Rogers Online Business Management for the Agriculture Community

Posts Tagged ‘farm’

Many restaurants have built their foot traffic by having a vendor booth at professional gatherings. Contact some of your local restaurants and ask if you can provide them with your products from your farm for their next booth. Be sure that you will be allowed to add your business brochures and cards on their display table.

You may also want to see if they will allow you to set up a display to have a drawing for a free breakfast, lunch or dinner basket Food Sampler Give-A-Way. This allows you to build your database for backend marketing.

Through the years I have assembled tons of tips from my research, reading, and by helping my clients with their marketing plans. And today I’m going to share three of them with you.

These tips are cost-effective ways to market your business so you can get more clients, increase sales, and increase your wealth!

1. My first tip is very very important and should not be taken lightly. You need to spend 1-hour everyday doing marketing activities. This can be in the form of planning activities and promotions, or actually implementing your plan. If you’re saying to yourself right now how can you fit one more hour into your already busy day…then you need to outsource this activity to your online business manager or virtual assistant–it’s that important!
2. This second tip is as important as the first one and many farmers don’t think it’s necessary in this industry. But let me tell you right now—-You must have a Website! When it comes to today’s consumers we first look to the Internet for information.

   In my everyday travels I may see a small sign or fruit stand alongside the road and quickly record the farm name into the memo feature on my cell phone. Later in the day when I’m reviewing my memos, I start searching the Internet for anything I can find on that Farm. And what do you think happens? Well, the majority of the time I find nothing. Nothing!!!

   Do you know how disappointing that is for me? I saw your sign but couldn’t stop right at that moment. So now I can’t even get a hold of you to find out what type of products you’re selling or if I can even place an order to pick up later. I may never pass your sign again for weeks or maybe months. So guess what…you just lost the sale. How many other sales might you be losing this way?

   It does not have to cost you a thing to get a website up. You don’t need to have all the fancy bells and whistles at first. You just need to get your name and some basic information up on the Internet so people can get a hold of you. I would suggest that you actually start out with a blog design for your website. There are three blog platforms that are easy to set up and use, and affordable. My first recommendation is WordPress.com. This very site is a WordPress site and I love how easy it is to use, and it’s free. My second recommendation is Blogger.com. This platform is also free. Now if you want just a little bit more without having to work hard at setting it up, you can always use TypePad Blogs – Get a 14 Day Free Trial! After your trial the plans start as low as $4.95 per month. You get one-click integration with Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, plus built-in search engine optimization.

3. Now my third and last tip for today is one that I love. Post your farm on your vehicle. All you need to do is get a pair of magnetic signs either at your local sign shop or take advantage right now from VistaPrint and get a Free Car Door Custom Magnet. Include your farm name, phone number, website, or maybe even a special seasonal offer by ordering many different signs that you can change throughout the year.

If you need help with accomplishing any of these three tips, my staff at Rogers Executive Administrative Services can put together a package that is right for your budget. Just contact us at agriculture@easmyworkload.com or make a consultation appointment right now that is convenient for you by going to our online Appointment Scheduler.

How long should an ebook be? What about an audio recording?

Many people have been asking me the above questions. These actually are very common questions and I always respond in the same way. There is no magical formula that determines how long an ebook or other information products should be. Sure you might hear something like a special report would be about 50 pages, and an ebook about 100 pages. I really don’t know how anyone can come to that determination.

Your ebook, handbook or other product only needs to be as long as it needs to be to fulfull your promise in your marketing message. If you are offering step-by-step instructions on how to maintain a certain piece of equipment on your farm then you just need to provide the instructions, maybe some photos or a video and that’s it. You needn’t talk about the history of the machine and talk about other manufacturers, unless you’re making those a bonus offer on your sales letter. All you have to do is give them the information that you promised them.

When I purchase products related to my business, I don’t like the long books if I’m only looking for a method on how to do something. I’m not a beginner and don’t necessarily need a step-by-step guide. But if the information product covers a subject that I’m not familiar with, then I do like a more in-depth ebook that tells me everything.

You may decide to write a big ebook that tells you everything, or you may decide to do a 10 minute video showing step by step. These are always good to help someone who is brand new. But again, it’s whatever you need to do to fulfill your marketing message.

I think people worry about how long the ebook or other information products should be because they think that people won’t want to pay for the information if it’s not long enough. But realize that people are lazy…if you can show them in a very quick way how to perform a seemingly complicated task in 10 pages, that can be a great selling point.

In order to outsell your competition your marketing needs to blow them away.

Create a hook, market your product in a different way than your competitors. Find out what the hot topics are in your market. What complaints do they have and how can you offer them a solution.

For example, if you’re going to offer a webinar on a new method you discovered for fertilizing your grape crop that saved you money, even though you are not selling a physical product, your hook should convey that you’re going to help them save time and make more money with a better product on an ongoing basis.

You need to be creative in how you market this. Let them know that you may not have a degree in this area but that you learned from trial and error on your own farm.

People want to know that you share their pain and frustration.  So by you letting them know that you are a real honest to goodness farmer just like them then they will automatically share a bond with you and will be interested in your informational product.

The hardest part of writing a book is the first sentence. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task. That’s why you have to break it down into manageable tasks.

First, figure out your ebook’s title. Jot down a few different titles, and eventually, you’ll find one that will grow on you. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in anticipating and answering your reader’s queries. Aim for clarity in your titles, but cleverness always helps to sell books as long as it’s not too cute. For example, Remedies for High Energy Bills: twenty different ways to cut costs and save the environment. Or: Get off that couch: fifteen exercise plans to whip you into shape.

Next, write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are addressing and how your book will solve that problem. All chapters spring forth from your thesis statement. Once you’ve got your thesis statement fine-tuned, you’ve built your foundation. From that foundation, your book will grow, chapter by chapter.

Your thesis will keep you focused while you write your ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis statement. If they don’t, they don’t belong in your book. For example, your thesis statement could read: We’ve all experienced high energy bills, but there are twenty environmentally friendly things you can change right now to lower your energy consumption.

Once you have your thesis, before you start to write, make sure there is a good reason to write your book. Ask yourself some questions:

• Does your book present useful information and is that information currently relevant?
• Will your book positively affect the lives of your readers?
• Is your book dynamic and will it keep the reader’s attention?
• Does your book answer questions that are meaningful and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the potential of your ebook.

Another important step is to figure out who your target audience is. It is this group of people you will be writing to, and this group will dictate many elements of your book, such as style, tone, diction, and even length. Figure out the age range of your readers, their general gender, what they are most interested in, and even the socio-economic group they primarily come from. Are they people who read agriculture magazines or book reviews? Do they write letters in longhand or spend hours every day online. The more you can pin down your target audience, the easier it will be to write your book for them.

Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your ebook. Do you want to promote your business? Do you want to bring quality traffic to your website or maybe to your farm? Do you want to enhance your reputation?

Then write down your goals in terms of publishing and promoting your business. Do you want to sell it as a product on your website, or do you want to offer it as a free gift for when they visit your farm or for ordering a product? Do you want to use the chapters to create an e-course, or use your ebook to attract affiliates around the world? The more you know upfront, the easier the actual writing will be.

Decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction, keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to your chapter topic, and then divide it into four subhead topics. Or you may plan to divide it into five parts, each one beginning with a relevant anecdote.

Here is how I usually start: I take an hour of my day and come up with 3 different topics I want to write about. I then think of a bunch of different ebook titles to go along with those topics. My next step is to say the titles out loud and in diffenent tones of my voice. This lets me experiment in how people might read the title so I want to make sure its one that seems to be catchy. When one sounds good to me I choose that one and start my writing.

Next time I’ll tell you how to make your ebook “user friendly”.

It’s not true that everything that has been said has already been written. Since that unfortunate axiom came into use, the whole universe has changed. Technology has changed, ideas have changed, and the mindsets of entire nations have changed.

The fact is that this is the perfect time to write an ebook. What the publishing industry needs are people who can tap into the world as it is today–innovative thinkers who can figure out how to solve old problems in a new way. Ebooks are the new and powerful tool for original thinkers with fresh ideas to disseminate information to the millions of people who are struggling to figure out how to do a plethora of different things.

Let’s say you already have a brilliant idea, and the knowledge to back it up that will enable you to write an exceptional ebook. You may be sitting at your computer staring at a blank screen wondering, “why? Why should I go through all the trouble of writing my ebook when it’s so impossible to get anything published these days?”

Well, let me assure you that publishing an ebook is entirely different than publishing a book in print. Let’s look at the specifics of how the print and cyber publishing industry differ, and the many reasons why you should take the plunge and get your fingers tapping across those keyboards!

Ebook available at the Ease Your Workload Shopping Center

Submitting a print book to conventional publishing houses or to agents is similar to wearing a hair shirt 24/7. No matter how good your book actually is, or how many critique services and mentor writers have told you that “you’ve got what it takes,” your submitted manuscript keeps coming back to you as if it is a boomerang instead of a valuable mine of information.

Perhaps, in desperation, you’ve checked out self-publishing and found out just how expensive a venture it can be. Most “vanity presses” require minimal print runs of at least 500 copies, and even that amount will cost you thousands of dollars. Some presses’ minimal run starts at 1,000 to 2,000 copies. And that’s just for the printing and binding. Add in distribution, shipping, and promotional costs and–well, you do the math. Even if you wanted to go this route, you may not have that kind of money to risk.

Let’s say you already have a farm business with a quality website and a quality product. An ebook is one of the most powerful ways to promote your business while educating people with the knowledge you already possess as a business owner of a specific product or service.

For example, let’s say that you’ve spent the last twenty-five years growing and training bonsai trees on your farm, and now you’re ready to share your knowledge and experience. An ebook is the perfect way to reach the largest audience of bonsai enthusiasts.

Ebooks will not only promote your business–they will help you make a name for yourself and your business, and establish you as an expert in your field. You may even find that you have enough to say to warrant a series of ebooks. Specific businesses are complicated and often require the different aspects to be divided in order for the reader to get the full story.

Perhaps your goals are more finely turned in terms of the ebook scene. You may want to build a whole business around writing and publishing ebooks. Essentially, you want to start an e-business. You are thinking of setting up a website to promote and market your ebooks. Maybe you’re even thinking of producing an ezine.

One of the most prevalent reasons people read ebooks is to find information about how to turn their businesses into a profit-making machine. And these people are looking to the writers of ebooks to provide them with new ideas and strategies because writers of ebooks are usually people who understand the new cyberspace world we now live in. Ebook writers are experts in marketing campaigns and the strategies of promoting and distributing ebooks. The cyberspace community needs its ebooks to be successful so that more and more ebooks will be written.

You may want to create affiliate programs that will also market your ebook. Affiliates can be people or businesses worldwide that will all be working to sell your ebooks. Think about this? Do you see a formula for success here?

Figure out what your subject matter is, and then narrow it down. Your goal is to aim for specificity. Research what’s out there already, and try to find a void that your ebook might fill.

Even though we don’t like to think about something happening, an emergency can strike your farm at any time. You need to be prepared with the correct information to assist emergency responders and others if called upon when a disaster strikes.

Farms have equipment, building structures, livestock, chemicals and fuels, and crops that will require special attention by emergency responders. Make sure that you’re able to provide them with information on the description and location of these to minimize the devastating effects of a disaster on your farm.

Here are some items to include in your farm emergency plan manual:

• Make a list of emergency contacts to include the Fire Department, Police Department, Poison Control Center.
• List family members, employees, and neighbors who are familiar with your farm business, along with their contact information.
• List contact information of all the businesses providing services such as veterinarians, utilities, equipment, hauling companies, insurance company, and financial institutions.
• List contact information for your suppliers of chemicals, fertilizer, etc.
• List contacts that can help provide emergency feed and water, power, livestock, machinery, etc.
• List location of important health history for yourself, your family members, and your employees.
• List location of important farm documents on-site and off-site such as safe deposit boxes.
• Have a description of the farm and directions from the nearest major intersection.
• Have a general diagram of the farm that includes the location of chemical, fuels, livestock, equipment, overhead and buried utilities, etc.
• List the location of spare keys for vehicles and buildings.
• List meeting location where all family and employees should gather following a disaster to assess the situation and to make sure everyone is accounted for that was working during the time of the disaster.

Make sure you hold regular safety meetings with your family and employees to review and update this information, as well as make sure that they are aware of the location of this emergency manual.

If you need help in putting together your emergency manual contact Rogers Executive Administrative Services at agriculture@easmyworkload.com. We can help you keep track of all this information, as well as put your manual together for you to ease your record keeping workload.