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Read Marketing Blogs Everyday

December 15, 2008 in SEM, offline marketing | No comments

That’s right I said it, read Marketing Blogs everyday. Make it part of your routine like brushing your teeth or reading your snail mail. If you don’t have a feed reader get one and pick out 5 Marketing Blogs that speak to you and your situation.

Yes there are thousands of people who dole out millions of lines of both online and offline Marketing Advice, I’m sure it seems as attractive as putting you finger in a light socket trying to find just the right few for you. No need to fret here are two that will lead to more. The first is the Canadian Marketing Blog a rich source of great information and the second is the Church of The Customer a down to earth and straight forward look at everything.

Everything we do in business comes down to two simple things.

1. everything is local
2. everything is marketing

Now think about those two things as you go about your day building your business.

Writing As SEO

October 2, 2008 in SEM, opportunities | No comments

Creating original content to promote and market your website has many rewards that may not be obvious at first glance. The article you just wrote is well defined, well focused and clearly on a  topic that will inform and entertain your customers, clients and users but what can you do with it?

First you can submit your work to an article submission website (EzineArticles or Work) or have an article marketer do it for you. Second build a new page on your website that zeros in on the new article’s topic adding lists and hints that will expand on the topic without losing focus. Third build a new 3 page website using the articles topic as the focus, import all the info from the web page you just created but do remember you want to be creating something new and of value beyond what you just created. What I’m saying is expand on the topic don’t just copy the same stuff to every new page or site.

Every step in the process builds on the one before it. Your users will be able to choose a summary or dig deeper, you are giving them the choice all the while keeping them on one of your web properties. I hate to use the term but in this case it fits, this is a win - win proposition.

Now coming up with new, fresh and exciting ideas surrounding your product and service might seem nearly impossible. If you drill down in the subject almost any product or service will give you dozens and dozens of new ideas for articles, pages and websites that spin around the universe of your offering.

Guess what, if you focus in on useful information most of your optimization will be done for you. All the keywords and section headers will be waving at you to use them. Search Engines will see your value along with your users returning over and over.

I am adding an example of a simple article that a writer created to aid in promoting his book. Ellis Goodman published his new spy novel Bear Any Burden earlier this year and has written a series of quick articles talking about aspects of writing. You will see how he has focused on an aspect that informs the reader but he does not give all his ideas and thoughts away in one article.. He has countless room to write more and more and get more and more promotion. Read the rest of this entry »

Strategy and Tactics

August 13, 2008 in general, tips | No comments

The first question to ask when interviewing a prospective SEO or Marketing firm might well be one you had not thought of. The question is, “what do you see as the differences between strategy and tactics?” The answer will enable you to weed out the pretenders quickly and move on with the interview for finding a firm that will serve your best interests.

So are there really differences between Strategy and Tactics, absolutely. A Strategy is the overall view of where you are going and what you will find when you get there. (read more about Strategy at wikipedia) The Tactics tell you what tools you will use to execute and bring to fruition your strategy. (read more about Tactics at wikipedia)

Success demands that you have a clear and extensive long term strategy. Having a well laid out strategy will then allow you to know exactly what tools and resources you need to assemble to be successful.

Washing The Windows

July 26, 2008 in general, offline marketing | No comments

Setting out on the path of marketing can seem at times like a path full of danger. Either you do your own marketing or you hire a firm to do it for you but either way there are few if any guarantees the money you spend will create positive results.

In the end marketing really can be no more effective then shooting dice in Las Vegas except your not dealing with vacation money. The money you spend to market your business is an expense that needs to be accounted for.

I suggest before you do a large spend on outside marketing you step back and do all the simple things you can to burnish your companies image in-house. Think of your business as being on a street corner with people walking past looking in the windows all day long. What is is you want people to see when they look at your business? They could be looking at either your website, brochure, billboard, waiting rooms,trucks, balloons or hundreds of other items and ideas associated with your business.

What do people see when they look through your windows? Wash your street level windows everyday.