3/10/2011 Online Strategies for Offline Businesses John Gontowicz Hainesport, NJ 609-668-0695 www.sj-mobile-local.com [email protected] Handout: www.yourpcguide.com/im.pdf SJ-Mobile-Local Fusion • John Gontowicz has been selling on the Internet since 1997 • In 2008 he sold over $24,000 on ebay in less than 3 months • Three businesses: �Computer virus removal and repairs �Computer application training �Helping businesses get on Google Places, Google Local, Mobile, Website development, Search engine optimization, email marketing, social media management, blogs, and analytics that track how a customer finds you (free report, phone, email, website and more). 1 3/10/2011 Top ten trends for 2011 • • • • • • • • Location-based Marketing Instant Search Social Media Monitoring Social Media Marketing Mobile Marketing Online Advertising Email Marketing Social Shopping – Blippy is a community of people helping each other discover interesting things by reviewing & discussing almost everything we buy... Link an account and start reviewing the awesome things you buy. • Instant Messaging/chat on your site • Online Television Top Ten Websites 1. Facebook 2. Google 3. Youtube 4. Yahoo 5. Live 6. Wikipedia 7. MSN 8. Microsoft 9. Baidu 10.QQ 2 3/10/2011 Steps needed to Succeed Online • Obtain web hosting – http://www.sj-mobilelocal.com/hostgator/ • Register a domain name http://www.yourpcguide.com/host/godaddy/ • Create a main web page where you can get visitor’s first name and email address • You Need to build a list - http://www.sj-mobilelocal.com/aweber/ • Develop a relationship with subscribers on your list • Determine the exact needs of the subscribers on your list • Create products that exactly meet the needs of your subscribers Steps to Take to Put Your Business online • Create an interactive website – Direct Response works best – Your website should answer – What’s in it for Me? – Post Card/Brochure sites do not do as well as WIIFM sites. – Newsletters are important – Consumer Awareness Guides • My Hosting company: http://goo.gl/2NeIi • www.sj-mobile-local.com/hostgator 3 3/10/2011 Capture website visitors • Have a way to capture at least a person’s first name and email address – This is for “opt-in” email, where you can keep in constant contact with your potential customers or clients • Email Marketing Tips and Video on aweber – www.sj-mobile-local.com/aweber • You can create an account on the link above for $1.00 for the first month as well. Create a Google Places Page • You can link to your site • You can advertise locally and create a mobile webpage for the smartphones • You can offer coupons and generate a QR Code • Google as of 2/17, includes social marketing results in with the local results. 4 3/10/2011 One Secret • Find something that works and do it again and again. • When you focus you get more efficient – You will find great shortcuts – You get smarter – You become the master of that one simple method. • This then becomes your method, your technique – Once you see the profits you will focus everything on that method. Survey your potential customers • • • • Who they are What problems they have How you can provide solutions to their problems You can promote affiliate products while you are learning how to do this – Will the product serve your audience. – Promote a like product • www.surveymonkey.com 5 3/10/2011 You have to Give Value • Audience is looking for the answer to a question • Offer free resources • Video you want to share • Can you make their like easier you have a customer • Allowing people know who you are • More value you give, the more you will get in return • What’s In It For Me (WIIFM) Generating Web Traffic 6 3/10/2011 To Make a Sale • You need the right message • You Need the right product • You need the right time • You need a way to communicate with your customers. • You need a way to accept payment. • You need a way to deliver the product. The Importance of Over-Delivering • The Internet is a level playing field for every Internet marketer and merchant out there. – – This is precisely why you should over-deliver • You can start over-delivering by providing superb support for your customers • When you provide excellent customer support, you're already ahead of most of your competitors give your customers a pleasant surprise when they make a purchase from you. • The final way is to build a long-lasting relationship with your customers. 7 3/10/2011 Your sites online presence • • • • Does the site link out to many other sites? Has the site got good inbound links? Is the site well established? Does the site perform well on keyword searches? – Other than typing in your company name. Your site • Is it easy for a potential customer to contact you? – Company name, address, phone, opt-in, and email should be visible on every page, before the “fold” • Do you publish resources or reviews? • Do you invite articles or gest posts? • Do you interview people for opinions, evaluations, or case studies? • Do you get their email address and first name for free report, newsletter, contest, … 8 3/10/2011 Why Do Online Businesses Fail? • Well, many of the same reasons that offline businesses fail as it turns out. – Lack of knowledge about a particular market, – lack of budget, – no traffic, – dull ideas, – and no technical skills 4 main ways to make money online • Create your own product or service to sell directly to your customers • Sell someone else's product (Affiliate Marketing) • Create a site that gets lots of visitors and sell Advertising space; or • Any combination thereof 9 3/10/2011 Some ways of Marketing On-Line • • • • • • • • • • • • • Website Email Newsletter Ezines – Targeted Traffic Classified Ads Off-Line Promotions to get traffic Social Marketing Email Signature File Autoresponder Specials that are only available on-line Pay-per-click Referral / Affiliate Marketing Programs Blog More Ways • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Traffic Exchanges Article Directories Forums Viral Marketing – Free Report Joint-Venture Resell Rights Opt-in Marketing Adwords Banner Ads Ebay, Amazon, and other sites to sell online Press Releases SEO – Search Engine Optimization Podcasting Video – Youtube Local Business Sites Signs for your car, decals 10 3/10/2011 Offline Traffic Tips • Include Your URL on Stationery, Cards, and Literature • Promote using traditional media – View your website as an information adjunct to the ad. • Use a two-step approach: – (1) capture readers' attention with the ad, – (2) then refer them to a URL where they can obtain more information and perhaps place an order. • Develop a Free Service – It's boring to invite people, "Come to our site and learn about our business." It's quite another to say "Use the free kitchen remodeling calculator available exclusively on our site." The Sale Cycle - WIIFM • Getting the potential customer to your web site • Offering the visitor something to get their first name and email address • Through an autoresponder follow-up with your customer giving them advice, tips, stories. – Do not try to push your product • Develop a method for turning prospects into customers • What do you do if they do not buy your product today? 11 3/10/2011 12 3/10/2011 13 3/10/2011 What is the goal of the website? • • • • On-line Brochure Content, Articles Get visitor information A Call for Action Ways to drive traffic to your website • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Pay Per Click ads on Google and Facebook Article Marketing, Ezine directories, Social Bookmarks Blogging, Squidoo, Answers.yahoo.com Social Networking: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare Coupon and deals sites, QR Codes Backlinks from Popular Sites Forum & Discussions websites Video, including YouTube / Itunes (Podcasting) Flickr and other photo sharing sites Slideshare.net Affiliates, Referrals, Printed Media, CDs, DVDs On-Line Directories, Joint Ventures Review Sites, Google Places, Google Maps, Mobile Phones Opt-In Lists (Autoresponders), Email Marketing Search Engines: Google, Bing, Yahoo (Keyword Search) 14 3/10/2011 Most People Find What They are Looking for On-Line •They Use: •Google •Yahoo •BING •Social Networks – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, FourSquare •Yelp, SuperPages, Yellowpages, Where, Digg, YouTube, Groupon, Google Places and more… Keyword Research • Probably the most difficult step involved in building and growing a business on the Internet – Vital to your success online – They show you what people are searching for – You can cater your website to what they want • Think of keywords as Jellybeans – Organize them according to flavor • If you optimize on the wrong keywords you will never get noticed or see any results. 15 3/10/2011 Research – The Key to Success • You have to see if others are buying your products – Is there a lot of competition? – Little competition? – Is there a need for you product? – How many searches Worldwide, Nationally, Locally Intention of a Searcher • Three different keywords, but three different intentions: – How to Grow Organic vegetables – Where to buy Organic vegetables – Where to buy Organic vegetable seeds • Three different keywords, but with same intention: – How to build a birdcage – Bird cage building tips – Ho do I make a birdcage for my bird? 16 3/10/2011 Find Problem Statements • If you are interested in cars, type in “how car” –You will see: • How does a hybrid car work • How do I sell my car • How do I paint my car • How do I become a used car dealer • How do I buy a car • And many more… Focus on a Specific Problem Area • It cannot be general – How to buy a car will show 167 million websites • Find synonyms or alternate spellings of words – Car: cars, vehicle, vehicles, automobiles, automobile, auto, autos, sedan, sedans, limo, etc.. – Buy: buy, purchase, acquire, get, obtain, barter 17 3/10/2011 Cluster Your Keywords • Do this and you can – Figure out how to organize them better on your website – You now can make copy that supports the searches – Identify new products to offer to your audience – Find new sales by identifying specific problems that your product or service can solve. What are keyword matching options? The four keyword matching options determine which Google searches can trigger your ads to appear. These options can help you control who sees your ads. You can set each search-targeted keyword to have one of those four settings. To use a keyword matching option, just add the appropriate punctuation to your keyword: • Broad match: keyword Allows your ad to show on similar phrases and relevant variations • Phrase match: "keyword" Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase • Exact match: [keyword] Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase exclusively • Negative match: -keyword Ensures your ad doesn't show for any search that includes that term 18 3/10/2011 Keywords – Most Important Item in SEO • Choosing the Right Keywords to Optimize for – when you start optimization, the first thing you need to consider is the keywords that describe the content of your site best and that are most likely to be used by users to find you. • Keyword Density of keywords on your site – The recommended density is 3-7% for the major 2 or 3 keywords and 1-2% for minor keywords. • Keywords in Special Places – Keywords are very important not only as quantity but as quality as well – i.e. if you have more keywords in the page title, the headings, the first paragraphs – this counts more that if you have many keywords at the bottom of the page. – Keywords in URLs and File Names – Keywords in Page Titles – Keywords in Headings 19 3/10/2011 20 3/10/2011 21 3/10/2011 The Key to Getting Found is to Find Out What Ordinary People are Looking For • • • • • • http://www.wordstream.com/keyword-niche-finder http://www.wordstream.com/keywords http://www.wordstream.com/keyword-grouper http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html http://www.wordpot.com/ https://adwords.google.com/o/Targeting/Explorer? __u=1000000000&__c=1000000000&ideaRequestT ype=KEYWORD_IDEAS#search.none Advertise your business on Google • http://adwords.google.com/ • Traffic Estimator • Get quick traffic estimates for new keywords without adding them to an account or using the AdWords sign-up wizard. https://adwords.google.com/select/TrafficEsti matorSandbox 22 3/10/2011 Search Engine Optimization - 5 Tips • Add or Claim Your Local Listing – First, you will want to add or claim your local business listing in the major search engines: Google Maps, Google Places, Yahoo! Local, and Bing Local. – Many other sites will automatically find and list information about your business. Usually, this means that your website is left unclaimed, hanging out there in directory limbo. – You can use www.getlisted.org Location, Location, Location • Use Geographic-Specific Keywords in Your Pages and Title Tags Make certain your website is found when local searchers add a city, town, county, or zip code, to your important keywords and phrases. If you are a plumber, for example, use phrases like "plumber burlington county" or “burlington county plumber", or "search engine optimization burlington county" so that you will rank higher for these types of searches. 23 3/10/2011 Be Accurate and Consistent • Make Sure Your Local Business Information is Accurate and Consistent This is crucial. This is about trust. Make sure that your business information is both accurate and consistent wherever it is made available on the Internet. Use the exact same business name, address, phone numbers, website and email addresses, etc., whenever possible. Search Engine Strategies 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Write a Keyword-Rich Page Title Write a Description META Tag Include Your Keywords in Headers Position Your Keywords in the First Paragraph of Your Body Text Use Keywords in Hyperlinks Create a Site Map Develop Web Pages Focused on Each Your Target Keywords Fine-tune with Search Engine Optimization 24 3/10/2011 More Search Engine Strategies 9. Promote Your Local Business on the Internet 1. create a free listing for your local business on Google 10.Maps Local Business Center 1. 2. 3. 4. (www.google.com/local/add) Yahoo! Local (http://listings.local.yahoo.com) http://localbiz.sitesell.com/recommended10.html http://www.google.com/local/add/analyticsSplashPag e?gl=US&hl=en-US 11.Promote Your Video, Images, and Audio Content 9 SEO Tools • Make Sure Your Sitemap is up-to-date – Place pages into Categories (products or services) – My hosting Provider Creates one automatically. Click here for more information about hosting a website • Beef Up Your Product Descriptions – Do not copy from another site. Search Engines frown upon it – Use unique product descriptions using unique keywords. Use an on-line Thesaurus 25 3/10/2011 9 SEO Tools • Beef Up Your “read more” links – Do not use click here, read more, continued – Use: “for more information on the premium 100% cotton Philadelphia Phillies cap…” • Do not forget the plural version of your keywords – Search engines rank plural and singular – Trend • When someone starts to look for products they use plural • When they narrow down what they want they search singular 9 SEO Tools • Use simple URLs – How many times have you seen: http://www.mydomain.com/gifts/under100/12345 6/3546282920/template/products/finally.htm – Instead use: • www.yourpcguide.com/carbonite • Create Unique Title Tags – My site: • Computer Repair | Computer Training | Best Computer Service in Hainesport NJ 08036 26 3/10/2011 9 SEO Tools • Create enticing Description Tags – When you show up in the search engines make sure you have an ad there and tell people what to do next. A Good heading, phone number and location will make you stand out • Take Advantage of Product Reviews – This has become a huge marketing tool – Boosts keyword density without getting penalized 9 SEO Tools • Optimize your product images – Use <ALT> tags behind the picture with keywords. – Use <TITLE> tags on the pictures with keywords describing the picture 27 3/10/2011 SEO Free Tools • http://www.webconfs.com/ Use meta tags • Meta tags provide information about a Web page. • The most important meta tag is the title tag. – This tells search sites and visitors what the page is about. – It should include your keyword phrase near the beginning. • Meta descriptions are also important. – Provide keywords and a clear, accurate description. – Think of the description as a marketing tool enticing visitors to your site. • Put in most popular keywords in the Meta Tag area 28 3/10/2011 Create a different Meta Tag description for each page • YourPCGuide.com – We help people feel less frustrated with their computer. PC-U, located at 69 Easton Way, Hainesport, NJ 08036, 609-668-0695, [email protected]. • Computer Training | Your PC Guide – Call John at 609-668-0695 or email: [email protected] ... www.yourpcguide.com/computer-training/ - Cached • Seminars | Your PC Guide – Call John at 609-668-0695 or email: [email protected] ... www.yourpcguide.com/computer-training/seminars/ Cached • Free Software to Keep Your Computer Running Smooth | Your PC Guide – Call John at 609-668-0695 or email: [email protected]. Request an Appointment · Tell Us What Kind Of Problem You Are Having ... www.yourpcguide.com/recommended.../free-anti-virus-software/ Cached • Your Computer Connection | Your PC Guide – Call John at 609-668-0695 or email: [email protected]. Request an Appointment ... Top 10 tips asked by customers – www.yourpcguide.com/top10.pdf ... www.yourpcguide.com/free-newsletters/your-computer-connection/ Cached • Your Computer Connection: You Love Your PC, right? – Feb 14, 2009 ... Please visit my website - www.yourpcguide.com If you want to receive a computer tips newsletter, visit www.yourpcguide.com ... 29 3/10/2011 On Your Web Site • • • • • • • Need to create multiple headlines Ask others to critique your headlines Create multiple headlines and test them Google search puts emphasis on Headlines Place Audio and/or video Offer them something free Give the prospect direction Content is King • Search engines (and your readers) love fresh content and providing them with regularly updated, relevant content is a recipe for success. Generally, when a site is frequently updated, this increases the probability that the spider will revisit the site sooner. 30 3/10/2011 Focus on content • Without useful content, your site will never get a good ranking. • So, your content should provide value to readers. • Search sites prefer frequently updated content. – This can be done by blogging and articles. • You need to use your keyword phrase within your content. • Keyword density – – – – That's how often the phrase appears on the page. It should appear several times. Use it near the opening of the first paragraph. Also, make sure it appears in bold or in a heading on the page. Theme or Relevant Content • One of the intricacies of optimizing a company site is that it has to be serious. Also, if your content smells like advertising and has no practical value for your visitors, this content is not that valuable. 31 3/10/2011 Bold and Italic • When you have lots of text, the next question is how to make the important items stand out from the crowd – – for both humans and search engines. • While search engines (and their spiders – the programs that crawl the Web and index pages) cannot read text the way humans do, they do have ways of getting the meaning of a piece of text. • Headings are one possibility, bold and italic are another way to emphasize a word or a couple of words that are important. Duplicate Content • Duplicate content can be a serious problem. But it is not an obstacle that cannot be overcome. First, you need to periodically check the Web for pages that are similar to yours. You can use http://copyscape.com. • Only 30% can be similar 32 3/10/2011 Promoting Your Site • Submit Your Site to Search Engines, Directories, forums – Google – Bing – Yahoo • Search directories are usually maintained by humans and the sites in them are reviewed for relevancy after they have been submitted. • DMOZ and Yahoo!. Web Analytics Unifies Online Data Across Channels • In 2010, web analytics will focus on integrating consumer data from the web, search, mobile and social measurement • 88% of marketers are already using or planning to use web analytics this year 33 3/10/2011 Compare Sites • www.compete.com • Shows top search terms • See how you compare to your competitors How do you get your site to the top of the search engine rankings? • Here's what Google has to say: • "Webmasters can improve the rank of their sites by increasing the number of high-quality sites that link to their pages". – Source: Google Webmaster Central • To see how many links your site has, in the search box on Google type in: – Links: www.yourdomainname.com 34 3/10/2011 Links – Another Important SEO item • Why Links are Important – Probably the word that associates best with Web is “links”. – That is what hypertext is all about – you link to pages you like and get linked by pages that like your site. – The Web is woven out of interconnected pages and spiders follow the links, when indexing the Web. – If not many sites link to you, then it might take ages for search engines to find your site • Inbound (Backlink) and Outbound Links – Backlinks are very important because they are supposed to be a measure of the popularity of your site among the Web audience. • Anchor Text – Anchor text is the word(s) that you click on to open the hyperlink • Do not buy links in bulk 35 3/10/2011 A Couple of Linking Strategies • Submit Your Site to Key Directories – www.dmoz.com – http://dir.yahoo.com • Submit Your Site to Trade Organization Sites and • Specialized Directories • Request Reciprocal Links – http://magic.sitesell.com/recommended10.html • Write Articles for Others to Use in Websites and Newsletters • Issue News/Press Releases: www.prweb.com Pay attention to Links – Search engines see incoming links as votes for your site. • Your rank will go up. – So, it is important to have other sites link to yours. Network with other Webmasters. Notify related sites when you post new content. And, use a service like Ping-O-Matic to notify blog aggregators of new postings. – With links, reputation is important. • Links from link farms or other shady sites can harm your search rank. Search sites also frown on link exchange programs. – Likewise, be careful about linking to other sites. Linking to a bad one can also harm your rank. 36 3/10/2011 • Don't Reinvent the Wheel Yahoo! Site Explorer https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/mysites offers and easy method of comparing the number and kind of your competitors' inbound links. Are there popular sites, with content similar to yours, that are linking to your competitor? If so, do your best to get a link from those sites, or ones that are at least as popular and relevant. NOTE: Do not copy content directly from another site. Create lots of original, and engaging content for the pages that you want to rank high. As well, never post the same content twice on your site. If you believe it is necessary to do so, consult with an SEO expert before posting the duplicate content as this could negatively affect your rankings. 37 3/10/2011 38 3/10/2011 Summary - What woks online • • • • • • Write Fresh and Catchy Content Listen to Your Community Engage in Forums and Discussions Monitor How Your Site is Used Take Part in the Online Community Submit to Directories and Galleries – www.dmoz.com • Use Email Signatures • Have Business Cards at Hand . . . Always Google Tools to Help You Along • Google Webmaster Central: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/ bin/topic.py?topic=19494 • Pay for Advertising • Write Articles • Create a Blog • Get on Twitter • Record Podcasts and Videocasts 39 3/10/2011 • • • • • • To Build Traffic to your site, or business Offer Newsletters and RSS feeds Send Seasonal Cards and E-Cards Hold a contest Run an event Get free publicity by doing a charity event Sponsor a community event – free shredding in parking lot • Advertise on mobile Do not limit your information to just your site • Place Your Content Elsewhere • Create Tutorials and put them online – http://net.tutsplus.com/ – www.youtube.com – www.slideshare.net • Give Away Free Stuff – Reports, newsletters, free e-books, audio books • Local Communities - http://www.topix.com 40 3/10/2011 Other Tools • Release Press Releases – www.prweb.com • Free Sitemap: http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ • Website Speed Test: http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/ analyze/ • Add Video to Your Website to Improve Your Search Engine Ranking • Solicit Consultation Services - Skype • Create an Affiliate Program • Give out Vouchers and Special Offers • Create an QR code for Mobile smartphones 41 3/10/2011 Google Places and Bing & Yahoo Local • Make Sure Your Local Business Information is Accurate and Consistent This is crucial. This is about trust. Make sure that your business information is both accurate and consistent wherever it is made available on the Internet. Use the exact same business name, address, phone numbers, website and email addresses, etc., whenever possible. Are you #1? • 1. Sign up for your competitor’s newsletters and whatever other free goodies they may have. Be sure to use an alias — because there is nothing more annoying than when I see that a competitor has signed up for my info with no intentions of ever doing business with me. Blaah! You can do this easily with a free gmail account. I created one specifically for competitor newsletters. • 2. Take a look at your competitor’s info in Alexa. While this isn’t necessarily an accurate look at stats (only computers with the alexa browser toolbar installed are tracked), it does give you a gage of your competition’s traffic and importance. • 3. Google their name and any variations of it. Or better yet, add their name as one of your “google alerts”, and you will be able to see on a daily basis what blogs, sites, etc. have picked up their content and/or have written something about them. This gives you a great idea of just how “good” and “respected” and popular the site owner’s content is. 42 3/10/2011 Review Sites More review sites • • • • • www.hotpot.com Places.google.com www.yelp.com www.merchantcircle.com Specialty Review sites: – Auto repair – Cars – Electronics – And more… 43 3/10/2011 Coupon sites • • • • • • Groupon - http://www.groupon.com/r/uu2660435 Comparison Shopping - www.thefind.com Living Social - https://livingsocial.com/redeem_invite/20443070-johnrg?ref=lnk Mamapedia - http://www.mamapedia.com KGB Deals - www.kgbdeals.com Plum district - https://www.plumdistrict.com/?ref=ub213c023555 • Eversave - http://eversave.com/share/UgS7 • Zulily - http://www.zulily.com/invite/jgontowicz312 • Buxr.com - http://www.buxr.com/?u=77419 Restaurants • Register with Restaurants.com • Have you menu as a pdf file so potential customers can view it. • List your specials • Pictures of restaurant, menu items, some of the staff 44 3/10/2011 Blogging • Have a page on your site that you “blog” on. – Website content changes – Keep the content new. – Ask for comments and feedback • This will get your potential customers involved. • You can have a separate blog and link it to your site and social media links Social Marketing • At a minimum: – www.facebook.com/yourpcguide • Or on Facebook search for South Jersey Mobile Local – www.twitter.com/yourpcguide – www.linkedin.com/yourpcguide.com – www.foursquare.com/yourpcguide • Have links to your social sites and vice versa • www.stumbleupon.com • www.squidoo.com/yourpcguide 45 3/10/2011 Some Examples • Texas Roadhouse has experienced a 40% increase in Web site traffic directly from online listings found on local search, mobile and social platforms such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, YP.com and Facebook. • When in a store, you can multitask by keeping one eye on the shelves and one on your smart phone, You can scan bar codes, compare prices, read product reviews and even make purchases. • For example, say you want a book at Borders, you can immediately look up the title on his phone. If you find a cheaper price on Amazon or another website, you can buy it through your phone while still standing inside the bookstore. • You can literally shop online wherever you are Mobile Stats • Currently, about 28 percent of all cell phone users have smart phones, according to Nielsen, but that's expected to jump to more than 50 percent by the end of this year. And some analysts predict Web traffic on mobile phones will overtake that on desktop computers within five years. • In a December survey conducted for the NRF, about 11 percent of shoppers said they had used a smart phone for holiday shopping. Of those who did, 26 percent made a purchase, 34 percent read product reviews and 60 percent browsed for gifts on their phones. • 60 million iPhones on the market, and 160,000 Android phones being activated everyday 46 3/10/2011 Offline advertising • Tent cards on counter with Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare addresses • Phone # that mobile phone users send a text message to – This puts the customer on your mailing list • QR code at the entrance – Ideally a window so when someone walks by they can scan it to get information. • You can send them to your site, your menu, offers, mailing list and more… • Business cards (have a unique email address so that you can track how many people contact you using your business card), stationary, promo items • Referral Program Email advertising • Create a signature that has: – Name, company name, address, phone #, website, more info email (make the email different so you can track how many contact you via email) • Create an email using your website name. – Having an email like comcast, aol, hotmail, and other “free” addresses do not promote your business. 47 3/10/2011 If you are looking for what to sell on-line NICHE MARKETING If you want Success Online • Helping people is your #1 focus! • Clear understanding of what they want and how you can help them get it will drive all of your: – Traffic generation – Product creation – Newsletter and Blog content – Website creation and more! 48 3/10/2011 • Everything starts with and revolves around the people in your chosen niche – …So go out there and help a specific group of people get what they want (that’s the key)! • How to find topics people are emotional about • The easiest way online is to hang out at the same forums they hang out on. – Go to Google and type in, niche +forum Becoming An Expert in Your Field • A good, solid sales page will bring you orders. Add some personality to your sales message, however... and sales go through the roof. • Be the one marketer who says something worthwhile and exciting... and your customers will reward you handsomely. • This gives you the opportunity to become the "go to" guy in your niche -- the dude who knows what he's talking about, and talks about it in interesting ways. 49 3/10/2011 Trust & Personality • Trust is a hard thing to manufacture -- but it's a heck of a lot easier when you allow your prospect to see that he's dealing with someone who shares his passions, understands his situation, and communicates without nonsense. • People like to deal with people. • Especially people who have a little personality. • Think of the emails you get each day -- there are surely some people in your world whose emails you open immediately, happy to see them in your inbox. • Would you rather be – (a) Just one of TWENTY people selling Peanuts at a Baseball Game, or – (b) One of only TWO people selling Lemonade at that Baseball Game? • The answer is obvious, of course...you'll do much better as one of the TWO people selling Lemonade. • Knowing what your Product Market looks like before you try to sell Products in it is a very important concept for your Home-based Internet Business. 50 3/10/2011 Search Forums and Communities • • • • • • http://boardreader.com/ Blog Commenting – http://blogsearch.google.com/ Finding Related Blogs Quickly – http://www.commentkahuna.com/ www.ning.com – social niche networking sites – Forums – Blogs – Groups – Interact with other people interested in your product Four Questions • If you want to succeed at Niche Marketing, you need to be able to answer the following four questions about the people who are in any niche. 51 3/10/2011 #1: Who They Are • Is you niche based on: – Age, Sex, Marital Status – Profession, Job, or lack of job – Interests or Hobbies (new or existing) – Physical, emotional issues, characteristics – Current situation (Temporary or Permanent) #2: What They Want? • What are their 7 biggest fears? • What are their 7 biggest problems? • What’s their #1 “secret desire” they may not even share with a spouse? • What do virtually all of them buy or spend money on sooner or later? 52 3/10/2011 #3: How Can You Help Them? • Get better results? • Get the same or better results faster? • Once you know that, then ask: – How can You help everyone already selling to the niche market to get more of what they want in the process without being viewed as a competitor? • Seen as complementary, not competitive. 5 Reasons Why People Buy On-Line • • • • • Make money Save money Save time Avoid effort Escape pain – Who is out there with a problem that I can help? 53 3/10/2011 #4: How can you provide high value at a price you both feel is fair? • Wallace Wattles in “The Science of Getting Rich” calls it “Use Value” • In the above picture, if you were an Eskimo, which has more “use value” Niche Marketing • Selling Niches are how most successful homebased online retailers keep their business making money. • Why compete in mainstream, expensive product markets, when you can make a better, reliable income selling an affordable product niche? 54 3/10/2011 • Examples: – Guys that want to date more. – Pregnant Women ( Do you think they think about their baby more than once a day?) – People Behind On Their Bills (Every time the phone rings!) – People About To Get Married Couples About to Divorce – First Time Home Buyers – Parents With Children • See how all of those people will think about their situations and problems once or more per day? When you think about something often…it is important to you. Niche Can be Anything that a Hungry Crowd Needs Answers to 55 3/10/2011 Some More Niches • • • • • • People interested in origami People that want recipes People with weeds in the yard People interested in hypnosis People with poor vocabularies People with poor memory • See how those are things that people might think about occasionally? If your selling a book on how to improve your memory…you will want to find a crowd that is affected by this problem EVERY DAY! Perhaps a college student or a grad student…or a professional salesperson that just can’t remember names. E-Mail Marketing • Email marketing is one of the most targeted and cost-effective ways of communicating with customers today. • It’s quick, easy to set up, measurable, and more environmentally friendly than traditional direct marketing. • It is used to Build Relationships. • It characterizes you as the Expert. 56 3/10/2011 Bribe – Free Stuff • Your product is worth what you convince your customer to perceive it’s worth. • People respond to free stuff. • They love getting things they would never otherwise be able to find like informationbased freebies best. You can pile them on like crazy... and it will cost just pennies to create. Offer five different free reports on something closely related to your product. – Create a opt-in form for each one so that you can track what people are interested in Free Report Examples • Selling garden equipment? – Add reports on growing prize winning roses, getting rid of gophers, designing decks and fountains and weed-free lawns. • Selling a diet? – Add info on finding cheap-but-expensive-looking clothes for your new figure... tips on getting free airfare to the Bahamas (because you can now wear bathing suits again)... and maybe a list of littleknown places to meet your future soul-mate. 57 3/10/2011 Insurance Free Reports • Selling insurance? – Add free reports on how to organize your important papers in a simple but easy-to-navigate home-made system. – What to do when you can’t find crucial phone numbers. – How to get the best mortgage rate in the country using the Internet. – What to put in an emergency kit is your garage to fix plumbing, electrical and structural problems until the contractor shows up. – A thousand and one ways to use duct tape. Email Strategies • Install a "Signature" in your E-Mail Program • Publish an E-Mail Newsletter • Autoresponders: – Aweber – Sendfree – Icontact • Ask for E-Mail Sign-ups • Send Transactional and Reminder E-Mails • Send Offers to Your Visitors and Customers John Gontowicz JRG Computer Consulting 69 Easton Way, Hainesport, NJ 08036 609-668-0695 Visit my site for computer tips and newsletters www.yourpcguide.com Do you have a computer question? [email protected] I found the greatest marketing idea of all time in a FREE book http://www.supertips.com/ultimate/x/?id=903 58 3/10/2011 Newsletters • Whether it’s a campaign for a new product, or a monthly newsletter, a well-crafted e-mail marketing program can help your business in the following ways: – Attract new customers – Build customer relationships – Up-sell and cross-sell products and services – Collect valuable customer feedback – Generate high ROI. Return On Investment • ROI • According to research conducted by the Direct Marketing Association, e-mail marketing generated $51.58 for every $1 spent. • As such, it outperforms all other direct marketing methods. • In fact, e-mail marketing is 20 times more costeffective than direct mail, and can cost less than a penny per e-mail. • Better yet, your ROI can be immediate when the Call to Action (CTA) is time-sensitive. • CTAs such as “Click here to take advantage of this offer” typically yield responses within 48 hours of the campaign. 59 3/10/2011 Newsletters Tips • Design It Well and They Will Click – Develop a simple layout – Create a look that promotes your brand – Use images – Drive action – Get to the point – Watch the file size – Consider getting help Many people are afraid of technology • Tell your message that will empower the customer, you have to overcome your fear of technology. • Have to integrate these 4 technologies – Blog – Main thing to express ideas. Focal Point and establish relationships. – Facebook – Continuation of your blog. Find and invite leaders. – Twitter – specials, tips, and conversation place. Identify who you want to follow. • Video – Need Camera, talk like a friend. Cam Studio software - free 60 3/10/2011 Some Other Strategies • • • • • • • Announce a Contest Devise Viral Marketing Promotion Techniques Paid Advertising Strategies Advertise in an E-Mail Newsletter Begin an Affiliate Program Purchase Pay Per Click (PPC) ads List Your Products with Shopping Comparison Bots and Auction Sites – – – – www.mysimon.com www.bizrate.com www.pricegrabber.com www.shopping.com • Shopping sites that include comparison features include: – Amazon – ebay – http://shopping.yahoo.com • Rent targeted, commercial e-mail lists • – www.google.com/search?&q=e-mail+list+broker An alternative to selling your own products AFFILIATE MARKETING 61 3/10/2011 Affiliate Programs • • • • • • • • Clickbank Linkshare Paydotcom www.cj.com www.shareasale.com www.associateprograms.com www.affiliateguide.com www.regnow.com Affiliate Success • MAKE SURE THE PRODUCT BEING OFFERED MATCH YOU • CHECK IT OUT • TALK TO CURRENT AFFILIATES • THINK LONG TERM • GO FOR QUALITY • HOW WELL DO THEY SELL • WHAT IS THE COOKIE DURATION? • DO YOU EARN 'BACKEND' COMMISSIONS? • DO YOU EARN RENEWAL COMMISSIONS? • DO THEY SUPPORT YOU? 62 3/10/2011 Affiliate Mistakes • NOT Dedicating Yourself to One Before Starting Another • NOT Concentrating on the Pre-Sell • NOT Using the Product • NOT Understanding Pay Per Click • NOT Having Clutter Free Web Pages • NOT Writing Your Own Copy • • • • NOT Choosing the Right Products for You NOT Capturing Incoming Email Addresses NOT Believing in Yourself! NOT Committing Yourself to Your Affiliate Marketing • NOT Having the Right Tools 63 3/10/2011 How to Find Complimentary Niche Markets • In Google or Bing Search: – niche +”affiliate program” – niche +affiliate – niche +associate This is my best method for generating traffic ARTICLE MARKETING 64 3/10/2011 Article Marketing • Offer a Free ecourse, Free tips newsletter, Free report • Article Directories: – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – www.ezinearticles.com www.goarticles.com www.articledashboard.com www.articlecity.com www.articlebiz.com www.ideamarketers.com www.searchwarp.com www.articlebag.com www.contentdesk.com www.isnare.com www.articlealley.com www.impactarticles.com www.articlelocker.com www.articleson.com www.articlehub.com www.zimbio.com • Write a review of a product. Use your very own experience to craft a real story. People love stories. • Find a related article on your topic and try to find fault with several points being made. Put on your "Devil's Advocate" hat and see the other side of the topic. Now, write about it. • Do a Google search on your topic and then take notes on all of the results that you see. The headlines alone will spark interesting ideas, and you'll have a unique article when it's all combined, using your own special sauce to cook it up. • Go to Amazon.com and look for books on your topic. Look for customer reviews or editor comments. • These are a valuable source of quotes but also unique ideas. Summarize in your own words. • Ask a friend a few questions about the topic at hand. Use their words and their point of view to craft a story about the product. 65 3/10/2011 RSS • RSS Feeds "Really Simply Syndication“ – Allows others to get your information and the content has links to your site – Notify www.pingoat.com and www.pingomatic.com to notify blog updates Google Webmaster Tools 66 3/10/2011 Additional Helpful Sites • • • • • • • RSS Tutorial http://publisher.yahoo.com/rss_guide/ EBay & Craigslist Writing Reviews – www.Amazon.com – www.Epinions.com Competition Analysis - www.compete.com Free Traffic • Forum Marketing – Go to www.Google.com and type in (your niche forum) • Article Marketing – www.EzineArticles.com – www.ArticleCity.com – www.goarticles.com • Blog Search Engine – www.technorati.com • Web Site Stats - www.statcounter.com 67 3/10/2011 Advertise on Web Radio • Make Money Online with an Internet Radio Show • BlogTalkRadio - Create a Radio Show and Reach Millions. Free for 30 days. Start now. Use Ebay and Amazon • http://pulse.ebay.com • http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html • http://pages.ebay.com/wantitnow/ • http://astore.amazon.com/yourcompconn-20 68 3/10/2011 Proliferation and Adoption of Other Online Channels Persist • New Channels Include: – Mobile (messaging, websites, applications) – Rich Media (video, podcasting, gaming) – Social Media (Social Networks, User Generated Content) • 84% plans to use emerging marketing channels over the next year 69 3/10/2011 Mobile Continues Its March Toward Greater Significance • 36% of Marketers are already conducting mobile marketing • 40% plan to incorporate mobile marketing this year • The combination of new devices, faster networks, and new location-aware technology will fuel this steady march. Marketers Continue to Nurture Social Media • Marketers fins themselves thrust into a world where they have to share control over their brand with consumers. • Blogs, product reviews, and other social media are mixed with marketing messages to shape consumers’ perception of company brands • 47% are already using social media • 23% plan to use it this year 70
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