tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58505706498832118402024-03-12T21:06:48.400-07:00Marketing Tipsadminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.comBlogger227125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-52399731594819902222012-05-08T09:28:00.000-07:002012-05-08T09:28:38.062-07:00Benchmark Analysis Solution Services<a href="http://www.hanoverresearch.com/global-research-services/competitive-benchmarking-analysis/">What is benchmarking analysis</a>? Benchmark analysis in usually is comparing the business processes and performance metrics of one business with the most effective practices of different industries. In different words, benchmark analysis exemplifies the media echo of the competitors. It's when the management identifies the most effective corporations within the business or the other space of comparable processes and evaluates on the premise of the results of these processes that are studied as targets and their own results. They learn the strategies of performance of the targeted industries and therefore the means they operate. An array of analysis techniques could also be needed because the benchmark analysis is applied to any business operate. During this means, a regular of comparison is employed whereas assessing the direct competition with the corporate.<br />
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Benchmark analysis strategically manages the analysis of assorted aspects of the most effective practices among the business processes inside the business. This helps corporations to develop ways of adopting such best practices. The benchmark analysis could also be a onetime operate however is additionally thought-about a nonstop method of yearning for changes for the betterment of the corporate. There's a specific procedure that has to be followed for the benchmark analysis. You, first, ought to determine the matter space so as to work out the analysis technique needed for that specific space, like focus teams, in-depth promoting analysis, quantitative analysis, surveys, questionnaires, re-engineering analysis, method mapping, quality management variance reports, and money ratio analysis.<br />
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Hereafter, determine the leading organizations in these areas by consulting customers, suppliers, money analysts, trade associations, and magazines to work out that corporations are worthy for study. You, then, ought to learn the most effective practices of these leading worthy corporations. You'll be able to attain further data by visiting the corporate and albeit speak to the CEO concerning the aim of your visit. You will visit an organization whereas you're well ready with a technique of a way to go concerning acquiring data concerning the corporate in a very honest manner. Once you have got acquired data on the corporate, you'll be able to build a report at that time and supply it to the corporate in order that they will build necessary changes and corrections to change sensitive and proprietary data. Subsequently, the most effective practices are often implemented in your organization with appropriate measures. As benchmark analysis may be a continuous method, the practices are often improved within the future additionally.<br />
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Nevertheless, consultants within the business field spot few barriers that may hamper a company's efforts for a successful benchmark analysis. This happens when the aspects of core business processes, like quality, price, and reliability of the tip product or service created offered to the purchasers are unexamined. Also, when inadequate individuals or technology resources, like workforce, technology and funding are utilised, the aim of the benchmark analysis could also be irrelevant. The analysis for benchmark might not be acceptable when there's unwillingness or inability in accepting the legitimacy of business ideas or practices from sources out of the organization, as several might not be snug with amendment. However, such individuals ought to be assured that it's not implemented to seek out fault however is employed to assist the corporate grow additionally as improve during this business world that is evolving at a fast pace.<br />
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The speed of conducting the benchmark analysis additionally affects the method for benchmarking, when there's very little time for a scope of improvement within the method. When coaching has inadequate follow-up, where the workforce isn't provided enough coaching for creating the mandatory changes in time for effectiveness, the time and resources used for the initiation is taken into account a waste. A benchmark analysis is a wonderful tool for management to use in conjunction with in order that the corporate can reach their strategic goals. <a href="http://www.hanoverresearch.com/">Hanoverresearch.com</a> supply substantive data around a broad vary of business and education topics. The Services embody benchmarking.adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-34406716638383550032012-04-27T04:11:00.002-07:002012-04-27T04:11:28.319-07:00Buy Blog ReviewsThеre are countlеѕs writіng opрortunіties оn thе wеb. Many of thеѕе invоlvе сrеating сontent fоr оtherѕ. But уou only gеt раid once if yоu do this. You аlѕо don't get to chооѕе thе subјect much оf thе time. It'ѕ muсh better іf you саn gеnerate inсome frоm subjeсts уоu find enjоyаblе. Onе of thе beѕt ways tо aсhіevе thiѕ is tо write artіclе оr reviеws аnd publіsh them оn уоur blоg, іncludіng affіliаte lіnkѕ tо thеm in the blоg pоstѕ. Yоu can dо thіs ѕіnce peoрlе <a href="http://linkfromblog.com">buу blog rеvіewѕ</a>.<br />
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<img border="0" width="1" height="1" alt="Advertise with my Blog" src="http://linkfromblog.com/img.001.014581.gif"/>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-21440254183278381302011-12-17T05:18:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.222-07:00Social Marketing Tips For Online Success<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">More and more people are asking me about the best ways to use social media to run a successful online business. Although the social media marketing landscape can seem difficult to navigate, the truth of the matter is that basic online marketing principals still apply. If you want to succeed online with social marketing, follow these helpful marketing tips.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4blvFaF71jR6dT-1e4ol5ejXefhlcQpkx_aUg4Ppr7ocYacGmAPZPPsNzRxcQkOlkHhfgvn2xpxVRuTSHHRzxgcbeUn3uP_FMJ4wLrR1WPry4ymiM-IpwrKaiCp3D9ckaer8I4Pjhp8A/s1600/Social-Media-Marketing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4blvFaF71jR6dT-1e4ol5ejXefhlcQpkx_aUg4Ppr7ocYacGmAPZPPsNzRxcQkOlkHhfgvn2xpxVRuTSHHRzxgcbeUn3uP_FMJ4wLrR1WPry4ymiM-IpwrKaiCp3D9ckaer8I4Pjhp8A/s320/Social-Media-Marketing.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Marketing Tip #1: Spread the word</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Build a list of followers using all potential touch points. Develop accounts on all of the major social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Once you've created and optimized those channels you need to make it easy for potential followers to sign up or follow you. This can only be done if you're using your website, email, and other touch points to invite users to follow.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Marketing Tip #2: Incentives are key</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Provide an incentive for people to follow you via social media<b>. </b>Why should people follow you? Unless you're a Hollywood movie star, people aren't going to follow you for their own health. Consider what type of exclusive benefits you can give to those who follow you via social media. This is marketing at it's best - don't lose site of that.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Marketing Tip #3: Create value</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Your social media marketing must provide something of value. If all you plan to do is spam your followers with offers, they will unsubscribe. Choose special offers, valuable content, and information they can't get anywhere else as part of your regular communication plan through social media. This has tremendous benefit and will keep your social media channels in good standing.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Marketing Tip #4: Encourage others to share</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many times in marketing you need to ask for a referral and ask for the sale. The same is true with social media. Ask your followers to bookmark, retweet, and share certain communications and offers. The more you ask to share the more your followers may consider it as something they can do to support the brands they love.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Social media marketing is important today but follows many of the same principals that are necessary for effective marketing - period. Just because a new media has come along in recent years doesn't mean that the core marketing principals that have built the world's largest brands have suddenly disappeared. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Focus on delivering value to your customers and prospects to grow your business using social media as part of your marketing mix. </span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br /> </div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-91973022971219100712011-09-29T19:13:00.000-07:002012-04-22T06:09:47.242-07:00Good Marketing Gets Better!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac6ZaGOepoVuQRgLHCKm5NpvM3lTZ6Egk0xszL4DFUlJHrXHljDp-BNgM65LULiEwImwfpA6HpP3uD7Vpg7j-PkgefFnWvGo2JfML4ORNB99cotlMIEsgO2r7NTVnahfDSkNA-PhdAE8/s1600/prizemarketing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac6ZaGOepoVuQRgLHCKm5NpvM3lTZ6Egk0xszL4DFUlJHrXHljDp-BNgM65LULiEwImwfpA6HpP3uD7Vpg7j-PkgefFnWvGo2JfML4ORNB99cotlMIEsgO2r7NTVnahfDSkNA-PhdAE8/s200/prizemarketing.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Marketing success takes more than chance. To improve your marketing results, you'll need to be open to the simple process of: strategy, campaign roll out, testing, measurement. Repeat and rinse. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Successful marketers know that the best way to drive conversions is through a well refined marketing funnel. If you begin with the end in mind, measurement, then you're well on your way to developing a marketing program that continually improves over time.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>How to Begin</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The best place to start is with an idea of your audience, timing, offer, and message. Once you've determined the particulars of your campaign, its time to choose the medium. During the process make sure that you are collecting data. This could include visitors, calls, or some other form of conversion.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">In the end you'll have information to build on. Your initial results are called your Control and will serve as a target to improve upon with your next campaign and the campaign after that.</span></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-8098158357754205442011-07-22T06:52:00.000-07:002012-04-22T06:09:47.261-07:00The Power of Internet Marketing Tools<div class="detail-item" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="detail-text"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3VtRTOA-xcQjZJI172uG2vWc3NFuvsnpEJZLZhaTtwAdhNfMXNt6obuDV0nbq_zIa03khFRTO6LTxqiFgrxGQxKhw5yvRag9r4m9kM3i1NgwZNB2r3ghK-0je7I8447YRH6_JvCryWHk/s1600/tool-box-copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3VtRTOA-xcQjZJI172uG2vWc3NFuvsnpEJZLZhaTtwAdhNfMXNt6obuDV0nbq_zIa03khFRTO6LTxqiFgrxGQxKhw5yvRag9r4m9kM3i1NgwZNB2r3ghK-0je7I8447YRH6_JvCryWHk/s200/tool-box-copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">Creating an effective website is not always as easy as it might look. It is true that there are people out there that are gaining speed and making great money through their sites, but there are also site owners that are not doing so well. In order to save a struggling site, look into Internet marketing and SEO tools that are going help get your site going again.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">It is important to make sure that any online marketing tools are used effectively. Those who do not know what they are doing are not going to get the desired numbers of traffic and profit results. If you can take a little bit of time to learn about the actual tools and what they are meant to do, it will be much easier to use them to your advantage.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">When a site owner creates a blog they will need to make sure that they use the right plug ins. Every blog site will offer their own plug ins to members so find out what your current blog site offers. If a blog has not yet been created, it might be a good idea to make some comparisons and find the site that has the more effective plug ins to use.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Different software will also aid any website owner in keeping track of website traffic numbers and profile of visitors. This is essential for shaping your website development. It's also a good idea, in addition to using software to monitor your website, to reach out and engage online marketing experts. Doing so is essential if you want to stay on top of all your online marketing and grow your business.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Free or inexpensive online marketing tools are incredibly easy to find today. The great part is that free tools have really improved over the last few years and can do a lot to keep costs down to a minimum. Effective tools that come at no cost to the user are out there, its just a matter of doing a little research. Join a <a href="http://www.marketingscoop.com/internetmarketingforum">marketing forum</a> and listen to what others are recommending. You can even ask specific questions and get the answers you need to find valuable resources.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">SEO and online marketing is very important for each and every site out there. Website owners who are having some trouble with growing their business will need to research and consider using tools that can help guide them in the right direction. Get started right now and see how dramatically your results can improve with the help of Internet marketing tools.</span></div></div></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-44315670932510584092010-06-19T05:46:00.000-07:002012-04-22T06:09:47.279-07:00Effective Keyword Research Done Right!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecXQtZ2Uu77BgHPywWlr5PAsgECKm4ESRld4I7PK7qrOXu7Dlv2NdYPXAG7kG5WiIGLs5aIHWherBDsMgwOPDA100srkGTQU6yEh11VatKVqbjwsjGL338m503g9XG9V86aoMN8oxmfU/s1600/keywords.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecXQtZ2Uu77BgHPywWlr5PAsgECKm4ESRld4I7PK7qrOXu7Dlv2NdYPXAG7kG5WiIGLs5aIHWherBDsMgwOPDA100srkGTQU6yEh11VatKVqbjwsjGL338m503g9XG9V86aoMN8oxmfU/s320/keywords.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To achieve search engine dominance you can gain an advantage by focusing on keyword research. After working with dozens of clients on competing effectively in a specific niche, I've discovered how powerful the right type of keyword research can be for creating improved rankings and traffic. When competing in a difficult niche, the keywords you select can make the difference between long term success or failure.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be successful with keyword research you must go beyond the concept of competitiveness. After finding a keyword that doesn't have much competition, the next step is to research the type of traffic you can expect from number one rankings with that keyword. Using the Google keyword tool or other traffic estimation software is a good way to see what type of traffic can be expected. Don't focus on keywords that can't generate enough traffic to make things worthwhile.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After finding a keyword or keyword phrase that isn't all that competitive but receives an sufficient amount of traffic, you should spend time researching your competition for that keyword. An effective technique is to visit each of the top ranked sites, competing for the chosen keyword, and analyze them. Pay particular attention to the Google Page Rank of competing sites and number of inbound links. If sites are well established and have been online for a long time, it may be difficult to achieve a higher ranking.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After you have selected the keywords you want to compete for, it's time to enhance your web pages using the chosen keywords. Begin by enhancing your meta tags, page titles, and copy, including your keywords where appropriate. By including your keywords in this manner, you're indicating to search engines what your web site is about. This allows the engines to rank your site for appropriate keywords. In addition to the on page factors, Google considers off page factors to determine web site ranking. Off page optimization involves generating links from third party websites. Focus your efforts on link building through article directories, web site directories, blogs, social bookmarking sites, and other sites.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your optimization strategy should include a plan for the continuous creation of inbound links. Build links too slowly and you'll never get the authority needed to achieve the number one ranking. Develop links too quickly and search engines may think you're up to no good. If you want to improve your organic search engine results, begin with keyword research before link building. Having the right keywords makes the difference in your overall optimization results. Update your meta tags and web pages to integrate your keyword phrase, focus on building links over the long term, and you're sure to achieve search engine dominance. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking for answers to today's most difficult search engine optimization questions? Visit the <a href="http://www.marketingscoop.com/internetmarketingforum">marketing forum</a> to get help from today's leading <a href="http://myseomadesimple.com/">SEO experts</a>. For SEO consulting, visit MySEOmadesimple.com </span>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-57792929121962747922010-05-10T12:02:00.000-07:002012-04-22T06:09:47.297-07:00Qualified Leads From Twitter?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87SUanoXbN0lKz84rZfFpTLDM5LDIM8RN8lrjV12qRmU0G9q7ZCgSj3_LsdgaYny2GtnxhP18dBtmOmxCoEPozMlhBHqua2zE0_m_yEZ4u1SUflRdobrcqctNoenzzFELnJuNF7t05cE/s1600/twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87SUanoXbN0lKz84rZfFpTLDM5LDIM8RN8lrjV12qRmU0G9q7ZCgSj3_LsdgaYny2GtnxhP18dBtmOmxCoEPozMlhBHqua2zE0_m_yEZ4u1SUflRdobrcqctNoenzzFELnJuNF7t05cE/s320/twitter.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By now you know that Twitter has taken on a life of its own. What was once considered a micro-blogging site is now the topic of most online conversations. You might be asking yourself what that may mean to your business and more importantly what it means to you.<br /><br />After some time I opened up my own account on Twitter. This was mainly due to curiosity and the fact that Twitter like discussions are happening throughout the internet. I quickly found out that Twitter operates like many other social media sites and web tool in that it is a communication vehicle that helps you communicate to your niche in real time.<br /><br />One of the best things about this social media tool is the ability to follow like minded individuals. Said another way, you can access what people are saying within a given industry or niche. This is vital to staying on top of things and continually learning about your trade. In the past, you had to sign up for RSS feeds or continually read online articles, reports, and posts. With Twitter you simply follow others who provide valuable information and access valuable content through posts and links.<br /><br />You may be thinking that Twitter sounds great for learning about a particular but what other value does it provide. After you've identified those you want to follow for work related reasons, you should also consider adding some individuals to your list that are aligned with hobbies you may have, goals, or aspirations. Twitter is shaped by you the user so consider what content would add value to your life.<br /><br />Once you've gotten comfortable with Twitter, its time to start building a following. Just you follow others, others may want to follow you. The best place to begin is by adding quality posts on a regular basis. What are you reading that may be of interest to others? What type of tools are you using to accomplish a specific goal? Share those things that provide value to others and you will quickly create a large list of followers. Once you have a list, you can begin to utilize your list of followers much like you would a direct marketing house list.<br /><br />Once you've established a list and provide a good deal of value through your thoughts and ideas that are shared on a regular basis, you can begin offering information on affiliate products or your own products and services. When done correctly, others will learn more about these offers and even make a purchase. This is direct marketing at its best. One must be careful though as you don't want to abuse your list.<br /><br />If you haven't already reached this conclusion, using Twitter is like have a direct dialog with prospects. Begin by offering something of value, gaining their trust and following. Once you've proven yourself as an expert or having authority in a given area, it's time to promote products or services that help to solve a problem. Twitter is a great tool for building your online business and targeting prospective customers. <br /><br />Thinking about how Twitter can enhance your marketing? Check out our <a href="http://www.marketingscoop.com/seotraining.htm">SEO training</a> program for valuable information. You can also <a href="http://www.marketingscoop.com/seotraining.htm">Learn SEO</a> and how Twitter produce outstanding results with the help of leading experts. Register for an account today. </div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-51346439610112782892010-03-28T13:20:00.000-07:002012-04-22T06:09:47.319-07:00Getting Past Go<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhC0uz2Uf4JspaSQ8sTPDrQhHZ-xQTw7dw46z3noxZ-QzXj-E9Glk8pUrSzvdLjlvGjGOrw0cdqNdqZeBe1kbifgSTJfyaWt-SUI_aFVbaiQ-efxjQ1cjHAzC7y6mT1HihQWRNHRfgUus/s1600/customer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhC0uz2Uf4JspaSQ8sTPDrQhHZ-xQTw7dw46z3noxZ-QzXj-E9Glk8pUrSzvdLjlvGjGOrw0cdqNdqZeBe1kbifgSTJfyaWt-SUI_aFVbaiQ-efxjQ1cjHAzC7y6mT1HihQWRNHRfgUus/s200/customer.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So many times we feel like our job in marketing is to simply make the phone ring or get a prospect to reply to our email. The reality is that marketing goes way beyond the initial buying signals. In fact, good marketing know that they need to manage the entire purchase and renewal process effectively to show lasting results.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Getting Past Go</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Instead of thinking about lead generation, think about the entire customer experience. Not only will you attract users to your product or service, but you will maintain them, communicate with them, and leverage them to continue buying from you long into the future. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Focus on creating happy customers. Many companies simply market on the front end, not after the sale. If you focus on building strong relationships with your existing customers, they will often do the selling for you and become some of your greatest marketing assets. Consider the type of communication you provide to your existing customers. Are you simply contacting them to buy more?</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What Annoys Me</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b>I recently bought a product that I was really excited about. It was a video training program that offered daily information. No less than a week went buy until the videos, which were supposed to be delivering value (and something I paid for) started asking me to "upgrade" ad pitch the video to others to start earning affiliate revenue. I don't know about you but it certainly made me unhappy with my initial purchase.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b>After about a week of this I cancelled the subscription and was glad a I did. As marketers we need to be concerned with our messaging before, during, and after purchase. If you're not, you'll find your job getting more and more difficult each and every year as customers become harder to attract and retain.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Focus on your marketing communications throughout the customer life cycle. By thinking beyond the initial purchase, you'll develop a customer base that sustains and grows your business over time.</span></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-52074698979169265772010-03-07T06:15:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.349-07:00Good Marketing Tip #229: Start a Blog<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today's good marketing tip is: Start a Blog. By doing so you can quickly and easily improve search engine rankings, expand your reach and build a following. There are many free and inexpensive ways to start a blog and it doesn't require a great deal of internet marketing knowledge.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Free services like <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogger</a> and <a href="http://www.wordpress.com/">WordPress</a> are well known in blogging circles. These two programs are used to create free blogs that essential work as content management systems allowing you to make posts, updates, control web pages, and come with tons of additional features.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">There are many benefits to blogging. The first is that by adding a blog to your website, you're creating additional exposure to your products, services, and information. As your blog starts showing up in search results, you generate more traffic to your site and can quickly build a list of followers.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Individuals can choose to follow the posts on your blog via an RSS feed or via email. Each time you make a post, they receive a notification and can easily view your content. This type of system allows you to push out valuable information on a regular basis - essential for building and maintaining customer loyalty.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In addition to building a following, having a blog can actually improve your search engine rankings. Search engines like Yahoo and Bing like to see social media sites related to a particular website. This means that you are interacting with your audience and creating a great user experience. Additionally, once you are posting original content on a regular basis, you start to generate inbound links.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In bound links are essential for improvements in your search rankings. As sites attract more inbound links, Google and other search engines see this as a vote of confidence. The more sites that are voting for you the more weight your site has and therefore will appear more readily at the top of search engine result lists.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Whether you've been blogging for a long time or are new to the blogging phenomenon, be sure to make blogging an integral part of your overal marketing plan. Being found online is the first step towards building a successful business either online or offline.</span>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-58055798636361936672010-02-21T09:31:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.365-07:00Good Marketing Tip #228This week's marketing tip is all about generating quality traffic to your web site or blog. When thinking about web site traffic always focus on quality over quantity. You want to focus on keywords that are truly relevant to your offering. For example, if you are tyring to sell men's shoes, stay away from generic keywords like "foot wear."<br /><br />The best place to start is with the Google AdWords keyword tool. This took is easy to use and can help you find keywords that get enough traffic but aren't all that competitive. If you're not sure of the competitiveness of a keyword, look to see how many people are advertising for that keyword (using the tool) and using supplemental tools as well.<br /><br />Once you have identified the right keywords for your web site, focus on search engine optimization best practices and PPC marketing. By using these two techniques together, you can start to deliver quality traffic that gets results.adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-27651842246170002722010-02-07T17:51:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.378-07:00Today's Good Marketing Tip: Measure Your Advertising<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcCsubZBDmQSCO1Uv89s2RzIHpGc6bOmhzz9SuBes7SOeid8kEcNuxVktRpvVB7GLY7zWKGE4S5YxrkL-sd-A6Rt5eFvxPFMa6Uu7gNLmQbk4pKMu9Y0QGW3FJtaBLGk4jcFP3_JjVYqc/s1600-h/superbowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcCsubZBDmQSCO1Uv89s2RzIHpGc6bOmhzz9SuBes7SOeid8kEcNuxVktRpvVB7GLY7zWKGE4S5YxrkL-sd-A6Rt5eFvxPFMa6Uu7gNLmQbk4pKMu9Y0QGW3FJtaBLGk4jcFP3_JjVYqc/s200/superbowl.jpg" width="200" /><br /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So right now I'm watching the super bowl and can't believe that GoDaddy is the only advertiser that has a measurable call to action. Why haven't other advertisers figured this out. Whether the call to action is going to the web or calling an 800 number, if you can't measure it don't do it!</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What's so embarassing is that these advertiser are spending millions. Bud Light, Coke, Hyndi, should all know better. I guess they're just too used to not being held accountable for their marketing. I for one think it's a bit disgraceful but I suppose it's different when you're spending tat much money - but it shouldn't be.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">If you want to make the most of your advertising, then make sure you have a clear goal and know whether or not you've achieved it. If you don't have the means to measure a specific goal, then change the goal or find a way to measure it before making a committment. This can dramatically improve the effectiveness of your advertising and ensure that you're getting the most bang for your buck!</span>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-12720164421214655872010-01-31T07:16:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.395-07:00Good Marketing Tip: Social Media<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRmNbsZgCjnXFg7HcNsc5v49Mn-b3rH_fpImH1bDm23_FS84wINWD9zvwYMUxI4s25DLVOyTK1AuTtl1WW9k-v-InXZiKNfOu_Ub1d82S6ZZ9UaLIRmhvJFYBiw79md_WBieePsmY5Ko/s1600-h/socialmedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRmNbsZgCjnXFg7HcNsc5v49Mn-b3rH_fpImH1bDm23_FS84wINWD9zvwYMUxI4s25DLVOyTK1AuTtl1WW9k-v-InXZiKNfOu_Ub1d82S6ZZ9UaLIRmhvJFYBiw79md_WBieePsmY5Ko/s200/socialmedia.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">We all know the importance of social media and what it can do for your brand or retail establishment. We also know that Social Media is a monster. Where do you being? What's your strategy? How are you going to be successful? These and other questions are the topic of regular conversation among marketing professionals.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1264950354873"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I for one wondered a great deal as to how effective social media would be for me and my business. I think the answer can be found in what you consider social media to be. From my perspective it's more than just Twitter and Facebook. It's about being part of social discussion. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The purpose of most social media is conversational. "What are you doing now?", product reviews, sharing experiences. When you think about social media in this way, you are getting closer to the true meaning of social media - being part of the conversation. To be part of the conversation you need to know where it is and what's being discussed.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Start your social media marketing strategy by focusing on where the conversation(s) about your brand or your business are taking place. For example, if you're in education, focus on educational social media sites, blogs, etc. If you're in auto, focus on car review sites, blogs, networks, etc. Keep it targeted and relevant.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1264950354873"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, participate in the conversation. You want to be involved and transparent. If there's a thread about your company or product, identify yourself as such and engage in the conversation. Being genuine goes a very long way when it comes to social media.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1264950354870"><br /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We all know social media is important... it's time you got engaged!</span></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-4795935032437906212010-01-24T12:35:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.413-07:00Today's Good Marketing Tip: Premium Pricing<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pricing can have a significant impact on your sales. But today we're not talking about discounting. Rather, we're talking about <b>raising </b>prices. I know, you're probably saying, "There's so much price competition that I have no option but to discount my product!" This is pretty common but I'm here to tell you that many companies have been using <i>premium pricing </i>strategies and continually outshine others in their industry.<br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRP-DfgLJXIw5r9c8nvPJl7P4C7X_fm5s7UrnH2BLlGhEiICJWq50BCcE5DEatyfEFVOGHiQ9ZrgVQFyLv3yRznZQcCkR95MuKgR_F5rW2EFGMv6qZ8pkdOvkYK75PAJVsRdfPtK1eay8/s1600-h/wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRP-DfgLJXIw5r9c8nvPJl7P4C7X_fm5s7UrnH2BLlGhEiICJWq50BCcE5DEatyfEFVOGHiQ9ZrgVQFyLv3yRznZQcCkR95MuKgR_F5rW2EFGMv6qZ8pkdOvkYK75PAJVsRdfPtK1eay8/s320/wine.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Take a look at a Bently or Rolex watches and you'll see what I mean. Are these cars and watches really that much better than similar products in their niche? They may have some advantages but hardly enough to justify the outrageous prices that accompany them. This is because they are using a premium pricing strategy that works.<br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A great example is when you buy a bottle of wine. Unless you've gotten a recommendation or stick with the same wine on a regular basis, premium pricing can play a major role in your buying decision. Trust me, I've purchased expensive bottles of wine and they rarely justify the price. I'm no wine expert but I know what drives buying behavior. Two similar bottle, one costs $30 bucks and the other $7.99 and your gut says that the more expensive wine tastes better.<br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you're struggling with moving products off your shelves or web site, consider a premium pricing strategy. Try testing the strategy with an aspect of your product line and tell potential consumers that it's very limited (scarce). This should help you test the premium pricing strategy and see if it increases sales.</span><br /></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-57983075360606907632010-01-18T17:43:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.511-07:00Today's Good Marketing Tip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_G0yq5b8vtSmcqvBD24cDG7hK6x1eTQ1DlzjNwiZTLe41t-1wQHc5mS4i0DuKXXwq4VxahV64aMKzUVws_oPWeeRuhOrwkIzlVPAruKcRDjkqMfsEZX3VzBbATzg7pCdEgjnVJqnrNnk/s1600-h/results.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_G0yq5b8vtSmcqvBD24cDG7hK6x1eTQ1DlzjNwiZTLe41t-1wQHc5mS4i0DuKXXwq4VxahV64aMKzUVws_oPWeeRuhOrwkIzlVPAruKcRDjkqMfsEZX3VzBbATzg7pCdEgjnVJqnrNnk/s320/results.jpg" /></a><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Get better results with personalization. How often do you receive a message from a seller that is generic? Whether the message comes from an email or direct mail piece, I still get messages that say "Dear Customer"? I mean come on!</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not only do your marketing messages needs to be personalized, but the content and tone of the message needs to reflect the previous purchase behavior of your customer. Alternatively, if you're searching for prospects, make sure your message speaks their needs.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Good messaging is essential for improving the effectiveness of your marketing. Focus on needs and test multiple messages. Be sure to track results for each message you deliver. Start by focusing on testing your headline first followed by body copy. Changing just one factor can have a significant impact on results.</span><br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-29089576874964050662010-01-11T19:06:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.613-07:00Good Marketing Tip 224: Effective Communication<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMSJC8h5iht5pLGEaDEnX1GU49mLRVi04zQaGJiWTadHiHHizf-QN5k30EJdJazwha39GzSK2kTQKWoJKmbrGxp_zohKx7tTeZcnZu3q32P4DK7AvgTjOJN4LVZUfbD-Jwqm4fxwO950/s1600-h/bullhorn.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMSJC8h5iht5pLGEaDEnX1GU49mLRVi04zQaGJiWTadHiHHizf-QN5k30EJdJazwha39GzSK2kTQKWoJKmbrGxp_zohKx7tTeZcnZu3q32P4DK7AvgTjOJN4LVZUfbD-Jwqm4fxwO950/s320/bullhorn.jpeg" /></a><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today's good marketing tip is all about communication. Not only does your message need to be on target but your message needs to be targeted to the right audience. The success of any direct marketing campaign comes down to the list (target audience) and message (promotion). Are your messages on target?</span><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Test. Test. Test. As I've said time and again, effective messaging is really all about understanding your market and testing. What you may think is a good message may not have the desired result among your target market. Come up with multiple messages and let your audience decide which is most effective.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Alter your timing to make sure that your message is being heard. Sometimes your message may be right on but your timing is off. This can have a negative effect on your results. So make sure that you're testing your message at different times to see if you get a different results.<br><br />Effective communication takes the right audience, the right message and the right timing. Keep working until you get it right! </span><br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-31434865040393031672010-01-03T18:17:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.715-07:00Good Marketing Tip #223<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcolTONWtS_jOIUjZIq_0nJz28aYUwVEY3SYWVNXq8Frl3eoG2sjHWhBir7TLfwOgLzMKmyzsBivACsKNtiPwv40PZbT4xnR7NnBjjh2d7aOuiMvm98XyMljlzFo-kRl_1u87rF8QcpA/s1600-h/fair+price.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcolTONWtS_jOIUjZIq_0nJz28aYUwVEY3SYWVNXq8Frl3eoG2sjHWhBir7TLfwOgLzMKmyzsBivACsKNtiPwv40PZbT4xnR7NnBjjh2d7aOuiMvm98XyMljlzFo-kRl_1u87rF8QcpA/s320/fair+price.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Each week I provide you with good marketing tips that can improve the overall effectiveness of your online and offline campaigns. This week,my tip is designed for the new year. Instead of focusing on discounting, focus on value.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Each year we say we wont do it. We say that we are going to avoid discounting but inevitably we give in. I think this year can be different. My challenge to you is to focus on value. This is what good marketing is all about. Are you offering your products at a fair price in a way that makes sense for both you and your customers?</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I know that at certain times during the year you need to discount. Once could argue that discounting also makes tracking a lot easier. So if you can't eliminate discounting all together, consider selective discounting and limit it as much as you can. Instead, replace your discount with something of value.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I work with customers I find that many of them must work hard at defining something of true value to offer customers. But creating value is relatively easy if you know your customers well. For example, if you are a shoe store, perhaps you can offer a customer fitting. Or maybe you offer some time of "exclusive showing" when new styles arrive for your best customers. Whatever the value happens to be, make sure to promote it in place of a discount.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For 2010, think value. Try to break your habit of discounting this year and everyone will benefit.</span><br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-60570093763255889442009-12-29T08:22:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.820-07:00Good Marketing Is Simple<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What differentiates good marketing from bad? In my opinion it all comes down to understanding your market and identifying messaging that works. Add a sweet promotion and you've got good marketing. Here are some good marketing tips for creating campaigns that are effective.</span><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTaexzSXVa4SheAl-UC3EoKJsDxxDIC9D1LTR2ipgiE92GYyxc7UMWAOBrF5-OiJI330lH1c2c9RsFx7ZUUGSuV6C7mBf_4CSm-UZ4goE4lqR6cXvoHKixjbavNLy0fAaxphWAWLBp9A/s1600-h/goodmarketing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTaexzSXVa4SheAl-UC3EoKJsDxxDIC9D1LTR2ipgiE92GYyxc7UMWAOBrF5-OiJI330lH1c2c9RsFx7ZUUGSuV6C7mBf_4CSm-UZ4goE4lqR6cXvoHKixjbavNLy0fAaxphWAWLBp9A/s320/goodmarketing.jpg" /></a><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>1. Good marketing tip #1: </b> Segmentation. If you're trying to serve everyone you will undoubtedly fail and fail big. In today's environment, people are hit with tons of messages competing for their attention. To get noticed, your message has to be on target and resonate with your audience - much easier to do when you segment.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>2. Good marketing tip #2: </b> Identify Pain Points. Take the time to identify the pain points of your audience. If you know what keeps them up at night, you'll get there attention. Try to address something that isn't causing pain and they'll pass you by.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>3. Good marketing tip #3:</b> It's the Message. How are you communicating? Does you message resonate with your target audience? If so, does it move them through the purchase decision process? Good messaging is at the core of any solid marketing program.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>4. Good marketing tip #4:</b> Promotion. The effectiveness of your marketing will be creating promotions that drive trial and purchase. Don't think discounting, think value. Package products and solutions, try different opportunities to interact or sample your product and watch your marketing make an impact.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Good marketing is the result of following the before mentioned ideas as well as giving yourself the flexibility to try new things, experiment, and measure the results. We all know good marketing when we see it - now do it!</span>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-58787356182641782052009-12-21T20:20:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:47.929-07:00Today's Good Marketing Tip: Get Out Of The House<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you're trying to improve some aspect of your marketing, the best tip I can give you is to get out. That's right, get out of your house and go to the mall or a local store. And don't focus on you, focus on consumers. It's easy to do research when you have a big enough sample size. By viewing other consumers in action, you'll notice some interesting behaviors.<br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgwhi6RVXHsoi2g94Zi-JbfD1cGN5SosdueL-LQ849MIClbcemHqfBYZ0ITxydd6prZYfW8NUMAcgk-0XbAYJU3DTkMUdQgwSBdWzsUmfGD5l64Eeilx5eBR60KNPBoupnJLSkCPAEr4/s1600-h/house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgwhi6RVXHsoi2g94Zi-JbfD1cGN5SosdueL-LQ849MIClbcemHqfBYZ0ITxydd6prZYfW8NUMAcgk-0XbAYJU3DTkMUdQgwSBdWzsUmfGD5l64Eeilx5eBR60KNPBoupnJLSkCPAEr4/s320/house.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">The other great thing about getting out is that you can learn from promotions that others are running. From a retail perspective, you'd be amazed at simple marketing tips that go a long way. Putting the milk in the back of the store, offering a coupon, or a loyalty card. By visiting retailers you can even learn about integrated marketing promotions as consumers redeem coupons they received through email or online.<br /><br />To be successful in marketing you need to do more than read case studies of discuss theory. Behavioral data is what's best for improving your knowledge and learning. Once you've collected your ideas, keep them in a safe place - write them in a notebook or keep them on you phone/ipod. It's best to choose which ideas you feel would apply to your business and are relatively easy to implement. Some of the most powerful marketing ideas I've ever had came from others!<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Make it a habit of trying new marketing concepts. For example, you may have noticed a type of merchandising that might work well for your products or services. Can you change a display? Use what you've learned. The more you do this, the more you'll see results. Over time, these results can add up significantly. If you want to improve your marketing, get out, get informed, and get learning!</span></span><br /></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" />adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-57929465131604655782009-12-17T11:45:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:48.030-07:00Build Links With Blog Comments<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SR3CmHzgihr0t1Da5AZG2ZTCU_4s-GLgjHl6lxqZJWN_3L4A_k3Vw2xp7J44YJ4Y1PwWpG7zvK1JF3sIHMKhqMndw73WxwD9VtJzha1zBn9Rvwoay_WOYwsUdfVpGDFyEJzai_wRI5Y/s1600-h/blog1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SR3CmHzgihr0t1Da5AZG2ZTCU_4s-GLgjHl6lxqZJWN_3L4A_k3Vw2xp7J44YJ4Y1PwWpG7zvK1JF3sIHMKhqMndw73WxwD9VtJzha1zBn9Rvwoay_WOYwsUdfVpGDFyEJzai_wRI5Y/s320/blog1.jpg" /></a><br /></div><div style="display: block; float: right; height: 61px; margin: 5px 8px 8px 5px; width: 50px;"><script type="text/javascript">tweetmeme_url = 'http://goodmarketingtips.blogspot.com/2009/12/build-links-with-blog-comments.html';</script><br /><script src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Give me a break. I see so many people trying to build links via blogs and the MAJORITY have no clue what they are doing. If you submit comments that are loaded with links, you wont get approved on moderated blogs. If you want to use blogs for backlinking, here's what I recommend.<br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>1. Contribute something of value.</b> Don't submit garbage with your link included and expect it to get published. If the blog is any good, the moderator wont accept your post.<br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>2. Find DoFollow blogs.</b> Your comment and link are worthless if they aren't included on a "do follow" blog. Do follows are blogs that Google will crawl and index. To get a list of do follow blogs, search the Internet or do a search on dofollow.<br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>3. Consider using the comment name as your link. </b> Some blogs allow you to personalize your post name and the corresponding link. Enter the anchor text of the link you wish to add and insert the URL of your choice in the web address URL.<br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Remember that your comments should enrich the value of the site and show that you are actually interested in more than getting your link on a blog. Take some time to write a legitimate response and your comments will get accepted more often than not.<br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-53127352595432445212009-12-09T10:43:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:48.150-07:00Okay, Is Marketing Really All That Complicated?<div style="display: block; float: right; height: 61px; margin: 5px 8px 8px 5px; width: 50px;"><script type="text/javascript">tweetmeme_url = 'http://goodmarketingtips.blogspot.com/2009/12/okay-is-marketing-really-all-that.html';</script><br /><script src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiSDnhtke45nJGRrfhcFVflLBT7SCbEcPPKSx9CqMFQoYOLOHfNxvTlQ58YFLlg66IyKC1aGRh5RmW06NaQQIupk853OajCmsaKA3i7oLJ6vJv4xT6cgDO_i8cOZ7XLJr2vAtabiMuSa8/s1600-h/reach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiSDnhtke45nJGRrfhcFVflLBT7SCbEcPPKSx9CqMFQoYOLOHfNxvTlQ58YFLlg66IyKC1aGRh5RmW06NaQQIupk853OajCmsaKA3i7oLJ6vJv4xT6cgDO_i8cOZ7XLJr2vAtabiMuSa8/s320/reach.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems that every time you look around, you find more complex solutions to the most simple marketing problems.. reaching your audience, effectively communicating, and helping customers advance their business forward. Quite honestly, I don't see what's so difficult.</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, so maybe you need experience across a lot of disciplines to make a real difference with marketing today. From advertising to direct marketing to PPC, today's marketing professionals need to have a wide knowledgebase and be able to deliver the goods.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From my perspective, the basic principles of "listen to your customer" and "think value" still reign true. Here are some tips for staying on top of your marketing game:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Always be reading and learning. Learning can happen in many ways. Whether you're reading an expert blog post, news, or the latest marketing book to hit the shelves, never assume that you know-it-all.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Listen to your customers. The have an uncanny ability to tell you how it is. Are they happy? What do they like about your products, services, communications, etc.? Are they unhappy? Why? What can you do about it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. It's about message points. Are you controlling all of the touch points that communicate something about your brand? When someone calls your office, are they receiving a consistent user experience that embodies your brand and what you stand for? Think about your key messages and where they are communicated.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Keep it simple. During my career I've probably thrown out a forest worth of useless collateral. I'm not someone who has loads of time to read about your product. Show me how it works, what it does, and how it's going to make my life easier and maybe we'll talk about it:)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Create a dialog. Whether interacting with your internal marketing team, the salesforce, or your customers remember that communication is a two-way street!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Give consideration to each of these aspects of marketing. Always be learning, asking yourself questions, and challenging the status quo. Even when things are going great, they can be better!</span>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-57320929482638409022009-11-30T10:14:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:48.255-07:00Today's Marketing Tip: Effective Keyword Research<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXOSML6qE0XnD_yOxI5nZDv2AZnNPghjwTY6UVn1q839PEWOwICzAR4W0Rd0OkaaejT_jsLdV-8ksBwsMWjTAH79aOh3QbabUNR9bsnDBnDEpaku9xfnaDOHtJJx-D9f3IgeabaDxFTg/s1600/keyword.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXOSML6qE0XnD_yOxI5nZDv2AZnNPghjwTY6UVn1q839PEWOwICzAR4W0Rd0OkaaejT_jsLdV-8ksBwsMWjTAH79aOh3QbabUNR9bsnDBnDEpaku9xfnaDOHtJJx-D9f3IgeabaDxFTg/s320/keyword.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">To succeed in the game of search engine optimization you must focus on effective keyword research. By choosing the right keywords you can succeed at the SEO game. I have personally worked with hundreds of clients seeking number one rankings but who have given little if any focus on keyword research. This is incredibly important when your site is competing against well ranked sites that have been in the top ranking for some time.<br /><br />The first step is finding a keyword that isn't all that competitive. Once you do, the next step is to make sure that the keyword you've selected gets enough traffic. Don't overlook this important aspect of keyword research. I worked with a company that was proud of their number one rankings. When I did some research to discover the type of traffic they could expect, I found less than one hundred searches per month on the keyword they selected. Even with top rankings, they would never see the traffic they expected.<br /><br />After finding a keyword or keyword phrase that is not competitive but receives an sufficient amount of traffic, you should spend time researching your competition for that keyword. An effective technique is to visit each of the top ranked sites, competing for the chosen keyword, and analyze them. Pay particular attention to the Google Page Rank of competing sites and number of inbound links. If sites are well established and have been online for a long time, it may be difficult to outrank them.<br /><br />After you have selected the keywords you want to compete for, it's time to enhance your web pages using the chosen keywords. Begin by enhancing your meta tags, page titles, and copy, including your keywords where appropriate. By including your keywords in this manner, you're indicating to search engines what your web site is about. This allows search engines to rank your site for appropriate keywords. In addition to the on page factors, Google takes into consideration a variety of off page factors to determine web site ranking. Off page optimization involves generating links from third party websites. Focus your efforts on link building through article directories, web site directories, blogs, social bookmarking sites, and other sites.<br /><br />When focusing on link building, you should plan to implement link building strategies on a regular basis. Focus on attracting links from sites within your given niche. You should also be focused on sites that have an established age, Google PR, and other authority attributes. When attracting in bound links, do so in a manner that is slow and steady. Building links too quickly can have a negative impact on your web site as search engines may believe you are arbitrarily building links. Once you have determined the right keywords and have taken care of your on-page optimization strategies it's time to focus on off page strategies to improve rankings. <br /><br />Top search engine ranking secrets revealed. Visit the <a href="http://www.marketingscoop.com/internetmarketingforum">Internet marketing forum</a> to discover how today's leading seo experts achieve top search engine rankings. </span>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-76825516527199149212009-11-09T13:42:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:48.362-07:00Today's Marketing Tip: Article Submitters<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://articlesubmitterreview.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoI87FxdbtaefGzdgQntY2VxTJPMIiWI7kcevQ_RS-FdHplyEUdvXOF_XGIBGDHxn5rBZwUnCkIyRRfW7lBmIc8Qo76PvRHLOhLnyFEjn_4i2ppU9WFmT1lXVozNGkzRK-zkMbpt8NKo/s320/articlesubmitter.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">If you're into online marketing, I'm sure you've heard about <a href="http://articlesubmitterreview.com/">article submitters</a>. The concept is pretty straight forward. The concept of article marketing begins with original content. After writing a 400 - 900 word article, you carefully construct an "About the author" box which includes a link back to our website.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You then publish this article to your web site and wait a couple of days to ensure that it's been visited by website spiders which have identified the content as originating from your site first. Then, you take this content and distribute it throughout the web. One easy way to do this is with the help of Article Directories. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Over the past few years, article directories have been popping up all over. This is because they serve as a great resource for web site owners and can easily provide tons of back links to your web sites and blogs. By including you link in the article, you're passing link juice from third party web sites to your own. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you're not using article marketing to drive potential customers to your site, I suggest you start doing so. Not only do you generate traffic, but you can use this technique to build search engine optimization rankings as well. Start with sites like <a href="http://www.ezinearticles.com/">EzineArticles</a> and promote your content on a regular basis.</span><br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-88997083486159067462009-11-04T07:41:00.000-08:002012-04-22T06:09:48.460-07:00Marketing Tips For Improving Your Online Conversions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmR3ibAifr0LQnoE8hyrRQhoX-nohZVDBum59WSn71rKtnPa1MeGpIVHLAcpXETXwMzd9JhH8PgUEwBchqTT_S0UM_UWeYVhvfTFESGUte-PhlRhLNYX5WePAUAuXwFKA7A3cw1zBlHw/s1600-h/conversionrate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmR3ibAifr0LQnoE8hyrRQhoX-nohZVDBum59WSn71rKtnPa1MeGpIVHLAcpXETXwMzd9JhH8PgUEwBchqTT_S0UM_UWeYVhvfTFESGUte-PhlRhLNYX5WePAUAuXwFKA7A3cw1zBlHw/s320/conversionrate.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Succeeding online takes more than targeted traffic. You not only have to attract the right audience, but get them to convert in some way. Many people think that conversion are all about buying on the spot. The reality is that for many businesses, the key to conversion is not on site but rather through their list.<br /><br />If you're already online, you probably have a list of some kind. Whether you have 100 names or many more, your list is your greatest ally in succeeding online. And keep in mind that you have the right to email individuals who have emailed you as well as signed up for your list. Many web marketers overlook all of the individuals who have submitted questions and comments as being potential prospects. To improve conversion rates, you must focus on building your list from your traffic and utilizing that list effectively.<br /><br />There are a variety of productive ways to utilize your list. Begin with an auto responder service. Auto responders allow you to set up an automatic communication stream that works twenty four hours a day seven days a week. You simply set up all of your communications in advance so that users, upon registering, are scheduled to receive emails at set intervals. This is ideal for moving potential customers through the decision making process.<br /><br />Another way to use your list properly is to communicate pre-sell information about new products, services, or programs. By creating a sense of anticipation, your list will perform. Many products lend themselves to this type of list utilization. Although notification periods vary, letting you list know about upcoming events or products available for a limited time creates significant interest and leads to conversions. Don't under estimate the power of pre-notification.<br /><br />The third way that you can use a list to improve conversion is through list growth. As your list grows, your total conversions increase as well. Ten percent of a hundred is a lot less appealing than ten percent of a thousand. Focus on building your list with the help of your list members. If you have something valuable to offer, encourage them to share with others who may benefit. This list growth serves you over time.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBuISqr6RiC-Hr8qCBFyreLqzOXR2xPtoiv6VghKYAmTW6o_LPFOhZVxB9xgvqUubp41ozF8nsieFQMbdvA41B2BlI7KF3GQyDuiLHxIaP850nDfpHniXk1RT3ewoje0jBem0EYk9x4g/s1600-h/laptop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBuISqr6RiC-Hr8qCBFyreLqzOXR2xPtoiv6VghKYAmTW6o_LPFOhZVxB9xgvqUubp41ozF8nsieFQMbdvA41B2BlI7KF3GQyDuiLHxIaP850nDfpHniXk1RT3ewoje0jBem0EYk9x4g/s320/laptop.jpg" /></a>The last methods for improving conversions is constant communication. If your customers are not in the buying mood, staying in touch puts you at the top of their decision tree when considering a purchase. Your best bet is to develop a communication vehicle that doesn't over or under communicate. As always, proper process should be followed for opt outs. Regardless, don't email and stop unless someone opts out.<br /><br />The time to start building your email list is now. In parallel, be sure to focus your energies on leveraging that list using the proper techniques. Having a great list is fine but unless you utilize it properly, you'll never see the true value inherent in the list itself. <br /><br />Looking for Internet marketing help? Take a look at our <a href="http://www.myseomadesimple.com/seoconsulting.htm">SEO consulting</a> program. For answers to your most challenging questions, visit the <a href="http://www.marketingscoop.com/internetmarketingforum">Marketing Forum</a>. </span><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-11013001440963222362009-10-28T05:22:00.000-07:002012-04-22T06:09:48.558-07:00Good Marketing Tip: Free Traffic Isn't All That Bad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOXHOnV5fnbnQg7KOrPU-ojyQfM6bSLyEgclbiN2xzpiUnB7nO8yt7B5tW3G5epAmFiitnDWCQ9N9Z8inPmZo7Tj_0Nc5y1b99ZNJRJ_lT4taLv8vn2mzB6t62vxoazFLFmxfjVx067k/s1600-h/traffic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOXHOnV5fnbnQg7KOrPU-ojyQfM6bSLyEgclbiN2xzpiUnB7nO8yt7B5tW3G5epAmFiitnDWCQ9N9Z8inPmZo7Tj_0Nc5y1b99ZNJRJ_lT4taLv8vn2mzB6t62vxoazFLFmxfjVx067k/s320/traffic.jpg" /></a><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you're anything like me, you probably like to get things for free. I'm a big fan of getting something at little or no cost - especially if I've never used the product or service in the past.<br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">About a year ago, a friend turned me onto traffic exchanges which are either free or cost very little, for driving traffic to my web site. Most web site owners struggle with generating traffic to their web sites. Unless you have a strong viral appeal, building traffic can take time and cost a significant amount of money.<br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The concept of a traffic exchange is easy. You essentially browse other peoples web sites and web pages. When you view their sites you earn credits. As you accumulate credits, they can be used to generate traffic to your web site. <br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To utilize your credits, you enter the URLs you want to promote into the traffic exchange administration panel. You then set the number of credits you would like to use up each day. For example, if you surf to earn about 100 credits per day, you may choose to display your page 100 times (assuming that one credit equals one page view). <br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The key to making traffic exchanges work is to use them consistently and use squeeze pages or special offers so that users not only visit your site once, but multiple times. This creates an ongoing traffic stream that only increases over time.<br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The two most popular traffic exchanges are <a href="http://bit.ly/U1gAC">Traffic Swar</a>m and <a href="http://bit.ly/4FKL59">Easy Hits 4U</a>. Both of these cost nothing to join but do offer additional premium options for a small fee. The premium options essentially let you buy credits. If you want to utilize the power of the exchanges without surfing, premium options let you do that. It's all up to you. Personally, I like the no cost options.<br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850570649883211840.post-53237377714893297802009-10-19T04:45:00.000-07:002012-04-22T06:09:48.662-07:00Web 3.0 Is Here To Stay: Coming To An Online Retailer Now!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrU5IdNqclyd_PQSaz0F_E6HB2HAkfP3a5sySL7MOM2W-S6ABkvtjUfM_NKi6OvESwmFk_p1YTfx3KSwPUyLf64c5hvdGmNBtCzh2OmoQe2iX_sWicaGhen8eEESPZ4eJl8e8WUqqLXM/s1600-h/web30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrU5IdNqclyd_PQSaz0F_E6HB2HAkfP3a5sySL7MOM2W-S6ABkvtjUfM_NKi6OvESwmFk_p1YTfx3KSwPUyLf64c5hvdGmNBtCzh2OmoQe2iX_sWicaGhen8eEESPZ4eJl8e8WUqqLXM/s320/web30.jpg" /></a><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Social media is all the rage. It seems to permeate almost every conversation people are having today - but it wasn't always that way. I guess the the concept of Web 2.0 has taken on a life of its own. Many people are asking what's next for the Web when we think about it's evolution.<br /><br />The question we need to be asking ourselves now is essentially what's next for the web. Will we be focusing on second life and avatars or is there some other direction we will be going in? The answer is already here in the form of Web 3.0. The evolution of the web is based upon sites that utilize consumer behavior to improve the user experience.<br /><br />The idea behind Web 3.0 is really simple. Leverage the data you have on individuals to improve their future buying experiences. This data comes from a variety of sources but is designed to eliminate the endless searching you might do for a simple task online.<br /><br />Enter behavioral data and the concept of Web 3.0. In the next iteration of the web world, users' activities are being tracked closely. These activities include a range of behaviors like their on-site behavior, purchase history, order frequency, size, and quantity as well as tastes and preferences they have exhibited while surfing the Net. <br /><br />The beauty of behavioral data and predictive modeling is that past data can be used. Tools like a <a href="http://recommender.strands.com/">retail recommender</a> or <a href="http://recommender.strands.com/">recommendation engine</a> take this data combined with real time behavioral data to make sophisticated calculations that are designed to shape the buying experience. Web 3.0 allows for updating and refining that information in real time. As more behavior is tracked, profiles become more robust and more accurate.<span id="fullpost"><br /><br />Web 3.0 intelligence anonymously and securely analyzes every customer and web browser to your website. Learning patterns and the context that drives buying decisions will be used to create a highly personalized user experience for each individual. This may be a point of concern for all of you privacy buffs out there but the reality is that web sites track user behavior today and the information becomes more and more sophisticated. <br /><br />Some individuals are going to be significantly concerned about what data is being tracked and how that information is being used. I believe that all users must give their permission to be fully engaged in a Web 3.0 world. Once information is given, the user experience can be liberating, allowing your past behavior to shape your buying experience. This might actually cut down on much of the inaccurate and unrelated solicitations you receive today.<br /><br />Web 3.0 is upon us. As web sites continue to collect and use more of your behavioral data, your online buying experience is going to change. One can argue if this change is for the better. However, I believe that it can dramatically improve your buying experience and improve the way retailers market products and services. </span> <br /></div></span>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00513845977012968476noreply@blogger.com0