How to Promote Your Crowdfunding Project to 2,500,000 People for Only $20

How to Promote Your Crowdfunding Project to 2,500,000 People for Only $20

Want to get the word out? Did you know you can broadcast your crowdfunding project or campaign to over 2,500,000 active users on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and 40Billion for only $20, or as little as $5 a day? Buy a tweet ad to promote your message, brand, product, service, fundraising campaign, crowdfunding project, or small business to the world.

Are you trying to raise money on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or GoFundme? For over 4 years, aspiring crowdfunders and startup entrepreneurs have used 40Billion for affordable promotion across popular social networks in order to reach more potential customers and investors. Buy a tweet ad to get started in 3 easy steps.

Improve Profitability With These 10 Steps Marketing Plan

Improve Profitability With These 10 Steps Marketing Plan

For best results in marketing it is crucial to develop a system, test that system, measure its results and when you find the combination that works best for what you are selling, repeat it over and over again without fail and sustain it with persistence. The results will come if this method is followed.

Follow these 10 steps and hopefully they will help you obtain good results.

1. Sell What People Are Buying Not What You Feel Is Good For People or What You Think Might Sell. People buy with emotion and later justify their purchase with logic. Unless you are hitting a strong emotional button with your product or service, it’s less likely you will have strong sales. Tie your products to an emotion; solve a problem or challenge that is causing the person grief, hurt, removal of fear or satisfying the need for love and you’ve got a winner. Logic won’t get in the way. It will only solidify the decision. Remember it’s all about them, not you.

2. Know who is buying. Do research on demographics (who they are), geographics (where they are) and psychographics (why are they buying). Market research on these three dynamics will target your sales and enhance your ability to reach the people or businesses most likely to purchase what you have to sell

3. Have price elasticity. Don’t get stuck on price. Be stuck on delivering value and benefits of what your product or service does to solve the problem or remove the pain. You can then price accordingly. Don’t get caught up in the pricing game or war. It’s a losing proposition. People will pay the price if you deliver the value and benefits that stand you out from the crowd that is battling each other over price.

4. Know who your competitors are and how your product or service differentiates you from them. Check out sites like compete.com and get data all in one place that you can see what your competitors are doing and gauge what to do to move ahead of the pack.

5. Have a unique sales proposition. In the business world it is commonly referred to as a USP or “elevator speech” Your USP should be a large part of your ultimate success. When you set out to attract a new prospect or customer to your business for the first time, there is one paramount question you must answer. “Why should I choose to do business with you and the product you offer over any other competitive product available to me?” Once you’ve got the response to that question that’s your USP or elevator speech.

6. Be sure your message is clearly understood. The customer must be led through a 5 step process to a buying decision or action. Before they will take action, whatever it is you want them to do, you must (1) Make them aware of a need and/or desire (2) Clearly demonstrate that your product or service fulfills the need or desire (3) Choosing the product or service is the wise thing to do (4) Show them value that they received is worth the price you are selling the product or service for and (5) Showing them reasons they should act right now.

7. Don’t waste time or your weaponry aiming at the wrong target. Make sure your product or service matches what the market is demanding.

8. Use the three steps plan to effective marketing. Message, Market and Media. Think of these three as the legs of a stool. When they are all in balance your success is very likely. Have either of these legs missing and the stool is unstable and likely won’t support the weight of carrying out the marketing mission. Your message should be targeted to an identified market, the narrower the better. Once you have these two you can then determine what the best media to use is. It might be radio, T.V., print ads, classified ads, blogging or a combination of these.

And speaking of marketing, don’t forget online marketing sites. You can visit 40billion.com which is a fastest-growing network of entrepreneurs and crowdfunders. They specialize in promotion of small businesses by broadcasting and promoting to its large network of several million users across the most popular social networking sites for small businesses – including Twitter, LinkedIn, 40Billion, and even Facebook. Innovative services like tweet ads and promoted company listings were created for small entrepreneurs to tap into a growing, active network online without spending thousands on pay-per-click ads or traditional advertising. They also offer crowdfunding promotion and promote crowdfunders and their campaigns/projects.

9. Systemize – create it, implement it, tweak where necessary. It should become a template that you use over and over again without much thought.

10. You must have commitment and persistence in order to have big success with marketing. Once you have your system it must be worked with bulldogged persistence and commitment. Most marketing doesn’t work because of the lack of these two traits.

7 Steps to Boost Content Marketing Success

7 Steps to Boost Content Marketing Success

Everyone is busy in creating his own content marketing strategies. Companies have sensed the importance of this form of digital marketing and have been trying their best to create high quality content.

Here are 7 important steps in content marketing that every blog should include. It is a true assumption that the content promotion strategies very much depend on the nature of the business, but the following points can be applied to any kind of content.

1. Shortening the URL:

Everyone wants to track his blogging efforts. People don’t want to check analytics at every hour to measure their progress. By shortening the URL of your content, using a link shortening service, you can easily monitor the sharing and clicking information. They also allow you to analyze how many people clicked your link, from which social platform it’s been shared and also helps you to see the geographical location of your reader.

2. Share the URL:

No one can deny the importance of brand management; and to cash in on its power, social media is considered to be the best medium. Share your official or even guest blogs on your individual social channels to update your followers.

3. Get Active in Social Media:

People are addicted to numbers. They judge your content efforts through the number of social shares your blog post has acquired. This factor is not completely wrong but it is not the only criteria for judging your content marketing efforts. The best and easiest way to accelerate social sharing figures is by promoting your content in the related social media groups. There are hundreds and thousands of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn groups available where you may share your links to initiate interaction and engagement.

Social media promotion services like 40Billion.com make this easy by broadcasting and promoting your posts to its large network of several million users across the most popular social networking sites for businesses – including Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Facebook. Innovative services like tweet ads, future retweets and promoted company listings were created for content marketers who want to tap into a growing, active network online without spending thousands on pay-per-click ads or traditional advertising.

4. Social Bookmarking:

Social bookmarking sites still have the potential only when used intelligently. They help us to present our content in front of people who love to read about our industry, products and services. Therefore, this aspect can’t be overlooked at all. It holds a very important place in every content promotional campaign.

5. Explore Your Industry:

Propagate your content within your industry and share it with everyone who loves to know about your particular niche.

6. Get Active in Forums:

Forums have a very prominent role in content promotional strategies. They are brilliant sources of building your community and acquiring authority. There are many specialized forums available where you can get social and start contributing. However, one thing should be kept in mind that the real aim is to build authority, as forums have been the top source of spam link building. You don’t even need to insert a link in your signature there. Simply participate actively and the results will automatically start to come.

7. Outreach:

This technique can be performed in several ways. You can analyze your competitor’s blogs on similar topics by using any of your favorite backlink analyzing tools. Put your link in it and see the blogs that are linking to your competitor’s blog; download the data and start outreaching to the prospects one-by-one.

How to Promote Your Crowdfunding Project to 2,500,000 People for Only $20

How to Promote Your Crowdfunding Project to 2,500,000 People for Only $20

Want to get the word out? Did you know you can broadcast your crowdfunding project or campaign to over 2,500,000 active users on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and 40Billion for only $20, or as little as $5 a day? Buy a tweet ad to promote your message, brand, product, service, fundraising campaign, crowdfunding project, or small business to the world.

Are you trying to raise money on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or GoFundme? For over 4 years, aspiring crowdfunders and startup entrepreneurs have used 40Billion for affordable promotion across popular social networks in order to reach more potential customers and investors. Buy a tweet ad to get started in 3 easy steps.

5 Crowdfunding Steps Proven To Raise Money on Indiegogo

5 Crowdfunding Steps Proven To Raise Money on Indiegogo

This post on how to raise money successfully using simple crowdfunding steps answers common questions for startup entrepreneurs and small businesses thinking about using crowdfunding to raise funding.

I have been in the crowdfunding space since 2008, after experiencing first-hand one of the biggest problems plaguing new businesses: There was a $40 billion gap in funding every year! That year, I founded one of the first crowdfunding platforms for U.S. small businesses to raise money online. Our platform facilitated more than $100 million in raises successfully over the next 4 years; and, in 2013, we expanded the platform to focus on promoting projects from all crowdfunding platforms using the power of social networks to spread the word.

So what steps should you take to raise funding for your business? How can you increase your access to funding and customers by leveraging social networks? In these 5 crowdfunding success steps, I will share with you some of the learnings I have gained from almost a decade in the space.

1: Turn Your Idea Into a Business Plan

A good business plan is the #1 most important factor in deciding whether to fund a friend’s, relative’s, or stranger’s business. The best thing you can do as an entrepreneur to increase your chance of success is to turn your idea into a concise business plan or presentation. Some services allow you to upload a document; however, be careful not to upload any confidential information or intellectual property that you don’t want publicly known.

Download this free business plan presentation template, which guides you to create your business plan presentation in just 13 simple PowerPoint slides.

2: Create a Crowdfunding Page

After you’ve written a compelling business plan, you need to make sections of it available online to your potential funders. Create a crowdfunding page that everyone you know can access easily on the Web. Your page should provide insight into your vision and plan for the business, how much funding you need and why, what you have to offer funders in return (e.g., discounts on products or services you sell), a memorable image or video, and a call-to-action button that makes it easy for funders to make payments to you online.

By now, you have probably heard of Indiegogo, one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms for entrepreneurial ideas. Several film, technology, and small business startups have raised millions of dollars each on Indiegogo.

You will have to select an appropriate category, add sections from your business plan to create your pitch, set your fundraising goal, and launch your campaign. No approval or special review is needed on Indiegogo, so you can get started right away.

3: Invite Friends and Family to Check It Out

After you’ve created your crowdfunding page on Indiegogo, email it to everyone you know. Crowdfunding platforms are not good at promoting projects and usually do not offer affordable promotion services, so the results you get will depend on the effort and attention you put in to promoting your own crowdfunding project.

Invite your friends, family, community members, neighbors, and other contacts in your own network to review your business idea, give you feedback, contribute towards your funding target, and spread the word to their friends too. Share your crowdfunding page’s link by sending a personal email to each friend and relative using your favorite email program, such as Gmail.

Chances are, you know at least 50 people that you can share your idea with and ask for feedback. The more people you share with, the better your chances of raising money. For example, imagine you need to raise $40,000, and you invite 40 friends and relatives to contribute $25 each, in exchange for something in return – such as an exclusive version of the product before it is launched to the general public. Each of those friends and relatives invites 40 more friends and relatives to contribute towards the $40,000 target. Together, 40 x 40 = 1,600 people helping to raise $40,000 for your business.

All of a sudden, the impossible seems possible.

4: Promote It to the “Crowd”

After you have sent out your invitations to all of your contacts and received their feedback and some initial funding, it is time to spread the word to the proverbial “crowd,” a large online audience of potential funders and customers that can get you to your goal… and perhaps beyond.

Sites like 40Billion.com make this easy by broadcasting and promoting your crowdfunding page to its large network of several million users across the most popular social networking sites for businesses – including Twitter, LinkedIn, 40Billion, and even Facebook. Innovative services like tweet ads and promoted company listings were created for crowdfunding entrepreneurs to tap into a growing, active network online without spending thousands on pay-per-click ads or traditional advertising.

Furthermore, when you use existing social networks to spread the word about your crowdfunding project, it may go “viral.” If a project goes viral on social networks, it attains high popularity and exposure very quickly, as influencers and celebrities share your link with their many thousands (or even millions) of followers and fans online. That’s how some projects raise millions of dollars, exceeding their fundraising goals many times over. You can do it too.

5: Keep In Touch

After you get funded, what then? Be sure to thank your funders and others who supported you financially or helped you spread the word. Then, be sure to keep the lines of communication open by sending them regular company updates to let them know that their support has has helped you fulfill your “American dream” and that you are achieving those milestones you had set in your business plan. A great benefit of social networks is that it is easier than ever to send messages and stay in touch.

Crowdfunding has democratized fundraising for millions of small businesses all over the world, and there are no signs of slowing down. When done right, crowdfunding gets you fast access to necessary funding, as well as access to your first customers, which greatly increases your likelihood of success as a small business entrepreneur. $40 billion was only the beginning!

Turning Holidays Gifts Into a Marketing Tool – 6 Ideas

Turning Holidays Gifts Into a Marketing Tool – 6 Ideas

Hopefully you’ve already created your annual customer and client holiday gift list. Whether they’ve been naughty or nice, all clients should get recognized in this holiday ritual. But how can you make your holiday gifts do double duty-not only as a “thank you” for the past year’s business, but also as a marketing tool to encourage more business in the new year? Here are some ideas.

Remind them of you:

The simplest way to make your holiday gift a marketing tool is to choose a promotional product with your company’s name and/or logo on it. But for best results, make sure it’s something your client will actually use-ideally, in a setting when they’ll be thinking about buying what you sell. Also make sure it matches your brand and is relevant to your business. For example, if you sell accounting services to businesses, a high-quality pen set, sophisticated note pad or travel coffee mug is likely to be used at or on the way to work when the client is thinking business.

Personalize it:

A promotional product with your logo isn’t the only way to put your personal touch on a corporate gift. For instance, if you own a graphic design business, you could design your own wrapping paper or gift boxes for your gifts (be sure to add a label that says you designed it!). This way, you’re subtly reminding clients of your talents while they open your gift.

Give what you make or sell:

This not only saves money because you’re using your own inventory, but also reminds the client of your quality product. Every time the client drinks a cup of coffee made with your fresh-roasted beans, uses your handmade stationery or puts his iPad in your leather case, he’ll be reminded why he does business with you.

And for year around affordable marketing, don’t forget online marketing sites. You can visit 40billion.com which is a fastest-growing network of entrepreneurs and crowdfunders. They specialize in promotion of small businesses by broadcasting and promoting to its large network of several million users across the most popular social networking sites for small businesses – including Twitter, LinkedIn, 40Billion, and even Facebook. Innovative services such as promoted company listings were created for small entrepreneurs to tap into a growing, active network online without spending thousands on pay-per-click ads or traditional advertising. They also offer crowdfunding promotion and promote crowdfunders and their campaigns/projects.

Deliver your gifts by hand:

If your clients are local, make an impact by delivering your holiday gifts yourself. Make a brief appointment so you’re not interruptive, and spend the time catching up with the client. Don’t make this a hard-sell sales call, but listen for cues as to how you may be able to help them in the future, and cement your interest in working with them again next year.

Give the gift of time:

Instead of giving a physical gift, take key clients out to breakfast or coffee-something brief that provides a break in their busy days, but also gives you time to reconnect. You’ll stand out from the crowd of social media connections by simply being present in real life, and you’ll be top of mind when the client turns to next year’s budget.

Give the gift of information:

A business book or magazine subscription that’s relevant to your client’s industry, challenges and interests shows you put some thought into what will help her get ahead in the coming year. Plus, you can follow up later by asking the client how she likes the book and why you thought it might be helpful to her…segueing nicely into how your business might be helpful as well. And if you’ve procrastinated, this is a quick and easy gift.

With these simple tips, you can turn holiday business gifts into the gift that keeps on giving-giving you more business, that is.