Pick one:

A. Your website
B: Your business card
C. Your ezine
D. Your charming personality
E. Your offer

The answer?

Find it in the article below...

So... what 's the magic bullet for converting leads to clients?

A little background might help you retain this important information.  

As an "old timer" I can tell you that 20 years ago marketing was relatively simple, although we didn't know it then, ha ha! (Joke's on us.)

We had direct mail, TV, radio, print, telemarketing, outdoor advertising, P/R and not much else of note.

Most campaigns were direct mail with a little supporting print ad work, and if the client could afford it, telemarketing follow-up.

But the Internet ushered in the age of "channel fragmentation." In other words, too much stuff to pick from. Websites. Email. Banner ads. Pay-per-click. Social media. Video. And much more... all in addition to traditional offline media.

As a marketer or marketing consultant, it can be overwhelming to chart a course that's right for your business.

Should you spend a lot of time with article marketing? Or is direct mail a smarter choice? What's your "media mix" — those five key marketing channels that will bring you the biggest bang for your time and your buck?

Or can you get by with focusing on just one channel? I once knew a non-profit copywriter who, whenever she needed work, emailed all her colleagues in an association she belonged to.

That's all she did to consistently drum up business! Your ideal media mix really depends on what works best for your target market... and what works best for you.

So... what's your strongest tool for turning prospects into clients, in today's Internet-driven world?

The answer to the Quick Quiz above is "C" — your ezine!

Even with all the noise going on in today's marketing environment, one tool reigns supreme for converting leads into clients. And that's the email newsletter, or ezine.

A lot of freelancers I coach beg me, "Please, I have enough to do. Don't make me do a monthly newsletter!"

But I crack the whip. That's because across all levels of business — from the small fry to the monolith — the ezine has proven to be most valuable when it comes to converting leads.

Consider this: almost all service businesses must generate leads. But prospects are often unwilling to offer their information unless they're ready to be followed up on.

Most know that sharing their information is an indicator that they're a qualified prospect. And that's how it's supposed to work. Everyone is playing the role that's right for them, at the right time for them.

So in your marketing (if you're doing it right), you'll get a trickle of qualified leads, but many more will leave your website never to return simply because they're not yet ready for one-on-one contact from you.

(Check your web logs today... you may be shocked at how many people came and then left!)

This is what your ezine is for. To capture those names who would vanish into thin air had had you not put out your butterfly net.

For prospects who are interested in you — but not ready for engagement — your ezine offers a safe way to get to know you and get a sense for the value you'd provide if they took the next  step.

In truth, you'll have individuals on your list who will never become clients. That's ok. They'll become evangelists (or perhaps buyers of your info products).

But statistics consistently prove — year in and year out — that of all online media, the ezine is your strongest tool for converting a prospect into a client.

A marketing strategy you'll want to start working on now

Are you in social media? LinkedIn? Facebook? On Twitter? If you have a following, resolve now to put a strategy into place that will move your connections and friends from social media onto your ezine list.

Social media is powerful but not nearly as powerful as your ezine for nurturing and cultivating clients. You'll convert far more clients by bringing them closer to you, via your ezine.

A final point about today's technology...

Not long ago I moved from a pure-play ezine (delivered by Constant Contact) to a "Blog Letter." The reason I did this is because now my ezine content is published in an HTML format that search engines can crawl.

I got rid of my expensive email service provider, saving nearly $600 per year. By publishing my ezine content into my blog, I can create an archive of content that not only services my readers, but builds my online presence.

Bottom line: Your first job in marketing is to generate leads, whether hot, warm or cold. Your second job is to get as many prospects to sign up for your ezine (or blog letter) as you can. Because your richest source of new clients won't come from social media or any other channel. They'll come from your list.

So resolve now to create marketing strategies that funnel to your list. There is simply NOTHING more powerful than having a healthy list of subscribers interested in what you have to say!

To learn how to most effectively generate leads and build your ezine (or blog letter) list, check out my acclaimed self-marketing course for copywriters.

You can master list-building and lead-generation in this powerful, proven, and comprehensive program that stands alone for the successful copywriters and marketers it has produced:

http://www.thecopywriterscoach.com

I Need Your Help! Annual Survey Opens on Friday...

This year's Get Great Clients Subscriber Survey is coming soon. Please participate! It will help me help you. There's only so much time in a year, and I want to plan events and learning that meet your criteria and that will get you the RESULTS you seek. Thanks in advance!

Looking for Copywriting Work? Two Opportunities for You to Follow Up On...

***Copywriter Needed***

If you stay up at night, you’ve probably seen our infomercials (which have been running non-stop for the past 9 years).

If you’re on opportunity-seeker lists, odds are you’ve read our direct mail promos (we’ve mailed nearly 40 million pieces in the past 5 years).

We’re the Dalbey Education Institute (http://www.DalbeyEducation.com), one of the largest direct marketers in the nation.

We’re now expanding and need some extra fire-power. That’s where you come in…

We need a confident, smart, hard-working and fiercely independent copywriter to join us. If you live and breathe Caples, Collier, Hopkins… study and practice Halbert, Kennedy and Carlton… have the spirit of Schwartz flowing through your veins and bursting out your fingertips… if you’re an ace “Sales person in Print”... if you can capture a reader’s attention so they take immediate action... this can be the greatest writing and marketing opportunity you’ll ever have. If I just described you, then keep on reading, because we need someone to…

...write response-driven copy for both front-end acquisition and back-end promotions, including e-mails, Newsletters, Landing Pages, Shopping Cart Pages, Direct Mail, Telemarketing Scripts, Infomercial Scripts and pretty much every other media you can imagine as well as develop creative concepts and strategies for our existing products and services.

You’ll have lots of freedom to try new concepts, formats, and whatever else your creative mind can come up with. Bottom Line: if you create controls, you’ll be hailed a marketing genius and will be well rewarded.

I don’t care how many years experience you have… where (or if) you went to school or how padded your resume is. Only one thing matters here… results.

Here’s what you need to do next. First, let me tell you what not to do. Do not send a resume. It won’t get read. Instead, e-mail a letter (as a Word or PDF attachment) and tell me why you’re the ideal copywriter for us. Write it like you would a direct mail promotion because, essentially, you’re selling yourself to us.

Also please send attachments or links to your work, as well as response rates of your promotions, glowing testimonials from past clients and employers bragging about how you increased their bottom line, and anything else you think will tip the scales in your favor.

Please put “Copywriter” plus your first and last name in the subject line. Just like you, I get hundreds of emails a day, so if you don’t put Copywriter in the subject line, odds are I’ll never see your email.

Email your stuff to: Cespinosa@DalbeyEducation.com

***SEO Consultant/independent Contractor Needed for Online Publishing & Marketing, LLC***

Successful ebook publisher seeks experienced SEO/organic search manager with proven track record. The person we seek will be an independent contractor working from his/her home or office with the other members of our “virtual team” scattered across the United States.

Our efforts to date have focused on sending emails to opted-in consumer lists in our market. Now we want to develop our website and make it #1 in organic search among consumers searching on keywords such as “alternative cancer treatments”, “natural cancer treatments” and so forth.

We have a strong catalog of special reports and books in this field as well as a weekly newsletter (with back issues archived on our site), and the potential to create a content-rich site for people seeking information about cancer alternatives. As the leader of our organic search effort, the new person will help us design and develop this website and optimize it to rise in the search engine rankings.

Compensation is negotiable. We’re prepared to do whatever it takes to reach #1 in our niche market. The applicant will be asked to submit a plan and a budget to reach our goal during the set-up phase and for the long term.

Please send your resume, work history and client case studies to Anne Caballero at anne@johnfinn.com.