Kind of a mixed bag in my round up this week though the articles are loosely tied to creating great content. If you are worried about “giving too much away” then give “Claim Your Oscar” a read. (BTW, I honestly believe that in our current marketing climate you can never give too much away.) If you are a looking for a fresh idea to create more content, then check out “Using a Social FAQ….” It is an interesting case study. Answering FAQs (in any format) is an excellent source for content.
Posts Tagged ‘tips’
03
Feb
2011
Posted by Jasmine
Blogging for Website Traffic: The Art of Blogging
If you followed along with our previous post, then you have researched and found some awesome keywords for your website. (If not, feel free to skip back and read Part 1: Intro and Part 2: Keywords.) Now it is time to get to the real meat of the matter, the blog post. There is no secret to writing a great post but there are few guidelines to follow:
01
Dec
2010
Posted by Jasmine
Weekly Roundup: Blogging and Keyword Research
5 Incredibly Useful Research Tools Your Competitors Don’t Know About
Solid research is key to success in the SEO game. Unfortunately, it is not the easiest thing for a business owner to do on their own. The process can be a little complicated and absolutely time consuming and the best tools are not cheap. However, this article lists 5 solid tools for marketing research that are free. I especially recommend the YouTube Keyword Tool and WordTracker Question Search for anyone who is blogging (video or text) and wants to keep their post relevant and optimized to pull in traffic.
Should a Blog be Your Social Media Hub?
If you have just considered adding a blog or already have one but not sure about its use, then read this article. I love the idea of your blog being an online hub especially if the blog is integrated within your website. It is the perfect place to collect resources to share and post your own news and thoughts. If it is built within your website (not a separate site) then it also serves as tool to draw visitors further into the site and encourages repeat visits. It becomes not just an education tool but also a lead capture system.
5 Ways to Make Your Blog Posts Outstanding
Now that you are fired up about blogging, you may need a little help creating awesome content. This article offers five easy to follow and common sense tips for creating outstanding blog content. It is a must read for anyone who is blogging or thinking about starting one.
Blog Your Way to Corporate Success
Though it is a book review for “Corporate Blogging for Dummies,” this post has a nice voice, a few useful tips and a funny intro about spam comments that all business bloggers can relate too. The article is worth a read as is the book for anyone starting out or feeling frustrated.
17
Nov
2010
Posted by Jasmine
Weekly Roundup: Tips for Creating a Strong Relationship
5 Ways to Let Prospects Sample Your Brilliance
This is a welcome article if you are struggling with the “close” in your marketing and sales. Many times when I am talking with clients, we discover that what is broken in their marketing in not the product or service but how it is being pitched. Especially in the case of high dollar services, prospects need to sample your expertise and try out your methods before committing their checkbook.
By rushing straight from the nice-to-meet-you stage in a relationship to buy my $1000 service, you scare them off. When spending that kind of money prospects want to feel confident that they are getting something that works, that they want and is worth the large price tag. Providing several smaller, free or low-cost offerings along the way helps lower the sticker shock and barrier for entry.
This post list a couple of solid strategies that can be worked into any businesses marketing plan and will give prospects the opportunity to try before buying. We use several of the techniques at 910 West and have had great success so we know first hand that it does work.
Turn Customers Into Stark Raving Advocates With a Customer Development System
I have been working on my own customer development system (though not is such fancy terms) for a few months now. It dovetails with a conversation that I with my business coach last summer. He told me that 70% of my marketing efforts (time and money) should be focused on my current clients. That is far above what I was doing (and most of the businesses that I work with too) so presented me with an opportunity to expand my marketing. So far, I have implemented a couple of programs and have a few more in the planning with great success. If you are struggling with this or just want to know more, this article will give you the steps you need to get your own program started.
11
Aug
2010
Posted by Jasmine
Weekly Roundup: Social Media Takes a Time Out
This week we take a break from social media and online marketing articles and look at a couple of more generic business and marketing related topics.
Laura Segall is a Phoenix, AZ wedding photographer who also happens to be a client and good friend of mine. She recently enlisted my help to choose a presentation topic for the local Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) chapter. She had the brilliant idea of talking about how to take better photos—something any good bridal consultant (and self-marketing business owner for that matter) should know. This post is the written version of that presentation. It is a quick read full of helpful, practical, and most of all easy to follow tips. I often have clients who want to use their own photos in their marketing materials and most of them are just awful. If you are going to take your own photos, then you should absolutely read this article and follow Laura’s tips for improving them.
As the owner of small but growing business, I am seeing first hand how much small business contributes to our economy. A good friend of mine was recently laid off from her state job, which could have been devastating to her family except that I happened to be in need of a talented graphic designer. We started out working on a per-project contract basis, but if all goes according to plan she will be working full-time for me within a year. This article captures that concept and proposes that supporting small businesses is the way to get more jobs into the economy. I agree!
Selling to the small business owner is very different than selling to a larger company. As this article discusses, small business owners are not spending someone elses money (they way a purchaser for a larger company is) but instead taking money from their own pocket and needs. When selling to a small business, you need to keep this difference in mind and tailor your approach.
22
Jul
2010
Posted by Jasmine
How to Create a Google Places Listing
In a previous series, we covered how to Optimize Your Business for Local Search. Creating a strong Google Business listing (using Google Places) is an important part of that process. We created this quick presentation, to show how to make the most of your Google Places Business listing. It is a short video and the process is pretty easy. The whole thing should take you less than an hour—happy optimizing!
