I wear glasses and sit a computer all day. Glasses have become a fact of life for me, but are warranted – without them, life would be too blurry.
So being a savvy/frugal shopper, I look for deals on things, including glasses. Eyeglasses are expensives. And just because you can buy cheap eyeglasses, it doesn’t mean they are cheap. So ZenniOptical.com gets my vote. They use the latest modern materials, manufacturing and marketing systems to bring me, the average Joe, a factory direct product. These aren’t name brand glasses, but so what? Their frames are modern and stylish and their prices are hard to beat.
Which brings me to my point. In 2012, marketers need to continue to provide value to their prospective customers. Give customers what they want. If you know what they want, you’ve built a relationship (and what do most people want? Usually it’s a great product, with great service, and hopefully at a better price). Having these relationships not only brings in clients, but happy brand advocates, which will continue to tell your story long after the sale was consumated. Ask yourself, would you buy your own product? Does it deliver quality and value?
If you see legitimate value in it, chances are, your prospects will too…
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In this day and age, competition is fierce and is everywhere. Differentiation is what gets you noticed and keeps you top of mind. One way of staying top of mind is by providing gifts of appreciation to clients and vendors.
One elegant way to express congratulations to clients and employees is with the traditional gift basket. These attractive offerings come in different sizes to fit your gift giving needs (and budget), and can also be the centerpiece of any special event, including company parties, grand opening celebrations, trade shows, table favors, promotions, retirement parties, etc.
These baskets can be decorated with poinsettias, pine cones and berries and/or scrumptious gourmet See’s candy, including milk/dark chocolate, brittles & toffees, truffles, candy bars and old school but delicious lollypops.
Craving baked goods? Your business contacts may too. Convey your warm regards by sending them a muffin gift pack that includes 6 fresh muffins, some flavorful coffee eggnog, and some powdered instant hot chocolate packets.
The gift of cheese is one not to be overlooked for your lactose tolerant business contacts. Gift packs may include roasted garlic, cheddar cheese, cranberry, apple, tomato and basil cheese, gourmet mustard, Bavarian Halle sausage, beef salami, cheddar cheese spread.
Coffee connoisseurs would appreciate a java pack. Many times these contain special mugs, and all sorts of coffee goodies including: chocolate cookies, stuffed pastry cream puffs, chocolate caramel cappuccino, Irish coffee syrup, vanilla hazelnut coffee, some cream and more.
It’s been said that there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving. So go ahead – reap the emotional rewards, but enjoy the continued flow of business…
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If you’ve been into Internet marketing even for a while now, you should know how important it is to have your own blog. It helps you to contact your targeted market and provides the chance to promote and build a brand. There are a lot of internet marketers that begin a blog, but do not know how to create blog posts that get responses. If you want to be ahead of the curve then this is the one thing that you should know how to do. In the following article we shall be discussing three effective tips on writing interesting blog posts. By the way, keep in mind that reliable web hosting is absolutely a must. We use and recommend HostGator webhosting.
1. A very unique approach is to write blogs about the professionals in your area of expertise and talk about the positive things that they have done. You will provide appreciation for their success. This will get you a lot of readers and your post will go viral because your made the effort and made the list, which is advantageous to you. There are tons of bloggers that are already doing this and it not difficult to be done in any niche. For example, if your blog is in the weight loss niche, you can talk about the top blogs in weight loss. If you do this correctly, you will get plenty of ongoing traffic.
2.Conduct a survey related to your blog’s topic where you will reveal the results down the road. This again, makes the blog post engaging because it pushes your readers to take part in the poll, which invokes the curiosity factor. This will make your visitors want to come back to your blog and see the survey results and also participate in new polls.
Everyone wants to give their viewpoint and see if others agree with them. We are using this easy ploy to get the readers to interact as much as we can.
3. You also have the capability to talk to other experts in your area and share this information with your blog visitors. Again, this offers real value because your readers can learn from this particular expert’s interview. In exchange the expert corresponds with a larger audience and build up the brand. Another good idea is to have an questions and answer period between the professionals and regular readers where they can ask specific questions. There is a lot you can improve once you begin doing it, so go for it. In conclusion, from the above article we can clearly understand how easy it is to create effective blog posts. It really is easy to accomplish and not difficult at all. You must have a creative flair, be smart and not work hard. Anyone can write a blog post but writing one that gets read is what’s important. Again, these posts do not have to be over the top; they can just be easy and get the attention of your visitors. When you start using these recommendations, you will start to see the real potential of blogging and will start using it for your own use. Last but not least, don’t forget to look to see if there are any new HostGator coupon codes.
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As a pay-per-click advertising model, Google Adwords thus far is the standard when it comes to success and visibility. Writing ad copy that moves people to take positive action is tremendously useful in many advertising mediums, and Google Adwords is just another one of them. The remainder of this article speaks directly about 3 proven and effective tips to get you started with writing Adwords ad copy that will boost your conversion rates.
There are several components involved, and just one of them is the call to action. Of course you can always test your ads, split testing, and see how it works for you. This is something from copywriting and direct response ads, and there is no doubt at all that higher conversion rates result from using a call to action statement. It is so important that the reader understand why they should care about your product or service, and the way you make them care is by telling them of a great benefit. In a way, for the searcher you’re nothing but another ad in the many ads on that page full of links. Your benefits offered in your ad are your only means to convince someone to give you their precious time. Google Adwords is all about being relevant in your ad copy, landing page, main website, and everything else in between. If there are any surprises, as in unexpected information, then the reader will only get annoyed and leave you forever. The second AdWords ad copy writing tip is to highlight your unique selling point in your ads. The best approach to writing effective PPC ads is to find out how to write great classified ads. Just remember that all buying decisions are based on emotions and not logic. Ask yourself what are the benefits that your service or product provides to people. But your ad must do more than offer a benefit, you also need to get people’s attention with your headline. How well you can confer your uniqueness and advantage over your competitors will affect your results. Your readers should read your benefits, and it must make them feel that only you have what they’re looking for.
Don’t be afraid to experiment a little bit, and you can offer a glimpse into a personal story with your ads. If you can imply some kind of personal experience in an ad, then that is fine but remember you need to mention the product benefit, etc. Tell them a clear story as to how you achieved something and how they could to.
If you’re not sure if these ad copywritng tips will help you, we understand; so then the thing to do is test them in your campaigns, today. Here, we just touched the tip of the iceberg, so you’ll find there’s more to learn and apply as time goes by.
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A big hurdle to overcome in the Affiliate Marketing space is the conversion of your traffic into sales. Why has this been a problem for so many? More than likely, the marketer didn’t focus on the quality of the page but instead on where his traffic came from. Sure, you need targeted visitors, but if you cant get them to buy, whats the point? Therefore, creating a page that converts should be priority number 1. How is this acccomplished?
How are your buttons? Let’s imagine you’re selling rain water barrels and you have your “order now” link buttons all over the place (that’s OK). More than likely they won’t distract a reader from your main value prop. However, if you want your visitors to follow through on your call to action, you need to include a highlighted button that demands they take action to buy your rain harvesting product. Ensure good button size, colors and good wording flow.
Something else to consider is the length of your paragraphs. Keep these short. This is a must! Short paragraphs take less time and energy to read. People are lazy and don’t like to read. Make your paragraphs 2 or 3 sentences long. Less is more in this case.
Lastly, think about what people generally want. Make the pitch about them and not you. Show them how the product solve their problems. This build rappor and trust.
So there you have it – the secrets to profitable landing pages…
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Give people what they want and they will give you what YOU want. How does that sound as a business model? It’s the foundation for free enterprise, and it’s what makes a business a big business and it’s what keep your business out of the deadpool.
So what do people want? Everyone wants a good deal and almost everyone wants (needs) to save money . And almost everyone can make a good deal better with one, simple, item: a coupon. Yes those trusty paper cutouts are still all the rage, especially after the economic downturn, and couponing is big business online too. Visit any eCommerce site, and more than likely, at checkout, you are presented with a field for a coupon or promo code. Where do you get the codes? Coupon codes sites, such as CouponChief.
Search for coupon codes
CouponChief is one of the fastest growing coupon sites. They have over 50k coupons for over 15000 stores, providing you one of the largest databases of online coupons on the Web. And the site is super easy to use: you can search for a coupon code by entering a Store Name in their search field, or you can search by tags. Find the coupon you want, copy the code, toggle to your checkout cart at the online store you are shopping at, paste the coupon code in the “enter your promo code here” field, and voila, you just saved some dough. If you shop for items on clearance or on sale, you just doubled your savings! And who doesn’t want to save money during these tough economic times?
Coupons are a win-win: The stores win by garnering more traffic and hopefully more sales, and the consumer wins by saving their hard-earned cash. Sites such as CouponChief make it happen. So go ahead, go buy what YOU want, just don’t forget the promo code…
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Good Times at an event
I recently attended a graduation party a friend put on for her son, who graduated from high school. She did a great job organizing it, but was left utterly exhausted from the planning, confirming and execution of this shindig (mind you, it was a party for about 70 people and she had help from 2 sisters and her mother).
Now imagine having the responsibility of organizing a company event, such as a banquet or a Lunch & Learn for potential clients, or a conference. How do you keep track of how many people will attend, how do you create a floor plan for seating, how do you sell and manage event ticketing and how do you publicize your event via social media to get as many eyeballs and attendees as possible, via an intuitive, online platform? Fortunately for the faint of heart event planner, there is Eventish.com.
Eventish is a valuable and versatile online event management platform designed to help you prepare, create and execute an event, be it for business or pleasure. Thousands of event planners have used it to plan: conference/seminars, workshops, tradeshows, sporting events, social events/mixers, fundraisers, product launches, networking events, and more. And its easy to use.
- Your Event Page Templates
Start by picking your event type: RSVP, General Admission or a Banquet event. RSVP allows you to send a message for a Yes/No/Maybe response. General Admission allows you to create and sell tickets to a concert or a standing room only event. Banquet allows you to organize a sit-down event and you can even set up table layouts and such and then sell admission tickets.
You can then publish your event, which allows you to create your own page with one of their cool customizable templates AND your unique event URL address. Of course, you’ll need to manage the registrations and ticket sales, and the software does that for you too.
Seems pretty straight forward doesn’t it? Its is. Too bad my friend didn’t know about it …..
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Article advertising is a technique that enables companies to market themselves by writing brief articles that relate to the niche they are in. Many of my Advertising Agency clients use these as part of their PR marketing strategy. These articles are then put out for widespread syndication. Each article has a byline and a biography field that enables companies to incorporate references to their firm, website or contact information. By crafting well written content and distributing it, businesses can increase their industry creds and hopefully, their market share.
Years ago, a boutique accounting firm put out an article during tax season in the local newspaper entitled: “The top 5 ways to be audit free”. The benefits were two-fold: a) the firm provided timely and valuable information and b) it positioned itself as a leader in the community for saving you money, time and stress come tax time. This kept the firm top of mind and helped them to expand their business the following year.
Article advertising moved online right after Al Gore invented the internet 
Websites that are article-centric are known as article directories. Most are free for the article publishers and readers. Articles in these directories are indexed in Search Engines, and thus become found when someone is doing a related search, providing companies cheap and targeted exposure and traffic – and it doesn’t get much cheaper than FREE. So make sure good article advertising is part of your marketing arsenal and or that your advertising agency leverages this technique. Your converting traffic will thank you for it!
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There is a fact of life that marketers need to learn: for the most part, people don’t like advertising. We fast-forward through commercials on our DVR’s, we don’t pay much attention to billboards on our way to work, and we employ spam filters in our emails to catch those pesky advertising messages. But we do like FREE stuff, especially if its useful. Can we leverage that to market our businesses?
A few years ago, at the Promotional Products Association tradeshow, more than 95 percent of business professionals surveyed reported using custom promotional items at their tradeshows and events. Roughly 72 percent of respondents stated that promo items are either “extremely effective” or “effective” in accomplishing their goals. And if you’ve been to a tradeshow, you know the drill: people love free swag!
Nearly a third of all promotional products purchased are for corporate apparel, meaning promotional t-shirts, hats, hoodies, vests, gloves, scarves, etc. It’s been said that businesses that had a corporate gift program were twice as likely to be contacted by customers, as compared to those who did not give gifts. So, the real question is not whether you’ll use promo products, but rather which promotional merchandise you’ll choose!
Start here: http://www.branders.com. Traditionally, promotional products have been sold through catalogs or traveling sales representatives. Branders was the world’s first online promotional items company and is also the largest online, with hundreds of employees spread across four countries and more than 100,000 customers. Branders has put more logos on more products for more online customers than anyone else in the world. They’ve even handled orders for the White House!
There are many reasons to use imprinted merchandise and promotional product as advertising: helps with branding, increases booth traffic at a show, generates goodwill, attracts new customers and can generate interest in your products. So try to incorporate promotional items into your marketing strategy. Feel free to use at tradeshows but also to send to clients and potential clients so that they keep you top-of-mind.
Consumers are inundated with advertising messages and the challenge for businesses is find a way to cut through the clutter and to not only reach their target audience, but to resonate with them. Promotional products do just that. Promotional products are powerful, both as effective forms of communication and as useable, necessary tools. They integrate into people lifes, impacting the daily routines of the recipients and keep you at the forefront, ahead of your competition.
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So you made it to the trade show circuit! Plan ahead and you’ll maximize your ROI. How so?
For starters, define measurable objectives. If met, then you made decide that trade shows could be part of your yearly marketing aresenal. But try looking at trade shows as a market to market.
For example, your marketing plans may include special promos – before & after the show(s). This of course is budget-dependent. But with a trade show floor full of great products & services, combined with limited time, people need an incentive to come to your booth. So have a giveaway item ready. What could be useful to your targeted demo? What can keep you top of mind? You many need to have different gifts for different types of visitors.
On the show floor trade show displays can make a powerful statement about who your company is, what you do and how you do it. The purpose of your booth is to attract visitors so that you can sell them. WOW them first with your booth. Make sure it’s an open, welcoming and friendly space. Opt for large graphics, perhaps vinyl banners. This will help you be remembered.
After the show, the key is to follow up and do so quickly. You don’t want your leads to go stale and have them buy from a competitor. Set up a System of how you will follow up (when, who, how, etc.) and reap the benefits of being a trade show exhibitor…
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