12/24/2008
An easy checklist for determining whether a marketing vehicle is suitable for your campaign
| Exposure. Look at what kind of exposure you are looking for and how a particular vehicle can get you that exposure. For instance, a website or a blog is open, accessible and available to anyone, anywhere, any time, 24/7/365. Suitability. Is this means of marketing actually suitable to your target market’s needs and habits? And for that matter, is it suitable for the image and message you are aiming for? Variety. Variety is the spice of life, and often of marketing too. You can’t put all of your eggs in one marketing vehicle’s basket. You need to spread the wealth, so to speak, and get the message out in a number of ways. So don’t spend all your time on one web page or one blog entry, always look at the big picture and use all of the suitable outlets you can. Flexibility. How well can you manage, change, update and work with this vehicle? Can you post content yourself or are you at the mercy or someone or something else? Credibility. Free always sounds nice and many of us jump at something that seems like a good deal. But it may be a tacky or unprofessional or inconsequential site or service, so be careful not to waste your time and your resources. You have a certain message and image that you are looking to get out at all times. Be consistent about that – don’t compromise just because you think you have found a good deal. Labels: content marketing, features and benefits in marketing, Internet Marketing, low-budget marketing |
12/22/2008
Blog Writing Basics (Part 2 of 2)
| Blogging can really promote your business. But before you worry too much about promoting your products or services, you should first focus your blog writing on bringing value to your readers. That means making an effort to share valuable information your readers can use whether they choose to make a purchase from you or not. Add value: solve a problem A blog is the perfect platform to establish yourself as an authority in your industry. If your business is landscaping and lawn care and you write a blog post titled "How to Get a Perfect Yard with Acme Weed Killer," you are clearly putting your needs before your readers’. Put more effort into establishing trust and becoming the go to person in your industry. Your readers would respond much better to a post titled, "10 Tips for Getting Rid of Weeds for Good." This title sounds like it would have information any homeowner would be interested in learning. Become an expert Customers may not care much about Acme Weed Killer and what it claims to do, but they do care about their own yards and would welcome helpful lawn care tips. That adds value to the information you're providing through your blog writing. Focus your blog writing on bringing value to your readers instead of promoting your business and what you're selling. You will build a community of loyal followers who will do business with you based on your expert advice and the information you share. Labels: blog, blog content, blog needs to add value, blog writing basiscs, blogging, blogging 101, industry expert provide value through blog |
12/17/2008
Want 16 hours of marketing training for $6/hr?
| Welcome to the 2009 Do-It-Yourself Marketing Telseminar Series. Beginning in January, once every month of 2009 (as well as once a quarter as a special bonus) I will be interviewing some of the world’s top experts on the latest tips, tools and trends of marketing, sales, P.R., advertising and social media, all with one goal: To give you high quality, actionable information that will put money in your pocket . Here’s how it works: The monthly interviews will be held the last Thursday of each month at 12 PM EST. A special bonus interview will also take place one more time every quarter (4 total over the year). The experts: Kathleen Gage, Dave Evans, Craig Cannings, Willie Crawford, Aaron Kahlow, Denise Wakeman from the Blog Squad, MaryPat Kavanaugh, Suzanne Evans, Jay Estis, Paulette Ensign, Sydni Craig-Hart, Linda Claire Puig, Peter Wailes, Shel Horowitz, Kathryn Hendershot and Margie Fisher This is 16 total hours of pure gold for only $97! And what’s more, all calls will be recorded and made available to you at no additional charge. So you can listen live whenever and wherever you please throughout the course of the year. And on top of this incredibly low price, You will get my personal guarantee: If you don’t get at least one money-making ‘Aha!’ nugget from every session, I will refund your money for the remaining sessions, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.  But don’t delay, sign up here, because on January 15th the price will go up to $147. Over the course of these 16 sessions, you will learn:  How to go beyond any ambivalence you have about marketing and sell, sell, sell the right wayHow do manage a “DIY” (Do-It-Yourself) P.R. campaign that increases visibility and builds credibilityHow, where and why to create marketing videos that workThe difference between just building a list and building a list that can’t get enough of you and your businessHow to create an information product that sellsWhy and how to implement a newsletter strategy into your marketing mix How to attract new clients and increase your “buzz” the right way – with blogsHow to build or join a Joint Venture campaign that puts money in your pockets How to create an online viral marketing campaign to outpace any competitorThe best way to create a social media campaign and image that reflects your brand and sells your products and servicesAnd SO much more!But don’t delay,sign up here, because on January 15th the price will go up to $147. Technorati Tags: Kathleen Gage, Dave Evans, Craig Cannings, Willie Crawford, Aaron Kahlow, Denise Wakeman, MaryPat Kavanaugh, Suzanne Evans, Jay Estis, Paulette Ensign, Sydni Craig-Hart, Linda Claire Puig, Peter Wailes, Shel Horowitz, Kathryn Hendershot, Margie Fisher Labels: Aaron Kahlow, Craig Cannings, Dave Evans, Denise Wakeman, Jay Estis, Kathleen Gage, Linda Claire Puig, MaryPat Kavanaugh, Paulette Ensign, Suzanne Evans, Sydni Craig-Hart, Willie Crawford |
12/15/2008
Blog Writing Basics (Part 1 of 2)
| Blog writing is a great way for businesses to connect with their customer base and promote their business. You can establish yourself as an expert in your particular industry and build a loyal community of readers that will request your advice and provide feedback about your business and the products/services your provide. Successful blog writing requires a basic understanding of writing for the web and engaging your readers: • Write less Add as much information as possible using the least amount of words. Strive for writing around 150-250 words. Less than this doesn't give you room to say much and more than this can result in an easily forgotten, long-winded post. Remember that most people scan the information presented online instead of reading all the details. Keeping your posts short and to the point makes the information you share easy to digest. • Use catchy headlines and sub-headlines The Headlines and sub headlines in blog writing are what grab a reader's attention and make them want to read more. They also make it easy for readers to scan your post for information that stands out. The titles of the headlines and sub headlines give readers an idea of what the content that follows contains. They can go back to read the paragraph in its entirety to get more information. • Use bullet points Bullet points are great for listing important information. They make your content easy to read and scan. They can also help highlight important information that might otherwise be hidden in a paragraph. • Maintain consistency Write your blog posts in a consistent tone and style. If you are writing in third person, remain in third person throughout your post. • Optimize keywords Learn basic SEO techniques by infusing your posts with popular keywords so that it gets picked up by the search engines. Don't go overboard and overstuff your post with a keyword phrase. The search engines will consider it spam and your blog writing will sound awkward. Keep the tone of your writing natural and conversational, as if you were talking to a friend. Labels: blog writing basiscs, blogging 101, keyword usage in blogs, use headlines in blogs |
12/10/2008
Understanding the Difference between Features and Benefits
| Distinguishing the difference between features and benefits can be a challenge for many business owners and do-it-yourself copywriters and marketers. But understanding the differences could drastically increase your sales. The features describes your product or service, while the benefits describes how the product or service can help your customers solve a problem. Why people make purchases When people are deciding to make a purchase, they need more than technical knowledge about a product's specs. People buy things based on emotion, and then they rationalize the purchase with logic. This is the reason listing the features of a product or service is useless unless you can also get your customers to see a benefit they can appreciate. What's in it for me? If you sell cars, a feature of your cars might be the aerodynamic, lightweight design. A benefit is that customers will save on gas – a big benefit in today's economy. No matter what you are selling, customers want to know "what's-in-it-for-me?" Always make sure to back up the features of your product or service with clear benefits so they can clearly see why they should make the purchase. marketing copy, marketing research, Allison Nazarian, marketing Labels: allison nazarian, copywriting for marketing, features and benefits in marketing, marketing copy, marketing research |
12/08/2008
Writing a Call to Action that Gets Results
| When you are writing marketing material, the right call to action can make all the difference. No matter what you are selling, your call to action should be as specific as possible and written for your audience. Your goal is to motivate them to buy what you're selling. Know what you want them to do You have to know what you want your customers to do to get the results you expect. Do you want them to download a free report? Buy something? Visit your website? Make sure that your intentions are clear. Make your call to action visible Don't bury your call to action somewhere in the middle of a densely written paragraph where it could be missed. Whether you state it in the beginning, the middle or at the end of your copy, make sure that it can clearly be seen. Make sure it stands apart from other copy by using white space, attention grabbing sub headlines or a bulleted list. •Make sure the call to action is clear Don't leave your readers guessing about what you're asking them to do. Make your message very simple and actionable. •Make it compelling Show your readers how your product or service benefits them upfront. Let them know why they shouldn't refuse your offer. •Create a sense of urgency Give readers a time period to respond to your offer. Experts say setting a deadline increases your response. •Repeat the call to action if you direct readers to a website This is very important if you want your customers to buy or sign up for something. Repeating your call to action reminds them of what you want them to do. Technorati Tags:marketing copy, process of business writing, call to action, internet marketing, allison nazarian Labels: allison nazarian, call to action, Internet Marketing, marketing, marketing copy, process of business writing |