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• Saves you time. Foremost, hiring an online marketing agency or a professional freelance copywriter to write your copy frees up your valuable time. Your time may be better spent doing the things that only you, as a business owner, can do — manage and grow your business.

• Professional SEO. When it comes to marketing online, agencies are expert in search engine optimization (SEO). It takes practice and skill to optimize an article for top search engine rankings. You might have the best ideas to share, but if no one ever sees your blog because it’s on page 10 of a Google search, is that really helping your business? Paying an agency or freelancer to get quality content on page one or two may cost more than doing it yourself, but if your sales go up because you have better visibility on the web, that may easily offset the cost.

• Consistent content. If you try to fit writing a blog into your busy schedule, how often will you be writing under pressure, in a hurry? Will the quality slip because you only had 15 minutes to write a post? Or, knowing that you value quality, how few blog entries will you actually post when you realize you simply have no time to produce quality work consistently? A marketing agency will insure that your blog is regularly updated with quality content, giving your customers a reason to keep coming back to your web site.

Learn more by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

• Local search engines. Most Internet searches are for business phone numbers or addresses. As a result, if your small business is not listed on all of the major local search engines, customers and prospects can’t find you. Be sure to take advantage of sites like Ask City, Local.com, Yahoo! Local, and True Local.

• Blogs. Blogs are popular for a reason: you can post text, audio, and video easily and cheaply. And if you post regularly, you will be indexed frequently, resulting in a boost to your search engine rankings. A great example of a fun, engaging small business blog can be found at Farmstead Cheeses and Wines.
  

• Social networks. Establish a corporate presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites. Social networking helps you build a community of potential customers. Lisa Skriloff, president of New York-based Multicultural Marketing Resources, created a group on LinkedIn to attract both small and large businesses interested in marketing services. In less than 12 months, 1,500 people had opted in.

• Content repurposing. Every piece of content you create should be repurposed and reused wherever and whenever possible. No high-quality content should see just one use. Take your blog entries and use them in your e-newsletter, or post them on your Web site.

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1. Let people opt in. A Ball State University study found that the vast majority of students who received unsolicited ads on their cell phones couldn’t remember what was being peddled, but they did recall being annoyed by the communication. Get subscribers to opt in to certain types of alerts, news, and advertising.

2. Make it fun. “If [your message] is not buzzworthy enough to tell or forward to friends, it will be perceived as spam, spam, spam,” says Mark Hughes, author of the book Buzzmarketing. The best mobile marketing, he points out, focuses on fun and flair. For instance, the cable network Oxygen promoted its show Mr. Romance by sending text messages to 50,000 women inviting them to send a Valentine’s Day greeting to a friend’s cell phone along with a recorded message from the show’s host, Fabio. Over the next two days, traffic on Oxygen’s Web site jumped 30 percent.

3. Be “pully,” not pushy. In Europe, Levi’s allowed teens to download its latest ad from a special Web site so they could view the ad on their mobile devices before it was shown on television. “We use mobile as a pull medium, not, as many advertisers do, to push,” Helene Venge, head of digital marketing at Levi’s Europe, told Marketing magazine. “People don’t use mobiles to receive ads; they use them to communicate with friends.”

4. Be interactive. Remember that mobile devices communicate two ways. Maxim magazine and Bud Light have run in-bar promotions where customers can send texts and images to a large screen as a way to flirt. This is the type of fun, attention-getting gimmick that plays perfectly to a young demographic.

5. Be immediate. Mobile marketing can reach people anywhere instantly. If you sell products at retail stores, make your mobile campaign effective at the checkout counter, says Michael Becker, president and COO of iLoop Mobile in San Jose, Calif. At sporting events, offer prizes on the Jumbotron at halftime if mobile users send a text message to a certain number.

6. Know when to send a message. “Unlike email, cell phone users will read the message instantly; therefore it must be at a respectful time in the day,” says Jeff Pokonosky, founder and president of WiggleWireless in San Diego. “This requires one to be very sensitive of time zones.”

7. Think integration. The mobile channel is most effective when integrated with traditional media, such as TV, radio, and print. Because of technological advances, consumers can now respond to TV programming, billboards, in-cinema ads, event marketing, and Web sites via their phones. “If you’re a consumer goods company, why not print text-messaging instructions on your product labels?” Becker suggests.

8. Make the mobile marketing message simple. There’s no time or space for sophistication or gee-whizzery. Get right to the point.

9. Use existing content — carefully. ESPN, the Weather Channel, and other companies have repurposed marketing materials from their Web sites, such as special daily offers and games, for mobile devices. When adapting content, be sure to understand the personal aspects of mobile devices and the requirements of smaller screens.

10. Don’t go overboard. “No matter how much people enjoy receiving certain information, they’ll tune out if you send too many text messages,” Pokonosky says.

Promotional products, long a staple of trade shows, are proving to yield a higher ROI, lower cost per impression, and higher recall rate than other forms of media, according to a study by the Advertising Specialty Institute. Eighty-four percent of consumers surveyed said they remembered an advertiser based on a tchotchke they received; 42 percent had a more favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving promotional swag; and 62 percent have done business with an advertiser after receiving a product.

Here are other ways to build brand loyalty without placing an ad:

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• Offer free advice. Developing a white paper, for example, that is legitimately helpful to customers and prospects will position you as an industry expert and accelerate their decision-making process.

• Catch up. Once a quarter, send a handwritten note to your best customers to find out how you can better serve them.

• Reach out. At least once a year, survey your customers about every aspect of your operations. Then, put an action plan in place to address any issues.

• Act fast when someone grouses. Research indicates that a complaint addressed with swiftness and creativity can turn a dissatisfied customer into a highly loyal one.

• Offer your expertise as a value-added service. Remind your customers that you will make yourself available to answer questions that their friends or family members might have regarding the type of services you provide.

• Think long term. Think of a new customer as the beginning of a long relationship where you are going to help them get what they want. Positioning yourself as a resource for life differentiates you from companies looking for a quick sale.

Regardless of the size of your company, a well-executed integrated online marketing strategy can help you maximize results in a tough economy. Here are four cost-effective tactics to get your media working together:

Learn the secrets of online advertising from the editors of FuelNet Monthly by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

1. Actively promote your Web site. A Web site is vital in today’s marketplace because it gives customers and prospects access to your company at their convenience. But to generate a steady flow of traffic, a business should use every tool in its marketing arsenal, asserts Don E. Schultz, coauthor of Integrated Marketing Communications: The Next Generation. That means including the site’s URL in all advertisements, press releases, and customer communications, from off-hours voice mail messages to storefront signs, social network pages, and invoices. It’s also good practice to ask customers to register with your site so they can share information and media preferences.

2. Use email to provide benefits. While permission-based email marketing has become an increasingly popular online tactic, no more than half of the communications should be sales-oriented, contends RP Kumar, senior vice president of strategic planning for Irving, Texas–based Javelin Direct. “The largest portion should be communications that are perceived as being zero cost to customers — a pure benefit for being associated with your company,” he says. For example, leverage email to publicize new Web tools or direct customers to the fruits of your hard-earned publicity efforts.

3. Get social. Blogs and social media complement traditional marketing channels by providing customers with timely information in a more engaging and conversational manner. Bernie Robbins Fine Jewelers, a luxury retailer with 10 stores in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, uses the business directory/social networking site 7MainStreet.com to deliver product information, video clips of publicity appearances, and news about in-store events and sales to consumers. Customer surveys show the strategy is highly successful.

4. Seek new publicity methods. Karri Flatla, an Internet marketing consultant at Snap! Virtual Associates, in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, says companies can find PR ammunition in articles written by in-house experts or even in blog entries. “Journalists cruise blogs looking for people with a unique take on something that may be otherwise everyday stuff for most businesspeople,” she explains. Tapping your online network of business contacts can supplement PR efforts too. “If one of your colleagues is hosting an event, needs to do interviews, or even wants testimonials for their own venture, you want to be the first to respond,” Flatla explains. “Down the road you may find that the time you volunteered pays you back in publicity in spades — and in [new] customers.”

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Businesses that want to grow and thrive — even in a challenging economy — can do so with effective online advertising strategies. With the right strategies in place, you can maximize opportunities at affordable prices, with very low risk.

How can you capitalize on all the benefits of online advertising, without getting lost in the webosphere and wasting your time and money?

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Dear Savvy Marketer,

The Internet can be a very scary and expensive place — if you don’t know what you’re doing. But, don’t be intimidated by online advertising strategies, because if you don’t act now to power up your online advertising, your competitors surely will — and you’ll be left behind.

Many growing businesses — some very sophisticated and some not at all — are implementing step-by-step programs to maximize online opportunities every day. Any business that wants to grow should be deploying an online advertising strategy right now, or be blown away by the competition.

That’s exactly why you should immediately learn the easy-to-follow, must-do techniques for ensuring your online advertising is successful and worth your time and effort.

Our special free report about online advertising tips is ideally suited for the busy professional. It’s concise and to the point, yet chock-full of proven tips you can act on right away. Consider it your instruction manual for decoding the secrets to online advertising success. It includes free advice on:

• How to bid on keywords and ensure success with your pay-per-click campaigns.
• The six key components of any email campaign – ignore these and you’ll waste time and possibly offend customers every time you send an email.
• What exactly is SEO and how can it work for you?
• Seven essential checklist items for your Web site – does your site stack up?
• Why writing for the Web is quite different from any other medium.
• How to profit from an emerging tactic called “podcasting.”
• Five cardinal rules for every online advertising campaign – a road map for you and your staff every time you launch a new effort.

Why should you trust us on this? Because our team includes some of the most well-known gurus in online advertising and marketing today. Our free report even includes real-life examples and case studies, so you’ll know exactly how to apply the new techniques you’ll learn.

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Cordially,

Bill Dugan
Vice President/General Manager
StepByStepMarketing.com

P.S. Act now to download your free report and your online adverting campaigns will flourish. Delay acting and your competitors will certainly seize the opportunity. You could lose market share, credibility, customers, and profits – there is no reason to NOT download this free special report about online advertising tips right now!

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Learn the secrets of online advertising from the editors of FuelNet Monthly by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

1. Optimize your Web site for the search engines. “Search engines don’t discriminate between large companies and small companies,” notes Paul Gillin, a Framingham, Mass.–based consultant and speaker and the author of The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media. In fact, small businesses sometimes have an advantage with the major search engines because their sites are more likely than a large company’s to be written in basic HTML. More robust sites often use complicated content management systems that make them harder for Google to search and rank, Gillin says. “By doing things like using simple page titles combined with frequent use of the right keywords, small businesses can zoom up the ranks in very specific Google searches,” he adds.

   Lisa Wehr, president and CEO of OneUpWeb, an integrated Internet marketing company in Traverse City, Mich., says the title tags in the HTML coding of a Web site are especially critical because search engines use them to rank a site. Be sure your site’s title tags contain the two or three keywords that your potential customers are most likely to type into a search engine, Wehr recommends.

2. Launch a blog. A blog is among the creative integrated marketing communication techniques offering the greatest marketing benefit, Gillin says. It’s simple to set up, inexpensive to maintain, and flexible in that you can incorporate photos and audio/video content. By posting frequently and including keywords relevant to your business, you’ll get your blog indexed on a regular basis and, as a result, get a high ranking on the search engines, says Jonathan Fields, a marketing consultant in New York.

3. Write once, syndicate widely. When you create a piece of valuable, high-quality content, Gillin suggests that you repurpose it in as many ways as possible, so it reaches a broader audience. “Nothing that you write, photograph, or record should be used just once,” he says.

   For example, you can take your blog entries and include them in your e-newsletter or post them on your Facebook page. Offer a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed so customers can subscribe to your blog. Provide myriad ways for users to access the information in exchange for their name and email address.

4. Use social networks. Establish a corporate presence on Facebook and other social networking sites. Social networking helps you build a community of potential customers that you can leverage in many ways. For example, Facebook lets you conduct polls. Your business can also use the platform to distribute news about your company or invite customers and prospects to events, such as a workshop.

5. Use pay-per-click advertising judiciously. Paid search can be costly unless you’re careful, Wehr points out. She recommends that you be as specific and descriptive as possible when choosing keywords — but choose a lot of them. By using a bevy of narrowly focused keywords, you will pay less per click because those are unlikely to be in high demand. The broader base will also drive more traffic to your Web site’s topic-specific landing pages, making it more likely that people will buy from you, Wehr says.

Learn the secrets of online advertising from the editors of FuelNet Monthly by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

• Listen before you speak. The right way to engage with your audience through social media is to gather consumer insights first. Many marketers jump right into social media with mass-marketing approaches because it’s hard for them to give up control to consumers.
• Start with a good education. Educating senior managers on the value of social media is a critical first step. Some companies viewing social media as a revolutionary strategic communication opportunity are held back only by a lack of formal best practices.
• Assign a leader. To get the most out of marketing through social media, a company should have an expert on staff. But there is a lot of confusion over where that person should fit in the organization. At the very least, he or she should have access to executive leadership to share knowledge across the organization.

Learn the secrets of online advertising from the editors of FuelNet Monthly by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

“Companies today need to focus on the words they are using to communicate with their prospects, and how they leverage this content to maximize their online exposure,” says Jon Wuebben, author of Content Rich: Writing Your Way to Wealth on the Web. “At a time when more companies are chasing fewer prospective customers, ensuring your online copy is strong and then accessing the viral nature of the Web to get it out there can put you well on your way.”

To begin harnessing the power of online marketing, Wuebben offers these seven proven copywriting tips:

1. Make your copy conversational. Connect directly with your potential customers by writing copy in a conversational tone, as if you were talking to a friend. It enables your message to be easily understood.

2. Use bulleted lists. Long paragraphs are hard for people to read and will tire their eyes. Use bulleted lists to promote your products and services, as well as your site’s features and benefits. These lists will stand out as your prospects move through your site.

3. Limit the number of words per page. Each page of your Web site should be limited to 350 words. A wordy Web page can overwhelm customers and best prospects and cause them to quickly leave your site. So instead of being “copy heavy,” try to be “quality heavy.”

4. Create a more interesting read. Ask yourself the following questions about your Web site: Does the copy grab you? Is it interesting and informative? Is there variety in the copy layout? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you need to edit the copy and create a more engaging read for your visitors.

5. Use headings and subheads. They break up the page, much like bulleted lists do, and are a great tool to get visitors to zero-in on specific information.

6. Use the AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) method. Your Web site and its copy should grab readers’ attention, build their interest, and create desire so they will take action — in that order. This method is perfect for generating sales leads and getting new customers.

7. Ask for the sale. Make sure that your Web copy includes specific calls to action that compel your visitors to take the next step in the buying process. Are the words “Order Now” next to your product description? Is the phrase “Click here to get your free newsletter” visible anywhere? Add these calls to action to motivate your visitors.

But what goes into developing a successful Web site in today’s ever–changing world? For more than a decade, the Web Marketing Association has been evaluating sites as part of its annual WebAward program (webaward.org). Here are five criteria the association considers in choosing its winners:

Learn the secrets of online advertising from the editors of FuelNet Monthly by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

1. Design. Most of us judge a book by its cover, and the same goes for Web sites. If a site looks outdated and unsophisticated, it loses credibility. With an up–to–date design, users will be more likely to dig deeper into the content.

2. Content. “Content is king” may be a cliché, but that’s because it’s true. People turn to Web sites for the content, and if the content is lacking, they will leave disappointed.

3. Technology. The technology behind a Web site can significantly impact its usefulness. If a site’s technology is too advanced or cutting–edge, users may have to work harder to find the information they are looking for. On the other hand, the effective use of emerging technology can enhance the user experience by adding to the sense of innovation and coolness. Find the right balance.

4. Interactivity. Some Web sites are designed only to supply information. Other sites use calculators or tools to extrapolate data supplied by the user into useful information, or employ games to improve the online experience.

5. Copywriting. Thousands of dollars are spent designing and programming a site, and all too often the language is confusing or doesn’t adequately convey the relevant information. The best sites are well written and proofread to eliminate typos.