Yearning for Customer Loyalty? Here's How to Get It

"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." - Dr. John C. Maxwell

You hear about customers shelling out ridiculous money for a brand or company and wonder why when they can purchase the same thing for cheaper. You see people lining up for hours on end for the latest product a popular brand is launching (like the iPhone 5, or the new Jordans, for example) and, again, wonder why.

As an entrepreneur, they make your eyes turn green for a split second, don't they? (Don't be shy -- you can admit it.) You want the die-hard customer loyalty these companies have. Well, the good news is it is possible for you and your business.

29 Business Networking Sites You'll Need to Grow Your Business

In case you’re growing bored of the “big three” social networks (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn), take comfort in knowing that there are plenty of other networking sites that can help you and your business succeed. 

While the big three are indeed important, it’s sometimes more refreshing to enter uncharted territory and find fellow entrepreneurs, and even widen your prospect or audience net.

If you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur hungry for more clients or more knowledge (or both), print this list out and visit these business network sites. They're the success boost you’re looking for.

The Pitfalls of a Poorly Planned Book Launch (and 6 Tips to Avoid Them)

It doesn't have to be this way.

So in a jolt of inspiration like never before, you decide you want to express your thoughts or expertise with the world – not just by blogging, but by producing a small book. (High five. Doing well so far.)

Over three to six months, you outline the content, start laying it out in your word processor, then dive into the writing, fueled by the excitement and motivation that you’re really going through with this.

Or, on the other hand, if writing isn’t your strong suit, you slog through it, hating the process (you may even hire a ghostwriter to pass off that task), but still motivated by the idea that the world will greatly benefit from your work.

You kid glove the content, proofread and edit it multiple times, making sure to bring in an outside editor or proofreader to catch the mistakes you don’t. (Still doing well.)

Then you design your own cover, and even pick a launch date. But you don’t stop there – you plan out a whole book tour. (Woo-hoo!)

Then reality sets in. Your launch date’s coming up really soon and you still have yet to print the thing. What’s worse, you don’t have the money to cover the printing costs.

This doesn’t look too promising, does it?

Well, here are six tips to avoid being that guy.

Marketing Expert Danny Iny's Engagement Book Shows You 10 Effective Steps to Building Your Audience

Everyone’s looking to be heard, and almost the same amount of people offer a way to help you do it – through books/ebooks, free reports, blogs, webinars, videos, and so on.

Here’s the rub: most of them are saying the same thing. 

Marketing Consultant and super-blogger Danny Iny’s recent release Engagement From Scratch: How Super-Community Builders Create a Loyal Audience and How You Can Do the Same! patently proves this.

The book is a compendium of how-to articles and essays from all the top-tier bloggers and entrepreneurs on the Internet right now on how to build a loyal community around your brand, blog, or service, including:

·      Brian Clark (founder, Copyblogger.com)

·      Danny Brown (founder, For Bloggers By Bloggers)

·      Guy Kawasaki (founder, Alltop.com)

·     Mark Schaefer (marketing consultant and founder, BusinessesGrow.com)

·      Sean Platt (freelance writer, prolific author, ghostwriter, and founder, TheDigitalWriter.net)

·      Corbett Barr (founder, ExpertEnough.com and ThinkTraffic.net) 

·      Derek Halpern (founder, DIYThemes.com)

And though their individual experiences differ, their basic framework for success is the same.

Note: this book targets writers, but these laws apply to any business and marketing strategy, so don’t feel alienated if you’re not a writer.

It took me a couple days to read the 234-page guide (not counting the first four pages of praise), so before you bounce between sites and blogs, I’ll give you the pros’ basic framework for success right here…in half the time.