaded with ideas on why and how this professional networking tool can help you connect with others and build your practice. Registration will open in February. I’ll keep you posted.

May 2008
Day of Marketing. I’ve teamed up with Deborah Gallant, of Web Power Tools, to organize and host this springtime event in New York City. Day of Marketing is an integrated day of learning for those with client-based businesses—coaches, therapists, healers, consultants, etc. You’ll learn actionable strategies from individual experts on topics such as: branding, Internet marketing, newsletters & articles, public relations, networking, seminars & workshops, using technology in your practice, creating products, outsourcing strategies, and creative business building. Go to www.dayofmarketing.com to sign up to receive more information.

Writer's Block? Not Enough Time to Crank Out An Article? Try One of Our Ready-to-Go Articles as a Starting Place

As a writer for 25 years, I know all too well how daunting the empty page (er, screen) can be when you need to come up with an article for your newsletter or local newspaper. And I know how much time it takes to research material, organize your thoughts and then spit them out in a coherent, interesting, professional fashion.

That's why I love our article service at www.ArticlesForSale.net. Buy one (or more!) of our ready-to-go articles and then spend 10 minutes customizing it to your needs, rather than several hours starting from scratch!

Coaching Cartoons Now for Sale

Bring some levity to your coaching with these thought-provoking, whimsical cartoons. Use them on your website, in your ezine or in other publications of yours. Only $40 each. You can change the caption if you want. Get a giggle at the cartoon page here.

Make Money When You Recommend Books

Sign up now to become a Claire Audiobooks affiliate, and you can have links to downloadable audiobooks on your website or in your ezine. Make 10% on every audiobook sold to your people. Go here to sign up to be a ClaireAudioAffiliate.

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