Marketing Blog

Looking for big contracts for your small business? The SBA has a unique "matchmaking" program that helps small biz land contracts with larger companies and gov't agencies. Visit www.businessmatchmaking.com for more info.

Need a patent? Research your patent by visiting www.uspto.gov, the US Patent & Trademark Office. They offer various ways to search for your patent, and include the full text of any patents in the results (unlike other services which usually just provide a summary).

It's here - Give Your Elevator Speech a Lift! Want to improve your answer to the question "what do you do"? Then you'll love this book by Lorraine Howell of Media Skills Training as much as I did. It's a short, sweet, and easy-to-understand read that pinpoints exactly what you need to do to get people interested in what you do. Available from www.amazon.com.

Write e-mails that get read and acted upon. If you're like most biz owners, your email are the lifeblood of your sales efforts, so writing compelling ones is critical. Sign up by 4/25 for "E-mail Writing That Counts!" held in Seattle May 16th, and you'll get lots of ideas for making your e-mails work AND you'll save $50!

Did you see ABC's "American Inventor"? If you want to better understand marketing, watch the people auditioning for the oppty to create America's next big invention. Most of the inventors think everyone will buy their product (they offer no target market) and they only explain the features (insteaad, they should be focusing on the benefits of what their product offers). If nothing else, the show IS a lesson in how important marketing is no matter what stage of your business you're at. Shows air on ABC Thursday nights.

Using Google's PPC campaign for your website? If you've been using Google's PPC campaigns during the past 4 years, you may have a credit coming. Read this article about Google's "click fraud" case settlement.

Want some presentation and public speaking tips! Visit www.mediaskillstraining.com and sign up for their "e-tips".

Got a long URL you'd like to shorten and use as a link in an email? Check out tinyurl.com, an interesting site that turns a long website address into a shorter URL that doesn't break when you send it in an emal. This is a great feature to use with Constant Contact.

Google offering print ad space to highest bidder. Google is conducting an auction of ad space in select magazines where you choose the size and price, and if you place the highest bid, your ad will appear. Since there's only a few dozen magazines to choose from, beware...the competition will be tough!

Here's what happens when you try to manipulate the search engines...BMW's German website tried to manpiulate search results in Google, so Google remove them from its index. Ouch!

Realtors take notice (and so should the rest of you!) Now, here's a clever promotion by a local realtor - they sent a postcard about a special to list our house (no, we're not in the market!). The special includes several hours of handyman, maid and moving services, etc., all designed to get you to list with them. Take a look at their website at www.takeushome.com to see what else they're up to.

How does your brochure rate? Read my most recent article, Put Your Brochure To The Test: Does It REALLY Encourage Prospects to Respond?, then email your brochure to me by 1/17/06 as a pdf file, and I'll evaluate it for FREE (but hurry, the free offer really does end 1/17/06). If you need to fax it to me, send me email to get the ph #.

Search engine pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns - there's more than just Google, Overture to consider. A group of smaller search engines have put together a flat-fee network for search advertising. Do a search on the term "Independent Search Engine & Directory Network" if you feel your prospective buyers might be using these smaller search engines and you want to build your business through PPC campaigns.

How do you get around resistant prospects who hesitate to sign up for your e-mail list? You MUST have a way to capture e-mail addresses on your website since it's so critical to the success of your website. The easiest way is to get your visitor's e-mail address by offering a free tip sheets, newsletter, etc. Convince them to sign up by using a strongly worded disclaimer telling how you will NOT sell the names you collect. Also consider adding the statement "Subscribing will not result in more spam...guaranteed!"

Friday, December 2, 2005
Nearly 60 million Americans use search engines each day. A survey by Pew Internet & Ammerican Life Project saw a sharp increase in the number of people using search engines this year. This tells me that if you're not taking full advantage of what the search engines can do for your website, it's time to talk!

Monday, November 28, 2005
Nominate a remarkable website! Time for the Webby Awards...if you know of a fantastic website that should win this prestigious award, it's time to nominate the site at www.webbyawards.com.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Recommended book on "pricing strategies". One of my clients, Charles Douglas Gilding Studio, says "The Strategy & Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Profitable Decision Making" by Thomas Nagle is a great read if you're trying to figure out how to best price your products and services." Thanks for the tip, Charles!

Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Ready to learn to write better with a GOOD online course? Check out the new online courses geared solely toward business writers at www.businesswritingthatcounts.com.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005
SBA wants WA businesses for their Small Business Awards. Click here to get all the details and nomination form.

Monday, October 10, 2005
How often do users click on the first listing in search engine results? Yikes, 42% of users click the 1st website that shows! Click here to read a study that suggests why users do so. The main thing here is to realize that if users click on the #1 listing, where does that leave your website in search engine results?

Monday, October 3, 2005
How well do search engine optimization companies perform? Things could be going better according to this report by Jupiter Research and iProspect. Click here to read the full report.

Thursday, September 29, 2005
Starting a home business? Entrepreneur.com offers great resources for home business owners. Click here to read more.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005
How about a pay-per-call website campaign? Pay-per-click campaigns may have competition with a new marketing tool, pay-per-CALL campaigns. Click here to read more.

Thursday, September 8, 2005
Know a business affected by Hurricane Katrina? Thanks to Sherry Mina at Seattle's SBA office for sharing this site with me: http://www.sba.gov/disaster_recov/index.html

Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Got a brochure? Consider these 10 ideas for really putting your brochure to work to increase sales. Click here to read more.

Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Is it OK to use graphics I find on someone else's website? Simply put, unless you have express written permission, you should NOT use graphics you find on other websites or printed materials in your own promotional efforts. Even if the graphics look like they might be stock photos, clipart or drawings, you need to locate the origin of that artwork and get permission to use it. In other words, those images are copyright protected. Of course, if you find the artwork on a stock image site, then read the fine print and make sure that when you purchase the image, you know what rights come with it.

Monday, August 8, 2005
Has Google indexed your site recently? Go to Google's search engine, then type in cache:www.yourwebsiteaddress.com to find out when Google last visited your site.

Monday, August 1, 2005
Collecting email addresses on your website? Consider co-registration to increase the size of your email list. It works like this: when visitors sign up for your enewsletter, they get asked if they'd like to sign up for other newsletters that you agree to offer. Those other websites also offer your newsletter on their site, and they ask the same question. Read this article for more info.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Do you own a VERY small business? Use that information to sell your services and products. How? Tell prospects how that will BENEFIT them, i.e., they get faster responses, more personalized attention, better pricing, etc. Mention these facts in your website, brochure, sales flyers/letters, everything!

Thursday, July 14, 2005
Need a program that offers immediate downloads of edocuments or ebooks? Dr. Ralph Wilson of Web Marketing Today suggests checking into several companies that offer afforable solutions for small businesses: 1ShoppingCart.com or Payloadz.com.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005
PayPal offering new merchant account program that takes place on your website, not PayPal's. PayPal has provided a way for merchants to receive credit card payments, but the final transaction always took place on PayPal's site. Now, PayPal is offering a competitive merchant account that allows the buyer to complete the entire transaction on your own website. Click here to view their various plans.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Are other websites linking to your website? If you know of specific websites that are linking to your own, make sure you submit the exact website address showing your company name/link to the top 10-12 search engines. Check first and see IF that page is already coming up when you type in your company name into each search engine. If not, submit that website address, then check back in a few weeks to see if it's appearing in the search engine results. People tend to trust sites that have more than one search engine result (as long as it's not negative info!).

Monday, June 13, 2005
Been a while since the blog's been updated, but I'm back in the office now after having been on the road for several weeks, then going on vacation for several more, so will get this going again! Been re-reading Robert Bly's "Getting Started in Speaking, Training, or Seminar Consulting?" It's full of step-by-step ideas for speakers who are getting started or want to get better, and offers ideas for finding paying gigs, your target market, and promoting yourself, etc. Highly recommended.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Take the Test: How Does Your Website Sell? Click here to get 7 questions you need to ask when having website testers evaluate your site to see how effective it is. Good questions for brand new as well as well-established websites to consider.

Thursday, April 14, 2005
SBA Small Business Week April 25-28. Attend a series of free workshops sponsored by the Small Business Administration. I'll be teaching several marketing workshops at the Seattle SBA. Click here to see what the SBA is doing in your part of the country.

Tuesday, April 5, 2005
Need to get your product to market? Mo Shepard, President, Qumfort Qreations (makers of The Quff) can't say enough good things about "Entrepreneur Magazine: Bringing Your Product to Market," by Don Debelak. Mo says the book covers all of the ins and outs of designing your product and packaging, how to handle decision points, selling, financing, and development. Available from www.amazon.com.

Friday, March 25, 2005
Spruce up your elevator speech. Here is a great article on getting down that 10-20 second speech about your business.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Constant Contact now hosts up to 5 images. If you're been wanting to upload your own images to Constant Contact so you don't have to pay someone else to do put them on your own server, you'll love Constant Contact's latest offering.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Looking for truly unique promotional items to give to clients, prospects or employees? How about roses imprinted with your company's logo? Wow - sound out of this world? It's not. This info comes from Evan Milton of Corporate Promotions Etc who's got the most unusual promo item ideas I've ever seen!

Monday, March 14, 2005
The Bellevue Entrepreneur Center is again sponsoring Eastside businesses to receive a grant for free and confidential consulting services. Click here to learn more.

Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Overture changing name to Yahoo Search Marketing Solutions. Yahoo bought out Overture in 2003, and now is finally changing their name! If you have pay-per-click campaigns set up with Overture, you'll still keep the same account, keywords, etc., but a new login page will be announcd shortly. We'll keep an eye on MSN, the 3rd top search engine, which may start offering sponsored links of their own instead of using Overture (now Yahoo).

Tuesday, March 1, 2005
How does your marketing copy rate? Take this test to find out if the copy in your marketing materials is hitting your target market...or not!

Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Heard of any "get rick quick" schemes lately? The FTC is finally cracking down on all those "envelope stuffing" and "assemble items at home" scams and other illegal business promotion activities. Click here to learn more.

Monday, February 21, 2005
Want to do research to find more markets? Thanks to Elsie Smith of Tiger Mountain Gear who looked up a keyword related to her website, then added the word directory to the keyword, and that brought up all kinds of websites that gave us ideas for marketing. We've got potential reciprocal links, competitors to research, more target markets to uncover, etc. Just go to your favorite search engine, type in a keyword and the word "directory" after that and see what you find!

Monday, February 14, 2005
Do you handle your company's sales? I think you'll love this article in the Puget Sound Business Journal as much as I did. It's right on target for those experienced OR new at sales.

Thursday, February 10, 2005
Selling products to teens? Interactivity is just the start of what they want in a website. Find out more in this article by research group Nielsen Norman Group.

Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Now, HERE's an alternative marketing idea. Read this CNN story about a guy who sells space on his arm for tattooed ads!

Monday, February 7, 2005
What are the biggest web design mistakes of 2004? Read Vincent Flander’s hilarious, tell-it-like-it-is article to find out what you should avoid doing when building or redesigning your website. 

Thursday, February 3, 2005
83% of Internet users avoid subscribing to newsletters because they aren't sure they can trust the online publisher according to a survey conducted by Relemail, an e-mail monitoring and certification service. To calm those fears, think about adding a reassurance to your website “Subscribing to this newsletter will NOT result in MORE spam.”

Wednesday, February 2, 2005
Running a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign? Watch the lawsuit against Google AdWords - several companies claim their trademarked names are used as keywords by their competitors in PPC campaigns. Some of those trademarked names draw lots of biz to the other companies using them. This is going to be a hot topic for the next few years.

Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Be the first to put your company's logo on a Quff! The Quff is an accessory to wrap around your take-out drink cup or water bottle; order these online and add your logo for an unusual corporate promotional item!

Monday, January 31, 2005
Beware Spammers! Visit this interesting site listing 200 or so of the most notable spam operations researched by the Registry of Known Spam Operators (ROKSO). 

Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Is your website really up 24/7? If you're worried that your website might be going down too often (or at all), have it monitored by InternetSeer. They remotely monitor your site, and send you an email alert when your site goes down.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Trying to reach more home business owners?  Here's a way to potentially reach 1000's of online home biz readers; consider submitting an article for free by visiting Business Tool Chest, a website that distributes content about home business topics.

Monday, January 24, 2005
Take the test! Do your marketing materials really grab attention (and cause your prospect to keep reading)?

Friday, January 21, 2005
What categories does Google list you under? Click here, then type your URL in the text box that appears. This is a good way to delete incorrect categories so the traffic to your site is more accurate.

Thursday, January 20, 2005
Free online business courses from the SBA. All kinds of classes are available at this website.

Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Find tradeshows that bring in sales. Visit this site to find tradeshows across the entire U.S. (and the world, for that matter!).

Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Free sample business plans. These thorough sample biz plans are especially helpful if you're looking for financing.

Monday, January 17, 2005
Find out what search terms visitors used to find your website. Just access your website's traffic reports or site statistics, and look for a report called "referrals." The "referrals" report shows you the exact search words visitors used in a search engine to find your site. This is an excellent tool to determine what search words to use in your pay-per-click campaigns.

Thursday, January 13, 2005
What’s Buzz Marketing?  It’s the latest marketing catch-phrase, and it means gathering volunteers to try products, then getting them to talk about their experiences with everyone they meet.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Make your website accessible to ALL prospects.  This article provides solid guidelines for web developers (such as Cut to the Chase Marketing) for making sites usable by ALL visitors.  If you have a website and want more traffic, these guidelines are eye-opening. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Get more results with customer surveys. Offer an incentive, such as a gift card, discount on their next purchase, or some other type of freebie to increase the response rate to your customer surveys. After all, getting something for 5-10 minutes of your time is far more motivating than getting nothing for your time!

Monday, January 10, 2004
Know a non-profit organization that needs more website hits? Google is offering non-profit groups at least three months of free Google AdWords advertising.