The Biggest Challenge of My Online Marketing Career

Okay, so here's the deal. I've been working on a new search engine optimization (SEO) training course for the past 4 months. And quite honestly, I can't control my excitement. Many of you who read my blogs or have bought my book, SEO Made Simple, have been asking me for additional SEO training.

Unfortunately there aren't enough hours in the day to help everyone seeking SEO advice - so I put together a complete video training course that's going to show everyone how I've been achieving #1 Google rankings for very competitive keyword I've chosen. 

The reason I'm so excited is because I just finished my promotional video.  The course doesn't launch for a couple of weeks but I honestly can't control my excitement.  The background on the video is simple.  A good friend of mine and internet marketing guru, Greg Cesar asked me how long it would take me to research a Clickbank product, build a website, and achieve #1 rankings on a major search engine.  Even though new websites take much long to rank I said, "I'm not entirely sure Greg but maybe it's possible to do in only 30 days!"

Enter the 30 Day Challenge.  Greg Challenged me to use the same techniques I'm going to reveal in my SEO training course to take on this challenge and win.  If you're interested in learning more about the SEO video training program, be sure to visit SEO The Easy Way.


When the program launches in a couple of weeks, you'll have access to free webinars, bonus resources, and much more.  I'm not planning on a huge launch event but if you sign up at the site, I'll be sure to send you and email notification when the program opens.  I'll likely limit access to the program to the first 1,000 members so we can provide personal attention to all those interested.  Let me know what you think of the video!  Thanks - Michael.

The Power of Referrals

Although I've talked about referrals on this blog in the past, maybe even recently, I thought I'd spend some more time focusing on this very important aspect of marketing. Whether you are a marketing manager, business owner, or salesperson, referrals make the difference between success or failure.

Referrals come in all different shapes and sizes

It's pretty common for someone to think of a referral as one person telling another about how great a product or service is.  However, referrals go beyond the obvious.  Many times, individuals seek out referrals from others.   A great example is that of a neighbor who has a well manicured lawn.  The guy next store looks at his own lawn and says, "my lawn doesn't look so good."  As a result, he seeks out information on making his lawn look better.

The lawn service should be supportive of this type of referral-seeking behavior.  Is there a sign in front of the neighbors house that indicates the lawn service provider?  Are the trucks well appointed with lawn service logo, name, and phone number?  Has the lawn service provided all of the neighbors with "we cut Bob's lawn at 123 neighborhood way, let us cut yours?"

There are many different ways to support what I call sought after referrals which are often overlooked.  The yellow pages are also another great tool to use when trying to capture those seeking referrals or points of reference.  I recently needed some repair work done.  Since I like to kick it old school every now and again, I reached for the Yellow Pages - yes the actual 4 inch thick book!

Setting yourself apart

I saw a number of vendors who could provide a service for me but the one I chose said, "Serving [townname]... hundreds of satisfied local customers."  I checked around and in fact, there were plenty of people in my own neighborhood who had used the guy.  His ad was focused on the local flavor I wanted and the fact that he had already serviced many of the homes in my neighborhood.

The motto of this story is, don't think that you always have to hard sell people head on.  Rather, consider the softer approach with leverage.  Leverage is using your existing customers and those especially satisfied with your services to help sell for you.  When prospects know they will be in good company, they're often much easier to convince.

You can always rely on the more direct referral approach.  You know, "Please recommend us to five of your best friends," but how often has this really had the impact you've hoped for?  Probably never.  Instead, think about making it easier for others to find you and create the leverage you need for getting them to buy.

 

Are Trade Shows Still a Viable Marketing Tactic?

This week I spent time working a trade show out in Phoenix AZ. Aside from the great weather and opportunity to spend some time reaching decision makers, I thought it was a good opportunity to assess whether or not trade shows are still a viable marketing tactic.

I've been to my share of trade shows and quite honestly, some have been great others were barely worth the time. But I have to ask, "are trade shows in general really worth it?" By the time you add up all of the direct expenses, time, and effort of working a show, the benefits may seem questionable.

Based on my recent experience and years of attending trade shows, I've come up with guidelines that can help anyone make the most of their trade show experience.

1. Only attend shows that reach decision makers.  Now you might be saying, "Hey, it's all about influencers - they don't have the buying power but they talk to their bosses."  Great, then send them a post card.  But don't waste your time trying to influence them via a trade show.  The expense just doesn't justify the potential return.

2.  Focus on local shows.  I'm not saying that national trade shows are out, but more often than not, you can have a greater presence at a local show and have more of an impact.  National shows require you to fly in reps from all over and incur significant expense.  Local shows however usually are less costly and allow you to better reach your target market.

3.  Follow up on your leads.  Did you know that many studies have been done on the effectiveness of trade shows.  Surprisingly, 75% of trade show leads are never followed up on.  This may be the case for a variety of reasons (lead in different territory, other priorities, etc.) but the fact remains that the reason most of us go to trade shows never gets realized.  If you are going to invest in attending a show, follow up on each and every lead.

4.  Make the most of after show dinners and activities.  The best opportunities are usually those that happen during non-exhibit hours.  Invite potential clients to breakfast, dinner, make appointments, have meetings.  Take advantage of having your target market in the area and try to build strong relationships with your prospects.  Have a two minute conversation at your booth is a crap shoot at best.

5.  Only go back to shows that generate a positive ROI.  I wish I had more fingers!  If I tried to count the number of times I've heard, "We have to go back, we saw so many of our customers" or "We had some really great booth traffic", I'd quickly run out of fingers to count on.  Nothing matters except conversions.  If your leads do not convert, then your trade show expense was not worth it.  Instead of investing all of that money to see clients, find other ways to bring them together and achieve the outcome you're looking for.

Trade show attendance makes sense if you can manage your costs and effectively leverage all of the different aspects that trade shows have to offer.  Be very selective in which shows you attend and carefully plan your time there, establish goals, and evaluate your performance.  This is the best way to make each show productive and determine if it's worth returning to in the future.

This Week: Marketing With Original Content

Having been in marketing for more than a dozen years, I can tell you that one thing that positions a company and product better than any other, is original content. Having unique content that is relevant to your audience can dramatically improve your business.

What is original content?

Anything that your write and publish (online, pdf, ebook, blog, etc.) is considered original content.  Often times creating original content is seen as a nice to have and not a must-have.  However, if anyone is to really make a difference for their products or brand, generating original content needs to be front and center.

This is why websites like CNN.com and MSNBC are so well known - original content.  Everything on their site is authored and done so with care and attention.  Now you might be say, "I sell widgets.  What does original content have to do with my business?"  That's an excellent question and one worth answering.

If am in the market for buying a widget, I'm probably going to search online.  From my first search, original content is going to win out.  Sites that have original content, that write their own reviews, product descriptions, and so on, are going to be ranked higher in search results.  Additionally, as I engage with the content - perhaps product reviews or descriptions - I'm going to move through the purchase decision process and buy something.

Sites that are using descriptions from other websites or don't have much content that speaks about widgets, aren't very engaging.  A site that creates and publishes different reviews, opinions, usage suggestions, and so on, will keep readers engaged and moving towards the ultimate outcome of a purchase.

Original content doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming.

The complaint I often hear is that creating original content can be very time consuming or simply cost a bundle to have written.  In my experience it doesn't have to be.  Of course writing content for a website initially is going to take some time.  Once established, publishing a new article or adding some information from time to time is easy to do.

There are also plenty of plug-ins and other applications that can integrate reader comments, product reviews and so on.  By using these widgets, you can quickly integrate new content into your website site that is both relevant and meaningful.  Many of these widgets are free or very low cost.

If you're searching for original content, there are sites out there such as eLance that can connect you with writers, publishers, and experts to author whatever content you need created.  Most authors can now write for the web or print.  Don't be discouraged by the need for original content, embrace it.

Use original content to generate leads.

One of my favorite ways to use original content is to offer access to specialized information at a price.  Browsers may be interested for example in downloading a guide on how others have used their widgets (previous example) to do a special kind of project.  By asking browsers simply for their name and email, you can add them to your auto responder or prospect list.

Creatively using original content to get individuals to opt in is the first step in creating a pool of potential customers.  Think of their greatest needs, challenges, and requests for information and author something of value.  The result will be meaningful content that they are willing to exchange something for - usually contact information.

Original content is necessary for being successful online.  If you want to rank well on search engines, find a pipeline of potential customers, and be a resource for existing customers who continue to buy from you, then consider developing original content and you're sure to win every time

Affiliate Marketing Made Simple

It's been a while since I spent any time talking about affiliate marketing even though it's something I do every day. A friend of mine asked me for a quick primer on affiliate marketing so I thought I'd share my thoughts with everyone who reads this blog. 

I know from the many comments and emails that many of you are interested in driving more traffic to your websites, improving rankings, and making the most from your PPC and other online advertising.

Many of you have also shared your goal to generate revenue online through affiliate marketing. For those of you who may not be all that familiar with affiliate marketing, the concept is simple: get paid for selling someone else's product. You might be asking, "why sell someone else's product and not my own?" The reality is that affiliate marketing isn't for everyone but it's great if you don't want to deal with the hassles of running your own traditional business.

Selling physical products, either from a retail establishment or online with a website requires that you advertise, sell, and process orders - usually through an online shopping cart. Once you've made a sale, you need to package and deliver the product, support any calls that come in (product questions, shipping inquires, reship damaged inventory, etc.). The process is labor intensive and time consuming.

Enter affiliate marketing. When selling someone else product through an affiliate network the steps are quite simple. You begin by selecting an affiliate product, do some affiliate advertising, and send traffic to a vendor's sales page. When a prospect converts you get paid.  Simple, isn't it?.  The advantage to you is that you're earning revenue with no inventory, no customer service, and no hassles.

What's wonderful about affiliate marketing is that there are plenty of product to choose from and dozens of large affiliate networks that aggregate many advertisers into a single platform, making the process of finding relevant products easy. Different products and offers also have different payouts. You can choose to sell big ticket items with big commissions or smaller offers. There are even recurring offers that deliver a steady income to the seller month after month... my favorite!

Getting started with affiliate marketing is simple to do. Visit a site like Clickbank to find suitable offers and promotional links.  All you need to do is start driving traffic through the links posted on your site and as prospects purchase items for the vendor's web page, you get paid. Most affiliate sites pay every couple of weeks by check, direct deposit, or via PayPal.

There are lots of ways drive traffic to your affiliate offers.  Use your website, write and distribute an article, review the product on your blog, tweet about it, use PPC marketing, etc.  There are many ways to promote different types of products.  I recommend that you choose products that have a good commission ($25 or more) and are related to your content.  If you have a web site about trucks, refer users to affiliate products such as truck parts.  If you stay relevant, you'll get good results.  Wander too far off course and your traffic will never convert.

If you want to start making money online, I encourage you to sign up for an affiliate network.  It costs nothing and can begin generating some extra cash for your wallet.  Successful affiliate marketers can make hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, or more.  Affiliate marketing is a great way to do business online and everyone should join in.