06 Feb 08 Spend It To Make It

Everyone wants marketing for nothing and their traffic for free. (My apologies to Dire Straits.) And there are a lot of ways to get it done. But sometimes you want more for various reasons:

• You’re launching a new product.
• You’re offering a new service.
• You need your overall traffic numbers up.
• After months of using free traffic-building methods, you still have that “lonely” feeling every time you check your stats.

If so, it may be time to take a trip into “Business ClichèLand”…”To make money, you have to spend money.” And there are a lot of ways to do just that to increase your online business presence.

• Buy pay-per-click advertising from services like Google’s Adwords.
• Purchase an opt-in email list for a marketing campaign.
• Offer an affiliate program to increase your marketing efforts, using a service such as Clickbank…or make your own! (The good side of this is that, for the most part, it only costs money when sales are made!)
• Purchase posts or reviews on popular blogs. (Yes, this can be done, through services like PayPerPost, ReviewMe!, etc.)
• Purchase signature links from members of forums in your target niche.

Of course, it’s more than possible to become very successful without spending a dime, but it’s just as possible to spend a lot of money to become a dismal failure and wind up living under a bridge in a cardboard box. Do your research. All advertising is not created equal, especially for your product.

The above is a very small list of different types of advertising you can spend your hard-earned money on. What methods have you used that were successful? What methods were a failure for you, and why do you think that happened?

Popularity: 7%

Tags: , advertising, Marketing

05 Feb 08 A Customer’s Life: The Hunt For Help

When someone has a problem, need or desire, their first stop on the internet is usually Google.  For example, if a business owner is looking for a way to process credit cards for payment online (and they have no knowledge of this area), a trip to Google and a search for “credit card processing” will return a link to Authorize.net as the first non-sponsored response.

Why?

There are quite a few reasons, all of which are covered under the umbrella term of SEO, or Search Engine Optimiztion, and SEO is something an online business cannot afford to ignore. SEO basics can be learned relatively easily, but to do it well (and with good results) is something that takes a specialist’s touch. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to improve your search engine placement.

• Your keywords should be well chosen…you may not want to compete for search results with the keyword “credit card processing”…try to choose keywords with less competition that are still relevant.
• Your url and website title should include your keywords.
• You should use “header” tags on your page (<H1>), making sure your keywords are included in the header.
• Backlinks, or links to your page on other pages, are also vitally important to your search engine performance.

All of this sounds simple if you understand basic website construction, and it looks like Greek if you don’t. However, even if you use a freelance web developer, there are some things you can do to optimize your SEO.

• Make sure your keywords are included in your page or post titles.
• If you’re using a blog, make sure you leave comments on other blogs in your niché, linking back to your website. (In some cases, these will count as backlinks. In all cases, it increases the chance of the blog owner linking to your website…as long as your comments are useful.)
• Become active in online forums that are relevant to your keywords, making sure your forum signature contains a link to your website.
• Actively seek out link exchanges with relevant websites.

These are very simple, basic steps anyone can take to improve their search engine results ranking. Are these steps enough? Not in the slightest. But if you’re new to the concept of SEO, they are a start.

Popularity: 9%

Tags: search engine, SEO, SERP

01 Feb 08 Why Does Email Marketing Work?

On Wednesday, I talked about the question “Why use email marketing?” The simple answer was “Because it works.” However, that leaves the question “Why does it work?” unanswered.

There are a variety of factors that contribute to the overall success of email marketing, with one of the biggest being the fact that an email marketing campaign using an opt-in list is reaching a very targeted audience.

If someone signs up for your email newsletter, decides to opt-in to your list in order to take advantage of a free offer or bonus or just to simply sign up as a user on your website, they have already shown interest in what you have to offer, and more importantly, have already taken action on their interest.

This is why email marketing is its most successful when you build your list from visitors to your site. Look at it this way…if you’re selling vacuum cleaners, which group of customers is going to have a higher purchase rate: the group you saw on cold-calls, going from door-to-door trying to drum up interest, or the group that drives to your store, walks in, looks around, and asks if you can send them more information?

I would be willing to bet you would say the second group, and when someone opts-in for your email marketing, that’s exactly the group you’re talking to. They’re already interested in your product or service, or they never would have arrived at your site to opt-in to begin with. If they haven’t made a purchase yet, then your task isn’t to sell them on your offer, it’s to sell them on you.

This is where we come back to the phrase you’ve already seen repeatedly here (and will probably continue to see quite a bit)…in your email marketing, you have to offer the customer something of value…in this case, quality content. The first time a potential customer opens your email and thinks “Why did I sign up for this thing?”, you’ve lost them. The reaction you’re shooting for is “I didn’t know that! I’m glad I signed up for this!” Also, if you can provoke the second reaction from your recipients, there’s a good chance they will forward your marketing message to their friends.

And that’s the kind of marketing you can’t buy.

I don’t mean to imply that this is the only type of email marketing that works; there are those who see a nice return on their investment when purchasing an opt-in list of email addresses to use in their efforts, and it can pay off if you’re looking for a quick infusion of customers. However, you will see a smaller ROI for that method than you will if you build your list over time, so that you’re not going door-to-door in email marketing.

As with most things in business, sometimes the slow way is ultimately the best, but with an estimated ROI of over fifty dollars for every one dollar spent on email marketing, the only bad choice is to make no choice.

Popularity: 8%

Tags: Email Marketing, why does email marketing work

31 Jan 08 Should A Blog Be Part Of Your Marketing Plan?

In answer to the question “Should a blog be part of your marketing plan?” the answer is yes.

There are millions of blogs on the internet today; most are of the personal variety, with the blogger writing about what they did that day or their favorite television show. But blogs are increasingly becoming a part of the online marketing world as well.

With a blog, your business can achieve several things:

• Connect with your customers, both current and potential.
• Reach new customers that might not otherwise hear of you.
• Open a new line of communication with your customers.
• Help you focus your business plan on what your customers want.
• Give you the opportunity to educate your customers about the ways you can serve their needs.

If done well, your business blog has the potential to be seen by more people than you might reach with just your website. Just as there are millions of blogs, there are many hundreds of millions blog readers searching the internet for information that interests them.

Your blog will also increase the connection your customer has with you…it increases the flow of information, which increases the customer’s emotional and intellectual “buy-in” for your business. This is also helped by the newfound communication between your customers and you in the “comments” section under each blog post, so don’t forget to ask for their comments and questions!

With this new line of communication, you will get a better feel for what your customers are looking for, which will allow you to better meet their needs and educate consumers about ways that your business can meet those needs (or solve the customer’s problems).

Keep in mind, however, that a blog will do little to help your business if it’s not well done. The content must be well-written and it must be promoted. Even in the best-case scenario, a blog is not a quick-fix; it takes time for a blog to gather enough readership to become truly useful to your business.

Now, following my own advice, I’d love to hear what you have to think…how useful would a blog be for your business? Questions and comments are always welcome.

Popularity: 11%

Tags: blog, blogging, Email Marketing, Marketing

30 Jan 08 Why Use Email Marketing?

Inevitably, when the subject of email marketing comes up while deciding the marketing strategy for a business, the word “spam” is spoken, followed by “Why would we use email to market ourselves?”

Because it works, that’s why.

Your ROI (Return On Investment) with email marketing can easily be higher than any other form of marketing you do, provided you do it well. But don’t take my word for it…Datran Media conducted a survey of over 2,000 marketers in December 2007. Their results?

Overall, 82 percent of the marketers surveyed by Datran Media indicated that they plan to increase their use of email marketing in 2008, and 55 percent of the respondents cite that they expect ROI from email to be higher than any other channel. Datran Media’s survey results are consistent with the Direct Marketing Association’s recent report, which found the ROI from email is much higher than other channels. In fact, email ROI will hit $45.65 for every dollar spent in 2008, more than twice the ROI of other mediums including search and display.

There were several interesting results from this survey. For example:

3. Which advertising media buys perform strongly for your company? (select all that apply)

And this one:

9. Do you believe email has helped boost sales through other channels?

The answer to the question at the top of this article is indeed simple…

Why use email marketing? To get results with a good ROI.

Popularity: 11%

Tags: Email Marketing, email marketing ROI

29 Jan 08 A Blueprint For Newsletter Construction

Constructing an effective email newsletter may seem to be an art, but there’s a good bit of science involved as well.

Each article in your newsletter should answer the “Six W’s” known to all journalism students…Who, What, Where, When, Why and hoW…about their subject. However, there is one other question you need to answer is “Why should I care?”

That is the big one.

The first six won’t matter if you don’t show your subscribers why the subject is important to them. Don’t assume they will figure it out…make it clear. You may be offering an anecdote or tip that could show them how to better accomplish their goals; if so, great! Be sure that you tell them how. Be clear with your message…”Listen to this…it’ll help you because __________!”

As I’ve said before, promoting your business is perfectly fine in your newsletter, as long as you make sure that’s not all that you do. Give your readers useful content with “nothing in it for you”; this will build trust with your readers, increase your credibility and increase the likelihood that a subscriber will become a customer.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t promote your product or service…far from it! After all, that’s one of the purposes of your newsletter. Your promotion can be anything from a full-blown ad to a simple “Let us help” style link to your offer on your website. Just remember, television, radio, magazines and newspapers have content for a reason…their audience comes for the content, which gives those mediums an opportunity to present advertising messages. Make sure that you give subscribers content to come for, or it won’t matter how good your marketing message is, because few (if any) will ever see it.

Also, even though you may not think of a newsletter as interactive, it is (and should be). Give your subscribers the means to request topics and subjects they would like to read about in future newsletters. This will prompt “buy-in” from your readers, as long as you follow through on suggestions. When you answer questions or provide asked-for content, give them credit for the question or idea when possible. This will allow that reader to feel a sense of ownership in your newsletter (and probably result in that issue being forwarded to their friends and coworkers, bringing your message to new eyes), and prompt other readers to do the same thing.

And don’t forget to give subscribers a clear, simple method of unsubscribing. You have to do this to stay compliant with the laws governing email marketing, but it’s also the equivalent of a money-back guarantee…if someone knows they can stop receiving your newsletter any time they choose, it makes it easier for them to make the commitment to become a subscriber.

If your newsletter is useful to them, however, the chance of getting an “unsubscribe” message is small.

A newsletter should include the following:

• A welcome and/or thanks for subscribing.
• A useful article.
• Your advertising message.
• Contact information for readers to ask questions or suggest topics they would like to learn more about in a future newsletter, which can lead to an increased readership for your message and loyal subscribers.
• A simple unsubscribe process.

Is this all it takes? Not necessarily; each newsletter should be an original outgrowth of your business website, so each one should be different, but this list of elements is a good starting point when creating your newsletter’s layout.

Popularity: 17%

Tags: email newsletter, newsletter layout, what should a newsletter contain

24 Jan 08 It’s Not Getting What You Want…

Sheryl Crow’s hit song “Soak Up The Sun” has a wonderful line in it that we can take a lesson from.

“It’s not getting what you want, it’s wanting what you’ve got.”

This is a definite key to peace and happiness, and it should also be a cornerstone of your marketing campaign.

Your potential customers think they know what they want, but sometimes they feel cheated after they get it…whatever it was that they thought they wanted didn’t turn out to be what they needed, whether it be a consultant, a piece of software or the latest gadget from late-night television infomercials. This is something you should keep in mind when crafting your marketing message.

Don’t spend time explaining how you have a wonderful product or service, or that you have the “next big thing”. Instead, your message’s time in front of a potential customer is better spent explaining how your product or service is what they need to solve a problem in their life or business.

When you sell someone what they “want”, if they’re let down after the purchase…well, let’s just say any referral you get from them won’t be glowing. However, if your marketing message explains how you’re going to solve their problem (and then your product or service performs as advertised), you’ve just added a member to your sales force. They’ll spread the word about what they purchased, who they purchased it from, and what it did for them.

And that is the kind of advertising that can’t be bought.

Try to remember…don’t try to make the customer get what you want them to…make them want what you’ve got, by explaining how it will make their life easier in some way.

Which is marketing in a nutshell, when you think about it.

Popularity: 12%

Tags: , advertising, Marketing