Discover Step by Step How to Start and Build Your SMS Text Messaging Business

From: Kim Dushinski

Denver, Colorado USA

Dear Mobile Marketing Entrepreneur:

Does this sound like you?

 

 

My name is Kim Dushinski, and I specialize in helping people start and build mobile marketing businesses. I’ve been in mobile marketing since early 2007 when I woke up in the middle of the night (this is a true story) on May 23 with my mind spinning with possibilities.  I just knew that mobile marketing was going to be huge and that businesses would need to know how to use this powerful tool effectively.

That night I started my journey learning everything I could about mobile marketing. Back then, there were not as many resources as there are now. Over a period of several weeks I went from website to website trying to figure out the industry and which players in it made sense for me to work with. It was tough.

Since I had just come out of a twelve year stint as the co-owner of a book marketing firm, I contacted a publisher I knew and asked him what he thought of publishing a book by me about mobile marketing. He jumped at the idea and by early 2009 The Mobile Marketing Handbook was published based on months of my detailed research.

(It has since become a best selling book for my publisher and I get emails and phone calls from around the world thanking me for writing it and telling me how helpful it has been.)

The most interesting thing that happened as a result of publishing my book was that I started to get daily emails and phone calls from people asking me, “How do I start a mobile marketing business?” Frankly, it surprised me. Very quickly though I realized that since I have been a self-employed business owner since one year after graduating from the University of Denver in 1988 that I am uniquely qualified to help other people start a business – naturally, in the mobile marketing field.

Since the spring of 2009 when I launched my training programs for mobile marketing entrepreneurs I have taught and guided hundreds of people around the world in starting and building their mobile marketing businesses.

Here are a few mini-stories of some people who have gone through my training:

Linda Daichendt from Detroit has expanded her business consulting practice to include a wide variety of mobile marketing disciplines including SMS, MMS, QR codes, mobile websites and more, and has also founded the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan, a non-profit trade association for the industry.

In Phoenix, Tim Pepper, has added SMS/Text Messaging Services and Mobile Website Design to his existing Internet Marketing agency services adding a nice revenue stream to his business. He loves that from his customers’ perspectives they now have a competitive edge and it is easy for them to justify the fees they pay him – everyone benefits.

Jonnie Allan from Tucson, a.k.a. The Mobile Marketing Guy, has established a full-fledged Mobile Marketing Business offering SMS/Text Messaging and Mobile Website development for small to medium-sized businesses, as well as consulting on several mobile fund-raising campaigns for non-profits in both Southern Arizona and Southern California.

Melissa Nudi has launched her mobile marketing business in Pittsburgh and she is offering SMS Text Message Marketing, MMS Coupons, QR Codes, Location-Based Advertising, Text-to-Screen Requests, Mobile Marketing Consulting and much more. Her motto is “Don’t Just Advertise, Mobitize! ”

And, I’d love to help YOU too!

My suggestion for you to get started with your mobile marketing business is:

With so many amazing technologies available for smartphone users maybe you were expecting me to say QR codes or mobile apps or mobile commerce or even mobile websites. Don’t get me wrong, I love those mobile marketing tools too. I think that each of them should be considered in an overall mobile marketing strategy. And there is a terrific opportunity to sell these services to local businesses.

The reason that I recommend SMS text messaging as the first mobile marketing tool for you to offer is that not everyone has a smartphone yet. So these higher end tools do not even work for a majority of the consumers your clients are trying to reach. SMS, on the other hand, works on nearly 100% of all mobile phones and is the second most used feature after calling. Also, smartphone users still use text messaging. This means that SMS is the best tool for your clients to use to proactively market to their customers.

But once you decide to offer text messaging to your clients, then the learning curve begins…

You need to learn the ins and outs of SMS text messaging, the types of campaigns you can offer, what services you can offer and how to price them.  Aligning yourself with the right text messaging vendor(s) is critical so you have the right service to sell for the type of client you work with. The decision about whether to be an affiliate, reseller or get a private label must be made. You need to know how to reach out to prospective clients and have a strong marketing and sales plan.

And you need to do all this as quickly as possible before the marketplace gets crowded with text message marketing consultants. Before the window of opportunity closes on you being the first one in your area.

I know this process is time consuming and frustrating because I get emails and phone calls every day from people asking me questions about all this. They ask:

These are great questions! And since 2009 I have been offering a 6-week training program called the Mobile Marketing Masters Class and trained dozens of people in each session how to start a mobile marketing business. These live group coaching webinars have successfully helped people start a mobile business. I love doing them.

But over the last few years I have realized that in order to go into more depth for students to really get the focused attention on the exact kind of mobile marketing business they want to start, I needed to break the Masters Class into different sessions for specific types of businesses. (Oh, and I decided I wanted to make it more affordable too. More on that later, but I think you’ll really like it.)

The first, new course I am offering is:

In our five weeks together you’ll learn:

There is nothing like jumping into something new and feeling like you are lost. Excited, but lost. In order to sell text messaging to your clients you need to really understand it. How it works. What it can and cannot do. You need to know the various options in services you can offer to your clients so you can be sure you are presenting them with the best option.

This module includes:

• How SMS works – short codes, long codes, keywords & messages
• Difference between getting your own short code or using a shared code provider
• Why SMS is the most powerful mobile marketing tool – even though it seems basic – and how to present this to your potential clients so they understand too
• Mobile marketing best practices (and why they really matter)
• Anti-Spam Laws – what you need to know to avoid being a spammer or letting your clients become one
• How local businesses can use SMS to get more customers and increase sales from current customers (this is what keeps them up at night and is your foot in the door to working with them)
• What my high school basketball coach taught me that will benefit you in your SMS business (yes, really)

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

“Kim Dushinski and her Masters Class gave me the necessary information and support I needed

to get a jump-start on adding mobile marketing services and consulting to my already established

Internet marketing business. It was definitely a good use of my time and money and

if you are serious about getting into Mobile Marketing I recommend it.”

Tim Pepper, Pepper Blue Marketing

WEEK 2

Choose the Right Text Messaging Vendor(s)

Text message vendors will be the back bone of your business. Unless you are going to build your own platform (not something I advise and you’ll find out why in Week 1) you will need to align yourself with at least one vendor and resell or private label their service. Frankly, there are hundreds of vendors you can choose between. But you could spend weeks or months checking them all out and choosing the right one. Choosing the wrong one could mean huge failure for your business and could even land you in legal trouble.

This module includes:

• How text messaging companies work and why there is no such thing as free SMS
• The difference between short codes and long codes and their practical uses
• Affiliate vs Reseller vs Private Label and how to choose which one is best for you
• What to avoid in a text messaging company (and how choosing the wrong vendor can put your business at risk or make it nearly impossible for your clients’ campaigns to work)
• Recommended Vendors (U.S. and Canada for right now; more added soon)
• Resources for additional vendors (how to find a vendor in your country)
• Text Messaging Vendor Checklist

The meat and potatoes of your SMS text messaging business will be the actual campaigns that you help your clients strategize and implement. Knowing the types of campaigns that can be done will allow you to match the campaign with your clients’ goals. You’ll see tons of real-life examples so you can see what is being done.

Probably the most critical part of each campaign is list building. Your clients will not have a list of cell phones they can begin sending to (unless they have already been doing text message marketing) and will be looking to you to help them create a robust list of customers and potential customers to contact.

This module includes:

• How to quickly and ethically build SMS lists for your clients – and how to do this from the first appointment you have with them so they get excited immediately
• How to integrate your clients’ SMS opt in process with their website, email and other marketing they are already doing
• Types of campaigns you can offer your clients
• Mobile coupon campaign basics (More detail provided in the Mobile Coupon call)
• How to design magnetic offers and why your clients’ campaigns will fail without this magnetism
• Strategies for marketing your clients’ SMS campaigns and why their campaigns really need you to help them with this critical part of dynamic mobile marketing campaigns
• Text message campaign examples and a list of places to find more when you need them

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

“For those who are interested in having a mobile marketing business, but not quite sure

how to proceed or which segment is for them, I highly recommend Kim Dushinski’s

training.  Her webinar series is packed full of detailed information, examples, industry resources

and lots of ideas to help you sort out the spot you would like to occupy in the mobile industry.

She’s careful to fully research the resources she recommends, and also provides a very good overview

of the pros and cons of the ideas and examples she shares during her training –

just what you need to give you a well-rounded perspective.”

Linda Daichendt,

Executive Director/President, Mobile Technology Association of Michigan

Understanding text messaging and being able to help your clients with it is certainly important, but you also have to market your own business well and have a clearly defined sales process. The reality is that marketing and sales will be a huge part of your daily life as a mobile marketing entrepreneur. But it doesn’t have to be hard. There are ways that you can prospect for clients and handle marketing and sales that is fun and easy.

This module includes:

• Step-by-step guidance on selling SMS services to local businesses
• Where to find potential clients (you are going to love how I show you how to find prospective clients that are open to spending money on marketing and are likely ready to try something fresh)
• Overcoming objections to mobile marketing and text messaging specifically
• How to determine your pricing structure
• Profit planning worksheet (as an Excel spreadsheet)
• Marketing Materials Examples (Business Card, Brochure, Post Card)
• How to design your own text messaging campaign to market your services
• Sample Proposals and Contracts you can use to start signing clients
• Marketing Plan worksheet

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

“I completed the Mobile Marketing Master’s Class and launched my own Mobile

Marketing business in Pittsburgh, PA from the knowledge that I gained from the course.

Kim is an exceptional teacher.  She explains mobile marketing in a way that people with all levels of mobile marketing knowledge can understand.

Her relationships with vendors is incredible.  She will give you the knowledge to choose the

correct vendors that best match  your business plan. Her courses are very detailed.

She provides visuals, explanations, and links to additional resources to gain more knowledge.

Kim provided the best secondary education that I have received in 10+ years of continuing education.”

Melissa L.  Nudi, Miracle Mobile Marketing

By this point you may have some questions or need some clarification on something that is just not falling into place for you yet. Don’t worry. I will use Week 5 to answer any questions that have come up for you as we’ve gone through the first four modules.

This module includes:

• A live Q&A call where you can submit your questions in advance or ask them live on the call. Just like all our calls this will be recorded so you can hear your question answered even if you can’t make the call live.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

“There is a lot to know about mobile…and I wasn’t feeling like I had a good handle on it before,

but your course has been such a godsend.  I feel so much more confident.

Thanks ever so much.”

Patty Rutkowski

Exactly how are you going to get all this?

What is this Ultimate Mobile Marketing BOOTCAMP going to cost?

This BOOTCAMP is no longer available for enrollment as a stand alone course. It is currently available only to Members of the International Mobile Marketing Business Network (IMMBN) and is included for members in the Education component of the membership. Find out about the IMMBN here. When this BOOTCAMP was for sale, it cost $497. Annual membership dues in the IMMBN are just $197.

Find Out More about the IMMBN Now

Have fun mobile marketing,