Category Archives: Email Marketing

Gearing up for 2012: Own Your Marketing Strategy

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Small business owners often overlook their own marketing strategy, planning and implementation because they are overwhelmed with the process, don’t know where to begin, and think it’s going to incur a high cost, so they push it to the way side and wing their business development and marketing, only to see that there are no new business or increased revenue.  Business owners should take their marketing serious if they want to grow their business, become known as an expert in their field, and attract new clients, and it will take an investment of time and money in order to learn how to leverage social media and online marketing tactics to attract and retain new clients, share your expertise across multiple channels, and get the search engines to index your website.

Don’t worry if you feel intimidated by all the verbiage around social media marketing, and SEO, but you and your business need to get the ball rolling in the right direction.

Here are a few things you need to assess immediately:

  • Website
    • branding
      • Is it time for an overhaul? when was the last time you updated your website? Consider new fonts, color, header and logo
      • What is your value proposition, is it time to reframe your positioning, strengths?
      • Is the language targeting your ideal customers? does it resonate with them, draw them in, and help them know,like, and trust you?
    • message
      • Does your website address your ideal customer’s pain points?
      • Does every page (tab) offer insightful tips, resources, (to enable the “know like and trust” factor)
      • are people (visitors) clear about who you are, what you offer and how you can help them?
    • Call to action (what do you want your visitor to do once they are on your site: sign up for newsletter? Download a giveaway that gives them a taste of who you are and your expertise? Sign up for a free 30 minute consultation?
    • List building tactics: (using text or newsletter to stay in touch with visitors) Your visitors are your potential clients. You want to continue to “touch” them on a regular basis by offering timely, relevant information they can use immediately. The more often they “see” you, the more chances they are getting to know you, and will eventually do business with you. There are tactics to employ if you are using a newsletter to educate, inform and add value to your prospects – that will drive them back to your website and social sites.  That is why having a strong website, a newsletter or text messaging system, and social media all offer ways to connect and foster relationships with people who end up becoming a raving fan,endorser, a referral partner, and client!
  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – this is where it can get tricky.  You don’t really want to do this yourself unless you have been aptly trained and understand how you can optimize your website on the back end (for the search engines) as well as applying tactics on the front end (website content, blogging, newsletter, utilizing videos and social media)
    • Keyword searches help you know what people are looking for online, this can give you ideas on what content to write about, adding appropriate headlines and keywords within your blog post
    • Keyword searches also tell you what words are highly searched for, and depending on saturation, what words are better to use and what words won’t work so well.

These are some of the things you should do first if you want to grow your business, attract ideal customers and be seen as an expert in your field.  Sometimes having a fresh pair of eyes to look over your website, offer recommendations, will save you a ton of time, even money, because there are alternatives and viable options that can get you up to speed fairly quickly and taking your game up a notch.

You don’t have to wait to get your self all together to attract your ideal customers and build up your business; having a smart social media strategy and making it easy for people to connect with you such as “seeing and hearing you” via tweets, Facebook posts, blog commenting and engaging within LinkedIn groups and Quora will definitely show your value and expertise to others (even if your website isn’t perfect) but you want to make a way to capture your visitors, stay connected to them via text messaging or newsletters, and cross-pollinating all your online activities so your website gets indexed by the search engines, so people can share your information within their network via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, there by growing your network, creating a buzz around you and your business, and growing your list.  It all counts and it will all pay off, just start with getting your website up and running with the right tools in place, then get a strategy in place, know what platforms to be on, tools to use to manage and measure, and have fun!

2012 is going to be a great year, commit to that thought and make it happen.

Hire a business marketing consultant who can help you plan your steps and keep you on track so that 2012 will be prosperous for you.

Business Texting, SMS, Mobile Advertising:The Value of Mobile Marketing for Local Businesses

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This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Mobile Marketing

Business Texting, SMS, Mobile Advertising, small business owners can’t afford to ignore the available marketing tools and applications available today for small business owners and for brick and mortar.  These tools and applications is another method to drive traffic to your store front and create brand awareness.  Leveraging these tools and applications enables your customer to ‘know, like, and trust you” as people buy from those they know, like and trust, and let’s not forget how they also influence their networks.  People are turning to their mobile phones to conduct searches

Mike Maunu, UpYourVisibility.com shares valuable tips on integrating mobile marketing for your business.

I took some clip notes for your convenience.

What is mobile marketing?  The Mobile Marketing Association has an in-depth glossary of Mobile Marketing terms available as a free download from their website: www.mmaglobal.com

Listen to internet radio with Ana Lucia on Blog Talk Radio

“Claim your business listings at Google places, Yahoo local, Bing Local, Hotfrogs local listings.

1. Claim your site on local listings (google places, yahoo local, bing local, best of the web, hot frogs)

  • Your listing will rise to the top with client reviews/testimonials
    • Set up a system or Mike’s business has a system where you can gather testimonials while they are on the premises
    • Important to update your listing with new reviews
  • Google will link your citations to Google places (411 directory, Judy’s book, Merchant Circle)

2.  Leverage Different Mobile Apps

  • There are tons of mobile apps (iPhone and newer ones for Android)
  • Utilizing SMS – they are read within 4 minutes
    • There are 242 mil SMS user
    • You can create SMS leads
    • Average age is under 50
  • MMS – upload photos, videos, audios – great for engaging brands
    • There are currently only 50 mil smart phones so target audience is limited

3.  Internet Advertising

  • This is a new marketing tactic, still on the fence about approach, but the idea is when you enter a store, an ad will appear on your phone offering you incentive to buy (with a discount)
  • Works Bluetooth/wifi, location based

4.  Text Messaging, a new way to build your customer list

  • same set up as IDOL or Dancing with the Stars
  • Have your customers text you which will opt them in to receive Text specials
  • Same orientation as email marketing for building lists and sending out targeted and timely messages
    • example: slow time at restaurant: text out to list “first 20 people will get a free appetizer or 20% off of …..”
    • case study: a retailer texted her list of 1200 people the night before about a major sale from 9am-12pm, the next morning there were 232 people waiting in line and $20,000 in 3 hours.
    • Lesson: use Text Messaging to build a list

5.  Integrate QR codes

  • You can create QR codes for different products in the store
  • Create a QR code for the entrance of your office or store so people can scan in your info (office hours, services, specials)
  • Create a QR code for events, seminars, listing our speakers/agendas/social networking details

** I tried Delivr.com – you can create a QR code and embed video, photos, URL, Text, can add google analytics

Contact Mike if you’re in a position where you could use some help setting up mobile marketing activities, especially text messaging, give Mike Maunu a call by visiting http://www.upyourvisibility.com and Like and comment on  his Facebook page!

Below is an interesting report on how people are using mobile:

Survey: Mobile News & Paying Online

 

 

 

The Immense Benefits of Email Marketing to Online Business Owners

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Email marketing is becoming a vastly popular and beneficial direct marketing tool. It is primarily being used to provide subscribers with information on service and product offerings but it has also been particularly useful in building a loyal customer base. Today, more and more online business owners are turning to email marketing as their primary means to generate sales leads not only because the results are easily tracked but also because it is an inexpensive platform to market services on a large scale. Because of the minimal costs involved, online business owners have a greater chance to generate a profitable return on the money they invest.

In recent years, owners of online businesses have begun relying on email marketing specialists to expand the reach of their internet marketing efforts as well as to enhance their online business profits. This is because they know that all internet users use email. All it would take to reach the right category of consumers, then, is to encourage them to opt-in through enticing offerings as well as to keep them subscribed through relevant and compelling content.

Whether online business owners decide to engage the services of specialists or invest in tools to use themselves, email marketing is considered a low-cost means to generate sales leads. In fact, most email marketing campaigns average in cost at just one cent per email sent–much cheaper than other direct marketing platforms such as direct mailing and telemarketing. What makes it even more appealing is that it has proven to be more effective in generating sales leads than many other direct marketing platforms.

Measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of this direct marketing platform is simple because email marketing tools have features that track key performance indices such as open rates, read rates, and click-throughs. Using the results gathered through these email marketing tools, online business owners can gain valuable insights on how best to communicate with their target audience and enhance their campaigns accordingly.

The simplicity of tracking results is not the only benefit to be gained from email marketing tools. Among the other very important benefits include the ability to easily send out multiple communications, personalize emails, and send out automatic responses. With all these features combined, all internet marketers and email marketing specialists can easily carry out an effective email marketing campaign, allowing them to spend more time on other important aspects of maintaining and expanding an online business.

Email marketing should be an integral part of promoting any type of online business. Through this platform, online businesses can enhance brand reputation, reach out to a larger market, and track results in an inexpensive manner. It is through email marketing that online businesses can achieve outcomes they would never expect from any other direct marketing platform. Although it may take quite some time to build a large and targeted subscriber base, the results that this direct marketing platform will generate in the long run will surely be worthwhile. In fact, an email marketing campaign can be effective enough to be an online business’ only means to generate sales leads.

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How to Implement an Email Marketing Campaign–The Basics

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The use of email is a proven way to effectively market an online business. Anyone looking to start a new business or looking for new ways to increase their sales should consider including email marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy.

When starting out with an email marketing campaign, you need to focus first on developing a list or a database of names and email addresses. If your business has regular customers, you may have already gathered email addresses from them. If not, you can include an incentive on their next invoice or receipt encouraging them to provide their email address or join your email distribution list. Your list should be an evolving one that you constantly try to grow. However, you also need to be aware of and prepared for the times when customers will want to be removed from the list. Don’t take it too hard when this happens. Allow your customers to opt-out of your email distribution list and just focus your efforts on those who really are interested in what you have to say or offer.

Another way to grow your mailing list for use in email marketing is to provide an incentive on your website for people to add their names to your distribution list. The incentive could either be a coupon, discounts, or a free item–it’s up to you. Just be sure that it is enticing enough to encourage many more people to sign up.

When you start sending out your emails, make sure you follow a schedule so that your subscribers will know when to expect a communication from you. If you’re running a weekly newsletter campaign, be consistent in sending out your emails on the same day and the same time of every week. Don’t bombard your customers or potential customers with emails or they will get frustrated and remove themselves from your list. By the same token, don’t communicate with them via email too infrequently or they will forget that you exist.

Always remember that the people who opt-in to your email distribution list are those who are interested in and want to know more about your product and service offerings so give them what they expect. On a related note, don’t set unrealistic expectations that your customers are going to take action on the first email they receive. There’s an old marketing adage that says, “It takes 5 times to contact a person before you actually make a sale.” Exercise patience and just keep sending out quality email communications to your customers on a regular basis.

These simple guidelines are a good way for you to get started with implementing an email marketing campaign to grow your business.

How Can Email Marketing Work for Your Online Business?

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To put it simply, email marketing is using email to deliver marketing messages. If you have an online business, keeping connected with your current and potential customers is a good way to grow your business and build loyalty. That is where email marketing plays a big role as email has become a method by which you can distribute, advertise, and promote various types of communication to various recipients.

The best use for this type of communication is through a targeted email marketing approach where you tailor or personalize your message to your specific audience or recipient. In marketing terms, this is called segmentation.

There are many advantages to using an email marketing strategy to promote your business. Among them are the relatively low cost involved (especially compared to traditional mail costs), the speed at which you can get the message delivered to your customer’s hands, and the ability for your recipients to forward the message to others who may also be interested in the offering or information. Moreover, email marketing software allows you to track the results of any communication you send out. This allows you to evaluate the success of your email marketing campaign as well as enhance your strategies through the insights you gain from your statistics.

While there are more than few advantages to email marketing, you must always keep in mind that it is intended to be a supplemental form of marketing. It should not be used by itself alone but as an enhancement to your other marketing activities. For instance, you need to have a website to lead your subscribers to. Your website should be designed to accommodate sales while your email marketing campaign highlights the benefits of your offerings and encourages your subscribers to visit your site and make a purchase. Your website should also be the focus of other Internet marketing strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and article marketing. Once you have an entire plan for the Internet marketing strategy of your online business, you then use your email marketing campaign to enhance all your efforts and encourage your customers to patronize your business and become loyal.

Another thing to remember when implementing an email marketing campaign is that you should never overdo it. While there aren’t really any inherent disadvantages to email marketing, its downsides come from abusing it. If you’re sending emails to all 10,000 people on your list every other day, they’re going to get tired of it and either delete every email you send or opt out of your mailing list. That will potentially cost you a lot of business. The last thing you want to do is irritate your subscribers by making them feel that you’ve tricked them into signing up for something they didn’t actually want.

Email marketing is a very valuable tool in every Internet marketer’s toolkit. Making it a part of yours gives you a powerful tool to supplement your other marketing strategies. Moreover, email marketing gives you an additional method to keep in touch with your customers and to build a loyal customer base.

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