Category Archives: Marketing Strategy

Do You Know Where Your Brand Message Is Present? Find It.

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Posted by admin on October 19, 2009 – 9:13 am
Filed under Marketing Strategy, client attraction

Your brand message is present everywhere. In fact, it’s all around you—in reality and virtually. That’s not meant to scare you though; this isn’t the Matrix—I promise. But, if you want to ensure your business message is working for your company, you need to know where it is and what it looks like to others. If you neglect your brand message appearance in certain areas, you may be losing a huge audience. Imagine all of the prospective clients you can attract if your brand message is accurate and strong in every area where it’s present.

Where does your brand message appear?

A business card: Many times a business card is what reminds prospects to call you. If you don’t have a professional-looking business card that projects an accurate brand message, your card might as well go in the garbage.

Blog appearance: An organized sidebar, constantly updated content, and contact information that is easy to find are crucial if you want prospects returning to your blog—or for that matter, even reading it. A sloppy-looking blog that isn’t updated shows to prospects that your business must be the same way. Don’t let them think this.

Comments you leave on other blogs: Offer constructive comments that add to the conversation. A nasty response isn’t going to attract anyone.

Digg: Increase your friend base and add valuable information to the conversation. Digg other people’s articles and blogs—not just your own.

Email signature and content: Be professional, and be sure to include your name, website, and contact information in your email signature. Avoid using a long-drawn-out signature that has lots of colored fonts. This is overkill.

Facebook: This is a viral social media platform, so whatever you say can go a long way. Be sure you are projecting your brand image appropriately and accurately.

Graphic design (on both print collateral and online): Bad graphic design elements could be projecting an inaccurate brand image for your company. Make sure you use graphics that drive the prospect to take action, that are in line with your brand image, and that don’t look cheap.

Homepage: Your website homepage should invite the prospect to search deeper into your website and learn more about your company and the products / services you offer. And it only has 3 – 5 seconds to do this, so make it count. Industry discussion forums: Provide valuable information to the discussion. No one likes a Debbie Downer so avoid unconstructive criticism.

Industry discussion forums: Provide valuable information to the discussion. No one likes a Debbie Downer so avoid nonconstructive criticism.

Jpeg: Whether you’re using Facebook, your blog, Twitter, or Flickr to post your photos, they should be clear and crisp, appropriate, and of interest to your followers.

Knol: Chronicle morsels of interesting industry information on Google Knol. A Knol is “a unit of knowledge.” Knol online platform allows you to share your expertise and increase exposure.

Logo design: This is the physical image behind your company. Make sure it illustrates your brand image correctly.

Media outlets (both on- and offline): Bad PR can give you a bad reputation. Search through the web, or sign up for Google Alerts for your company and see what others are saying about it.

Networking events (both on- and offline): Listen to what everyone has to say. Don’t talk about yourself every moment. Learning about what others have to say is more important in building relationships than talking about yourself. And since the whole point of networking events is to build relationships, listening is key.

Online marketing campaigns: Everywhere you place your name both on- and offline, has a direct correlation to your company. Your message needs to reflect your brand image.

Physical appearance: Always look professional and well put-together. Even when you’re taking out your trash, you should look tidy—neighbors and people who drive or walk by could be potential customers or prospective business partners.

Q & A participation on LinkedIn: Q & A is one of LinkedIn’s greatest features. It allows you to ask questions to others in your industry and answer questions others have asked.

Reddit: This social bookmarking site allows people to rate blogs, links, and articles. Check Reddit frequently to see what others are saying.

Stumbleupon: Increase your friend base and add valuable information to the conversation. Bookmark other people’s articles and blogs—not just your own.

Teleseminars (thought I was going to say Twitter, didn’t you?): Interact with prospects, and share your expertise on teleseminars. They provide the perfect opportunity for positioning yourself as an expert. Just make sure you have a well-written and valuable script that projects an accurate brand message.

User-friendly website: When viewers can’t properly navigate through your website, they become frustrated and move on to a website that they can navigate through. Don’t lose customers to a difficult-to-use website.

Video content on YouTube: Your video should reinforce your brand, not hinder it. A poorly made video—whether it be bad quality, muffled sound, or flat-out pointless—reflects your brand image.

Website copy: Bad web copy not only impedes your ability to rank high in search engine results pages, but it also projects a bad image of your company. This is not what you want.

X stands for the unknown: You aren’t ever going to be able to know every last place your business message is present. Remember that online marketing is viral—it can be difficult to find all the thousands of connections between your website and others. This is where Google Alerts comes in handy. Signing up for Google Alerts for your company is an excellent way to track connections that fall through the cracks. It sends you updates on where your company name has been found across the Internet.

Yahoo! Bookmarking: People are bookmarking you, so watch what you say.

Z . . . I’ve got nothing. Any suggestions?

Business-Centric Marketing vs. Viral Marketing

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Posted by admin on October 7, 2009 – 7:26 am
Filed under Marketing Strategy, attract clients, increase online sales, online marketing, web copy

In the above video from WebProNews, Ben Huh, CEO and founder of the Cheezburger Network, describes the essential elements involved in viral marketing. The concept is to focus on your target market, not just your company. Whether you’re using your website to market to prospective customers, a television commercial, or print collatoral, it’s essential you focus on the customer and express the benefits your products / services can provide for them.

Too many times businesses put the spotlight on themselves in their web copy and other marketing materials. Customers don’t really care about how creative you are or how many awards you’ve won. What they care about is what you’re company can do for them and whether or not your products / services will fulfill their needs. When you take the focus off of yourself and shift it to your target audience, you are going to attract the clients you desire.

Do You Know Whom You’re Selling To?

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Posted by admin on September 23, 2009 – 6:00 am
Filed under Marketing Strategy, attract clients, increase online sales, online marketing, target market

I’m sure clients, colleagues, and you, Dear Reader, are sick of hearing me harp on how critical it is for companies to really understand their target market.

Call me a broken record. I don’t mind.

Before I take on a new copywriting project, one of the first questions I ask a prospective client is, “Who is your target market and how do you serve them?”

Not having a clear idea of whom you’re selling to or who your prospective clients are is the number one marketing mistake you can make—online or offline. If you don’t know whom you are speaking to, you won’t know the right message to communicate.

Identifying and knowing your target market—inside and out—requires you to look at yourself, at your company, and look into whom you serve and why. Too many companies have a general idea. Some have no idea at all.

Stating a target as “anybody who needs my product” won’t cut it (believe it or not, I hear this answer all the time). Defining your target as “people in the medical field” won’t help much either. Trying to be everything to everyone isn’t going to get you the sales you want.

If you want more customers, you have to know whom you are selling to. And you should know as much about them as you can.

Let’s say you own a high-end clothing boutique. You sell products to women, but identifying your target as “all women” is much too vague because most of your inventory is designed for a younger crowd. Look closely at your clientele, and you may find most of your patrons are between 32 and 45. Look even closer, and you may uncover a majority of your clients are young professionals who make over $80,000 a year.

Keeping with this example, now that you’ve identified your target, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and brainstorm. Make a list of questions you’d like to know about your target, then answer the questions to the best of your ability. You want to define their lifestyle, hobbies, profession, anything you can that will help you speak to their needs and wants.

Be specific. Where do they shop, dine, drink? What do they read? Did they graduate from college, have a bachelor or master’s? Are they active in their community? Do they bike on weekends, or do they spend time with family? Don’t limit yourself. Keep asking questions until you feel you know these people.

It’s important to note that it doesn’t matter if this is business to consumer or business to business, you are still dealing with people at the end of the day. So, if you are business to business and your target is a CEO, you need to know everything about who that CEO is so you can connect.

The more you know, the better you can target the group, speak their language, and give them what they want. And if you know all the above, it will help you further define the business message you want—a message that will attract your target audience to you.

Once you start mining to find out who your target market is, it has been my experience that many businesses find that their message isn’t clear, effective, or targeted to the correct market. It can be extremely difficult for businesses to project an accurate message, one that encompasses a combination of their company’s products, beliefs, mission, and goals if they don’t have a clear vision of their target market.

If you’re uncomfortable with the message you’re sending potential customers online, it’s time to change this message and solidify a strong brand image.

Just remember, speak to everyone, and you’re likely to get no one.

Video Marketing Secrets Revealed From YouTube Guru

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Posted by admin on September 14, 2009 – 8:43 am
Filed under Marketing Strategy, online marketing, video marketing

Increase your online video traffic instantly with tips from YouTube and video marketing guru, Greg Jarboe. In this video, you’ll learn his secrets to video marketing success and be able to familiarize yourself with the essentials of marketing your videos online. If you’re looking for an even more in-depth look into the secrets and best tips for video marketing, check out Greg’s recently launched book titled “YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour A Day.”

Google Knol: Share Your Brilliance with the World

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Posted by admin on September 3, 2009 – 8:48 am
Filed under Business Communication, Google Knol, Marketing Strategy, attract clients, increase site traffic, online marketing, social networking

Google Knol: a unit of knowledge

How can you benefit from creating a Knol?

  • You can easily connect and build relationships with others in your industry.
  • You have the ability to position yourself as an expert in your field.
  • You can increase search engine rankings by providing valuable content in your Knol. The more valuable and popular your content is, the higher you will rank in search engine results pages.
  • You’ll feel great knowing you made someone just a bit smarter!

Did you benefit from this video? Share it on Digg or Stumbleupon.

The Baby Steps to Marketing Your Business Online

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Posted by admin on August 11, 2009 – 9:09 am
Filed under Marketing Strategy, SEO copywriter, attract clients, blogging for business, increase online sales, increase site traffic, online marketing, social networking

second sumer sg

You know you need to change the way you market your business online, but where on earth do you start? Don’t try to take on the Internet as a whole. The key is to take baby steps.

Begin by analyzing how your company is currently marketing. If you’re using print and word of mouth as your main means for marketing your company, it’s time to consider the web as a primary marketing tool. Marketing online is one of the greatest ways to attract thousands of potential customers, increase brand exposure, and interact immediately with your target market. And it can be less expensive than print.

So, where do you begin?

After reviewing your company budget, you may find you’re not ready to give your website a complete facelift just yet. If so, Sūmèr’s Life after Launch services are the perfect fit for you. Life after Launch is primarily for those looking to increase online exposure, ramp up online marketing campaigns, and boost brand presence on the web—without spending a ton of money.

Whether you’re using Life after Launch services for blog marketing, social media networking, or social media marketing, you’ll see immediate results thanks to excellent online analytic tools and Sūmèr’s highly experienced online marketing gurus. These analytic tools show you direct results from our online marketing efforts, allowing you to track your progress. Also, you can track the percentage of increased website visitors and determine the exact websites visitors come from.

For example, if you use Life after Launch services to ramp up your exposure on Facebook, you can see how many people visit your business website from inbound links on Facebook. We make this possible through our analytic tools and provide you with a comprehensive breakdown of important analytics.

Once your social media marketing efforts rise, you can use Life after Launch services to maintain your accounts and keep a steady flow of visitors coming to your website from social media sites.

What’s the next step after implementing Life after Launch services?

After increasing your website traffic dramatically with Sūmèr’s Life after Launch services, consider hiring a professional web copywriter to rewrite and optimize your web copy for search engine purposes. The right web content writer can write result-driven and optimized web copy that speaks clearly and effectively to your target market, while projecting an accurate brand image and company message.

Remember, you don’t have to spend a ton of money to get amazing marketing results on the web. Begin with social media marketing and work your way up to having your web copy rewritten and optimized. A steady increase in online marketing efforts over the course of several months will have amazing results and sky-rocket your sales and company exposure online.

Three Ways to Market Your Business Transparently

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Posted by admin on July 16, 2009 – 10:02 am
Filed under Business Communication, Marketing Strategy, SEO copywriter, attract clients, increase online sales, increase site traffic, online marketing

Building a successful business online requires effectively reaching potential clients through strategic and authentic marketing practices. And companies that utilize transparent practices are more successful than companies that shy away from expressing their brand personality and business practices.

Transparent practices are crucial if you want to build trust between potential clients and your brand. If you hide your brand personality, if your message is inflated or muddled in industry jargon, or if the message is too focused on the company, it will be difficult to reach a large range of potential clients and strategic partners.

The key is to get real. Take some time and evaluate your business mission and what your company stands for. Take a look at where you aren’t being as authentic as you could be, then rework your message to reflect the personality and the message you want to communicate.

Here are three result-driven ways to authentically market your business:

Share your brand story and your company’s personality on your website. Don’t make your potential customers feel out of the loop or intimidated when they visit your website. A website that lacks a clear, authentic message and unique company personality will weaken the connection between the visitor and your brand image. A site with a transparent About Us page is a powerful tool that facilitates a strong connection. Not only do potential clients like to see whom they’re doing business with, they also like to see an authentic brand story and the personality of the company.

Become transparent on social media sites. Social media sites are the perfect places to reach a high concentration of potential customers and strategic partners and to integrate your company into the online community. They are an informal way to market your business and places where you can truly let your personality and brand image shine through in a fun and interactive way.Offering behind-the-scenes information, sneak peeks, photos, videos, and recent news about your business on these social media sites provides potential customers with a clear understanding of your brand image and your practices. It also gives prospects a sense of the personalities behind the business.

Share yourself and your company at networking events. A networking event is the perfect place to meet referral partners, strategic partners, and potential clients. Your goal at a networking event is to be remembered–in a positive way—by a handful of people with whom you speak. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through when discussing business. This transparency is the key to showing others that your business practices and brand image are authentic. Allow potential customers and strategic partners to build a strong connection between you as a person and your brand name. When you are remembered, your business will be remembered.

Google Is On A Roll with Their New Rich Media / Video Ad Templates

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Posted by admin on April 24, 2009 – 5:36 am
Filed under Marketing Strategy, attract clients, grow your business, increase site traffic, online advertising, website copywriter

Businesses looking to engage viewers in the online buying process greatly benefit from using Google’s Rich Media / Video Ad Templates, which can be found in the AdWords Display Ad Builder. These templates allow businesses to increase targeted website traffic, boost sales, and measure results—without hiring a web designer, advertiser, or marketer. The process is quick, easy, and entertaining. 

These templates allow non-tech-savvy business personnel to . . .

• Display numerous products across one ad, enabling them to sell several products at once.

• Create ads quickly and easily through user-friendly software.

• Illustrate the quality of one product versus another. For example, a company may sell a service or product that does not have as many features and benefits as their higher-end product. Advertisers can show the progression from a less expensive product to a more expensive product, allowing visitors to choose between products based on their needs.

• Tell a story about the products / services. For example, you can have three icons titled features, benefits, and purchase. These icons will take you through the story of the product / service, highlighting the best features and benefits in a short and clear manner.

• Attach a URL to each product illustrated on the template. This means you could virtually have three landing pages as opposed to one.

Google Rich Media / Video Ad Templates benefit businesses greatly by increasing site traffic and online exposure. Also, the new Google templates allow companies to place video in the ad for an even more interactive user experience. Google can also track what viewers scrolled their mouse over and how long they watched the video. This tracking device is an excellent way to show businesses how much interaction viewers have with their product / service online.

The Secret to Strategically Placing Online Articles

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Posted by admin on April 22, 2009 – 12:46 pm
Filed under Marketing Strategy, SEO copywriter, article marketing, attract clients, ezines, ghostwriting, grow your business, increase online sales, online articles

The top 5 online article platforms:
1) Article directories

2) Other blogs

3) Publishing sites

4) Social media sites

5) Bookmarking sites 

Once you have an article completed, submit it to a reputable article directory. One great thing about these directories is that your article has the ability to be read by thousands. Usually directories allow people to reprint your article, providing they give you the credit and they help with inbound links.

Most directories have a bio box, which allows you to include your web address and a brief bio about your company or a call to action. A specific call to action with your website link is the most effective way to get the reader to visit your site. As with asking for inbound links, you need to use caution when choosing an online directory.

There are general directories, which allow you to categorize your article topic and add your article keywords. There are also niche directories. Some reputable directories are ezinearticles.com, GoArticles, Article Dashboard, and Buzzle.

Two other article marketing platforms, which go hand in hand, are someone else’s blog or a publishing site.

When approaching popular bloggers and online publications to feature your article on their site, it’s important to strategically craft your pitch. Tell the blogger or online publication editor why your article would be beneficial to readers and, therefore, improve the readership on his / her blog or publication. Provide several article options and illustrate the benefit readers will receive if the blogger or publication were to use your article on his / her site.

The fourth and fifth article marketing platforms go hand in hand, as well. Posting your article on social media sites and bookmarking sites are both excellent ways to increase SEO and online exposure.

Social media websites are an important online vehicle for increasing SEO. There are many social media websites where you can post your article and link it to your company profile. Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon, MySpace, and discussion forums are just a few places worth checking out. Facebook for example, allows you to create a company page with your mission statement, basic information, photos, events, video, a place to put your logo, and an area where your blog is fed directly onto the page every time you add a new post. You can also post articles on discussion boards, in the link section, and in recent news sections.

6 Ways to Drive Targeted Traffic to Your Website

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Posted by admin on April 13, 2009 – 6:17 am
Filed under Copywriting, Gain Brand Loyalty, Marketing Strategy, RSS Feed, article marketing, blogging for business, ezines, increase site traffic, market in economic crisis, social networking, web traffic, website copywriter

1. Blog for Business: Blogging for business is free and is an excellent way to attract thousands of potential customers to your website, increase your search engine rankings, and boost company credibility. Regularly posting a blog also builds loyal readership and attracts more people to your website.

2. Comment on Blogs: Posting comments on blogs, forums, and discussion boards related to your target market and industry is a great way to increase site traffic. Use these platforms to post comments, get consumer feedback, and search for industry updates. Posting relevant and helpful comments increases your credibility and lures more readers to your website. After every comment, include a link to your blog or website to increase targeted traffic.

3. Socialize Online: Social media sites effectively integrate your business into the online community and help give your company result-driven online exposure. They’re a great place to post inbound links to your website and are a way to express industry expertise. Social media sites allow you to post recent news, company events, company information, discussion questions, and other useful tools to build solid online relationships.  

4. Bookmark Your Business: Bookmarking your online articles, blogs, and website in specific categories on a social bookmarking site, such as Digg, allows you to reach out to your target market. These sites permit you to share web content with others and allow them to vote on the content. If this content becomes popular among viewers, it will be voted to the front page of the bookmarking site and be viewed by thousands of potential clients.

5. Utilize RSS Feed: RSS feed allows you to reach subscribers interested in what your company has to offer. RSS feed is similar to emails since they’re both sent to subscribers, providing them with updated information. RSS feed makes it easy for subscribers to be alerted immediately and allows them to click on the link to your website. Using email together with RSS feed will increase your client base and increase site traffic.

6. Post Articles: Online article directories allow you to place niche-oriented articles into specific categories, targeted at your specific market. For example, if your real estate company writes an article for ezinearticles.com and submits it under the real estate category, you’ll receive viewers who are specifically searching for your articles.