Have you ever read an advertisement that goes something like this:
MAKE $10,000 WEEKLY WHILE YOU SLEEP!!
I sometimes laugh at the hype-y claims that are made in internet marketing. Oftentimes, the hype leads you down a path of making several purchases before you even learn the first implementable strategy on building a successful business.
I’m glad that you join us here for smart and simple marketing strategies that you can use immediately in your business and find several benefits. Instead of telling you some wild story about how to make thousands of dollars at the push of a button, I do want to teach you how you can earn incidental income when you are not even thinking about it. Is that hype-filled? No! Is it possible? VERY!
What do I mean by incidental? Take for instance the products and services that you have sold in the past. Likely, you had a promotion for a specific period of time where you really put forth a great effort of marketing your product or service. You may have had a goal for the amount of income that you wanted to draw from this campaign. Does this sound familiar?
Now, I want you to fast-forward a month or two beyond that particular marketing campaign. The hustle and bustle of the launch is in the past. You have made a good number of sales from the promotional period (probably even crushing your initial goal). But, it has come to an end and you are no longer focusing on selling that product or service.
All of sudden, you see several sales receipts coming into your email inbox. You may think, “Where did those sales come from?” That is incidental income. When you have a new customer make a purchase during a non-promotional period, that new income is incidental to the promotion that you ran in the past. Isn’t that beautiful? Let me give you an example.
Here at Smart Simple Marketing, we run several promotions throughout the year for a number of products and services. The most popular product that we have is “Create Your Money Map,” where we teach clients how to create a simple marketing plan that helps them to focus their energy on a specific time period. During the promotional period, we set a date for the class to be taught in a group setting. It never fails however, that we find new customers who purchase the product on their own and work through the system at their own pace. That is incidental income.
What are some practical steps that you can take to ensure that you increase your incidental income?
Run A Special Offer
Months after you have run a promotional campaign for a product, why not present a special offer? You can actually do this whenever you deem it appropriate for your audience. Remember, the focus is always to serve your target market and solve their problems.
Your audience will appreciate your staying in touch with their needs and creating special opportunities to address those needs. This will increase your incidental income because you aren’t focused on the income generated through the special offer. You are simply giving your audience an opportunity to receive the help they need at a discounted price and perhaps in a different format.
Mention Your Products Frequently
Draw attention to your products at natural intervals. When I used the example of our “Create Your Money Map” program, it was a naturally flowing advertisement that many subscribers to my ezine will likely check out.
Don’t be afraid to make an offer that will help the people are looking to you for help. If they choose to take advantage or not is up to them. The key is to make it available to them.
Mention your products in your email newsletter. Add a note to your blog posts when it is appropriate. Talk about your products when participating in social media (as part of your 80% education/20% promotion content schedule).
If you think about this correctly, you will realize that it is a dis-service to your audience if you do not offer them the solutions that they are looking for. And as a bonus for you, any sales that you make aside from during an all-out promotion will boost your incidental income.
Your Action Plan For This Week:
- Review the products and services that you have promoted in the past.
- Decide which products/services are relevant to your target market’s problems today.
- Draw attention to these solutions by mentioning them in your blog or making a special offer at a discounted price.
- Watch your incidental income increase!
