The Facebook Fiasco!

 It’s been two days since the “powers that be” at Facebook decided to mess with our heads again and shuffle around how they display posts and feeds. 

     People were crying foul! 

     How dare you mess with our way of life. 

     As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror!  

     Not to mention anger, frustration & sheer annoyance!      

     Well, according to sources, this is just the beginning! 

     Your precise Facebook is no more!

     Well, not like it was. 

     Facebook wants to make it better! 

     Seriously? Screwing with people’s minds and making them cringe everytime they sign on to your service is making things better?    

      Or as John McClane says, “Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the ass.” 

       My 19 year old daughter was so annoyed at the rapid changes Facebook was making she was contemplating deleting her account and just using her Google + account. Which incidently, she says was more like Facebook a few years ago, but with easier to use, cool features.  

    “No need to fear…Underdog is here!” 

     Sorry, just always wanted to find a place to use that phrase and there it was! 

     Well, for now I have a quick fix that will help solve some issues.  

     If you want your Facebook feed to go back to normal…here’s what you do. 

     First, go to your account settings (which is in the top right corner, with the little arrow pointing down, the arrow next to home…click it) and go to notifications. At the top right is a box that says email frequency. Uncheck that box and your feed will show all the posts again.  

     Then go to your home page and anything in the “Top Stories” click on the down arrow in the upper right and “unmark as top story” – now your newsfeed will be setup by timestamp rather than randomly picking “top stories. 

      It’s a start and will help bring some semblance of normalcy back…at least for a few weeks until Facebook rolls out more nerve whacking stuff. And, believe me, what that have planned will make Wednesday’s fiasco a walk in the park.           

      Rapid changes to your service can and will upset people and is the fastest way to lose customers. Facebook may have the ability to offset those defections of people who go elsewhere, but the average entrepreneur doesn’t. So, if you plan on making changes, do so in a manner that won’t upset the majority of your customers.     

  Until Next Time,                   

     “Live with Passion!” 

   Rob Anspach    

  P.S.  As changes occur on Facebook or other social sites, I will try to have up to date, easy to understand instructions or fast fixes that will have you back up and posting again.

Social media etiquette from a Baltimore housewife!

 Over the years I have shared my thoughts and frustrations in regards to social media…and I appreciate you listening. 

       I have shared ideas, tips and secrets to help you get more how out of your social media experience. You’ve thanked me. 

       But today, I’m going to do something different… 

       I’m going to introduce you to a friend of mine… who as it happens is not a marketer, or an entrepreneur or even a social media guru. Nope! 

       She’s just a mom! A mom who cares about her family to write her response to what she sees concerning Facebook and social media in general. 

        Her name is Jaimie Jacobs and her article is entitled, “Facebook Status Updates: What Not To Write!        

        http://www.helium.com/items/2180749-facebook-status-updates-what-not-to-write    

        Read it!

        Comment on it!

        Tell her Rob sent you!  

        Until Next Time,                       

  “Live with Passion!” 

   Rob Anspach    

   P.S. The internet is full of mom’s just like Jaimie who are very expressive with their thoughts and we marketers could take a lesson from their handbook every now and then. 

The truth about fanpages!

It’s about 6:30pm EST and I’m still sitting at my computer.

I made the mistake of taking yesterday off to spend at the beach. And, today I’m paying for it.

I had several emails and a few phone calls while I was away.

It seems what’s on everybody’s mind right now is how to make their fanpage more effective. To some just having a fanpage would do wonders.

But, a word of caution…

A fanpage won’t do diddly if you don’t work it!

“You got to work it, work it!” – as my kids would sing, from the movie Madagascar.

Yep, you have to actively engage readers (followers, friends, stalkers) or whatever you wish to call them, to respond to what it is you are conveying.

It’s not easy.

If they have hundred of friends (or in my case thousands), your message may not get much “play-time” and may just fall on deaf ears.

So, truth be told…why waste time creating a fanpage if you aren’t going to continously make it interesting and fun.

The best fanpages incorporate a “thank you” for liking us feature. Or, some type of incentive to get people to share the page with their friends.

Yeah, I know it’s crazy!

Just a few years ago, there was no Facebook. Now, if your business doesn’t have a fanpage you are labled a leaper or maybe something worse.

The times they are a changing…are you keeping up?

I know!

Almost 3 years ago, I screwed up!

In the early days of fanpage development I made a few mistakes…even had my very first fanpage shut down for two weeks due to violating Facebook’s terms of service agreement. Which, ironically wasn’t my fault, but it did cost me time and money.

It was a hard lesson to learn.

Now, with Facebook surpassing 600 million active members, having a fanpage for your business is definately the way to build sales. And, you need to do it right!

Gimmicks work for a bit! They are like that tangling carrot in front of the mule to get him to move forward. Eventually, the donkey will get tired and want to eat the carrot. So substance is just as important.

The key is to keep your followers engaged…is to actively educate and entertain them.

 

Until Next Time, 

      “Live with Passion!” 

      Rob Anspach    

P.S.  If you need help with your fanpage (setting up, increasing traffic, conversion), give me shout out! I offer consulting, content creation and yes, even management of your fanpage.  

Contact Information

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Email: rob@robanspach.com                                   Phone: (717)330-7947

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube & WordPress!

                    

Rob Anspach is a “brilliantly savvy” entrepreneur who helps frustrated business owners regain the passion they once had by showing them how to be more effective in the marketplace, how to dramatically improve their business so they enjoy coming to work again and how to win over customers regardless of price. Discover how easy it is to make money in your online or offline marketing, to attract and retain clientele and profit from your passions… visit http://www.robanspach.com  today!

Rob is also the creator & dynamic force behind Success Secrets TV, the new online show dedicated to helping entrepreneurs stay successful… check it out by going to… http://www.SuccessSecrets.TV

It’s now even easier to promote your website with this little feature!

Imagine, everyone who goes to your website now has the power to instantly tell their friends about it in “real-time”.

That my friend is the power of a little thing called the “LIKE” button.

And, now you can put that power to use right away on your site. Or sites!

Yep, getting your friends, clients, visitors and maybe even your competitors to share with their friends and followers what you and your website is all about just got so much easier.

Everytime someone clicks the “LIKE” button on your website, it instantly shows up on their Facebook wall/stream. So if you clicked on the “LIKE” button on my website it would show up as ” You just liked a link” and it would display the link name and a description.

Maybe, it’s just me…but, I think it’s pretty sweet!

It’s yet another tool in your marketing toobox that you can use to get others to help promote you.

Until Next Time, 

   “Live with Passion!”

 

 

   Rob Anspach 

P.S. Oops, I almost forgot to give you the link to get your FREE “LIKE” button.

http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like/ - use the XFBML code as this is more acceptable on websites than iframe is.

P.P.S.  Exclusive subscriber notice…Not yet posted to my website… Mark your calendars for February 3, 4 & 5 (2012) for the Be A Better Entrepreneur seminar. The event will be held in Orlando Florida and will be priced at $2995 per person. However, the first 30 people who sign up will save $2000 and get into the event for only $995.00 – click the link to take advantage of this fantastic pricing. Plus, the first 30 will receive a private marketing jam session one of nights of the seminar.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=6HZ2KWEYGN8NJ

Seminars designed exclusively for the self-employed!

Contact Information

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Email: rob@robanspach.com                                   Phone: (717)330-7947

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube & WordPress!

                    

Rob Anspach is a “brilliantly savvy” entrepreneur who helps frustrated business owners regain the passion they once had by showing them how to be more effective in the marketplace, how to dramatically improve their business so they enjoy coming to work again and how to win over customers regardless of price. Discover how easy it is to make money in your online or offline marketing, to attract and retain clientele and profit from your passions… visit http://www.robanspach.com  today!

Rob is also the creator & dynamic force behind Success Secrets TV, the new online show dedicated to helping entrepreneurs stay successful… check it out by going to… http://www.SuccessSecrets.TV

I won’t criticize you if you take this option!

We hear it all the time! It’s been drilled into us!

Failure is not an option!

We are told to strive to be the best, to never give up, to never surrender.

But, failure is an option.

It’s a viable option.

An option not to be taken lightly, but used as a last resort.

Most entrepreneurs (actually, most people in general) when faced with a difficult situation tend to cave and run away.

It’s that ole’ fight or flight proposition that keeps us going.

Sure, we can take a stand, and have a “never surrender attitude”, the “captain goes down with the ship approach”, or we can take another approach.

He who runs away, lives to fight another day!

 

It’s okay to fight for what you believe, especially in the promotion of your products and services… but, it’s also okay to cut and run.

It’s the knowing when, that confuses most people!

A great deal of entrepreneurs are under capitalized (under funded) and don’t realize that the game may take longer to play than the time frame they originally set for themselves.

Be patient!

If what you are doing in regards to the promotion of your business, isn’t producing, it’s time to change things. You don’t necessarily have to quit, just change the rules a bit.

Know your limits!

Have realistic expectations!

Give yourself adequate deadlines!

And yes, expect the best but prepare for the worst!

Have an exit plan!

Ask for help!

Only give up when you absolutely have no other choice!

Walk away only when you know that you gave it your all, you tried all the options and exhausted all avenues.

Failure is an option. It’s also an opportunity.

For every failure there is a life lesson.

Learn from your failures and you become stronger, wiser and hopefully more productive.

Until Next Time, 

   “Live with Passion!”

 

   Rob Anspach 

P.S. A friend posted this quote by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross on her Facebook wall this morning that summed it up rather nicely… “The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”  

P.P.S.  Not yet posted to my website… Mark your calendars for February 3, 4 & 5 (2012) for the Be A Better Entrepreneur seminar. The event will be held in Orlando Florida and will be priced at $2995 per person. However, the first 30 people who sign up will save $2000 and get into the event for only $995.00 – click the link to take advantage of this fantastic pricing.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=6HZ2KWEYGN8NJ

Seminars designed exclusively for the self-employed!

Contact Information

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Email: rob@robanspach.com                                   Phone: (717)330-7947

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube & WordPress!

                    

Rob Anspach is a “brilliantly savvy” entrepreneur who helps frustrated business owners regain the passion they once had by showing them how to be more effective in the marketplace, how to dramatically improve their business so they enjoy coming to work again and how to win over customers regardless of price. Discover how easy it is to make money in your online or offline marketing, to attract and retain clientele and profit from your passions… visit http://www.robanspach.com  today!

Rob is also the creator & dynamic force behind Success Secrets TV, the new online show dedicated to helping entrepreneurs stay successful… check it out by going to… http://www.SuccessSecrets.TV

Google’s “New Coke” Blunder!

Seems like even Mega, Goliath type companies don’t learn from the mistakes made by others, oh so many years ago.

Google with their latest algorithm launched just a few weeks ago to help them compete better in the world of internet search inquiries is taking a lesson out of Coca Cola’s play book.

Twenty six years ago Coke in order to compete with Pepsi changed the formula of their flagship drink and made it “New Coke”. In their drastic attempt to be like their competitor Coke failed to realize who their customers were. They wanted to capture Pepsi’s new generation but failed to recognize the generation that help shaped them into a global powerhouse.

Coke failed miserably!

In time Coke learned from their mistakes and reshaped their company, refocused their efforts, listened to their customers and now are the number one beverage company in the world.

Google was once the mighty and proud search engine that everyone used, and every one wanted to be ranked on.

They’re screwing up!

Google’s latest attempt at recoding the algorithm that made them famous is putting entrepreneurs, web companies and those searching in frantic mode.

Google is the “New Coke” all over again.

Websites that have enjoyed prime real estate on Page 1 of Google for their key words are being tossed aside like yesterday’s trash.

Strategies employed by the so-called SEO experts are being put to the test and major money is being spent to force everyone to drink Google’s new concoction.

Google is running scared!

Their biggest competitor is Facebook!

While Facebook is relatively the newcomer compared to Google – it really is the Coke vs Pepsi war all over again.

In this battle, everyone with a website is collateral damage.

Google is punishing those without regard to how long they’ve been on the net or how much money they make or spend. And, yet at the same time rewarding those who have no clue what they are doing, or how ridiculous their content is.

It’s so haphazard!

And Google seems to be proud of it!

In my search for answers I’ve discovered a few clues to Google’s “New Coke” formula, and it goes something like this…

The Main Ingredients to Google’s Algorithm.

(importance from top to bottom)

1)SEO Keyword Usage Factors

2)Domain Strength / Speed

3)Registration History

4)Age & Quality of Links

5)Historical CTR to page in SERP’s

6)Content Quality Score

7)Negative Results

Keywords are still a very important factor in determining where your website page ranks on Google’s search. Add in how fast your website loads and how old it is and you have the making for a great “Page 1″ search.

Here’s the monkey in your wrench!

It’s the sweetness that Google hopes will help shape their future.

They’ve added a few more tricks! No copying! Yep, Google now grades on content, the time users spend on your site, usability, links to and from, and how your page is being promoted on social media, article submission sites and blogs.

What Google is hoping to do is force all website owners to be more creative, original and somewhat authoritative in their content creation. Google penalizes your site for using content that is duplicated from others or even your own sites.

Google no longer wants the generation that helped build them, they want the new generation that sits in front of the computer all day doing nothing but creating original works of art, sipping from their fountain.

It’s sounds great in theory, as I’m sure so did the idea of “New Coke”!

But, in all reality there is not enough credible in-the-know web designers, SEO experts or do-it-yourselfers to implement all the new rules for websites to achieve what Google is proposing.

Hey, just knowing what I shared with you could help you achieve higher rankings. Well, until Google decides to change the formula again.

Until Next Time, 

   “Live with Passion!”

 

   Rob Anspach

    

  P.S.  Do you want to know how to improve your website? Do you want to learn how the search engines view your content? Well, now you can! I’ve teamed up again with Internet Guru John Spangler (from my Web Success Series on Success Secrets TV) to offer you a special 5 page White Lable SEO/Website Report. This report is so detailed, so helpful that it normally sells for $99. But, being that John owes me a huge favor and I want to help you grow your business and help your website achieve good rankings I’ve convinced John to let you have it for just $39. That’s an incredible $60 off.

Click to start your order…

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=B2JJAADBE6YW6

 P.P.S. After paying for your “White Lable SEO/Website report” just send me an email with…

Your name and company name,

The website you want to have checked,

10 keywords or less you want to check for web rankingsWhat I will then do is have John generate the report as a pdf and email you the report that you can then use any way you want.

Contact Information

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Email: rob@robanspach.com                                   Phone: (717)330-7947

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rob Anspach is a “brilliantly savvy” entrepreneur who helps frustrated business owners regain the passion they once had by showing them how to be more effective in the marketplace, how to dramatically improve their business so they enjoy coming to work again and how to win over customers regardless of price. Discover how easy it is to make money in your online or offline marketing, to attract and retain clientele and profit from your passions… visit http://www.robanspach.com  today!

Rob is also the creator & dynamic force behind Success Secrets TV, the new online show dedicated to helping entrepreneurs stay successful… check it out by going to… http://www.SuccessSecrets.TV

YOU Time!

When was the last time you broke free of the business and just did something for you?

Today was my day!

I woke up early as I usually do. But, instead of turning on my computer and peaking into the world of social media, checking the magnitude of emails, or listening to the voice mails…I ignored them!

Yep! It was my day!

It had nothing to do with ignoring deadlines or responding to inquiries…it was just that I needed a free day (a personal “hookie” day).

I didn’t want to think about logging in, pushing papers, pleasing people or writing brilliant content. Nope!

I’m taking the day off. Rob has the left the building.

Most entrepreneurs would have a serious problem with just up and taking time off…even if it’s just for a day. And to be spontaneous…

…don’t even think about it!

Yet, sometimes taking time away from the business is exactly what’s needed to re-energize those entrepreneurial batteries.

You need a recharge!

Take a deep breathe! Clear your schedule! Relax!

It’s not that easy is it.

You have programmed yourself into thinking that you need to be available 24/7 for your clients and potential customers or you might miss out on that sale.

Well, my friend, the only thing you will miss out on is your enjoyment of life.

Take time to smell the roses! In fact gardening is therapeutic!

That’s what I did today! I put up a fence around my garden to keep the animals out, and then helped my wife plant all kinds of vegetables. It was fun!

I didn’t think about business, websites, Facebook, customers…and yes, I turned my cellphone off so I was not accessible to anyone.

Deals don’t need to be conducted 24/7!

Downtime is required!

It’s okay to play “hookie” from your business every so often…in fact I insist!

Go out and just enjoy the day. Turn off the cellphone, unplug the computer, no TV, no radio, don’t read the newspaper…No distractions.

Go fishing, see a baseball game, plant a garden, just do something that isn’t business related. Give yourself permission for YOU time!

When you return to work, you will feel refreshed and ready to tackle the world.

Until Next Time, 

  “Live with Passion!”

    Rob Anspach

 P.S.  Take a day off and tell me how you felt? Was it uncomfortable? Was it relaxing? How did you feel when you returned to work?

Contact Information

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Email: rob@robanspach.com                                   Phone: (717)330-7947 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rob Anspach is a “brilliantly savvy” entrepreneur who helps frustrated business owners regain the passion they once had by showing them how to be more effective in the marketplace, how to dramatically improve their business so they enjoy coming to work again and how to win over customers regardless of price. Discover how easy it is to make money in your online or offline marketing, to attract and retain clientele and profit from your passions… visit http://www.robanspach.com  today!

Rob is also the creator & dynamic force behind Success Secrets TV, the new online show dedicated to helping entrepreneurs stay successful… check it out by going to… http://www.SuccessSecrets.TV

Time to Mature?

When you’re young people are always saying things like, “oh, there’s plenty of time to mature”, right? I’m sure you’ve heard it. Then you do something (possibly screw up somewhere) and then the phrase changes dramatically to… “I can’t wait until you mature!” Well, the same can be said about your social media posts. They need time to mature. Not necessary written better. They just need a longer shelf life. Have you ever noticed when looking at social sites like Twitter and Facebook there are always a few posters who fire their messages in rapid succession. You start reading one, then another hits you, then another! It’s kind of like putting one jelly bean in your mouth and before you are done chewing it, you put another in there and repeat the process until you’re mouth is stuffed. Too much is ridiculous! You need breathing room! I’m sure you have plenty to say…but rapid fire postings do nothing but overwhelm a reader and get them sick and tired of being overstuffed. Time to mature! Social media is all about the 3 E’s! Educate, Entertain and Engage! You can’t do any of those things if your posts don’t have time to be read. Yep, your posts need time to mature! Like a fine wine…they need time to be savored, sipped and enjoyed! Not gulped down hillbilly style! I can’t tell you the exact time your posts will be read…but I can make some recommendations on how to give your posts some hang time and more “umph”! Instead of posting several times in an hour, cut your posts down to every couple of hours. Sometimes the less you say is more powerful then what you say. It’s not the quantity…it’s the quality! Ideally, four to six posts a day is usually plenty. This gives you plenty of opportunity to share with your fans and followers the newest widget, what your dog did, the latest pics of your kids, your vacation, recommended links or blog posts, and the list goes on. Too many posts all at once and you become the little kid who jumps around screaming “look at me, see what I’m doing”! When people stop watching, you up the ante and increase the frequency, hoping that you will garner some attention. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way! Facebook has done a wonderful job at filtering out the “look at me” type posts and replacing them with a “SEE MORE POSTS FROM” headline. If you want to read more just click the link, if not then do nothing. Decrease frequency, increase response! By decreasing the frequency of your posts and giving them more time to mature you’ll discover more people will respond to your message increasing the chances of developing more fans and followers. Until Next Time,     “Live with Passion!”      Rob Anspach         P.S. Some other posts you might wish to read (related to social media)…    Seriously, Do You Do This? http://robanspach.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/seriously-do-you-do-this/    Disruptive Technology http://robanspach.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/disruptive-technology/    Poor Matt! http://robanspach.wordpress.com/2010/09/22/poor-matt-im-gonna-pick-on-him/    P.P.S. Tired of not booking enough jobs? Frustrated at the quality of customers that are calling you? Maybe it’s time to kick your marketing up a notch. Learn proven techniques that really work. This workshop is open to any service industry (not just carpet cleaning), but seats are filling fast. Hurry! The event takes place this Thursday 4/28 from 6-9pm in Langhorne PA. I’ll be co-teaching along with Jeff Cross. The cost is $139, you can bring a guest foan additional $79  Here’s the link to sign up http://cleaningprofessor.com/philadelphia-cleaning-marketing.html

Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Email: rob@robanspach.com                                   Phone: (717)330-7947 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rob Anspach is a “brilliantly savvy” entrepreneur who helps frustrated business owners regain the passion they once had by showing them how to be more effective in the marketplace, how to dramatically improve their business so they enjoy coming to work again and how to win over customers regardless of price. Discover how easy it is to make money in your online or offline marketing, to attract and retain clientele and profit from your passions… visit http://www.robanspach.com  today! Rob is also the creator & dynamic force behind Success Secrets TV, the new online show dedicated to helping entrepreneurs stay successful… check it out by going to… http://www.SuccessSecrets.TV

The Facebook Employer Link Fix!

I spent the last several hours ripping my hair out because my employer links on my Facebook profile didn’t go where they were supposed to go!Have you checked yours? Well, I really hadn’t thought about it (my link) until this morning when I was editing my profile and wanted to add some things. That’s when the fun began. (Yeah, that’s scarcasm!) I clicked and was surprised that my fanpage didn’t show up! It was replaced by a generic, non-descript BLAH-boring “sad-excuse” for a page I had ever seen. These so-called place pages occurred when Facebook made everyone upgrade to their latest format. Well, after many attempts to correct this error, and looking on Facebook’s Q&A section, I found nothing but more confusion as to correct this injustice. I Googled my dilemma and found I needed Firefox and some developer tools… I thought is it really that hard to do this, why do I need to jump through freaking hoops here? This is going to sound crazy but… It’s actually very simple! Maybe, that’s why Facebook didn’t post it anywhere. It’s too simple! Here’s what to do! On your personal page under your name, there should an “Edit Profile” link. Click it! You will be sent to your Profile page where you can edit all of your personal info. To the left you should see “Education & Work” – again click on it. It’s this page that will show you your employer (or employers) names & dates and some general information. Select the one you want and… Just delete it! Yep, delete your employer listing! (Told you it was crazy!) Now retype it! Type it just like whatever fanpage you wish to have your employer name be directed to. As you’re typing, there should be a shaded bar below the box that will display… “Add” followed by whatever you typed. If you have spelled the name correctly, then click on the shaded bar. If you’re page displays a picture that matches what your trying to accomplish than you are good to go and your fan/employer page is now linked and ready to be clicked on. If not, you may need to create a fan page for your business and then re-do the linking process again. Having the links work the proper way will help fans/followers find you, know more about you and have a reason to “Like” you. Until Next Time,     “Live with Passion!”        Rob Anspach         P.S. If you don’t have a Facebook fanpage – here’s the link to an article I wrote back in April of 2010    http://robanspach.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/its-so-simple-why-arent-you-doing-it/

Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Email: rob@robanspach.com                                   Phone: (717)330-7947 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube & WordPress!                      Rob Anspach is a “brilliantly savvy” entrepreneur who helps frustrated business owners regain the passion they once had by showing them how to be more effective in the marketplace, how to dramatically improve their business so they enjoy coming to work again and how to win over customers regardless of price. Discover how easy it is to make money in your online or offline marketing, to attract and retain clientele and profit from your passions… visit http://www.robanspach.com  today! Rob is also the creator & dynamic force behind Success Secrets TV, the new online show dedicated to helping entrepreneurs stay successful… check it out by going to… http://www.SuccessSecrets.TV

Deal or No Deal?

They seem to be everywhere! I’m sure you’ve seen them!  Those pesky ads that say you can save 50-90%! I know you know what I’m talking about, right! The Groupons, the Living Socials and the menagerie of other ”deal of the day” coupon sites. Signing up is usually easy! Give’em your name and email address and you’ll start receiving these so-called fantastic deals. But, are they really deals? Well, from a consumer’s point of view, yeah they are! I’d jump on a deal to save 50% off hot, fresh pizza (Italian style, of course)! BUT… From a merchants stand point, they can be a horrible nightmare. Here’s the real deal… Say you desperatley wanted to try it out. You heard the hype and saw the flashy write ups, and thought it would be great to give it a go. Maybe you even received one of those deals and realized your business needs to join in. Well, prepare for a shocker! That deal that looked so promising, could cost you…I mean big time. Say, you advertised a $100 deal for just $49…that’s a $51 savings right. Guess what, you don’t see that $49…nope! As a merchant participating in those special one day only coupon deals…the service gets half that $49 from each sale. Yep, half! So, now your $49 is worth $24.50! Now add in the fees that most charge for credit card processing and your $24.50 is worth about $22.00 You just gave away a $100 service for just $22.00 Sounds crazy! Well, if you’re trying to get people in your store or to try your service then maybe it’s not so crazy. That low price can be justified as “the cost of doing business”. Let’s say for the sake of arguement, you agree to take the plunge and offer up your best deal. A deal unlike any other you’ve ever done. And, you run a 60% off special. (For easy calculations I’ll stick to the $100 value again) That $100 face value coupon is selling for $40 and you figure you’d be happy selling 10-20 of them. But your coupon is such a success that it shoots past the 20 mark and now your excitement turns to worry as you wonder if you can handle the influx of work. Then the unthinkable happens… Your ‘deal of the day” sells a total of 235 coupons! Now, you are in a panic. How the hell are you supposed to handle the stampede of new customers? And, since you are only making roughly $20 on each deal…you wonder if you just sold your soul. The majority of coupon winners will want to take advantage of their special offer within the first 30 days. Will you be ready? A merchant willing to go the route of those deep discount online deals needs to realize that the majority of consumers buying the deal aren’t their ideal customer, and may never come back once the coupon is used. Here’s what I want you to think about… Are the people who buy these types of coupons really the target market your going after? How loyal do you think these customers will be? What happens when they realize you aren’t going to run that special promotion again? Now, if you’ve built your business to attract affluent clients, by doing one of these insanely lopsided deals…you could be diminishing your brand in the eyes of your existing clients. What happens when they scream foul and want that deal too! I know some businesses love the idea of losing money to get people to try their service. But, there are better ways to get people to try your service. If you really want to do a “deal of the day”…do it on your terms! Try it out on your website, or your Facebook or Twitter. Get people to sign up (opt-in) and send them different deals everyday. If they buy, then you keep all the money. No splitzees with anyone. It’s your deal, it’s your service and it’s your name brand…do it the right way! Until Next Time, “Live with Passion!” Rob Anspach P.S. If your business isn’t moving in the direction you would like it to be, let’s talk! Just send me an email and tell me a little bit about yourself and your company. Tell me why you think your sales aren’t where they should be, tell me what you’ve tried and why you think it didn’t work. The more I know about your situation, the better equipped I can be to help you improve and make money. P.P.S. I’ll be teaching the social media, newsletter and QR marketing aspects of Jeff Cross’ Totally Booked University ‘Mini-Clinic’ on Thursday August 28th (6pm-9pm) in Langhorne PA. Although it’s designed around the carpet cleaning industry…any service business will benefit. This is real world advice that is guaranteed to get that phone to ring and put money in your pocket. Click the link to learn more. http://cleaningprofessor.com/philadelphia-cleaning-marketing.html

Contact Information  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Email: rob@robanspach.com Phone: (717)330-7947 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rob Anspach is a “brilliantly savvy” entrepreneur who helps frustrated business owners regain the passion they once had by showing them how to be more effective in the marketplace, how to dramatically improve their business so they enjoy coming to work again and how to win over customers regardless of price. Discover how easy it is to make money in your online or offline marketing, to attract and retain clientele and profit from your passions… visit http://www.robanspach.com today! Rob is also the creator & dynamic force behind Success Secrets TV, the new online show dedicated to helping entrepreneurs stay successful… check it out by going to… http://www.SuccessSecrets.TV