Here's a great idea for local instructors and studio owners to add more value to their sites and further indentify their brand. Google has recently launched Google Map Maker.....giving you the ability to add your information to their maps.
Think of how many times somebody has asked you about where to buy something, how to get somewhere, how to find your studio, where a particular club is, where an event is, what's to do around (wherever)......
Happens a lot right?
Those are always questions that you could easily use a map to show. Now you can add your local knowledge to Google Maps. If you're the first one to do it in your local area, just think how 'viral' your 'map' page could go!
Although I still wouldn't say that "Commie" Red China has the same attitude toward private enterprise and freed that America used to, I still will admit that they're good business people. And they seem to be more realistic about the world's current economic situation than many other countries.
Based on the following quote from one of thier senior credit analysists, they've got the balls to say that the 'King' is naked........click through on this excellent, accurate and timely article from the always excellent Simon Black of www.sovereignman.com .
I'm getting ready to officially launch my autoresponder copywriting service. In order to do that, I need some samples to put on it. And some testimonials.
That could be a very fortuitous circumstance for a small few of my lucky readers because it means I'm giving away a free, custom written, autoresponder series (of emails) to 4 readers.
Let me describe exactly what it is I'm giving away so you know if you could use it or not.
First of all you need to understand that the word 'autoresponder' has two meanings. They're both nouns.
The word can refer to the software sold by companies such as Aweber, GetResponce, ConstantContact or other. Those three that I mentioned are the biggest companies Once you've decided that you need what their software does, you simply buy it. Most folks fay by the month but I'm sure you can pay yearly if you wanted.
Autoresponder programs are unique because they allow you to upload pre-written emails which will be delivered on a schedule determined by you. It could be daily, weekly, monthly, every 6 days, every Tuesday, every first of the month....whatever.
Most autoresponder montly charges are around $24.00 and up but you should be aware that there's often hidden charges later on that aren't apparent at first....i.e. they'll charge you more money per month if your email list that you email to (with it) is very large. And there's other charges too.
The software will very often integrate the person's name into the salutation and sometimes other places too. Many people, upon receiving an autoresponder message (via email) think that the email was written personally to them by the sender.
That's what's so nice about autoresponders.....they automate your custoemr service.
The other definition of 'autoresponder' refers to the actual written document that is delivered by the software. And that's really where the magic is for marketers. A well written series of autoresponder emails can extract many, many sales for any reasonably well defined consumer email list that it's used on.
If you've got a dance studio, you should have some way of attracting new dance lesson prospects. But once you get that prospective new customer's email address (and perhaps other data) you should have some way of keep in regular contact with tehm while you build a relatonship with them, via the autoresponder email messages you send them, that results in a sale.
People who are truly experienced and have proven track records of writing good autoresponders charge anywhere from $100 per email. The guy who wrote the course that I took(Jay White) currently charges around $1000 per email (one email usually being around 600-800 words.
That means that on today's open market, and from a reputable vendor), you'd pay around $350 for a seven part message series. The're not cheap if they're to 'good ones'.
So that's what I'm giving away. A free, professionally done, (that would be by me), 5-7 part series of emails. autoresponder series, 50 minute long (approx.) autoresponder...... give me, Art Williams, a call on skype (at 'atwill4'). I'll need some information from you in order to be able to do it properly.
Your autoresponder message series could be something designed to get students to sign up for your classes, it could be done by pictures/videos on YouTube, it could be used to get people to sign up for your academy. It could be something to encourage people to try out for your dance team, or to sign up for a new, first-time-ever-offered dance class, or to attend an event, or....just about anything that requires people to make a decision and do something.
I'll need to be able to direct it to some other URL determined by you. It might be your website or opt-in page. If you don't have an autoresponder software then I'll help you select one if you want.
There's a connection between the Galvez Hotel (and also the Tremont House) in Galveston, TX. and Bangkok, Thailand (City of Angels). Do you know what it is?
The connection is that both cities have hotels owned by Dusit International in Bangkok, Thailand.
Dusit International is a large hotel conglomerate founded by a Thai businessman which over the last 60 years has spread around the world. Not only do they own many premium quality hotels in the Far East but they also own several unique hotel properties in the US.
The Tremont House and the Galvez Hotel, both in Galveston, both share one unique characteristic: they're both historical landmarks. They're not famous because they're big or ultramodern but rather because of their history and their historical environment. That's why they're both members of www.historichotels.org.
The Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok, which I suppose is the corporation's original property, is one of the nicest hotels in Bangkok, Thailand. I've been in before....many years ago. Thailand and Bangkok has changed a lot since then but the Dusit Thani Hotel is still one of the prettiest hotels on the landscape there in Bangkok.
There's also a Dusit Thani Hotel here in Manila. It located right in the middle of the Makati City area of Manila (also known as the 'Wall Street' of Manila). I attend a church fellowship that meets there in one of the meeting rooms on the mezzanine.
Right across the street from the hotel is SM Mall, a huge shopping complex with, among other things, a huge food court and a large and diverse selection of stores to shop in.......everything from groceries to computers to clothes to pets. It's also within walking distance from two of Makati's salsa venues, La Dolce Vita Restorante and Pub and Greenbelt 3.
I took a bunch of pictures there recently and I'm going to post some of them here over the next few days.
If you're a dance studio owner or dance instructor who rents space somewhere for your own classes you surely know that you've only got a limited number of hours in your day. But I'd like to remind you of one of the simplest but most effective tools you can use to leverage your time.....autoresponders.
Yes, it's been a while since I've written about autoresponders but the fact is that all your big companies use them. Not because you have to be big to do so but because big companies know how valuable they are.
What are autoresponders?
The word 'autoresponder' can actually refer to two things:
1. The series of email messages that go out to a mailing list, or
2. The actual software itself which sends out those emails.
In this case I'm talking about the idea of why you should use these email messages and the software tool itself.
Basically the reason you should use them is because they save you time. Once you have the software to send out autoresponder messages you can use it over and over and over and over. And once you have a set of autoresponder messages for a particular purpose very often they can be used again and again and again and again.
So what you've got is a tool that you purchase once but use over and over and over.
There are at least three well known pieces of autoresponder software: AWeber, GetResponse and Constant Contact. Sometimes your hosting company will also have some kind of autoresponder software in their package too. There's a free one too that I hear isn't too bad.
The most critical aspect of using autoresponders in your business management (specifically the marketing) is getting them written. All autoresponder message series are not created equally. They are usually written with some purpose in mind and thus there are some 'best practices' involved.
People who have establised reputations as autoresponder writers, i.e. Jay White, get a minimum $500 for writing one email and remember that autoresponder packages usually contain a series of at least 5-7 messages.
Most studio owners don't have the time or the inclination to do things like write autoresponder messages but, if they do, there's nothing wrong with doing so. Sure, it might not be a 'message' that employs all the little tricks that experienced autoresponder writers normally use but I'm of the opinion that doing it with sincerity counts for something in the mind of the customer or prospective customers.
That brings up another concept......what are you trying to do by using an autoresponder?
Generally you're trying to get people to click on something, sign up for something, purchase something, give you some information or get the reader to take some sort of action.
The reason that more than one email message is used is because it usually takes several messages before people 'get it' or come around to your point of view. Most experts on such things say 7 messages is about what it takes to get your message across to the reader. But some autoresponder series go on more months and contain over 50 messages.
For a dance studio....here's what I think would be some good themes for autoresponder series:
Best dance spots in your town
Best dance clubs in towns close to you
Personality series on locally famous dancers
Information about various dance styles
Best ways to ask a girl to dance or (if your a girl) get asked to dance in a club
Social benefits of learning to dance
Survey results that would be of interest to dancers or people who want to learn to dance.
News from public media (e.g. TV shows....Dancing With The Stars)
A series on dance fashion
Why your studio is the best studio in town
Why somebody should audition for your dance team
Benefits of taking 'holiday dance classes'
Dance club etiquette
As you can see....it could be almost anything. Whatever people would like to talk about....they'd like to read about too. The only problem is, still......taking the time to do it.
Autoresponder messages generally are going out to people who are already your clients or to people whose contact info you have but they're not yet a client. And those messages are constructed differently....don't forget that.
If you're just starting out using sophisticated marketing tools like autoresponders then you're probably also on a limited budget. Thus you'd probably want to focus your expenditures on autoresponders designed to bring in new students.
That can easity be done. The way you do it is to offer something of high perceived value (i.e. a free introductory video lesson perhaps) yet something that had a low actual cost to you. Free reports are also great for that and can be used over and over.
What happens is this......
You advertise your 'freebie', people sign up to get it (on something called a 'squeeze page' or 'opt-in form'), and BAM....they're on your autoresponder list. The bigger your list the more guaranteed and predictable your income stream. It's all a game of numbers and averages.
That's just a few points about using autoresponders in running a dance studio or being a dance instructor. It's mostly just common sense once you see how the process works. But what's good about autoresponders is how they help you leverage your time.
I recently finished Jay White's course, "Autoresponder Apprecentice" and am offering my services as a copywriter specializing in autoresponders now. There are actually two special advantage I offer dance studio owners:
1. I know the dance business because I'm a hard core social dancer myself, and
2. I'm cheap right now because I'm not yet a 'big name' in the business.
Right now I'm looking for some first clients who would like me to write some autoresponders for them. You can pick the subject but it would probably be something we'd discuss first. I can make some recommendations but you'll make the final decision.
For my introductory special I'm offering a 7 email series for only $100. Each message would consist of approximately 350-500 words. I don't want any particular message to be too long otherwise the reader won't be inclined to open subsequent messages.
That's all I have to say for now but keep your eye on the blog here because I'm going to be writing some more on this subject. Meanwhile, if you have any question, don't hesitate to email or call me.
One Saturday afternoon a wealthy lawyer was riding in his limousine when hesaw two men along the roadside eating grass. Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate.
He asked one man 'Why are you eating grass?'
'We don't have any money for food,' the poor man replied, we have to eat grass.'
Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I'll feed you', the lawyer said.
But sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree'.
'Bring them along,' the lawyer replied. Turning to the other poor man he stated, 'You come with us also.'
The second man, in a pitiful voice then said, 'But sir,I also have a wife and SIX
children with me!'
'Bring them all, as well,' the lawyer answered and they all entered the car, which
was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine was.
Once underway, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said,'Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you.'
The lawyer replied, 'Glad to do it. You'll really love my place; the grass is almost 1 metre high!'
Manila, Philippines.....a good place to invest in a condo right now
Jane Guardame, real estate broker in Manila, Philippines came by my apartment today to talk about fixing some stuff. While she was here we got to talking about the Manila real estate market and I learned something interesting.
Jane tells me that if the deal is structured correctly, it's very possible to invest in a condo in Manila, make payments in installments, lease it out almost immediately and have the rental money received be equal or more than your payment on the loan.
Some of the factors that make that possible are
Cost of building is very low here.
Manila's economy is growing right now (even though it's still a pretty scroungy looking place in many parts).
There are plenty of people lining up to lease decent apartments here...they have the jobs (especially in the growing IT industry) and the money.
Note: Jame Guardame may be reached at (632) 908 649 7017 or via her email at: gen_guardame@yahoo.com .
One of the areas that studio owners need to get prepared for (like....yesterday!) is ...'how to accept money from 'smart phones' and other mobile devices (like iPad).
Think about it.....
If more and more people are carrying smart phones (not to mention things like iPads) and if more and more progressive and aggressive marketers are implimenting marketing programs tarketed to reaching those people during their busy day-to-day activities (and that's exactly what's happening)...then doesn't it make sense that you'd want to make it easy to take your customer's money right there when they make a buying decision?
I think so.
Yet surprisingly......mobile friendly payment systems have been very complex and expensive to impliment. Up to now.
I'm presently learning about designing and setting up systems to do all that.....marketing systems that use such things as QR codes, mobile friendly websites and mobile friendly payment systems. It's pretty exciting stuff.
And actually, the mobile friendly shopping cart is pretty much where the leading edge of 'mobile marketing' is right now. The technology pretty well exists to market through the smart devices...but it's not been easy to collect money that way.
It will be soon. And the first people who learn how to take money that way will very probably be the people who get the most money from doing it.
Watch for my free report on the subject comig soon.
How can dance studios get more traffic to their websites, more students and make more money?
The answer?
Write more.....stuff. Write more articles and put them on your blog or website.
You say you don't have time?
Well duhhhh! Hire somebody to do it for you. Doing it even just a little bit is very likely more than your competition is doing, right?
I'll tell you one thing. Doing even just a little bit of selective, keyword rich, writing on a good WordPress blog can do wonders for your web position. And the magic doesn't stop there.
Did you know there are other places where you can put your.....stuff (your posts and articles)? And did you know that there's even ways to get free.....stuff (i.e. writing, articles, content, etc.)?
My point is that the only way Google knows you're on the net and anything about you is by the content, the type and the volume of content, that you put on the web. If your business is locally competitive, I'll guarantee you that a well planned and executed campaign of social media (i.e. planned content) would yield amazing results.
I do that kind of thing now. Drop me a line (xpatflipper@gmail.com) if you'd like to discuss it. Since I've just recently gotten into that aspect of offline marketing, I'm not expensive either....yet.
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