If you think you don’t need a niche for your product or service, think again. In a recent Wall Street Journal article about the fashion industry, I read about a couple of guys who started a very, very niched business. No, they aren’t fashion designers. Previously in jobs that were peripheral to the fashion industry, they saw a need that fashion brands had and figured out a pretty slick way to meet that need.

James Nord and Rich Tong founded Fohr Card and launched it in January 2013. It’s a database of fashion bloggers who have successfully engaged their readers (see my earlier blog post about engagement) to the point where they have significant and measurable influence in their market. These bloggers sign up to be included in Fohr Card’s database, signing over the login information so Fohr Card can collect actual, real time data on their influence using social media and other statistics.

Brand companies like Juicy Couture, Samsung, and Kate Spade pay handsomely ($1000/month) for access to this measurable data. Prior to Fohr Card, they had to rely on bloggers volunteering their stats, and trust that the bloggers stats were true.

As a young girl, I was always attracted to stories. If an article in a book, magazine, newspaper, or mail piece began with a story, I was immediately engaged. If I was engaged enough, I would keep reading that article after the introductory story ended.

I’m not so young anymore but I’m still more likely to be engaged by a story in something I’m reading than something that just jumps in from the get-go. If I’m engaged, I’m more likely to buy. And as a business owner, that’s the bottom line, isn’t it?

Blogging is rampant. Many blogs are treated by the bloggers as a visible place to spill their opinions. But sprinkled in amongst the gazillion bloggers out there are a relative few really good bloggers.

I was reading the September 5th issue of the Wall Street Journal and came across an article on how Procter & Gamble have been introducing premium versions of their products, some at significant (greater then 50%) price increases over their normal counterparts. That lead me to thinking, do you have a premium product or service? If P&G can sell a premium version of paper towels at higher prices, you can certainly do it in your business!

There are many reasons and strategies for having a premium level of your products and services, but the biggest is that there are always some buyers that want the premium package no matter what. If you don't offer them one,  they will be disappointed. So give them what they really want! Premium products should not cost nearly as much as the increase in price, that is they have a higher profit margin. Do you think that P&Gs Bounty DuraTowel actually costs 20% more to make, equal to the 20% more it is priced? You can count on not.

Another strategy is to use the super-premium level as a way to compel your prospects to take the level you really want them to take, next level down.

Some members of the New England Infusionsoft User Group that we facilitate told us, in a recent survey, that they need more help getting their Infusionsoft application to do more work for them. So we decided to post all the resources we could think of here.

Infusionsoft recognizes the need for robust training to support their customers, along with the fact that different people learn differently and have different timelines and availability. For those reasons, Infusionsoft offers a wide variety of options for you:

Video Library (free)

• help.infusionsoft.com/training/videos

Virtual Academy (free)

• help.infusionsoft.com/academy

It’s said our purpose here on earth is to create, and I see achievement as simply stepping into our best creations. Whether it be making a million dollars, or making our most delicious batch of cupcakes ever, achievement inspires. It encourages us to keep bettering our best and also excites others to reach for the stars as well.

When you have conquered a goal or challenge that once seemed impossible, you feel on top of the world, and with that comes an enormous sense of pride and satisfaction. But that’s not all. Success is energizing and a huge self-confidence booster, as you realize what you are really capable of! So achievement breeds more achievement. For each goal you achieve, view it as the first step into a much bigger venture—it’s the end of one journey and the beginning of many more. And one great way to stay connected with your success is to RECORD it.

Social media for business - what are you doing to promote your business using social media? Consider if your business B2B or B2C because it can make a difference which social media platforms you concentrate on. Should you be focusing your efforts on LinkedIn or Facebook?

User Group member and social media expert Tim Ludy was our guest presenter today at the New England Infusionsoft User Group meeting. Tim answered questions and gave advice to those of us at the meeting about creating an effective plan to achieve our social media goals.

With the July Fourth holiday breathing down our necks, it was a small group but full of questions and discussion as usual. We have asked Tim to come back to speak to the full group at the September meeting about getting measurable results using social media for your businesses. He will be available to answer questions then too, so bring your social media challenges for Tim!

August is our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY meeting for the New England Infusionsoft User Group so you can expect some fun stuff in addition to some new Infusionsoft and marketing how-to’s. See you there!

We wish you all a safe, fun, and Happy Fourth of July!

We are very, very sloppy with language.

Consider the word “can’t”.  People use it often, casually, and, mostly, inaccurately.

As in: I just can’t seem to lose weight. Actually, barring a genuine medical disorder, the odds against somewhere in the 25,000 to 1 range, anybody can, in fact, lose weight. There’s no mystery to it whatsoever. Reduce calorie, fat, and empty carb intake, add exercise. The accurate word replacing can’t here would be choose. I just seem to choose not to lose weight. I choose to remain fat, ugly, unhealthy.

Customer service is a pet peeve of ours. The other day I ran into our favorite grocery store to pick up a few things and had a shock. To set the stage, you need to know this grocery store is not the bargain store in our area and they blatantly pride themselves on their stellar customer service.

Anyway, I went to the deli and duly pulled my numbered ticket. There’s one other customer at the deli counter, standing near me, and currently being helped. So I figure I’m next. Especially since there are several deli employees chatting together at the far end of the counter.

Wrong.