Business Articles
“Your Morning Cup Of Marketing Know-How”
7 Tips for Online Marketing on a Tight Budget
The World Wide Web is a tool with endless limits. Creating and maintaining a business presence online is more practical than ever before. In fact, online companies are popping up out of the woodworks. However, I can vouch that sustaining a successful online business is easier said than done.
With the immense amount of information on the Internet and users largely having the control to view exactly what they want, getting your product in front of potential customers can be challenging to say the least. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about what works (and what fails terribly) when it comes to marketing online. Today, times are tough. Most companies have little room left in their tight budget when it comes to marketing. Here are 7 tips to follow to develop a successful online marketing strategy on your startups limited budget.
1. Know your market.
Your marketing strategy will never be successful if you do not have a clearly defined audience. Before you spend a dime on marketing, figure out your target market first. There’s no need to pay top dollar to hire a fancy market research firm. If you know your product, you should be able to figure out your market yourself. For example, who will be most interested in your product? Men or women? What is their age group? What are your customer’s interests? What is their likely financial situation?
Once you have a thorough profile of your customer, determining how and where to reach them is much easier. This step may take awhile, and that’s OK. If you start marketing before you have a clear customer profile though, you will likely be wasting your dollars in places that will never reach your customer. Just because Pinterest is growing rapidly, doesn’t mean your audience is the one making it grow.
2. Set and reset goals.
Determine what you are looking to gain from online marketing. Increased awareness? Increased revenue? You will probably have multiple goals, but keep track of what they are so you can measure your success. When you reach your initial goals, set new goals so your company can continue to improve.
3. Set a budget.
Now that you know who your target market is and have set goals, plan your budget accordingly. The good thing about online marketing is that you can be successful even when on a tight budget. A lot of platforms are available at no charge. However, sticking solely with free forms of online marketing might not be the best strategy for your company. Carefully determine what outlets are most necessary for your product and be willing to spend some money to get results.
4. Brand yourself.
Set yourself apart from the competition. There are thousands of companies trying to sell products on the Internet. Thus, you need to make your brand unforgettable. This begins with your website. Your domain name should be your company’s name if at all possible. If there are other companies online with names similar to yours, you may even want to consider changing your name to one that will not be easily confused with another product. Acquiring a domain name has a fee involved, but using a hosting service is very affordable even for the smallest budgets.
The way you want your brand to be viewed by customers is really up to you. But once you figure it out be consistent and stick with it. Having a professional website and a strong social media presence is important here, but you should also take the time to interact with potential customers and build relationships with them. The main cost involved in this step is just the man hours put into the process, which will drastically be reduced when you’ve established your brand.
5. Search engine optimization.
When someone enters a search query into a search engine about something relevant to your company, obviously you want to be one of the first results displayed. So how do you make this happen? Essentially, you need to make your website more appealing to search engines. Do this by using keywords that are commonly searched, backlinking your site, customizing the headline and description, etc.
SEO can admittedly be a complicated and time consuming process, however the time needs to be spent here to ensure your website is getting found. Your best bet is usually going to be spending a bit more of your budget and hiring the right people to do the proper research.
6. Blogging.
The more content on your site, the more opportunities there are for search engines to pick it up. Blogging can be a great (and free!) way to generate leads and links into your site. But don’t just be producing content to produce content. Write quality blog posts that will engage the readers. Guest blogging on more established blogs is another way to get more traffic to your own site.
7. Social media.
Don’t just sign up for these services and then forget about them. Start being active on social media. These sites should be used to promote your blog posts and communicate with customers. However, most people don’t follow companies on social media unless the company gives them a reason to. So, of course, give them a reason!
source: forbes online
Uncategorized
SPEED GIBSON, OF THE INTERNATIONAL SECRET POLICE
I am a huge fan of the OTR or Old Time Radio genre. I can remember listening to shows as a kid on late night journeys back from visiting relatives. My dad would tune the car radio to a station that played shows such as “Suspense” and “Inner Sanctum”.
I now find that these shows are a perfect accompaniment to my daily routine here at Shadowbend Studios. I listen to AM 1710 Antioch on the iTunes radio station feed. They play a wonderful selection of shows including crime dramas, family comedies, science fiction and suspense shows.
As a new feature on my blog and my Facebook page. I’ll be posting links to some of my favorite shows, which you can listen to online or download them. The first of these shows is one of my absolute favorites: “Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police”. A terrific example of a late 1930’s adventure serial (the type that inspired “Raiders Of The Lost Ark”!).
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do 🙂
Speed Gibson – Episode #1
http://www.otrfan.com/bins/speedgibson/speed_gibson_370102_001_the_octopus_gang_active.mp3
Uncategorized
The Shelf Chronicles…
My office manager, “Robot” from “Lost In Space”. Yea he keeps me working (he NEVER sleeps!!!)
Uncategorized
Shadowbend Studios Weekly Client Showcase…
“THE FIVE DOLLAR A MONTH CLUB”
I have a client who is part of a group of interior designers in San Ramon. She approached me with the idea of putting together a website for her non-profit organization helping the homeless of Contra Costa County. She is an incredibly caring individual and I was more than happy to help her launch this service.
From the website home page –
“Our mission is to serve the homeless and hungry in our community. 7 days a week we are bringing lunches to the homeless in Hillcrest Park, the Concord Homeless Shelter, Detroit Avenue Crisis Center, and the various tucked in places where they are hanging out. Each Sunday we are also bringing hot food to the marina in Martinez. There are usually 50 to 60 we serve food to out there. Every week we are serving or delivering at least 360 meals.”
Please take a moment to visit the website and pledge a donation.
http://www.5dollaramonthclub.com/
We are always asking as we are serving if there are other needs that we may be able to help with . From sleeping bags to jackets gloves, socks, tarps. As this ministry grows there are many places that we feel God is leading us to help. With prayerful direction we will use the resources given to us to continue to feed and serve..
We are not trying to enable them.. just to keep them alive until the Miracle happens !
Uncategorized
“Your Morning Cup Of Marketing Know-How”
7 Tips for Improving Your Online Marketing Writing
1. Write with a single person in mind.
The more you can picture your perfect client in your mind’s eye, and write something that appeals directly to him or her, the easier it’s going to be to create a one-on-one marketing effect (which, of course, should be your goal).
2. Say what you mean, as clearly as possible.
Where a lot of business people trip up is trying to think like professional writers, when they should simply communicate clearly. When in doubt, use a simpler word instead of a more complex one. Aiming too high with your language doesn’t always make you look smarter; it can just as easily come across as jargon. Or worse, it may sound like you are talking down.
3. Support your key statements.
If you are making a claim that flies in the face of common sense, or accepted wisdom, try to back it up with something credible. Often, a statistic or case study will do. However, if those aren’t available, a personal anecdote or testimonial from a customer can be helpful. There is a fine line between being unconventional and being out of touch, so support your strongest statements in the best ways possible.
4. Always end your writing on a strong point.
Every marketing communication you put together (with the possible exception of short tweets and personal notes, of course) should end with a definite conclusion, a call to action, or both. If at all possible, invite the reader to take the next step, or share an opinion. I practice this rule in every communication I write, from emails to staff or clients, to closing out my twice-weekly blog articles. Simple truth: if you don’t ask for a response, it’s less likely you’ll get one.
5. Write once and edit twice.
A lot of what people consider “writer’s block” is just a lack of momentum. For your first draft, just keep putting words together and trust you’ll find the ones you need. After you have a complete draft, edit twice. The first time for structure and organization; and the second time to eliminate anything that isn’t needed to help tell your story or make your point.
6. Read the document out loud before you send it.
Most simple typos, grammatical errors, and structural problems that people struggle with can be fixed by simply reading the draft out loud. Take your time and don’t rush over the words. You’ll find that as much as 90% of the most common writing issues can be taken care of this way.
7. Never send or publish something you’ll have to take back later.
We live in a world where a single ill-advised email, blog post, or social media comment can lead to big problems. So, before you publish something to the Internet, or send it to any of your contacts (or especially, to all of them), think carefully about whether it’s an idea you really want to express, or a thought you may want to keep to yourself.
source: socialmediatoday.com
Business Articles
What a silly question, right?
As marketing professionals, we all understand the importance of marketing plans. However, not everyone in your company thinks this way. To some, writing a marketing plan is a waste of time. In this article, you’ll find a surefire way to get upper management on your side.
Before we start, here’s a quick primer on what role marketing serves.
Marketing:
Communicates a consistent message to the ideal customer. Discovers what customers want and need as well as what price they will pay. Knows where to find customers that will most likely buy. Builds the foundation for sales through multiple channels. In short, marketing creates the sale opportunity.
So, where does the marketing plan fit in? It becomes the roadmap for achieving your business goals.
A Marketing Plan:
Tracks Costs / Measures Value: A marketing plan provides a step-by-step guide to what you are spending money on and when. It enables you to budget marketing expenses–helping you keep control of your expenditures, manage your cash flow, track sales to marketing expense ratio, and measure success of your marketing efforts. It also ensures that product development dollars are not wasted.
Helps with Focus: Your marketing plan gives the company something to rally behind. It helps staff understand goals and become customer-focused. It also empowers them to make decisions on their own that are consistent with the company’s objectives.
Charts Success: A marketing plan helps you chart your destination point. It becomes a guide through unfamiliar territory.
Serves as a Business Handbook: Your marketing plan is a step-by-step guide for your company’s success. To put together a genuine marketing plan, you have to assess your company from top to bottom and make sure all the pieces are working together in the best way. What do you want to do with this enterprise you call the company in the coming year? It assigns specific tasks for the year.
Captures Thinking on Paper: The finance department isn’t allowed to run a company by keeping numbers in their heads. It should be no different with marketing. Your written document lays out your game plan. If people leave, if new people arrive, if memories falter, the information in the written marketing plan stays intact.
Reflects the Big Picture: In the daily routine of putting out fires, it’s hard to turn your attention to the big picture, especially those parts that aren’t directly related to the daily operations. Writing your marketing plan helps in determining your current business status and provides a roadmap for business goals.
Becomes a Document to Build On: Creating your very first marketing plan is a time and resource consuming endeavor, but well worth the effort. Once the plan is complete, you just need to make minor adjustments and tweaks to it; you won’t have to re-create it from scratch. It will serve as a template and benchmark for you to work from as you define your objectives and strategies for next year. It becomes a living document for measuring sales success, customer retention, product development, and sales initiatives.
Now that we know the benefits of a marketing plan, we need to take a step back and decide where to start.
Where Do We Start?
The best place to start is to evaluate where you are now. How are you positioned in the market? How do your customers see us? What are your strengths/weaknesses, and what are some emerging market threats and opportunities?
Typically a marketing plan is done in sequential phases–the next part of the plan builds off of the phase before it.
The marketing plan also needs the help of most everyone; it cannot be completed without the assistance of many people within the company: manufacturing, finance, operations, sales, management, and marketing.
Management also needs to sign off on the marketing plan before it starts so that everyone supports it and dedicates time to it. Without management buy-off, it is very difficult to put together a successful marketing plan.
Who should see your plan?
An abridged version of the plan should be shared with everyone in the company.
Now, wasn’t it a silly question to ask why you need a marketing plan?
source: MarketingProfs.com
The Shelf Chronicles
Hello everyone…
This installment of “The Shelf Chronicles” features the Robot from “Lost In Space”. For those of you who are unfamiliar with “The Shelf Chronicles”, refer to my original post from 2008 and my “revisited” post from 2012.
I have always wanted a “Lost In Space” Robot for my collection, but finding just the right one was a challenge as I did not want to get just any old action figure or something that was clearly a “toy”. I finally ran across this one from Trendmasters which perfectly fit the bill. He is a highly accurate sculpt, has retractable arms and has the classic “Danger Will Robinson” sound effects which can be set to manually activate or can be set to go off when the lights in the room go on or off (which was initially very cool but wears off VERY quickly) :).
In any case, here he is. Enjoy!
“Lost In Space” Robot
Crumbs from the Scone
We live in an age when many companies have an online-only presence. “But for most enterprises, a website serves a slightly different purpose—augmenting an already well-established business that conducts the lion’s share of its merchandising offline,” writes Bill Post at MarketingProfs. These brick-and-mortar companies often struggle to adapt their messaging for an online audience, and their sometimes-clumsy web presence might actually hinder the image they want to project.
To avoid that fate, Post has this advice:
1. Maintain a consistent look and feel. “When customers look at your website,” he notes, “it should be crystal clear to them that they are ‘entering’ the online establishment of [a business with which] they are already at least somewhat familiar.” In other words, use the same logos, fonts, colors and lingo that they encounter in your store.
2. Make clear what you provide. Don’t take for granted that an online visitor will instantly understand what your company does—instead, assume they’ve never heard of you. Describe your business, list your top products and services and provide links to in-depth descriptions, an FAQ page and a page with contact information.
3. Show visitors the faces behind your URL. “Let your customers know all about your team, your staff, your management, and even your pets,” he suggests. “Don’t be afraid to include pictures.”
4. Don’t let your website get stale. If your homepage still trumpets an event or sale from 2010, a visitor will know she has just entered an online ghost town. So keep your site—both content and technology—up-to-date.
Build online business for your offline company by making your website an obvious extension of your brand.
Source: MarketingProfs enewsletter.
Crumbs from the Scone
How often do you gather your team for a day of brainstorming? Jeff Hirsch calls these freewheeling powwows “ideation sessions,” and they might just produce an idea that leads to your company’s next great feature, product or service. “You’re in the moment, sparks are flying, your brain’s going a mile a minute,” he notes at MarketingProfs. “The friendly competition from a diverse range of bright, talented colleagues stimulates original ideas that you never thought you could have.”
If you want to get the most from an ideation session, Hirsch recommends rules like these:
- Jump right in. Lengthy preambles and presentations will kill the energetic buzz you’ve stoked with a buffet table of caffeine and carbs. “Say hello, state the target problem in one sentence, and then start with a crazy creative exercise,” he says.
- Bring in a few ringers. Hirsch likes to recruit creative non-marketers—e.g. actors, musicians, writers and artists—who keep the conversation going during natural lulls. “They might not know ‘the business,'” he allows, “but they do understand, intuitively, how to communicate and connect with people.” The outside perspective can also challenge your company’s usual way of thinking.
- Give concepts the benefit of the doubt. Some ideas might grow on you; some might lose their appeal in the light of day. “So if there’s even just an inkling of something you like about an idea, keep it around for a while,” he suggests.
The best ideas happen when you create a conducive brainstorming environment and give them a chance to develop.
Source: MarketingProfs email newsletter.
Crumbs from the Scone
When email subscribers share and discuss your content with friends and social networks, they start to sound like insiders. “Others will want to be insiders, too,” says Stephanie Miller at MarketingProfs’ Daily Fix blog. As a result, your list will grow—and so will your reach. “Customer-instigated sharing acts as a force multiplier that can significantly ratchet up the effectiveness of an email marketing campaign,” she explains.
So how do you optimize an email campaign for social sharing? Miller offers advice like this:
Identify which social media channels produce the most conversions. You’ll likely find most of your customers clustered in three or four services and networks; focus your efforts there.
Cozy up to influential brand advocates. They already like your product or service; heighten their enthusiasm with special treatment that acknowledges their status.
Learn from the offers that go viral. These days, consumers “expect and share only the most daring of offers,” Miller notes. Pay attention to the traits that seem to seize their interest.
Make sharing and registration easy. Remove any obstacles that prevent a subscriber from sharing your content and discouraging friends from signing up for your email campaigns.
Play by the rules. “Brands that overstep, spam and/or fail to disclose their intentions risk customer backlash,” says Miller. Bad behavior is a great way to generate negative social media buzz for your product or service—exactly what you don’t want.
Make it worth their WOM. Increase your reach and effectiveness by enhancing your email strategy with a social-sharing strategy.
Source: Marketing Profs Newsletter.
