Archive for the ‘eMarketing Newsletter’ Category

Here (finally) is the third in this ecourse on emarketing. Of course it should be titled “be sure to make time to do your marketing” as this was supposed to have been sent last month but we got sidetracked releasing so many cracking websites into the world!

This month we are going to talk about websites – what they are for and what different types of website there are. A website is the central hub of any emarketing strategy. It is the very focus that you aim to push people towards so they are one step closer to buying from you.

What’s a website for?

It’s a tool. A powerful one and no amount of ads, mail campaigns, business cards, radio adverts or trade shows can substitute for having a website. A website is there 24 hours a day, every day of the year promoting your business.

Broadly speaking websites are for one of these activities:

• Immediate online sales – an eshop that allows customers to buy online.
• Lead generation for future online sales – asks users to opt in for free info, samples, advice etc… It’s the permission based marketing I talked about in the last email.
• Lead generation for future offline sales – service providers, plumbers and builders etc… Not a product you can sell online, but a service or product that can be demonstrated online.

And loosely websites fall into one of these five types:

• Squeeze Page – a one page “take it or leave it” site. These types of site exist to collect contact or purchase a single item. They can be effective if you have a proven product or service that you want to promote.
• Sales Page – we’ve all seen them, the big long page that scrolls down persuading you to “buy now”. They exist because they work and it can work for most business types.
• Blogs – emarketing and blogs are a good fit. This series of emails is backed up by my website and that is a customised WordPress blog. This means you can go from here to the site and discuss the article and read past ones. Blogs are a quick and easy way to communicate and establish yourself as an industry expert.
• Membership Websites – allow certain visitors access the best content. Subscription websites are good for residual income to cover the development of the site and it’s premium content.
• Brochure website – just as it sounds, a website to publish detailed information about a company, it’s products and services.

What questions should you be asking?

• Do you have well defined short and long term goals for your website?
• What type of website should I use to achieve my goals?

If you have not thought about what you expect your website to achieve, how will you know if it is working?

Next time…

In the next email we will look at turning visitors into customers.

As promised, the second of my absolutely free e-marketing e-mails will be looking at some mistakes you might be making in your online strategy.

1 – No planning

The most common mistake of all and it’s a big one. If you don’t know why your business website exists neither will your potential clients.

Features of a lack of planning:

• No updates for a long while.
• Outdated or missing information.
• Broken links.
• Annoying music, blinking text etc…

Know why you have a website and what you expect from it.

2 – No research

Want to start a website selling flea collars you would want to know how many people are searching for them and what else they are searching for.

The Internet has loads of often free tools to help you research keywords. One from Google is this Key Word Tool. Just type in the word or phrase and search away.

Also remember to search Google for your keywords to find out who your competitors are and how you compare to them.

3 – Poor Navigation Design

Ever been to a website and not been able to easily work out the navigation. What did you do? Yes, you left it and went elsewhere.

So will your clients. The “stay” or “go” decision usually takes 10 seconds. The key is to make it easy for them to stay!

4 – Ineffective Copy

Direct response copy is what your website needs to the intended audience to take action. Attention grabbing headlines, risk free guarantees and customer testimonials are what will make the potential client make contact with you.

5 – No Permission Based E-Mail Marketing

This very email is permission based marketing. At the very start I asked you if I could send it to you and you didn’t say no! Collect the names and email addresses of people that visit your website and keep in contact with them.

Marketing in general is about building relationships and is not a “one-off” sale. Internet marketing is like building a personal relationship, it takes time, effort and commitment.

6 – No Traffic Strategy

Having a website does not automatically mean people will visit it. You need the right people to visit your website.

The right people don’t just happen upon it, you need to use well-thought out strategies to get them there.

7 – Not Using Social Media

It’s inexpensive, it’s everywhere. Far to many business miss out on the power of social Media – Facebook & Twitter.

You can follow Zedoary on twitter – http://twitter.com/zedoary and on Facebook.

The Internet is all about connecting with people and we are seeing the evidence of the effects more and more each day.

8 – No Online/Offline Combination

Not having a website is not an option but most sales still take place offline. Link the two together.

Make sure you include your website url on all your offline marketing – business cards, letterheads, brochures, flyers, newspaper ads, vouchers, radio, tv, direct letters – everywhere. Promote it, talk about it and get people to it.

9 – Not Tracking Campaigns

All marketing has a cost – money, time, energy… and this is why you must track everything you do as it is the only way of tracking what is and is not working for you.

Combinations of landing pages and Google Analytics allows you to measure offline and online marketing to let you get rid of strategies that are not working and keep and develop those that are.

10 – Failing to Follow Up

Following up can turn a prospect into a client and clients that are ignored after a sale will take their business elsewhere.

Auto responders, ticketing systems, emails, social media even the phone are all ways to keep in touch. Technology can make following up easy to manage so you should develop plans for using technology to always follow up.

Next time…

In the next email we will look at the role of the website in e-marketing.

This was originally distributed to the e-marketing newsletter subscriber members.  Please join that mailing list to be sure of receiving the hints and tips in these emails first!

Firstly a thank you for agreeing to receive these emails, I’m sure that you will find them useful and hopefully you will pick up some ideas to help promote your business using the internet.

These emails will also be available on the Zedoary website and you will also be able to comment and discuss the article there.

The Power of the Internet

There are many ways of using the Internet to help promote your business.

In future emails we will be looking at how you can:

• Get instant information about prospects, customers and competitors.
• Create demonstration videos, audios, email campaigns, digital newsletters and e-books.
• Expand social and business networks to like-minded groups.
• Have conversations on blogs, forums and wikis.
• Educate prospects and clients using podcasts and webinars.
• Stay connected with customers by putting communications on auto-pilot.
• Track and measure marketing efforts.
• Create and deliver your professional message in minutes.
• Read and answer emails over mobile phones, PDAs and mobile devices.

The Internet is here – you need to use it.

E-marketing

The best e-marketing does not happen by mistake but needs to be deliberately planned.

The e-marketing will also amaze with unique “wows”, offer value of content and involve the prospects and customers and encourage them to engage in the experience.

To help you think about your current situation I have created a little survey. You can fill it in by going to http://www.formspring.com/forms/?712797-aRfbdefrh5.  It will hopefully give you some food for thought as we develop the ideas through these emails.

The responses will be sent to me as well, don’t worry – it’s not for nefarious reasons, just to help me help you with these emails.

Next time…

In the next email we will look at the e-marketing mistakes that you might be making right now.