Online Webinars Are Everywhere - Start Your Own

Chances are that you've received at least one invitation to an online webinar in the last few weeks. In fact, you've probably attended one in the last six months. Online webinars are taking the marketing community by storm - and for good reason. Sharing information online is one of the best ways to teach others about a particular topic and is rather easy to implement on your own.

I recently launched an online SEO training webinar ( shameless plug;) ) and set it up in a single day. I finally broke down and decided to offer this option of online learning because demand has outstripped supply. Webinars allow you and your business to serve many customers at once, breaking the limitations of one-on-one training. This concept of scale is not new but certainly makes it much easier to serve all those in need of specific information simultaneously.

Here are the simple steps I used to set up my own webinar and which you can follow now:

1. Register for a free trial with GoToWebinar.com. Some basic registration information is needed, a simple download, and you're ready to go.

2. Create a customized registration page. GoToWebinar offers a number of options for creating your own registration page.

3. Settings. Choose the settings that work best for your event. Because my event is only for a limited number of individuals and requires a registration fee, I selected an option that allows me to redirect to a payment page before attendance information is provided.  I've also listed all of the free bonuses that I'm giving away to each registered user on this page as well.

4. Set up payment page. If you are requiring a payment for your webinar, set up a Paypal page to request payment and redirect to the appropriate confirmation page.

5. Post information about your event.  In addition to a registration button include information about your event on your website or blog. Doing so make registration easy for those interested. Be sure to provide detailed information about the event (ex: SEO training) and a clear way for users to register.
 

6. Monitor your account. Prior to your event, log in to your GoToWebinar account on a regular basis. You may need to approve registrants, respond to inquiries, or send emails to registrants.

If you don't have much experience with webinars, I encourage you to open an account and go through the process of setting up a webinar. You'll never truly learn how to effectively give a webinar unless you take one on.  Don't be frightened.  The process is simple and the support is there. I called GoToWebinar on two separate occasions and they were able to help.  Good luck!!! 

The Gift - Savvy Merchant: A Must for Independent Retailers, Restaurateurs and Service Establishments

Guest post by John S. Harris

It’s Thanksgiving Week and holiday decorations, seasonal recipes, holiday sales and special promotions start to scream at all of us. The charge is underway, and a big chunk of the action every holiday season is that special currency known as gift certificates, or gift cards. How does the independent merchant compete with the chains to make the most of the opportunity?

The answer for the independent is the same as it’s always been. Focus on your customer base. This is a strong suit for independents, many of whom tend to personally know or at least recognize their best customers. These are your most loyal, most frequent, most spending, or some combination therein. These folks also represent your referral marketing network. The holiday season is the perfect time to engage and reward them. Though it helps greatly to utilize an online gift certificate service, it’s not essential.

What is essential is to re-think your gift certificate or gift card strategy to do two things: reward your fan base; and reward the potential new fans they bring into your orbit.Gift Certificates and Gift Cards have obvious and well known advantages, foremost amongst them being cash in the bank well before the sale that ultimately credits against it. But their less hyped advantages lie in their inherent viral marketing properties. Gifts are all about giving, of course, and there’s always a Buyer, and a Recipient involved – two consumers, not one.

Turning one consumer into two consumers is the very definition of viral marketing. Therefore, every single sale of a gift certificate is an outstanding shot at a viral marketing win.

So here are some suggestions for making the most of your gift certificate or gift card opportunities.

Issuance and Redemption Basics: Get the nuts and bolts in place for the rush. You cannot afford to make it difficult or time-consuming for consumers to either buy, or redeem, gift currencies from your business. If you’ve already got a system in place, then good for you. If not, I’ve put together a table (inset, below) that lays out the basics of the commercial gift world – the tools accessible to you to work the gift business.

• Treat Gift Buyers and Redeemers THE BEST. Sure, you and your staff treat everyone well, but the folks buying and redeeming are the best existing, and potentially best new, customers. Viral!
• Make Them Available Online. It’s a must that customers can buy them 24X7 and frankly, it’s a pretty basic courtesy. Widespread, cheap and easy; see the table of online gift certificate services (below), if you’re not already there.
• Stock Up. A one-dollar gift card can be sold for easily one hundred times that amount, or more. Not a time to get caught short on either your paper or mag-stripe gift stock.
• Train The Troops. You and your staff must be fluent in the sale, and redemption cycle, particularly the POS part of it. It costs nothing to set up some practice sessions.
• Review Your Denominations. Maybe you’ve been selling $10 certificates or cards for years, but your average check is $16. Does that make sense?
• Know the Law. Every state is different, but there’s been a flurry of both state and federal legislation in the past two years. Go to http://www.consumersunion.org/, for a great summary.

Marketing Basics: It is crucial to let your customers and employees know about your gift offerings. Some inexpensive (or free), direct marketing programs that you can make happen in a couple of days:

• Eye-catching Signs or Posters:
• “Gift Certificates Available – On-Line or In-Store at…”
• Table or Counter Displays. Same message
• Staff Buttons. Fast and cheap, a million places online can create them for you overnight
• Flyers:
       -Start putting a simple flyer into every bag or box; in every check-presenter, etc.
• Add to Voice Mail message:
      -“Our gift certificates are available 24X7 online…”; or “We’re open special hours this year to provide gift certificates…”
• Add simple text at the bottom of your receipts or invoices
• Staff Training. It’s easy to simply mention that you offer gift certificates or gift cards

Promotion Plan: Work the gift business both online (see table of online gift certificate services, below) and offline. Some proven strategies include:

• Give Free Gift Certificates to your best customers. Send them via mail or email, an actual Gift Certificate / Card with a personal message, e.g.,”Thanks for you business over the years.” Make sure you do it in a way that makes it very easy for the recipient to re-gift it if they want. Most recipients will spend more on the back-end, both in purchases and in referral business. If you’re too busy, some companies will do a special run of Gift Certificates complete with personalized messaging and complete fulfillment for a very small fee.

• Buy a Gift Certificate / Get a Gift Certificate. This promotion rewards the purchaser with an additional, or separate, gift of their own. This is particularly effective with office administrators, because when the purchaser buys a $50 gift card/certificate, they would typically receive a $10 one for themselves. The big chains do very well with this strategy – Smith & Wollensky’s is one of many examples of what a proven technique it is. Online gift certificate systems (see table below) are particularly adept at automating this and capturing all the buyer and recipient info.

• Presuming you already have some form of customer list or database, this is the season to think more professionally about how it needs to be happening all year long. You do not want to win new customers without capturing some basic contact info about them! Get your website up to speed on this. Ask whoever handles your website to add a simple online form for customers to join your mailing list – it’s trivial and very inexpensive.

• Send a follow-up “Thank You” via email or personal note to recipient and giver after redemption. If the recipient is a first time customer, thank them for coming to your store and reinforce your goal of personal service and product selection. Also, send a ‘Thank You” to the buyer for introducing a new customer to you and sending a best customer back to you. This simple courtesy is worth its’ weight in gold.

Gift Systems. It’s a brave new world out there as far as online gift certificate services are concerned. Your most successful competitors are already there. If you’re not, it’s never too late. Most of the systems today can be up and running in literally one or two days. I put this table together to try and simplify a pretty complicated industry. There are billion-dollar vendors and tiny start-ups in this space, and hundreds of companies. So this is merely my attempt to clarify what’s out there.

Check out the "Landscape of Online Gift Certificate Services Available to Small Businesses" here...

About The Author - John S. Harris has been a small business consultant for over twenty years. A former owner and operator himself, John is a principal in Lynch + Harris, a consulting firm specializing in operations management and marketing communications that helps independent restaurants and retailers expand their business and improve their operations. John can be reached at ircharris@gmail.com

Be Part Of My Next Book

A couple of months ago, one of my readers was inquiring about the techniques I reveal in my top selling SEO book, SEO Made Simple.  Specifically, she wanted to know how I learned the techniques that I share for achieving top search engine rankings quickly and easily.

After some discussion, she asked me about my involvement with pay-per-click (PPC) marketing.  Then it dawned on me.  Could there really be a need to simplify the process of making money with PPC as there is for SEO?  After reaching out to a few of the individuals I've worked with in the past and getting feedback through blog posts, Twitter, social networking, and so on, there definitely seems to be a wealth of knowledge on pay-per-click marketing.

That is to say, there's too much information out there.  If you're like me, you've probably bought a whole bunch of "get rich quick" schemes about PPC advertising.  There are tons of courses, ebooks, and webinars on the subject but I wasn't able to find an authoritative guide that says, "To make money with PPC, do this, then this..".  As a result, I've decided to write my next book about PPC marketing.

Here's where you come in..

Do you have any specific questions regarding PPC advertising?  Have you failed?  Have you been successful?  I want to hear about it.  I might even use you as a case study in my book.  Let me know about your experiences and needs as an Internet marketer.  It is my intention to deliver the best information with quickly and in a manner that's easy to comprehend.

PPC Made Simple is going to be written in the same format as my first book with additional video tutorials and online resources.  Let me know what you'd like covered and I'll be sure to integrate it into this tell all guide.  I'll open up my own Google AdWords accounts and show you how I manage thousands of keywords and campaigns to sell products online.

Please submit your ideas via comments!

Use Testimonials And Guarantees To Make Buying Decisions

Trying to sell something online? There are a variety of barriers, both physical and emotional that keep people from buying. Over the weekend I received a wonderful testimonial from someone who recently finished reading my book. It reminded me of the power of testimonials.

When individuals are considering a purchase, they pass through various stages in order to make a buying decision. These steps include: problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior. Regardless of the product you're selling, consumers move through each of these stages and they do so at varying rates.

Although you have the opportunity to differentiate yourself and your offering at any stage of the decision making process, the biggest barriers often occur when evaluating alternatives. Consumers put different weight on different elements associated with the purchase.

For example, someone may be considering two different automobiles and each has features not offered by the other. However, some of those features will be more important. Perhaps one car offers a bumper to bumper warranty and the other offers none. If this is one of the most important decision criteria, other criteria that are not met are often overlooked.

To help consumers overcome obstacles and make a buying decision, differentiate your offering and remove risk. These are some of the most powerful tools you can use from a marketing perspective to improve purchase behavior. Testimonials are a powerful way to give the impression of risk reduction. When consumers see the value others have received, they begin to lower their guard. Add a no-hassle guarantee and much of the risk is removed.

Testimonials are powerful when users can find others in similar situations (had the same need or problem) that were helped by your solution. We buy based on references. So create references that support your business. Ask customers for testimonials and publish them to your web site(s), emails, and brochures.

Remove risk with a guarantee that's clear and meaningful. I recommend testing your offers with a guarantee versus no guarantee. No-hassle guarantees are similar to rebates in that they are rarely abused but do a lot to lower purchase barriers.

Reassure your prospects that they are going to make the right decision. Testimonials and guarantees are essential for giving them buying confidence and security. Cultivate testimonials and add a guarantee to your offering to grow revenue and improve conversions.

Organic Marketing Takes Hold: Social Media On The Brain

This week I had the honor of presenting with fellow consultant Kristina Dooley at the Independent Educational Consulting Association in Charlotte North Carolina. And one thing is for sure. These folks had social media on the brain! We had a great presentation filled with independent consultants, private secondary schools, and college administrators all wondering how they could use social media to improve their business.

Whether you're looking to generate traffic to your website or generate qualified leads of some kind, social media is where it's at. Our presentation covered all aspects of social media using a new term we coined called "Organic Marketing". I derived this concept of organic marketing after hearing Kristina talk about the impact that social media has on ones brand.

What does your social media say about you? Have you done a Google search for your name, your business's name, or institution? If you haven't lately, I advise you to do so. When others are searching for you online what will they see? More often than not, many of your results will point to social media accounts if available. If not, then you have a great opportunity to shape your online brand.

Take Kristina for example. Just Google here name Kristina Dooley and you'll find a linked in profile, and listing on Listorious, Facebook and other social media sites. Here's a woman who knows how to manage her brand. Consider what impact you're having using social media. Be proactive and shape your brand using the free social media sites that are out there.

In addition to shaping your own brand consider your company's brand. This Organic Marketing presentation provides everything you need - including some kick a$$ tools that can help you effectively manage multiple social media accounts. Good luck with your social media efforts and be sure to comment after viewing our IECA presentation on Organic Marketing!

Blogging - An Essential Part Of The Marketing Mix

It seems as though I get more and more questions about Blogging.  Should my web site also have a blog?  What type of blog content should I publish?  How often should I publish to my blog?  Can I make money with my blog?  These are all really good questions and the topic of today's post.

First, let's start with my definition of a blog. A blog is a content rich site that allows you to post updates on a regular basis.  If blogging for you is an arduous process, then you're doing it all wrong.  Blogging should be fun and should be related to your business.  For example, this blog (The Marketing Blog) is all about marketing with a focus on Internet marketing.  Why?  Because I love it.  I don't need to get paid to write about Internet marketing because it's a true passion.

Okay, so now you know what to blog about, let's respond to the question "Should I have a blog?".  If you've met the criteria above and have something to blog about, my answer is an emphatic "YES".  Blogging is great, it's fun and easy to do.  I've found that it's also a two-way street.  Your followers interact with the content via comments and suggest great topics for future posts.  The benefit of blogging is both personal as well as marketing-focused.  By talking about your business on a regular basis you can generate positive awareness and make your offerings more appealing to your target market.

After starting your blog with Blogger or WordPress, make it accessible from your main web site.  This helps in search engine placement and can drive a considerable amount of traffic to your blog.  Have a clear goal in mind for your blogging with one caveat.  Always use your blog to provide value.  Whether through market information, content, or resources, your blog needs to give before it gets.  Once you've set a goal for yourself commit to that goal and work towards it each and every week.

Blogging can be a great experience but you have to be willing to set specific goals and deliver value on a regular basis.  If you do, over time you'll find that blogging provides significant value to both you and your readers.  Happy Blogging!!!

Does Networking Make Your Stomach Turn?

I don’t know about you but the word “networking” makes me want to cringe.  Without hesitation, I form an image that might be akin to speed dating.  I’m great in front of a large audience but don’t consider myself all that good at making small talk and meeting new people. So when someone recently asked me to attend a networking event, I said no.

I thought that was the end of it but it wasn’t.  Around the same time, a colleague of mine asked me to join him for lunch.  I told him about a new business I idea and he suggested that I reach out to his friend who had a lot of experience in this particular area and after our meal made an introduction via email.  One thing led to another and now I’m connected with a few people who are all helping me to develop this idea.  I’m confident that I can bring this new product to market faster and better than I could ever have done on my own.

Even though I thought networking was a waste of time, it happens.   And it happens in a variety of ways.  If you think networking is simply going into a crowded room and being uncomfortable for an hour or so, think again.  Networking is a powerful tool for entrepreneurs, marketers, and professionals who want to learn, grow, and contribute.

What is your networking plan?

To get ahead in your business, job or activities, consider putting together a networking plan.  It doesn’t have to be anything formal but you need to take action.  Research local meetings in your area, join a chamber of commerce, form a group of your own.  Regardless of the tact you take, get started.  It is amazing how things work when you set them in motion.  My goals for networking include:

• Join the Chamber of Commerce (attend 1 meeting/month)

• Make one new introduction per month

• Hold one Internet marketing meeting per quarter (new members) 

By having a plan, albeit small, I’m creating momentum.  Over time, I believe that my network will increase as well as the resources I have available.  Success is easier if others can help you achieve your goals.  What’s great about our niche is that Internet marketers are always willing to help.  I’ve been astonished at the support and gratitude successful marketers have and their interest in helping other.