Drive differentiated, customer relevant offerings supported by optimal routes-to-market, technical support, integrated marketing communications, processes and tools by keeping tabs on the following four areas:
1. Marketing management entails four key elements.
a. Strategy and Planning – You need to define the direction you want to go and make decisions based on that direction including allocating resources (time, capital and people) to pursue the strategy.
b. Offering Management – Even if you are currently a one woman/man show someone is responsible for supporting the strategy, definition, and ongoing management of your strategy.
c. Program Management – You will need to manage multiple ongoing inter-dependent projects within your business. It seems that a system is the way to with internet marketing. Similar to McDonald’s system having a system or template if you will, to rinse and repeat a set process that works is the key.
d. Channel Enablement – Plan strategic routes to market, plan and produce the right information for the right seller/delivery channels at the right time to unleash sales productivity and differentiated customer value worldwide.
2. Market Intelligence encompasses the following areas:
a. Competitive Intelligence – Gather data to learn about your competition! You can bet the smart ones are checking you out!
b. Strategic Information – Become an expert using industry data on markets, companies, new products, and technologies to streamline and enhance your business.
c. Market Analysis and Strategy – conduct marketing analysis on the industry strategies
d. Market Data - refers to quote and trade related-data associated with equity, fixed-income, financial derivatives, currency, and other investment instruments per Wikipedia.
e. Market Opportunity – seize market opportunity for e-business; think of iPod.
f. Research – conduct the research necessary on your market and competing markets. Also research global markets and trends.
g. Segment Analysis - perform segmentation or clustering analysis.
3. Marketing Communications
a. Integrated - holistic approach to marketing communication by ensure consistency of message and the complementary use of media per Wikipedia.
b. Strategic – understand the different value propositions needed to communicate with internal and external segments as they impact your organization across different media and communications channels.
4. Marketing Operations
a. Marketing Operations Budget and Resources – manage yo
ur marketing operations and resources budgets and personnel.
b. Marketing Operations Metrics and Reporting – continually monitor your business with metrics and reporting against a baseline.
c. Marketing Operations Processes and Tools – Analysis various processes throughout your business lifecycle and conduct continuous improvement adding the necessary tools along the way.
I know you are an internet marketer and you do not want to run your shop like a big business, but to expand and grow you must analyze and adjust.
Deena McMahon is an author and entrepreneur for America’s Premier Certified Media Placement Specialist, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build business success. Get No Obligation Free Tips and Training at http://www.americasmediaspecialist.com/
Find out if you qualify to be trained in having your own business at 1-800-719-8268 extension 34978.
Showing posts with label Internet marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet marketing. Show all posts
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Social Media Marketing: Twitter Deep Dive
What is Twitter?
Micro blogging goes to work
First time twitter was on the CNN news journalist described it as the newest micro-blogging tool to hit the internet. Over 1.2 million users are on Twitter according to the Oprah show aired in April 2009. There must be 2 million by now. If you think that Twitter is an absurd idea for business, guess again!
Twitter describes itself as: “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”
• Twitter is a micro blogging service
• Twitter allows you to connect with your clients directly on their cell phone or computer in a non-obtrusive way with short posts
• Twitter lets you post short text updates (140 characters maximum) from a computer or handheld device that repeatedly answer the question, "What are you doing?"
• Your updates are listed chronologically on a personal page that can read like an energy-fueled day-planner.
• Others can sign up to follow your "Tweets," as they're called, and you can follow theirs
• You can set up a keyword, such as a company's name, and see how it is being used in the Twitter sphere.
Remember your children and grandchildren as it’s a snap shot in time to what the worlds doing what is Twitter? Mind what you’re saying as it is a historical record.
The beauty of Twitter is that you do NOT have to answer that question every time you tweet. In fact, it‘s better if you don‘t. Be creative. Use Twitter as YOU see fit, and how it works for YOUR needs.
Twitter Tip: Register your Twitter name without the use of spaces or underscores. Like what Oprah did @oprahwinfrey. There are many reasons why but the main reason is that underscores are a dead give away that you‘re a late adopter. It‘s a bit of a pain in the neck to get to the underscore when you‘re tweeting from an iPhone with no copy or paste feature.
It‘s perfectly acceptable to use your full name, and would advise you to lock up your full name (first and last name) if it‘s available. Just keep your name as short as possible. Challenges with using your full name arise when it‘s long and/or difficult for new friends/followers to remember the spelling. If that‘s the case, you may want to consider using your BRAND as your username instead. Twitter usernames will become valuable real estate just like Web sites were back in the 90‘s. So “ lock em up! “
Build your Twitter community:
When you join first Twitter, put a picture up immediately—before following anyone. I would not personally follow anyone without a picture. The company's that use icon type logos are to me a no-no as well.
- People want to network with people
- You select people to follow, and people choose to follow you.
- It’s about connecting with 10 people who reach 100 who reach 1,000
Understand Twitter Etiquette? It’s not recommended you add useless information. Ask yourself how useful the information is before sending. And Ask questions. It’s also fun to share pictures or refer individuals you like and connect with to your facebook account.
Sharing Pictures www.twitpic.com
Twitter me at TallCAGal@twitter.com
Deena McMahon is an author and entrepreneur for America’s Premier Certified Media Placement Specialist, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build business success. Get No Obligation Free Tips and Training at http://www.americasmediaspecialist.com/
Find out if you qualify to be trained in having your own business at 1-800-719-8268 extension 34978.
Micro blogging goes to work
First time twitter was on the CNN news journalist described it as the newest micro-blogging tool to hit the internet. Over 1.2 million users are on Twitter according to the Oprah show aired in April 2009. There must be 2 million by now. If you think that Twitter is an absurd idea for business, guess again!
Twitter describes itself as: “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”
• Twitter is a micro blogging service
• Twitter allows you to connect with your clients directly on their cell phone or computer in a non-obtrusive way with short posts
• Twitter lets you post short text updates (140 characters maximum) from a computer or handheld device that repeatedly answer the question, "What are you doing?"
• Your updates are listed chronologically on a personal page that can read like an energy-fueled day-planner.
• Others can sign up to follow your "Tweets," as they're called, and you can follow theirs
• You can set up a keyword, such as a company's name, and see how it is being used in the Twitter sphere.
Remember your children and grandchildren as it’s a snap shot in time to what the worlds doing what is Twitter? Mind what you’re saying as it is a historical record.
The beauty of Twitter is that you do NOT have to answer that question every time you tweet. In fact, it‘s better if you don‘t. Be creative. Use Twitter as YOU see fit, and how it works for YOUR needs.
Twitter Tip: Register your Twitter name without the use of spaces or underscores. Like what Oprah did @oprahwinfrey. There are many reasons why but the main reason is that underscores are a dead give away that you‘re a late adopter. It‘s a bit of a pain in the neck to get to the underscore when you‘re tweeting from an iPhone with no copy or paste feature.
It‘s perfectly acceptable to use your full name, and would advise you to lock up your full name (first and last name) if it‘s available. Just keep your name as short as possible. Challenges with using your full name arise when it‘s long and/or difficult for new friends/followers to remember the spelling. If that‘s the case, you may want to consider using your BRAND as your username instead. Twitter usernames will become valuable real estate just like Web sites were back in the 90‘s. So “ lock em up! “
Build your Twitter community:
When you join first Twitter, put a picture up immediately—before following anyone. I would not personally follow anyone without a picture. The company's that use icon type logos are to me a no-no as well.
- People want to network with people
- You select people to follow, and people choose to follow you.
- It’s about connecting with 10 people who reach 100 who reach 1,000
Understand Twitter Etiquette? It’s not recommended you add useless information. Ask yourself how useful the information is before sending. And Ask questions. It’s also fun to share pictures or refer individuals you like and connect with to your facebook account.
Sharing Pictures www.twitpic.com
Twitter me at TallCAGal@twitter.com
Deena McMahon is an author and entrepreneur for America’s Premier Certified Media Placement Specialist, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build business success. Get No Obligation Free Tips and Training at http://www.americasmediaspecialist.com/
Find out if you qualify to be trained in having your own business at 1-800-719-8268 extension 34978.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Top Ten Strategies to Marketing Online: Part Three: Email Marketing
Now that you have created your website and WoMB, your next rung on this ladder of successful marketing strategies is e-mail marketing. With steps one and two you provide yourself with a solid foundation and with email marketing you begin to construct your success.
To start your email venture you must first create your email address from which all of your email will be sent. Ideally it would be You@yourbusiness.com, and this is generally easy to achieve. Depending on how you set up your website, you can either ask you designers to do this for you or you can do it yourself. If you must do it yourself Google offers this through their “Gmail” service.
From there you must decide what your email marketing will do for you. Do you want to attract new customers? Do you want to keep veteran customers coming back? Do you want to create a newsletter the visitors of your website will sign up for? Do you want to accomplish all of this? If you answered yes to any of these questions I ask you to pay close attention to the rest of this article.
Attracting new customers is one of the biggest functions of email marketing. This is a basic process, where you can obtain email addresses from companies that specialize in the merchandising of bulk lists of e-mail addresses. These may come off as 'Spam' email, and some people will see it as such, but others will see it as a business reaching out to them. This is the risk/reward of it. Be shunned, or be visited. Being shunned should not be a big fear, it's not like these people are making you money at the moment anyway. These emails will allow you to reach a demographic which may otherwise have never heard of your website. Deciding on whether this is worth being blocked by the occasional 'spam' filter is up to you.
In order to keep your customers coming back you must offer incentives. Offering lower prices for people who sign up for a “membership” in which they provide you with their contact information (usually just an email address) is a good place to start. Once you have them signed up, start sending them reminders about your great product(s), low prices, and/or coupons which they would not receive elsewhere.
Keeping with the theme of returning veteran customers to your website, it is often advisable to offer some sort of referral program, so that if a loyal customer were to sign up, then talk a friend into doing the same they would receive some sort of special compensation, such as free shipping on their next order. Whatever it takes to keep them coming back!
A third strategy for email marketing is to create a newsletter; a newsletter being a regular article (Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or bi-monthly) in which you outline new products or services on your website. Make sure not to give too much away, as you want the newsletter to bring potential customers to your website, not to let them be contented in reading your newsletter alone. Even if they want to buy your product, they may lose interest in the time it takes to find the product on your site. Linking them from the shiny new promo on your email newsletter directly to the checkout page (With whatever new item you're demonstrating) with a one-time, negligible discount is a prime idea.
Now that you've decided what your email marketing strategy is to entail, you must discover how to implement it.
Finding New Customers
● Web services all over offer lists of email addresses to market to. Sometimes they even offer specific demographics. The PROBLEM is that some of these websites entertain shady business practices. I implore you to be certain of your particular company before you make a transaction that could come back to haunt you.
● That being said, the websites that are most likely operating below board are also likely the cheapest of the bunch. It is not my job to force my morality on you, so if you don't mind and are just scraping by, by all means do what you think is right.
● Once you have your target market acquired, design your email. It should be interesting but avoid making it overly busy or cluttered with images. This is a two-edged blade, as it could be a turn off to some people and overloading with images is one of the main ways spam blockers remove suspicious email.
● You can design your own email or use an advertising agency to do it. Ad agencies can be pricey; however, so I do not advocate their use.
● Creating your own email ad should be professional looking as it can be, but a home-grown feel does appeal to people in certain markets. If this is what your ad will be, make your weaknesses your strengths and play into it as hard as you can.
Veteran Customer emails/Newsletters
● The only difference in a veteran customer target market and one you would buy from an internet company is the way you acquire the addresses.
● Creating a membership setup (Either a section for your customers to visit or a list of preferred customers) isn't that difficult, and any good website design firm can make you one. I don't suggest making this yourself, as it requires understanding of PHP and SQL databases, and can take much of your now valuable time (You successful person you).
● Using your database, send out the emails outlined earlier in the article, sit back, and watch your customers come back.
● As far as newsletters go, unless you are a skilled writer it is probably best if you contract the work out. You can either have it 'Ghostwritten' in which someone writes it for you and you take credit, or you can just have someone write the articles and mention them on your website as your web-publication specialist.
● Last but not least, if you set up a schedule, stick to it. Tardy newsletters will definitively turn off your customers, especially if they are expecting the new coupons/discounts you are going to offer this time.
Deena McMahon is an author and entrepreneur for America’s Premier Certified Media Placement Specialist, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build business success. Get No Obligation Free Tips and Training at http://www.americasmediaspecialist.com/
Find out if you qualify to be trained in having your own business at 1-800-719-8268 extension 34978.
To start your email venture you must first create your email address from which all of your email will be sent. Ideally it would be You@yourbusiness.com, and this is generally easy to achieve. Depending on how you set up your website, you can either ask you designers to do this for you or you can do it yourself. If you must do it yourself Google offers this through their “Gmail” service.
From there you must decide what your email marketing will do for you. Do you want to attract new customers? Do you want to keep veteran customers coming back? Do you want to create a newsletter the visitors of your website will sign up for? Do you want to accomplish all of this? If you answered yes to any of these questions I ask you to pay close attention to the rest of this article.
Attracting new customers is one of the biggest functions of email marketing. This is a basic process, where you can obtain email addresses from companies that specialize in the merchandising of bulk lists of e-mail addresses. These may come off as 'Spam' email, and some people will see it as such, but others will see it as a business reaching out to them. This is the risk/reward of it. Be shunned, or be visited. Being shunned should not be a big fear, it's not like these people are making you money at the moment anyway. These emails will allow you to reach a demographic which may otherwise have never heard of your website. Deciding on whether this is worth being blocked by the occasional 'spam' filter is up to you.
In order to keep your customers coming back you must offer incentives. Offering lower prices for people who sign up for a “membership” in which they provide you with their contact information (usually just an email address) is a good place to start. Once you have them signed up, start sending them reminders about your great product(s), low prices, and/or coupons which they would not receive elsewhere.
Keeping with the theme of returning veteran customers to your website, it is often advisable to offer some sort of referral program, so that if a loyal customer were to sign up, then talk a friend into doing the same they would receive some sort of special compensation, such as free shipping on their next order. Whatever it takes to keep them coming back!
A third strategy for email marketing is to create a newsletter; a newsletter being a regular article (Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or bi-monthly) in which you outline new products or services on your website. Make sure not to give too much away, as you want the newsletter to bring potential customers to your website, not to let them be contented in reading your newsletter alone. Even if they want to buy your product, they may lose interest in the time it takes to find the product on your site. Linking them from the shiny new promo on your email newsletter directly to the checkout page (With whatever new item you're demonstrating) with a one-time, negligible discount is a prime idea.
Now that you've decided what your email marketing strategy is to entail, you must discover how to implement it.
Finding New Customers
● Web services all over offer lists of email addresses to market to. Sometimes they even offer specific demographics. The PROBLEM is that some of these websites entertain shady business practices. I implore you to be certain of your particular company before you make a transaction that could come back to haunt you.
● That being said, the websites that are most likely operating below board are also likely the cheapest of the bunch. It is not my job to force my morality on you, so if you don't mind and are just scraping by, by all means do what you think is right.
● Once you have your target market acquired, design your email. It should be interesting but avoid making it overly busy or cluttered with images. This is a two-edged blade, as it could be a turn off to some people and overloading with images is one of the main ways spam blockers remove suspicious email.
● You can design your own email or use an advertising agency to do it. Ad agencies can be pricey; however, so I do not advocate their use.
● Creating your own email ad should be professional looking as it can be, but a home-grown feel does appeal to people in certain markets. If this is what your ad will be, make your weaknesses your strengths and play into it as hard as you can.
Veteran Customer emails/Newsletters
● The only difference in a veteran customer target market and one you would buy from an internet company is the way you acquire the addresses.
● Creating a membership setup (Either a section for your customers to visit or a list of preferred customers) isn't that difficult, and any good website design firm can make you one. I don't suggest making this yourself, as it requires understanding of PHP and SQL databases, and can take much of your now valuable time (You successful person you).
● Using your database, send out the emails outlined earlier in the article, sit back, and watch your customers come back.
● As far as newsletters go, unless you are a skilled writer it is probably best if you contract the work out. You can either have it 'Ghostwritten' in which someone writes it for you and you take credit, or you can just have someone write the articles and mention them on your website as your web-publication specialist.
● Last but not least, if you set up a schedule, stick to it. Tardy newsletters will definitively turn off your customers, especially if they are expecting the new coupons/discounts you are going to offer this time.
Deena McMahon is an author and entrepreneur for America’s Premier Certified Media Placement Specialist, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build business success. Get No Obligation Free Tips and Training at http://www.americasmediaspecialist.com/
Find out if you qualify to be trained in having your own business at 1-800-719-8268 extension 34978.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Top Ten Online Marketing Strategies, Part Two: Physical Word of Mouth
In a previous article “Top 10 Strategies to Marketing Online” ten separate ways were listed to create buzz for a business or product, but what wasn't detailed were the intricacies of each strategy. These marketing paths entail much more than what one could put into just a few short sentences, and it is of the utmost importance to provide everyone reading with every useful bit of knowledge that can possibly be bestowed. Each marketing tactic in “Top 10 Strategies to Marketing Online” has its own specific blueprint to success, with 'Word of Mouth' seeming the most straight forward. This is not the whole truth. Sure, someone can inform another of something, but they cannot be forced to tell people. What can be done is to encourage them to inform others of a mind-blowing business or product they just heard about. The problem then is transforming a person from being an interested loved one into a conduit through which beneficial Word of Mouth can flow.
Far too often even the most intelligent entrepreneur assumes their friends and family will increase the potential profitability of their business venture just by being friends and family. While these folks are essential, they are generally not going to take an interest in a business and assist in making dreams come true if they are approached completely passively. It will take a little work, but these loved ones can become a Word of Mouth Base, or 'WoMB'. It is inside this WoMB that a business will grow and thrive in its infancy. The WoMB will initially be just the creator of the business or the inventor of the product. As this business idea begins to grow and take shape, so must its WoMB. Think of a WoMB like a network. It starts with the focal point, the initiator of the business or the originator of the product, and it spreads outward like a web. This web connects to everyone the owner of the business knows, from any co-workers, to immediate family,to extended family, to friends, to class mates. Each of these connections would then connect to their own personal WoMB, their web of contacts. Take for example, friends. Each friend has a plethora of potential conduits, in that they all have their own co-workers, family, etc. It sounds enticing, but unfortunately it takes a bit of work to change a potential conduit into a spigot of favorable Word of Mouth.
Converting a natural circuitry of acquaintances into a valuable WoMB requires much less guile and tact than it appears. It is not necessary or recommended that manipulation be employed to produce a profitable market base from friends and loved ones. In most cases a simple network of connections can be revamped into a WoMB easily by communicating the main idea to those in the first tier of connections in a network. It is imperative that those in the WoMB don't feel like they are being sold something, but that an enticing new idea is being presented and that they would be doing a service to anyone they tell by informing them of it. This way a businessperson is not asking for favors, but helping others. It is this minor shift of ideal that allows for Word of Mouth to spread like wildfire. Customarily people like to feel like they have done a good thing. Presenting a business in such a way that it is a great, helpful thing allows a WoMB to expound on that feeling. This creates a central goodness to a business that allows it to succeed in a harsh world.
Unfortunately, Word of Mouth can be a hazard as well as a boon. If the product is incomplete or poor quality then a WoMB will be unlikely to form. Without a healthy WoMB full of people backing your product, no other marketing strategy will help you. If the product does not fill a need or if it is unnecessary then it will be impossible to market successfully. There are situations, however; where a great product can be labeled poor by disgruntled customers and/or toxic people. These individuals are a cancer on an otherwise healthy WoMB, and without direct action they can destroy everything they come into contact with. Dealing with these customers is tricky. It is possible, albeit unlikely; that they cannot be reasoned with, and that they simply are curmudgeons and refuse to respond positively to any effort made. More commonly there will have been a mix up or miscommunication somewhere along the line where they felt they were promised something they were not given. If this situation can be remedied, it should be done as quickly as possible, turning that person into a benign conduit of healthy Word of Mouth. Remember, if the person feels they were wronged, they were wronged. There is no arguing with an angry person. Putting someone on the defensive walls them off. Admit fault and they will open up, allowing for them to become a potential customer, rather than a problem.
Without productive Word of Mouth, all business ventures are destined to fail. If there is no way to create the seeds of a WoMB for a business, it is most likely unwise to pursue it. Taking a risk is tantamount to taking a leap of faith. If there is no faith, DON'T LEAP. There is little reason to fear a potential success, but it is unwise to dive headlong into a pursuit that is has virtually zero chance of succeeding. If it does not feel right to present a product as a good thing, it isn't one. Such a product will receive counter-productive Word of Mouth. When that is the case, look for a new idea. Everyone deserves success, but to achieve it requires a strong foundation. Do not allow it to be torn down before it begins. A businessperson must be sure of their idea before they can spread Word of Mouth. However, once they are sure, they must do all in their power to succeed.
Keywords: Internet marketing, online marketing, strategies, advertising, website, word of mouth, online marketing
Deena McMahon is an author and entrepreneur for Americas Media Specialist, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build business success. Get No Obligation Free Tips and Training at http://www.americasmediaspecialist.com. Find out if you qualify to be trained in having your own business at 1-800-719-8268 extension 34978.
Far too often even the most intelligent entrepreneur assumes their friends and family will increase the potential profitability of their business venture just by being friends and family. While these folks are essential, they are generally not going to take an interest in a business and assist in making dreams come true if they are approached completely passively. It will take a little work, but these loved ones can become a Word of Mouth Base, or 'WoMB'. It is inside this WoMB that a business will grow and thrive in its infancy. The WoMB will initially be just the creator of the business or the inventor of the product. As this business idea begins to grow and take shape, so must its WoMB. Think of a WoMB like a network. It starts with the focal point, the initiator of the business or the originator of the product, and it spreads outward like a web. This web connects to everyone the owner of the business knows, from any co-workers, to immediate family,to extended family, to friends, to class mates. Each of these connections would then connect to their own personal WoMB, their web of contacts. Take for example, friends. Each friend has a plethora of potential conduits, in that they all have their own co-workers, family, etc. It sounds enticing, but unfortunately it takes a bit of work to change a potential conduit into a spigot of favorable Word of Mouth.
Converting a natural circuitry of acquaintances into a valuable WoMB requires much less guile and tact than it appears. It is not necessary or recommended that manipulation be employed to produce a profitable market base from friends and loved ones. In most cases a simple network of connections can be revamped into a WoMB easily by communicating the main idea to those in the first tier of connections in a network. It is imperative that those in the WoMB don't feel like they are being sold something, but that an enticing new idea is being presented and that they would be doing a service to anyone they tell by informing them of it. This way a businessperson is not asking for favors, but helping others. It is this minor shift of ideal that allows for Word of Mouth to spread like wildfire. Customarily people like to feel like they have done a good thing. Presenting a business in such a way that it is a great, helpful thing allows a WoMB to expound on that feeling. This creates a central goodness to a business that allows it to succeed in a harsh world.
Unfortunately, Word of Mouth can be a hazard as well as a boon. If the product is incomplete or poor quality then a WoMB will be unlikely to form. Without a healthy WoMB full of people backing your product, no other marketing strategy will help you. If the product does not fill a need or if it is unnecessary then it will be impossible to market successfully. There are situations, however; where a great product can be labeled poor by disgruntled customers and/or toxic people. These individuals are a cancer on an otherwise healthy WoMB, and without direct action they can destroy everything they come into contact with. Dealing with these customers is tricky. It is possible, albeit unlikely; that they cannot be reasoned with, and that they simply are curmudgeons and refuse to respond positively to any effort made. More commonly there will have been a mix up or miscommunication somewhere along the line where they felt they were promised something they were not given. If this situation can be remedied, it should be done as quickly as possible, turning that person into a benign conduit of healthy Word of Mouth. Remember, if the person feels they were wronged, they were wronged. There is no arguing with an angry person. Putting someone on the defensive walls them off. Admit fault and they will open up, allowing for them to become a potential customer, rather than a problem.
Without productive Word of Mouth, all business ventures are destined to fail. If there is no way to create the seeds of a WoMB for a business, it is most likely unwise to pursue it. Taking a risk is tantamount to taking a leap of faith. If there is no faith, DON'T LEAP. There is little reason to fear a potential success, but it is unwise to dive headlong into a pursuit that is has virtually zero chance of succeeding. If it does not feel right to present a product as a good thing, it isn't one. Such a product will receive counter-productive Word of Mouth. When that is the case, look for a new idea. Everyone deserves success, but to achieve it requires a strong foundation. Do not allow it to be torn down before it begins. A businessperson must be sure of their idea before they can spread Word of Mouth. However, once they are sure, they must do all in their power to succeed.
Keywords: Internet marketing, online marketing, strategies, advertising, website, word of mouth, online marketing
Deena McMahon is an author and entrepreneur for Americas Media Specialist, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build business success. Get No Obligation Free Tips and Training at http://www.americasmediaspecialist.com. Find out if you qualify to be trained in having your own business at 1-800-719-8268 extension 34978.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Top Ten Online Marketing Strategies, Part One: Creating an Attractive Website
The first step to Internet marketing is the creation of your website. This will be your base of operations for all of your online marketing. From your website you will attain your name recognition, your database of customers for email marketing, and your advertisement revenue. Your website can be geared for e-commerce, a showcase for product, or an online service. These are the most successful internet ventures.
Initially, while your website is still in the idea stage, you must decide exactly what your website will do for you. While it is true that the first outline of most websites will be similar, the steps taken to customize your website must mirror the steps you took when designing your business plan. Better still, if you can create a plan for your website/online marketing concurrently with the plan for you business you are putting yourself in a prime position to succeed.
If you decide to gear your website for online purchases of your physical product then you will need to both showcase your product and provide a means to purchase directly from your website. Personally I suggest creating a separate bank account for any business transactions, regardless the size of your current enterprise. Once that is taken care of you must create your e-commerce system. Here are some easy steps to setting up your e-commerce system.
STEP 1: Identify Your Products
You will have to determine what you are going to sell online. The more products you have, the more your shopping cart will cost. You may only have one item, you may want to sell hundreds of items, or you may only wish to place your best selling items online.
STEP 2: Organize Your Products
If applicable, you should group your products into logical categories so customers can easily find what they are looking for. For example, if you were selling music you may wish to group titles in the following groups: country, rock, rap, pop, classical and jazz.
STEP 3: Photograph Your Products
The most effective way to share your products with clients is through pictures. If you want to sell, you'll need a digital image (preferably .jpg, .gif or .tif) of each product. If your photographs are sharp and clear, your website will look professional and customers will want to buy from you.
STEP 4: Receive Payment
You will need to decide how you wish to accept payment from customers. I suggest using pay pal, as it is the easiest to set up, and it does not require a fancy shopping cart program (which is usually pricey).
PayPal:
Sign up for Paypal Account
STEP 5: Ship Your Product
Unless you have a special preference, the cheapest shipping is going to be the united states postal service. They just released a new “Flat-rate box” promotion, which allows you to ship anywhere in the US for one price, which is very useful for the online business. All the USPS information on Flat rate boxes (Or other methods) can be found here:
http://www.usps.com/shipping/prioritymail.htm . Don't forget to include the shipping price into the pricing of your products.
When creating a website solely to showcase your product (This is usually reserved for things difficult to ship. For example: Real estate, Vehicle sales, basically any large big ticket items are included) the aesthetics of your website are your main concern. The appearance of your website should always be on your mind, but it will come directly to the forefront if you are trying to publicize your product. In this type of website your advertisements are going to have to be extremely calculated. Trading banner ads (Which will be discussed at length later in this series) will become important to bring motivated potential customers to your website. Your main goal in this type of website is to get your customers to contact you, so it is a great idea to post a bold link that states “CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION” in big bright shiny letters. While I am generally against it, this type of website can and is often expected to be flashy. Now, I don't suggest that you use cliché flashing pop-ups, but know what you're good at and over emphasize that point. For example, if you sell homes have the text of your heading bulge angularly in the center to create the semblance of a roof. Don't forget that flashy and busy are not the same thing. If your website is painful to look at or difficult to navigate you are going to drive away your customers in droves. While this is sage advice for any website it is doubly so for a showcase website. Making your product difficult to find will not do you any favors when trying to sell it!
An online service website can be many different things, from a blog to a multi-level marketing venture to a social networking website (Like Facebook). The creation of this style of website can be tricky. Your website will need suitable explanation, and more importantly publicity. Your online service can either be free or have a cover charge, but do not assume that because you offer your service for free that you will make less money. Just the word “Free” will increase your 'traffic' immensely, which will allow you to increase your ad revenue comparatively. Most commonly your advertisements will be your largest source of income for your online service website.
Your next step, now that you know what your website will be is going through the construction process. You have several choices when you are building your site. Typically business owners will contract both of the construction and maintenance to a web design company, but that is NOT the only option available to you. Taking a course and building your own website is a viable (and financially cheap) option. A third option is to hire a content management website company, and have them build your website. A content management website is a streamlined website with an easy to edit interface, which allows you to forgo the individual costs of each edit you may want to make to your spiffy new website. All of these methods are simple enough to put into motion, and if you follow these easy steps you will be well on your way.
Steps to Hiring a Web Design Company* :
● Produce a written plan of your website ideas.
● Get estimates from as many companies as you deem necessary (at least three).
● Make sure the cost per hour for website changes/edits are included in the estimate.
● Choose your company weighing both the quality of their previous work and cost.
Steps to Learning HTML & CSS to Create Your Own Website:
● Check into any local colleges for web design classes that fit into your schedule and budget.
OR
● Look online for free tutorials in the subjects your future website dictates you learn.
● Learn Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for optimum website design.
● Pay yourself. Keep track of your hours spent learning and working as if you were being paid whatever you believe you're worth, and if it becomes more expensive to pay yourself than it would cost to hire either a content management website company or a standard web design company it may be time to re-think your strategy.
● Remember to include the potential labor cost of future website edits.
FINAL STEP
● Put your brand new website to good use and START BEING SUCCESFUL.
*= These steps are the same for a content management website or a website from a standard web design company, with the exception of a higher monthly hosting cost for a content management site due to the easy to edit interface usually driving up the monthly price.
Initially, while your website is still in the idea stage, you must decide exactly what your website will do for you. While it is true that the first outline of most websites will be similar, the steps taken to customize your website must mirror the steps you took when designing your business plan. Better still, if you can create a plan for your website/online marketing concurrently with the plan for you business you are putting yourself in a prime position to succeed.
If you decide to gear your website for online purchases of your physical product then you will need to both showcase your product and provide a means to purchase directly from your website. Personally I suggest creating a separate bank account for any business transactions, regardless the size of your current enterprise. Once that is taken care of you must create your e-commerce system. Here are some easy steps to setting up your e-commerce system.
STEP 1: Identify Your Products
You will have to determine what you are going to sell online. The more products you have, the more your shopping cart will cost. You may only have one item, you may want to sell hundreds of items, or you may only wish to place your best selling items online.
STEP 2: Organize Your Products
If applicable, you should group your products into logical categories so customers can easily find what they are looking for. For example, if you were selling music you may wish to group titles in the following groups: country, rock, rap, pop, classical and jazz.
STEP 3: Photograph Your Products
The most effective way to share your products with clients is through pictures. If you want to sell, you'll need a digital image (preferably .jpg, .gif or .tif) of each product. If your photographs are sharp and clear, your website will look professional and customers will want to buy from you.
STEP 4: Receive Payment
You will need to decide how you wish to accept payment from customers. I suggest using pay pal, as it is the easiest to set up, and it does not require a fancy shopping cart program (which is usually pricey).
PayPal:
Sign up for Paypal Account
STEP 5: Ship Your Product
Unless you have a special preference, the cheapest shipping is going to be the united states postal service. They just released a new “Flat-rate box” promotion, which allows you to ship anywhere in the US for one price, which is very useful for the online business. All the USPS information on Flat rate boxes (Or other methods) can be found here:
http://www.usps.com/shipping/prioritymail.htm . Don't forget to include the shipping price into the pricing of your products.
When creating a website solely to showcase your product (This is usually reserved for things difficult to ship. For example: Real estate, Vehicle sales, basically any large big ticket items are included) the aesthetics of your website are your main concern. The appearance of your website should always be on your mind, but it will come directly to the forefront if you are trying to publicize your product. In this type of website your advertisements are going to have to be extremely calculated. Trading banner ads (Which will be discussed at length later in this series) will become important to bring motivated potential customers to your website. Your main goal in this type of website is to get your customers to contact you, so it is a great idea to post a bold link that states “CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION” in big bright shiny letters. While I am generally against it, this type of website can and is often expected to be flashy. Now, I don't suggest that you use cliché flashing pop-ups, but know what you're good at and over emphasize that point. For example, if you sell homes have the text of your heading bulge angularly in the center to create the semblance of a roof. Don't forget that flashy and busy are not the same thing. If your website is painful to look at or difficult to navigate you are going to drive away your customers in droves. While this is sage advice for any website it is doubly so for a showcase website. Making your product difficult to find will not do you any favors when trying to sell it!
An online service website can be many different things, from a blog to a multi-level marketing venture to a social networking website (Like Facebook). The creation of this style of website can be tricky. Your website will need suitable explanation, and more importantly publicity. Your online service can either be free or have a cover charge, but do not assume that because you offer your service for free that you will make less money. Just the word “Free” will increase your 'traffic' immensely, which will allow you to increase your ad revenue comparatively. Most commonly your advertisements will be your largest source of income for your online service website.
Your next step, now that you know what your website will be is going through the construction process. You have several choices when you are building your site. Typically business owners will contract both of the construction and maintenance to a web design company, but that is NOT the only option available to you. Taking a course and building your own website is a viable (and financially cheap) option. A third option is to hire a content management website company, and have them build your website. A content management website is a streamlined website with an easy to edit interface, which allows you to forgo the individual costs of each edit you may want to make to your spiffy new website. All of these methods are simple enough to put into motion, and if you follow these easy steps you will be well on your way.
Steps to Hiring a Web Design Company* :
● Produce a written plan of your website ideas.
● Get estimates from as many companies as you deem necessary (at least three).
● Make sure the cost per hour for website changes/edits are included in the estimate.
● Choose your company weighing both the quality of their previous work and cost.
Steps to Learning HTML & CSS to Create Your Own Website:
● Check into any local colleges for web design classes that fit into your schedule and budget.
OR
● Look online for free tutorials in the subjects your future website dictates you learn.
● Learn Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for optimum website design.
● Pay yourself. Keep track of your hours spent learning and working as if you were being paid whatever you believe you're worth, and if it becomes more expensive to pay yourself than it would cost to hire either a content management website company or a standard web design company it may be time to re-think your strategy.
● Remember to include the potential labor cost of future website edits.
FINAL STEP
● Put your brand new website to good use and START BEING SUCCESFUL.
*= These steps are the same for a content management website or a website from a standard web design company, with the exception of a higher monthly hosting cost for a content management site due to the easy to edit interface usually driving up the monthly price.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Internet Marketing and Business: Creating the Best Team
Successful teamwork, regardless of your business, requires building trust within each one on one relationship.
- Ensure everyone on the team understands the overall purpose, goals and values of your team. Not only should they clearly understand and support you team mandate they should agree on the approach to achieve them.
- Establish and communicate clear team procedures.
- Make sure your team members possess, or have access to, the skills necessary to complete your teams’ objectives by offering the best training.
- Establish and maintain a team code of conduct with your team members in order to set behavioral norms and encourage healthy and successful relationships among the team.
- Create an on-going team gathering, meeting, or team building to establish individual goals, set roles and responsibilities, offer tools and techniques to resolve issues and to encourage team members to be accountable.
- Continually improve the team by demonstrating trust, respect and support for all team members.
- Communicating openly and often about all issue, whether positive or negative is also key.
- Keep all commitments to one another and take all commitments seriously whether it’s to return a phone call or attend a meeting. Your commitment is your bond.
- Edify one another and do not disclose team concerns or shared information outside the team.
- Distinguish between what requires a decision versus what is only an information exchange.
- Preview agendas and information by emailing them out prior to actual event that so attendees have time to consider topics and prepare any questions to share.
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