My good friend and platform builder Suzanne Falter Barnes in her blog Painless Self Promotion was blogging about the 10 ten quick characteristics of a good USP. I thought I’d share it with you!

1. It’s got to be short. No on will remember it otherwise. (Examples ‘Coke. The Real Thing. Or ‘Nike. Just do it.’)
2. It must be clear. At least in the context of your product.
3. It must express a benefit.
4. It must express a benefit that people care about emotionally. (Example: Federal Express. When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.)
5. It must be about one single product difference. The public will not remember two … or want to deal with two.
6. It must be about a product difference that sets you apart from the competition.
7. That difference doesn’t actually have to be unique to your product … as long as you’re the only one talking about it. (For instance, Palmolive didn’t soften your hands while you did dishes … dishwater did. But they were the only ones making this claim, so they could own it.)
8. It must be believable.
9. It must solve a problem that people really want solved.
10. It must be a memorable set of words.

Here’s a cool tip I just picked up. If you are an learning addict like I am, then you probably own a gazillion and one ebooks. And when you print them, you go thru paper like crazy. Well here’s a tip to help you SAVE paper!

Did you know you could actually print 2 pages 1 one sheet! Yeah! Here’s how:

When you are in Adobe Acrobat Reader, Do File, Print, Page Scaling = Multiple Pages Per Sheet, Pages per sheet = set to 2

So, happy printing! Thanks for helping to save the trees! *grin*

Just as we all have reprinted our business cards and stationery to get our web address on there, now it’s time to go back and add your blog address too! Problogger Darren Rowse offers these tips for 7 places to promote your blog in the brick and mortar world.

1. Business cards
2. Letterhead
3. Stickers
4. Press Releases
5. Powerpoint Presentations
6. Voicemail messages
7. Advertisements

And I ask an important question to Darren in response…. What about beer mugs? Tee Hee! Cafe Press rocks for getting mugs, t-shirts, hats, bags etc with your logo. Now we can also get logo gear with our blog on it too!

Great tips Darren! You’ve got me hot about blogs for sure!

I wanted to let you know about a fun contest going on for women writers. Nicole Dean is looking for original articles for her brand new article database. Ladies, I would move on this. This is a great way to get exposure and recipricol links when people reprint your article!

Nicole’s mission is to get 10,000 articles in her database, and she’s off to a great start!

All you have to do to enter is submit your articles at LadyPens.com to win!

And talk about prizes — there are some really cool prizes – and of course, I am donating 2 three month memberships to WebmomzVIP, our exclusive membership site to one lucky winner.

So go dig up those articles, submit them, and get ready to win some cool stuff!
Enter the LadyPens.com contest here: http://www.ladypens.com/newstuff.php

Here’s a hot tip from Lois Creamer of BookMoreBusiness.com to boost your referral marketing.

Are you effectively using testimonial or referral letters? Here’s something that has really worked well for my clients and me. Each time you get a testimonial in the mail, ask yourself, “Who are the ten people who are going to see this today?” Then FAX the testimonial with a note written on the top that says “I’d love to do a great job like this for you. Name, phone number, email.”

Make sure you are making the most of these valuable marketing tools. Paper the planet with testimonials! Note: only fax if you have permission!

I just got a Christmas card from a dear friend with a inspirational quote that really got to me. It’s called Promise Yourself…

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.

To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

Many blessings to you as you journey thru the new year!

If you could accomplish one thing with your online business that would REALLY help your business grow, what would that be? I would love to hear from you about your challenges you are struggling with.

With the entrepreneurs I work with, here are a few things they are struggling with:

- too much to do and not enough hours in the day
- marketing efforts that aren’t paying off
- trying to do too many things and none of them are working well
- earning enough to pay themselves while supporting the busienss

Post your questions below! Check back for answers – I will answer your questions here at Kristie T’s Home Biz-A-Pa-Looza Blog!

All my best!

Kristie T

If there is one key lesson I have learned from Jeffrey Gitomer, the outrageous sales guru and author of the bestselling book Little Red Book of Selling, it’s about the power of Giving Value First! I was reading a book this morning by Kevin Eikenberry (Vantagepoints on Learning and Life) and picked up a great tip on giving value first. He told about his realtor friend whose best marketing was to pay for her toll, and the toll for the person behind her and then instructed the toll person to hand her business card to the next person and say it was her treat. WOW! Would that make an impression or what?

Think about what little, wonderful, thoughtful things you can do for your clients, your business associates, and others. When you give value first, it comes back to you tenfold!

What are some ways that you have gone the extra mile that have paid off big?

For many of us entrepreneurs, the lure of trying a new gadget, starting a new project, and learning something new is irresistable. And in a way, that’s one of our greatest gifts. That’s why we forge new paths, create new inventions, and pave the way for others. But the downside is that sometimes we are poor managers.

In Michael Gerber’s Emyth Revisited, he talks about the fact that most entrepreneurs make poor managers. It’s just not in our nature to want to manage monotonous details and get them right. And it’s true – adrenalin is fuel for our creative minds!

There is something to be said about the power of focus! Recently, John Jantsch of his Duct Tape Marketing blog wrote, “My advice as you are making plans for 2006 is to find one or two good strategies and tactics at that most and commit to them. If you find something that shows promise, focus on making it even more powerful. … Create one strategy, finish it, test it, improve it and use it without regret. “ You can check it out his Duct Tape Marketing blog here

That is going to be my theme for this year – FOCUS! And the details that are too painful for me to focus on, I will outsource so they still get the focus and attention they deserve.

Fred Gleek said, “Go deep, before you go wide.”
John Reese said, “Make your one project really work before you move onto the next. “

What one thing will you focus on in this coming year and REALLY make it work in your business?

I was surfing the other day and saw cool tool really caught my eye. It looked like someone stuck a post it note right on my computer screen!

Some webmasters say they’ve seen a 30% increase in revenue using simple pop-ups. The problem is that AOL, Earthlink, and Google’s Toolbar and blocking popups.

That’s why this little popup is so cool. It’s got a neat technology that’s blocker proof! That means more subscribers, more sales, more money in your pocket!

Check it out right now… It’s totally cool! Post it Note Popups