-•- WorkAtHomeNews.com Newsletter - Issue 297 -•-
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Webmaster Help
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Search engines are gaining popularity but if your site is not set 
up correctly you might not be listed. Many people set up the meta
tags correctly, make sure their content is keyword rich, but they
forget to add a robots.txt file. A robots.txt file is the file a 
search engine looks for to determine what pages on your site that
you would like indexed. Contrary to popular belief, even if you're
looking to have all of your pages indexed, you should still have a
robots.txt file on your web server. The robots.txt file should be
in your server's web root ( where your index page is ), and this 
file has to follow a specific syntax. I can't really display the
right syntax here in this newsletter, but with a little searching
you should be able to find the right syntax pretty easily. Even if
your site has a meta tag that for the robots, you site should have
a robots.txt file. Many search engines, especially the smaller and
more targeted ones, look for this file and if it's not found they
simply move on. What search engines programmers are thinking with
this tactic is that a good page will be written properly, and the
good writers will know to include this robots.txt file. The file 
will be uploaded to your server in ASCII format, and will only be
a couple of lines long, but it should be there. This should take 
you no more than 5 minutes to do, and it could potentially bring 
hundreds if not thousands of new visitors to your site. Do a bit 
of research and add this file, your search engine listings could
be counting on it!

 
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Featured Guest Article
======================
 
Catch More Clients Using Strategic Networking 
by Charlie Cook 

Is networking helping you bring in the new clients you want? 
If you are like most independent professionals and small 
business owners, you put hard work into getting your name out 
there and distribute your business card wherever you go. You 
may even attend a weekly or monthly networking group  or 
occasional business conference where people share leads. And 
like most people, your time and effort isn't generating a 
steady stream of new business.  

The problem is that most people think that networking 
consists of telling as many people as possible what 
they do, and handing out as many business cards as they 
can. They waste the few precious moments they have with 
new and existing contacts by focusing on themselves.  

Its possible to meet someone in the airport, hand them your 
card after a brief conversation, and have them call you to 
request your services, but this random approach is like 
playing the lottery. You can't count on it to produce 
results. It is a Push and Pray technique: you push your 
information out to others and pray that they respond.  

It rarely works. Your contact loses your card or simply 
forgets about you, or the timing wasn't right, or, in 
spite of the connection you thought you'd made, a single 
conversation usually isn't enough to launch a client 
relationship. 

That initial conversation should be about understanding 
your prospects' problems, needs and concerns, and 
collecting their contact information. The objective of 
networking is not to expound on your credentials. 

Spend the time you have with prospects (or people who might 
know a prospect) asking questions and collecting information. 
Then you can determine whether they would have any genuine 
interest in/need for the solutions you provide. Use this 
client problem centered networking strategy to initiate 
and build profitable relationships.

Pull Information
1. See how many cards you can collect from prospects, and 
don't worry about how many of your own business cards you 
distribute. Some successful marketers don't even have a 
business card. 

2. When you meet people, use the time to gather information 
from them, including: 
. Primary concerns about their business
. Problems they want solved
. Unmet business needs. 
. Areas where the solutions you provide overlap with their 
needs
. Their contact information

3. Continue to expand your network. Whenever you make a 
contact, ask for referrals to other prospects. 

4. Once you have this information, enter it into your 
database or contact manager.
 
Build Relationships
1. People have short memories. Follow-up after your 
initial contact and then stay in touch with your network 
on a regular basis. If you let more than a month go by 
without making contact they'll forget that you exist 
and that you are the best person to solve their 
financial, legal, human resource, design, or other 
problems. 

You'll want to make personal contact with some people 
on your prospect list, but in most cases, a letter, 
newsletter or ezine will do the job. Use the merge 
function in your software to personalize your mailings. 

2. Demonstrate the value of your expertise or products by 
sending prospects and clients an idea or suggestion they 
can use right away. You could present this in an article 
you've written, or one you've read. Your contact will 
then associate you with the problems you solve. 
 
Pull information from prospects and clients to grow your
network, stay in touch and regularly demonstrate the value 
of your products and services. 

Networking should be one of the core marketing tactics of most 
independent professionals and small business owners. Use 
client-centered networking to lessen your reliance on costly and 
time consuming cold calling/telemarketing and advertising. Over 
time, this business building strategy will reward you with a 
steady stream of new clients.

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Get a copy of the marketing plan guide, 7 Steps to Get More 
Clients and Grow Your Business. Get the FREE marketing guide now: 
CLICK HERE ==> http://www.charliecook.net
mailto:ccook@charliecook.net

 
 
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Marketing Tip
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Do it with style, your own style! There is tons of great marketing
information out there, but you have to use it wisely. After taking 
in a great marketing article, don't try to copy what it says word 
for word, take what it says and apply it to your style. Anyone who
can read instructions has the ability to write a decent ad, but is 
that going to keep you fresh in your prospect's mind? If you haven't
noticed, most of the "gurus" in our industry are known by name. If
you want to make a name for yourself, you need to give people real
reasons to remember your name. I know of one person who writes an 
online newsletter and does so with absolutely no set schedule. If 
he has the time, or something interesting to write about, he sends
out an article. Basically, this type of schedule goes against just
about everything that you're told in "email marketing 101" but it 
does not matter. This publisher found what works for him, he uses
it to his advantage, and his readers gobble it up. Sometimes he'll
send a newsletter once a week, sometimes two days in a row, or he 
may go a month without sending one. Conventional wisdom says that
he wouldn't get much response, but his online tracking system says
something different. No matter when this publisher sends out his 
newsletter he gets similar readership numbers. What's his secret? 
He is just being himself. He doesn't force himself to write great 
articles when he's not in the mood. He doesn't try to come up with
something to say just to say it. And he doesn't force content out
there if it's not going to be good. Each one of his newsletters is
read because each one of them is written with his personality when
he's in the mood to write. Personality is not your enemy, let it 
show when you're writing. People don't buy books by the one author
because they like the covers, the buy the same author because of 
the style of the books. You don't read the same newspaper column 
each week because it's written in perfect English, you do so for 
the personality of the columnist. Think about it, the same thing 
applies online.

 
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