MARKETING TODAY

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Article Marketing – 5 Winning Tips You Cannot Miss!

Article marketing is an effective marketing technique to drive targeted visitors to your website. The outcome of a good article marketing campaign is a warm audience that has been pre-sold on your ideas and sales pitch and ready to buy your product or subscribe for your service. If traffic and sales are what you struggle with, then you would not want to miss this incredibly powerful advertising method.

Not only is article marketing effective, it is also free. This is why it is the preferred website promotion method by many online marketers and authors. There are hundreds of article submission directories that would gladly accept your article submission for free. Once published, your website is ready to receive traffic. It doesn’t cost you a single cent and the quality of traffic is on par with PPC traffic. But there are some tips that you might want to use to put your article marketing on steroids.

Article Marketing Winning Tip 1 – Writing Informative Articles

People are looking for information which is why they landed on your article. Give them enough information as unique and useful as possible so that they feel they have gained something. You want to convince them that you know your stuff.

Article Marketing Winning Tip 2 – Keep it Short and Simple (KISS)

Be concise and to the point. Make your article simple to understand so that everyone knows what you are driving at. That way, you can reach the masses easily. Speak their lingo and cut away unnecessary technical jargon.

Article Marketing Winning Tip 3 – Pack Benefits into Article Title

Tell your readers what they can expect from reading your article. The best place to do so is the article title. Sell the benefits to entice them to read. Remember that you only have a few seconds to grab their attention. So give some thought to your article titles as that is the first thing they see.

Article Marketing Winning Tip 4 – Write One for Your Website

Since you have written an article, why not rewrite or write a brand new one for your website? Elaborate in greater details so that your visitors see relevant content on your website. If you have written an article about ‘how to get started with article writing’, you can add in related content such as how to find article content, where to submit your articles and how to write creative and attractive titles. Repeated exposure improves conversion rates.

Article Marketing Winning Tip 5 – Pre-Sell and Not Sell

Avoid doing a sales pitch in your article. This is a Big ‘No No’. Readers tend to flee the moment they detect a clear sales pitch. Pre-sell them about the benefits of your product before they even see it. It adds a sense of mystery and instills curiosity. This is what you want to achieve.

These are just a few tricks amongst many to make article marketing work for you. Look out for my next article on more killer tips to supercharge your profits using article marketing.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Discover more about article marketing and read reviews of top article submission software such as Article Post Robot, Instant Article Submitter etc and find out how these tools can drive instant and continuous traffic to your website at http://Article-Submission-Software.blogspot.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Davion_Wong

Tracking Your Marketing Dollars

A client recently asked, "I don't have a formal marketing budget, so how much should our company spend on marketing?"

There is no simple answer because all companies have different marketing goals, different target audiences and staffing varies for sales and marketing follow up.

Ideally, good marketing helps to bring pre-qualified customers to your sales team, who then complete the sales process and close the sale. But the reality is that most companies spend a great deal of time, effort and money marketing, but spend little time tracking and analyzing. They know exactly what they are spending but may have no idea about how their message is being received, what strategies are really working and what sales were a direct result of their marketing effort.

Companies who clearly define their marketing strategy, set realistic goals and marketing budgets, then track the results always seem to have better control over their marketing efforts, and are able to make changes quickly in response to market changes or changes in strategy by their competition.

Step 1: Budget

First, figure out what you can afford to spend per month for the next three months without negatively affecting your company's cash flow. Then, create a simple marketing plan that gives you the most effective return on your marketing dollars. Usually this means determining the best way to reach the greatest number of pre-qualified prospects for the least amount of money.

Step 2: Plan and Measure

Carefully measure the effectiveness of your marketing. Promotions that use codes, coupons or other means to track responses to the campaign are best great since they help you to track responses. E-mails, telephone calls, website traffic and conversions of website traffic to actual leads must be tracked and measured in order to determine what is effective, or not.

Step 3: Analyze

Analyze your marketing results to determine which marketing strategy or marketing message is working best. A high response rate may be good, but a fewer number of more qualified leads will usually be better. As you follow up on leads ask them what they liked about your marketing message or the way the message was presented.

Step 4: Refine and Perfect

Refine your marketing message and focus on marketing campaigns and messages that work, repeating Step 2 and Step 3 at end the end of each quarter. You can experiment with increasing your marketing budget each quarter to reach more prospective customers. By determining which strategy or campaign works best, over the next few months, shift more of your budget into the marketing strategy that's reaching your target market and bringing you the results you want.

Five tips to make tracking easier

1) Simplify your marketing efforts. Focus on one theme per quarter but do try variations of your marketing message. Different graphics, images, and colors may contribute to different responses in recipients. Be sure to track which version customers respond to better.

2) Centralize your lead results. Even if you different people in different departments responding to leads, make sure you centralize data collection so everyone involved will track and record data in one place. Relying on estimates or monthly meetings to try and determine which what strategy is working can be counter productive, especially if you have a campaign that flops and you need to change your message immediately.

3) Analyze what works and why. And find out what does not work and why. If you're not getting the response you had hoped for with a new promotion or message, ask your prospects why and determine what's at fault. Is the message not clear? Is the media appropriate? Does your offer or message hit any "hot" buttons?

4) Create a call to action. Does your offer have a time limitation and a call to action? Don't just rely on the offer itself to prompt a response by the recipient. Make your prospects want to respond right away to the offer. Have a respond by date or put a time limitation so they can't wait for more than a few days to respond.

5) Refine your marketing message. Sometimes "great" ideas don't result in a big response. Remember that you can refine your marketing message in order to get a greater response or change the message graphically so you get noticed instead of lost with all the other offers your market may be receiving.

Vann Baker is the president and creative director of Design-First, a marketing company that helps companies of all sizes and in many different industries with branding, marketing strategies and creating effective marketing materials. Vann has over 25 years of marketing experience, and has created websites, brochures, e-blasts, catalogs, direct mail and effective marketing campaigns. For more tips and information about marketing your company, go to: http://www.design-first.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vann_Baker

Monday, April 9, 2007

Tips for marketing success

by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

Ideas from Confessions of an Unashamed Relentless, Self-Promoter audio album and Fripp's book Make It! So You Don't Have to Fake It.

Does your marketing match your image?

If you deliver a quality product or service, your marketing materials should reflect this.

Your image, reflected by your advertising, should do two things:

Convince people you're worth doing business with.

Position you in the market.

Whether you're at the top, middle, or bottom of the price scale, your image needs to communicate that. If your image isn't consistent and compatible with your pricing and your level of service, you're going to confuse and alienate your customers.

Bill McCurry, co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for the Imaging Industry, told Garfinkel about the experiences of a client. This retailer visited a trade show and was attracted to a distinctive and obviously costly booth for a design firm. He asked them to send him some information. When the letter came, it was on shoddy looking stationery, sloppily typed.

The retailer decided not to do business with this firm. Although everything else had looked great, the sharp contrast between the classy booth and the shabby letter did not inspire trust that the firm would and could deliver. The design firm had spent at least $50,000 on their trade show exhibit, but didn't have the common sense to maintain a consistent image by investing in good letterhead and a competent secretary. It cost them a $100,000 contract.

If your marketing impresses your prospects and customers, is that good enough? No, besides impressing them, you must convince them. People don't buy just because they're dazzled or blown away by what they see. They buy because they're convinced that you can do the job, you can deliver the quality and value they expect, and your track record is solid.

Here are five ways to convince people with your marketing.

1. Clear Information. How easily can people understand what you're saying? People don't buy when they're confused.

2. Quality Information. A lot of marketers these days will send out "free information," "valuable information," even "money-making information," at no charge as a small sample of what you'll get when you actually pay money.

3. Quality Design and Printed Materials. What we call production values. In my case, that's particularly important because I'm selling Fripp the speaker, a very high-quality, well-orchestrated, valuable performance. The production values in what you do and deliver must match the quality of the marketing materials you send out.

4. Third-Party Endorsements. Let others trumpet how good you are. The first thing people see on my one-sheet or website are top executives praising me, saying I walk on water and they sleep better at night when they hire me. There's no better way to convince people.

5. Strong Images. Compel your customers to imagine doing business with you, seeing it as an easy, positive, and beneficial experience. Create an image or word picture of this interaction. Tell the story. Make it leap off the page.

Impressive, clear, marketing efforts that mirror your image and what you deliver are your key to successful marketing.

Frippercises:

1. Analyze three past marketing efforts, rating their success for delivering the five qualities described above. Are there areas for improvement?

2. Design a new marketing piece (or redesign one of your past efforts), using the five criteria above to make it stronger.

PFripp@Fripp.com, 1-800 634-3035, http://www.fripp.com

Marketing Tips for the Non-Stop Marketer

by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

Frippicisms:*

It is not your clients job to remember you, it is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don't forget you.

The real sale comes after the sale.

Your best customer is the hottest prospect for your competitors.

Your efforts have to be ongoing and consistent.

I'm always taken aback when someone asks me how much time I devote to marketing. Every single thing we do is marketing. Talking to strangers at seminars or group meetings or even in elevators or taxis is marketing. Customer service is part of marketing. I am an unabashed, relentless, promoter of my services and products. I get the drive from the love I have for my business. Here are a few suggestions on how you can attract, retain and extend your relationship with customers

If you want to improve your marketing efforts, you need to attend seminars, read books and articles on marketing. Talk to colleagues (a professional friend with whom you share target markets but don't sell the same product or service) about how they attract and retain their customers. It's important to accept that many of the tips and techniques may not be appropriate for you. However, if you open your mind, you'll come up with aversion of the idea that may be perfect for you and your business.

Don't overlook the effectiveness of the "schmooze factor." That's just talking and having fun with customers. I experienced a good example of the schmooze factor with a Super Shuttle driver recently. I won't drive in silence in elevators or taxis (unless I'm getting unusual vibes from passengers) so I always ask them if they're going or coming from somewhere fun. Well, the driver jumped into the conversation and kept it lively and wonderfully entertaining for the entire 40 minutes to the airport. We all tipped her at least double what we would have because she made it so much fun. Be sure that when you schmooze you keep the talk casual and fun without getting the least bit inappropriate or disrespectful.

Don't let your customers forget you-keep in touch with them consistently. One or two months after a sale write your customers a note and ask them how they are enjoying their purchase. Call or write again on the anniversary of their purchase. If you see something in a periodical that you think your customers would be interested in send them a copy of it along with a note. Write a regular newsletter. Be sure to include information that will be of value to them as well as news about you and your latest products/services and charges. If you've not gone high-tech, immediate create (or have someone do it for you) a website on the Internet. You'll reach people you might not have expected. This is a great equalizer in business, you can be perceived as a lot larger company than you are. It also works as a sales and marketing person 24 hours a day and never asks for overtime!

Give your customers something valuable they'll keep. I'm talking about those little specialty-advertising items on which you have your name printed. I have a little laminated wallet-sized-card listing 15% and 20% tips. It's a wonderfully handy little item to carry in your wallet and - it has my address, phone number, and Website information on it. Meet with an advertising specialty firm to see what items such as this will be helpful to your customers. What items would be valuable to them that they would keep on their desks, wallets, kitchens, etc.? They'll see your name often and when they want to reach you, they can simply take your number off that refrigerator magnet or highlighter market you gave them.

When I owned my hairstyling salon, I trained my stylists to ask their customers if they wanted to set their next haircut appointment. I explained that it's part of our service to keep their hair looking its best. What can you do to remind your customers when it's time to consider your service/product again?

Have you ever given a stack of your business cards to friends or customers for them to distribute? How often do you think the cards actually get distributed? I don't leave anything to chance. When I was in the hairstyling business, with each haircut, I always gave my clients three of my business cards. "One for you, two for the next two people who tell you how good you look." Two cards are easier, and more likely to be hand out than a handful. And you're asking them to give your card only to those who ask about his/her haircut. Even if you don't have a hairstyling business, how can you make this technique work for you?

Remember life is a series of sales situations. No matter how successful your business is, don't stop marketing. You have to keep convincing your customers that with you they will get the best and memorable service.

PFripp@Fripp.com, 1-800 634 3035, http://www.fripp.com

Friday, April 6, 2007

Targeting Your Customers

by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

From my conversation with marketing/PR expert Gary Purece.

Successful marketing means that you identify prospective clients and position yourself in the market so they choose you over your competition. When I sit down with clients who want to position their marketing, I seek the answers to four basic questions:

1. WHO IS YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENT? Who wants to buy or could be stimulated to want to buy? Who is in a position to buy what you sell? What geographical and financial factors affect this ability?

A good way to identify future clients is to listen -- really listen -- to those you have now. Their comments, especially negative ones, will help you tailor both your product and your approach to other prospects.

2. WHY WILL THEY WANT TO BUY? What emotional and physical factors will influence them? I just worked with an east coast psychiatrist who ran a practice with ten other psychiatrists and wanted to position herself. Our conversations quickly disclosed that her community was predominantly upwardly mobile professionals. Many of the women had delayed having children. Due to fertility drugs, a high percentage of families had twins, triplets, or more. We decided to focus her practice on these families, the first practice in the area to do that.

How did we do this? First, we realized her potential audience was geographical, that is, in her community rather than regional, national or international. These prospects had distinctive demographics. By appealing to a unique aspect, we hit on her core group. She's now hugely successful in her practice.

3. WHAT ANGLE SHOULD YOU TAKE? How is your product or service unique? Why is it perfect for your target audience? How is it different from everyone else's? How will it fulfill your core group's needs in a way that no one else can?

This is positioning yourself in the market. (Remember how Avis advertised, "We try harder.") As an example, when other advertising consultants do presentations, they talk about budgets, print versus TV, soft versus hard sell. I position myself by emphasizing that you start by targeting your audience, positioning your product, and creating distinctive selling propositions. Lots of mom-and-pop businesses, confronted by super stores, can't compete or even survive unless they find a unique niche to fill.

4. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SELL IT? We all know people with great ideas, products, and inventions. They spend a fortune developing this product, but it sits there because they have no idea what to do with it. Is there a system in place to put your product in the customers' hands and return their money to you? Or do you need to create one?

Market to your core group, and position yourself among the competition. That's million-dollar marketing!

PFripp@Fripp.com, 1-800 634-3035, http://www.fripp.com

Fripp Tips for Marketing Success

Article by Patricia Fripp

All I've ever wanted in business is an 'unfair advantage.' Before you raise your eyebrows, let me define the term. An 'unfair advantage' is not lying, cheating, or stealing. It's exactly the opposite. An 'unfair advantage' is doing everything just a little bit better than your competition. And even if you've been in business for many years and you're at the top of your profession, in today's competitive world you also need to do everything just a bit better today than you did it yesterday. That's your 'unfair advantage.' It's not always easy.

Do you remember the movie STAYING ALIVE, the sequel to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER? It's about how the John Travolta character pursues a career as a professional dancer, all the highs and lows (with a little romance thrown in.) The last scene is an incredible dance routine. As my friend Kookie and I danced out of the theater afterwards, I had a revelation: the trouble with life is that it's just too short to be good at very many things! The dedication and discipline that the Travolta character needed to become a great dancer didn't leave him much time for anything else. That's the problem with working and being in business today.

The future belongs to those who are competent in many different areas. To be successful in any industry, you need to be a technically adept, charismatic communicator with exceptionally good work habits, good people skills, and an abundance of healthy energy. (And it doesn't hurt if also you look good and dress well.)

There's an old saying, 'If you build a better mouse trap, people will beat a path to your door.' That was true once, but not today. Having the best product or service does not automatically guarantee you success. That's because:

1. People do business with people they know.

2. People do business with the people who do business with them.

3. People do business with people their friends talk about.

4. People do business with people they read about.

As my friend David Garfinkel says about every business success, "Do your customers know?"

Start now to develop your own unfair advantage and build your client base.

FRIPPERCISE
1. What one thing can you do better than your competition? How can you let the world know about your advantage?
2. What one activity can you improve on? Decide whether this improvement is worth the energy it will require. If so, what one step can you take this week?
3. Are you collecting stories and quotes from your satisfied clients?
4. If the answer is; Yes; are you using them in your sales presentations, letters, website, emails, sales letters, brochures?
(You can see a good use of these on http://www.fripp.com)

Patricia Fripp
527 Hugo Street — San Francisco — California 94122
US: (800) 634-3035 — Phone: (415) 753-6556
Fax: (415) 753-0914 — Email: PFripp@Fripp.com
http://www.fripp.com