New and Improved... Does It Matter?

I'd say it does... especially for existing customers. One problem we all face as marketers is that our products or services become stale. As a result, our customers can lose interest - not a good thing. We want our customers to be engaged and chomping at the bit for more.

When customers are interested in receiving more, that means they find value in the existing product and see additional applications that can deliver value. Companies that are truly successful have learned to publish updates in small doses.. this keeps the value delivered to customers available on an ongoing basis.

As new features are introduced to a product or service, make a big deal about it. I've seen so many companies add features and not even mention it to their customers or prospects - what a waste! If you are going to invest in your product or service, be sure to publicize it in as many ways as you can. This instills excitement, value, and engages your prospects and customers.

Warning! Make sure that the enhancement you promote is meaningful to customers and prospects. What seems like a big deal to you may not be all that noteworthy to those who use your product or service. This is sometimes overlooked.

Keep things new, exciting, and valuable and you'll keep your customers. Change nothing and everything will change. Customers will jump to the next big thing and not think twice. Keep that in mind when putting together your marketing plans for the summer!

PPC... Can It Enhance Your SEO?

Can pay per click marketing really work in tandem with SEO? I have found that the most successful SEO campaigns were born from PPC results. What do I mean? Read on...

Just a like a company's house list, the information they gather from their own PPC campaigns can provide a significant boost to the effectiveness of their search engine optimization efforts. The key is to know what information you're looking for and how to use it to generate qualified visitors to your website.

Qualified visitors are those that have a higher degree of interest in your products or services and a greater likelihood of purchasing your products. I've often seen websites that have reduced their traffic while significantly improving conversion rates. The result is lower costs related to traffic acquisition and higher revenue. With more revenue and less expense, margins reach a new level of success.

The concept that I teach in SEO training is the most effective way to combine pay-per-click advertising with search engine optimization is to focus on conversions. What keywords have you promoted through pay per click advertising that led to conversions? If you've been running PPC for a while and you are still unsure, then consider expanding your analytic coding to include Google conversion tracking.

Once you have the answer and know which terms produce the greatest conversions, regardless of ad variation, then you SEO keywords have been determined. You want to generate organic traffic to the same keywords you're promoting through PPC as long as they are generating your highest conversions.

An example of this might be someone promoting a book on how to fix a car. If the highest converting keyword is, "car repair", then you should consider car repair as a keyword phrase you must optimize for. Organic traffic to this term will produce targeted web site visitors and conversions for little or no money as you improve your rankings.

The last piece is to take your highest converting landing pages and build in some or all of the elements into your website. Once you've tracking and optimized landing pages via PPC, you can duplicate what you've learned from a conversion perspective organically. Consider applying the landing page elements that have generated the highest return for you on your pay-per-click advertising.

Whether you're just getting started with search engine optimization or consider yourself a search engine optimization expert, leveraging your pay-per-click advertising is the best investment you can make. Determine which keywords generate the type of traffic that is most valuable to you and optimize around these terms. They will generate more traffic and revenue.

To learn more about PPC, check out our comprehensive Content Bully Review.

MarketingScoop Offers High Demand SEO Training

Hello all you Marketing Mavens out there... just a quick announcement that may be of interest to those seeing SEO training for small to large groups.

Today it was announced that MarketingScoop.com, a leading provider of free Interment marketing tools, information, and resources is now offering SEO training for small and medium-sized businesses.

“Anyone can Learn SEO with the help of leading SEO experts and proven techniques that have helped dozens of companies achieve #1 Google rankings,” according to Michael Fleischner, the company’s founder and President. “I’ve been working with web sites seeking top search rankings for more than 5 years. Each of the sites has dramatically improved results by applying the right SEO techniques.”

Improving search engine rankings seems to dominate the attention of small to medium sized companies who can’t afford the high price of pay-per-click advertising. As a result, more time is being spent on SEO and learning how to improve organic results versus incurring the ongoing expense of Internet marketing that produces marginal results.

Today’s most popular search engine, Google, accounts for more than 67 percent of all online searches. Companies are optimizing their web sites for Google and seeking resources to do so. SEO consultants can offer theoretical advice that may or may not get implemented. Customized training programs provide businesses with detailed guidance on achieving their search engine optimization goals.

MarketingScoop’s SEO training is available in 1-day or 2-day sessions and is reasonably priced. In this program, students learn a step-by-step process for increasing search engine result placements for any web site or blog; techniques for improving on page optimization, and special techniques for increasing the number of in-bound links to enhance overall site value. These factors improve ranking for any keyword or keyword phrase, generating more organic traffic and lowering online marketing costs.

As more web sites place emphasis on improving the natural search results, demand for SEO training continues to grow. As more companies invest to learn SEO, MarketingScoop continues to expand their offering and provide world-class content, tools, and resources for Internet marketing success. To learn SEO and more about MarketingScoop’s SEO training, visit MarketingScoop.com.

Feeling the Marketing Squeeze?

As the economy takes time to recover, making the most of your marketing budget can prove a real challenge. Most of the marketing professionals I've been talking to have told me that they have less to work with this year than ever before. At the same time, they are under the microscope when it comes to justifying each dollar spent. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention ROI.

Now's a good time to consider FREE. Here's what I mean:

1. Giving information for free. One of the best campaigns I've run in the last year is a free download of samples. I realize this might not apply to everyone's business but the concept has merit. Imagine someone visits your website and sees a download for valuable information.

The user enters their name and email address and receives and email asking them to confirm their download. When they click on the link, the ebook or other informational product is instantly emailed to them.

While this is happening, you are starting an auto-responder that will drip messages (valuable content) to your subscribers on a daily basis - moving them through the purchase process. I have seen conversion rates as high as 5% on this type of promotion and it costs NOTHING!

2. Getting information for free. Now is a great time to poll your customers. What are they willing to spend money on now? Where do they find value? By collecting valuable information, you can address your marketing messages in the proper fashion. Additionally, you can shape your pricing and product offering in a way that increases sales.

Another way to leverage the power of free is to ask you customers for testimonials, content, and information that can help with your sales efforts. Solicit information from your customer base. This helps in the current climate and going forward.

Free is the most powerful word in marketing - make it work to your advantage. Consider offering value-added information in exchange for an indication of interest. Be sure to capture and email and set up and auto-responder. Move consumers through the purchase decision process. Also, ask your customers for feedback and content. This can help to better position your products and build powerful testimonials. Focus on free and generate revenue for little or no cost.

Twitter and Facebook - Now What?

Okay, despite my greatest effort to avoid the issue, too many people are focused on Twitter and Facebook. How can you use these tools to build a business? I'm here to tell you to calm down, take a deep breath, and realize that social networking can certainly help you with your online marketing but isn't all it's cracked up to be.

What do I mean? We'll if you are trying to earn a million bucks using social networking sites, then I'm here to tell you that you are going to be disappointed. Personally I think Facebook is a great tool for spreading the work and creating awareness. In fact, I recently spoke to an individual who heads up social marketing for a packaged goods company.

His company uses Facebook to create groups around product themes and launch events. For example, developing a video contest where people use his product and submit videos. By having a fan page, you can reach a large network of individuals and create something of interest. The tie back to product sales may be a little loose, but using Facebook to "spread the word" is really the essence of the social networking tool.

This is very similar to what Nike did years ago by giving athletes and jocks a free pair of Air Jordans. They were influencers and Nike understood that once an influencer puts something on, others want it. Think about Facebook this way and you should come up with some pretty innovative marketing ideas.

As far as Twitter is concerned, I'm at a loss. This is like Cirq De Soleil - taking the best part of the circus and making it the show. Twitter is the same - taking the best part of Facebook (updates) and building a site around it. If you're popular enough to have hundreds of followers, indirectly mention a website or product you're using and you'll drive traffic.

That's about the full extent of social media right now. If you have additional uses or successes, share them in the comments...

Test Your Off-line Marketing

Thank you all for the great comments and questions you've been sending to the Marketing Blog. As a result, I'd like to start answering your questions here on The Marketing Blog - so keep them coming.

Today's questions is from Peter: How do you propose split testing for a campaign using offline media? There are many tools to do so with online media, but how do you measure the design of two different magazine ads?

It's true that there are a number of tools for measuring the effectiveness of online campaigns. And it is, in many instances, easier today than ever before to evaluate the impact you marketing has with online tools such as Google website optimizer and a whole host of other resources. However, off line marketing can still be effectively tested and measured.

I've been testing offline campaigns for over a decade. The only change in the last few years is that many offline campaigns have been expanded to have an online component making it easier and quicker to track results. For example, you send a post card or publish and ad and have individuals fill out an online request form. This shows you quickly what type of results your campaign is generating in real time.

Without the online component, you can still track the effectiveness of your offline marketing. Personally I recommend you read, "Tested Advertising Methods" by John Caples a direct response expert. You'll learn the methods John has used to evaluate campaign effectiveness. When marketing offline, you should always test one element at a time (ex: headline). Split test ads or run them consecutively within the same publication.

Always have a direct response mechanism. This can be a 1-800 number, an email address, or business response card. By having a direct response element, you can always test the response of your print campaigns. Different methods require different measurement techniques.

Test your print campaigns by circulating multiple versions of your creative in each campaign. Put in some type of mechanism to measure results that you can tie back to the unique version of your post card, magazine ad, or prospecting letter. By doing so you will always be able to test and improve your print campaigns.

Lead Scoring Takes Your Marketing To The Next Level

In today's difficult economic times, generating more leads for your business is essential for survival. I've consulted with a large number of businesses who struggle to do more with less and nothing could be more essential when it comes to website traffic and leads.

The good news is that online marketing has become incredibly sophisticated, allowing small to large businesses to identify true opportunities that can generate sustainable revenue. Tools such as demand generation and lead scoring help companies focus on prospects with the greatest chance of conversion.

Using lead scoring tools and identifying segments for growth enables marketers to execute, automate, track, and analyze online lead generation campaigns. This boosts revenues through increased sales efficiency and shortened sales cycles. Vitally important given the current climate we're facing and something that is rarely implemented by even the top marketing professionals.

In my opinion, if you're not engaged in lead management, scoring, or prioritization, you still have a significant opportunity to grow your business - even now. Start researching the different ways you can improve the effectiveness of your marketing and learn more effective ways to find those prospects with the highest probability of conversion.

One of the quickest means of success is by focusing on both lead generation and lead scoring. In combination, finding the "right" leads, evaluating them in real time, and putting follow up processes into play can be your formula for success. The fact is that the more you learn about your lead flow and the type of prospects that convert, the more effective your marketing spend can be.

After learning more about these marketing concepts, start reaching out and finding vendors who can both educate you about making improvements in your marketing systems as well as provide affordable tools that can take your business to the next level.

I personally recommend Manticore Technology for demand generation and lead scoring tools. Alternatively, you can work with your existing vendors to learn more about these marketing disciplines.

Blogging Made Easy In Just Three Simple Steps

Blogging is a really great way to reach an audience, share your thoughts, even help you with your Internet marketing. I’ve been blogging for nearly 3 years and continue to enjoy the benefits of not only communicating with an audience, but engaging in meaningful dialog. Starting a blog is easy to do and pays huge dividends.

There are a number of free services available that offer free blog services. Sites like Blogger and WordPress only require a brief registration and set up. Once you determine a theme for your blog and a template, you’re ready to begin posting. Posts are entries you make on your blog that are published instantly.

Some bloggers post comments to their blog each and every day, others once a week. Regardless of how frequently you post to your blog, content can be focused on a specific theme or random topics. The most popular blogs focus on a specific niche and provide valuable information, content, and commentary that encourage interaction with blog followers.

Sign up for a blog service. Begin development of your blog by signing up for Blogger or WordPress. Once you have an account, you can quickly set up your blog. Consider the goal of your blog and what type of commitment you are willing to make. Start small and be consistent.

Determine how you will monetize your blog. If you want to use your blog to generate revenue, there are a few techniques you can apply depending on which platform you’re using. One of the most popular methods of monetizing your blog is with the help of Google Adsense. This is a popular option and very easy to add to your blog. Not only does it generate a small amount of revenue for you on a weekly basis, but it also provides relevant links based on your posts.

Another great way to monetize your blog is through paid links. The concept of offering paid links is pretty straight forward. You create a section of you blog that lists recommended sites. In this list, you only place links that people have paid you to post. There are some tools you can use to automate this process. I simply add a link to a post that says, “How to post your link” with directions and a pass through to a Paypal page. You can set up a single time payment or subscription, allowing would be advertisers the opportunity to purchase a link on your blog monthly or for a longer period of time.

Many individuals are monetizing their blogs by using pay per post or other blogging network. Essentially, advertisers search for bloggers who are willing to write a post to promote their product and services or brand. You can sign up for one of these networks quite easily and be contacted when advertisers feel that your blog would be ideal for distributing a message. You write a blog post and get paid for doing so.

One thing to keep in mind is that the success of you blog is based on a number of factors. I believe that having a targeted blog that offers original content is ideal. You will build a large following. This is essential because most of the monetization methods are based on having enough traffic to make your blog appealing to advertisers as well as blog readers.

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