How to Effectively use E-MAIL as Marketing!

You’ve done it, your first sale. Now what! Should you move on to your next sale. How would big companies handle this achievement? Now that you’ve made that first sale, what do we do now, go out for drinks, Wrong! First thing is first, your first transaction is doesn’t stop at collecting money and completing your services. The customer “cycle” per say has just started. Depending on what you’re selling you can always call and NAG for presales or upselling your product with warranties or services. To be honest I hate sales men like that. Repeat customers are the best customers, but to keep those customers you need to focus in on them. Don’t lose sight to your customers reactions and what they want to hear and why they should be hearing. Don’t always believe the hype that the customer is always right, maybe but not always well informed. Let’s move. The best customers are your satisfied customers. These are the ones that will create leads for you. Now that you’ve completed your sale, you may want to write two forms of emails. One for towards your customers that have purchased from you, and one towards your potential new leads. Look at it like this the ones that bought from you and have had positive experience from your services are always more likely to purchase again. I’m assuming that in the background of your database you have some wiz kid yourself (as small business person) are keeping notes for all those people who have purchased from you, by keeping their email and contact information, and the ones that just come and visit your website or storefront. Hey offer them a % discount to get that extra info. So the reason why I’m writing this post, is to let you know how to find leads from Email.

1 - It’s always nice to see a Thank you email with coupon! Every customer has a choice; let me say this every business has a choice to make, once the sale is complete. We completing the sale is just the beginning. Once that sale is complete to have a repeat customer, you’ll have to offer something more. I mean a repeat customer should definitely get SOMETHING. He did purchase I mean throw a bone or a discount  everyone loves a discount. In the email confirmation of the order, send out a thank you email as well. Let them know when the delivery date is expected. Once the delivery is made don’t finish communications there. Look at these big companies, they always offer some kind of discount for the second purchase, and if you haven’t noticed already, they constantly send out emails about their upcoming promotions. So in addition to the order details and email opt-in confirmation, include a clear call-to-action in these emails to encourage customers to stay engaged with your company in ways other than via email. It could be an exclusive offer to an industry-specific item, an promotion of your social media profiles to help expand your reach, or a recommendation for a complementary product or service your customer might like. The better targeted your content, the better chance that customer sticks around. Whatever you choose, keep in mind that a welcome and a confirmation email should thank the customer for their opt-in or purchase and offer additional ways to add value, not push for another hard sale.

2 - Service Email – Did you do good or bad? The sales is made it’s been about a week or sooner, and now is what makes you the money or can break you. Send out an email, to ask about their experience with your company. Be straightforward. Ask basic questions, was your delivery made on time, was there anything that our description of the product didn’t include or should of included. Was the product poorly made, ect.. Ask them did we do what we say. If you’ve given your customer either poor service or a sub-par product – don’t expect a 5 star email. You may of made your money in the quick turnaround but lost that customer forever. Before you take that route, let your email leverage your quality of service and also your companies good intentions. Email marketing goes both ways, and it can be a very powerful tool/free tool for you. But keep on thing in mind, that timing is everything. If you write, an email a month later don’t expect anything, and if they do remember you it’s not because you were outstanding. I can’t stress this enough timing is everything. Too early and the product hasn’t been tested with customer, too late and you’ve missed the boat. This is where You have to decide when to get in touch. Depending on what you’ve solved, if its digital give them a few days. (You be the judge on what a few days are), and if it’s physical give them a week or basic rule I use 10 days from delivery accepted. This should be more than enough time for them to of used the product. This is how I see it the more happier your customers are the more likely it is for them to spend again from you. This “ain’t” rocket science. You feel good, they(customer) feels good the transaction goes through without a hitch. Once through customer will feel more comfortable buying from your company. The more open you are about your item, and more communication you have with the customer, the more the customer will feel that he has the company support behind him. It’s very important the customer understand once the money is receive the transaction isn’t completed on our end we are more than happy to go the extra mile.

3 - KEEP IN TOUCH So you’ve sold that great product to the customer, that USB or that great gadget of the future. You’d be surprised that by giving/providing reviews of the product or giving them that PDF file will go far. You might think why bother, but keep in mind that with these great Think about this, Your initial email of educational just a review of the product that customer bought, may turn that neutral customer into a fan of your website or even a fan of your knowledge. If you have customers that on the curve, just think with your educational material or your insight information, might just turn those customer to potential YOUR customers. I can’t tell you what to write, but here is an example of what I would say, if they’re buying a product that is known for something bad name it, don’t hide it I know it’s a no-no in the industry but think about it, the more honest you are with your reviews the more likely it is your customer will be a solid lead.

4 - Should you upsell or your products? What is up selling well it’s like, do you want supersize your drink with that? Get it. Well when you offer your customers the ability to get the next best thing with a reasonable price range many of them will jump. It’s been shown that with these jumps, you can increase your profit margins by 30% depending on how much up scaling you do Selling to your existing customers an add on or providing your customers to an complementary product pays off. It’s shown that these freebeies actually benefit your business in the LONG RUN. I know its hard when you’re a small to medium business in survival mode but believe your benefits outway your initial costs. I’ may of jumped the ramp here I’ll try to tie this into how emailing works. In your emails try to initiate a coupon or try to upgrade the sale, or try to cross sell. What I mean by cross sale is with the cheese burger, offer the coke to wash it down wash it down with. These large firms like Amazon, a large majority of their revenue is from emailing their existing customer coupons or offering services above the situation called for. That’s called Marketing 101. Coming back to email marketing, know your audience, sell the product to your relevant audience. Here is a little home work you’ll have to do. Keep tabs on what your existing customers purchased, send out emails about the product they purchased, send out reviews and ask for reviews from them. This is a two way sword, you’ll get some good reviews and some bad. But to be an honest advisor you’ll have to post all. I know this is not what you want to hear but listen to the negative more than the positive. Don’t lose focus of the picture, most emails are sent maybe just maybe one of them will bite, and that’s better than zero.

5 - Exclusive Deals to current customers. Remember that one customer that purchased from you. Well don’t forget that ONE customer. Hey reward them, give them exclusives deals Did you forget that the reason why people join those email subcritons. Well to get on those great rewards. The customers that are your customers are special. They should be treated with respect and given that golden ticket. Free promotions, free exclusive coupsons, never hurts and these things create repeat customers. If you want create some kind of point system more you buy the more you get off, same way as if they bring new customers. • How about sending out special content/coupon before its released to on your website. • First look at items or services offered, and ask your customers if there is something they’d like to see. (That says you listen and VALUE there opinion)

8 Great Ideas for Free Marketing

1 - How to get your business noticed in the media

Whether it's the local newspaper, a national trade or retail magazine, a radio slot or TV appearance - offer yourself as an expert in your field, available to comment at any time or provide material for their writers or producers. This sounds ambitious but you can do it. Sometimes the best way is to promote your business by paid advertising, it has its advantages.

2 - Referrals are you best bet!

Whether you’re offering a discount for future work, or for your existing customers, everyone loves a discount. Why not provide your existing customers bonuses (in your company money J) by  every referral that comes in give them 10% or whatever amount suitable. Come one guys 90% is better than zero. If the work you’re providing is great, and I can make “money” why not, I’ll throw my friends to you who are looking for the services you offer.

3 - Something for Free……What!

Freebies cost, but what they cost in money, they make up in free marketing, If your business can, offer free samples, or creating a coupon offer on Google. Try it, it does work. 

4 - Let your community know what you SELL or provide!

There are many good business groups and associations, you start at, see if you can talk about your product or your services, let’s see where that goes. Just by getting involved in your own community or religious outlet, your business will gain exposure. You’d be surprised how powerful the local minister/rabbi/father is. During these meetings pass out business cards, don’t be shy, this is all about your business. I know people think this is old fashioned or not needed but hey, I say it’s needed more than ever. Your targeted audience might be few in the community but the ones that find your product or your services interesting will keep your calling card. Do your homework, though--make sure you are confident enough to stand in front of people to make the presentation, and make sure that your talk is interesting, inspiring and at times lighthearted. (Comes from experience but you can do it!)

5 - Make your website work for you

If you haven't had your site optimized (SEO), that's something you should look at. This might be biggest nugget, and sometimes the most beneficial. Hey when people search for our business we want to be Number 1 or it not Number 1 then at least on the first page. SEO services will enable us to pick the right words, and help us gain a better understanding how these SEO engines work. Keep in mind this service will cost you, and this is something you will need someone professional to handle this. You can do it yourself, but I recommend you get a professional to look at it, and then see what you need and don’t need.  Just on side note you can promote your own business on social network sites like Google Plus, Facebook, and Twitter. Try these and work your way around.

6 - Special Offers Pricing!

In a recession strategy, before you start slashing away, look at your competition see if you can work within their pricing structure. Sometimes slashing will turn people away from your business. Offer price guarantees, work guarantee look at what you can offer. Not much to say here because you are your own boss on what to offer discounts. Keep my philosophy one penny is better than zero. If it makes you money why not, sell it. 

7 - Payment Plans

If you offer services, and you think you can offer payment options do it. Sometimes people don’t go for that big nugget is because of price. Let’s say you’ve given the discount, you’ve given the price guarantee, now how do you real in the customer. Well many customers aren’t able to pay upfront. Give those customers if you can the ability to make payments. Hey I know easy said than done but bending backwards is a lot better than closing shop. Make a payment schedule with your customers. Think big and big things will happen think small nothing will happen.

8 - Satisfaction Guaranteed

Your best advertisement is satisfied customers. These are the customers that are going to talk positive about you, and your services. These are the ones that will win you over new customers. Have your customers write a letter of satisfaction about you on the internet. Why not, it’ll be great marketing for free, and people can actually see positive responses about your business.   Above everything else though, treat your customers with the utmost respect and gratitude. They are the reason you have a business at all, and in a recession that key business principle really is worth its weight in gold.

Tools that’ll help you pick Keyword Tools for Your Website

We all know that research is the backbone of any idea, but did you know that some GREAT research with a SEO can land you the most effective website out there. The best way or the most effective way to be on top of any search engine is to have the right words, scratch that, the right KEY words. Key word? These the words that META crawlers go out to find. The more you have the more beneficial it’ll be for your website. These key words keep changing. In this blog I’ll discuss some easy way to find these great tools for free, and pay. I mostly use the free ones because I am a start up company. I try to keep my budget to zero as much as possible. The first one is my favorite. Its called Google Adwords:

Google AdWords Keyword Tool One of the most effective keyword research tool, is the Google Adwords tool. I don’t care if you’ve got a degree from some snobby college, if you don’t know what you’re looking for or what key words should be used. Let’s just say you’re website could be giving away free gold, and if you’re not being search on, then you’re website and your ideas is invisible. The way it works is you’ll put a word or a phrase and see how many times that word has been searched on. It’ll give you an idea of which words to use on your website.

Keyword Spy - I actually like this tool, with this tool, you can check your competitors’ AdWords , learn more about their organic and PPC spending and “home” into, their winning keyword and ad copy combinations. A great ray of diverse search options are available to you. You can try it out with the free demo, and you may very well find that it’s worthwhile to pay the monthly fee to keep using it.

HitTail I believe in freebee but if you have to pay, then for $9.95 a month, you can receive real-time statistics about the keywords you’re using on your website. Actually, this is a great way to come up with promising new keywords for your SEO campaign. To date, the site has analyzed more than 1.2 billion keywords. If you’re unsure about whether it’s worth it, you can use the free version to see what it’s all about. Think of it as a way to get inside prospective customers’ heads.

Wordtracker It’s important to fill your site with Google-friendly content. This robust tool makes that a lot easier to do. Wordtracker includes a first-rate keyword suggestion tool. You can use it to search for specific keywords and to find out how many searches are being performed for them per month. You’ll also be presented with a list of keyword variations. Additional tools like a link-building tool and a competition analysis tool are also available. You can check it out with a seven-day free trial. The full version costs $299 per year.

KeywordStrategy One of the nice things about this tool is that several monthly plans are available. You can easily find one that suits your needs and your budget. It includes many useful keyword research functions, and it even allows you to import lists of keywords. This tool was clearly designed by people who do this type of research all the time. You can blacklist unwanted keywords, tag keywords to organize them more effectively and filter them according to many different criteria. In addition to that, you can track your ranking for thousands of keywords quickly.

serpIQ The primary goal of this tool is to allow you to take over your desired niche. You work towards that goal in a number of ways. A comprehensive analysis of the competition can be conducted quickly.
Bright, easy-to-read graphs make it easy to see where you stand and to check how your competition is faring. Different plans are available, and each one includes a different maximum number of analyses per day. This tool also allows you to generate PDF reports that can be used to fine-tune your SEO strategy. 

iSpionage Executing an effective PPC campaign can be tricky. Without doing the right research, yours could be doomed to failure. Keyword analysis plays a vital role, and iSpionage is perfect for anyone who is doing keyword research for their PPC campaigns. You can monitor the competition’s paid search campaigns as well, which makes it easier to find gaps where you can slide in and be more competitive. Some stand-out features include social mention data and SEO keyword monitoring. Monthly plans are available, or you can pay for six months at a time and save a lot of money.

Seed Keywords This one really stands out because it takes a whole different approach to keyword analysis. Instead of generating reports based on searches and other data, this tool puts you in the driver’s seat. You send a search scenario to a handful of people. They are then asked to provide the types of terms that they would use to solve the problem. With that information, you can get inside people’s heads and get a better handle on the types of keywords they’d use. It’s worth it to give Seed Keywords a try because it’s totally free.

Keyword Eye Are you the type of person who prefers visual representations of data as opposed to row after row of numbers? If so, Keyword Eye may be right for you. This tool uses keyword clouds and other visual representations of important search engine data to help you fine-tune your SEO campaign. It’s also a great way to brainstorm new keywords for your campaign. A variety of reporting options is available. You can even generate reports that can be used by copywriters for inspiration. You can try it for free right on the main website.

Wordze One of the top selling points of this keyword tool is that it incorporates many different tools and reports. You can access these tools from a single, easy-to-use interface. The AdWords tools lets you study up about how your competitors are using keywords in their campaigns. You can generate reports about search trends to come up with new directions for your campaign. There is also a meta search tool that lets you dig even deeper. Although a free version isn’t available, a risk-free trial is. With all of these tools in one place, your campaign is sure to flourish.

Keyword Competitor This tool is a little bit different, it’ll give you an idea of how your competition is being ranked. Think about it if you know that, you can change or update your site to use the same words. Hey give it a try it might just work. Remember with all these tools, you won’t become number 1 or 2 overnight. Just keep in mind, at the end of day it’s the number of hits. With a few clicks of the mouse button, you can discover the landing pages and paid keyword ads that your competitors are using. You can even find out what’s working and what isn't. With that information, you can fine-tune your existing efforts or start a whole new campaign. A 30-day free trial is available, and plans range in price from $29 a month to $499 a month. 

SEOmoz Keyword Difficulty Tool The one drawback to this tool is that you need to have an SEOmoz PRO account. If you do though, this tool works incredibly well. In fact, it became so popular that the site had to restrict its use to members only. One of the best things about the keyword difficulty tool is its simplicity. Just plug in the keyword of your choice and get a wide array of information. You can find out the search volume for a keyword on Google AdWords and get all kinds of additional information. The tool is free to PRO members.

Looking at all these tools, just keep on thing in mind. Use what works for you.

What a takes to be Designer!

Now that you have your desktop or laptop that can run code in multiple languages. You’ve got the best programs that money can buy. You’ve got it all baby! But wait, now its time to create, the project just came in, your first customer. The customer wants an apple. Here you are in front of that 10K computer, hoping that ideas will flow out. I guess what the question here is, are you born with the skill to design or is it something you learn. Believe me the answer is not so black and white. Also just a side note, this article has not right answer. 

Here’s my two cents. Designers are a dime a dozen, but the good ones are rare as diamonds. I believe that talent is in you. Just like a piece of marble your experience and positive atmosphere makes you, YOU. Many people fall in to the trap of marketing, marketing and designing do go hand in hand but they are two separate professions. To be productive in either role, you need to feed off each other.

You’ll notice, and I won’t name names, but many designers with their own talent “borrow” ideas from the original designers. There’s nothing wrong with that and if you do that more power to you. Keep in mind that you change the idea so much that it reflects your style. Everything you do within the designing world should reflect you, and your project. Don’t be a cookie cutter, I mean don’t be that guy.

To be a successful designer, let me rephrase that, to be a successful designer, it doesn’t matter if you’re born with it or you learn it through practice, one thing is sure you make yourself successful. I guess the debate, boils down to this, the core of every successful designer lies an innate vision and drive to produce successful creative designs, coupled with a foundation knowledge on how to make your design flow. A successful designer needs to bring innovation to the field, but also to learn from others’ their failures and from their successes. Take their knowledge and build on that. This widely-known quote from Ira Glass, “What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me — is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap; for the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work… It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take a while. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

Do you have additional examples of how design is more talent-based or skill-based, or do you agree that design falls into this gray area? I’d love your feedback! Email me. 

What are Meta Tags

We all want to be on TOP, specially when it comes to our business. We'll try and we want the highest ranking for our webpages. After all we want our web pages to POP up every time when the word GOOGLE shows up. Well, that might be a little difficult. I did say difficult, not impossible. As a web designer, and my follow web designers, or potential customers looking for web page. My Blog is here to help you understand basic understanding of what you're suppose to ask for, when creating your web page. What items you're suppose to look at. 

In this blog I'll discuss the value of Meta Tags. What Meta Tags are, and how they will benefit your website. 

Now that you've got your working website up. Its running finally you've got more than your mother, uncle, auntie, and most of all your girlfriend/wife is looking at it. Your website up, and but wait the traffic isn't what it should be. 

You've run the numbers of hits, and it shows 10 and if you remove all the time you've been on it, now the number shows 3. Great!! I can help, maybe, well I'll try anyway. 

Before I jump into Meta Tags, make sure you're using the right words for descriptions Just add meta tags and your website will magically rise to the top, right? Keep in mind there are rooms full of computes running algorithms.  

While there is still some debate about which meta tags remain useful and important to search engines, meta tags definitely aren't a magic solution to gaining rankings in Google, Bing, Yahoo, or elsewhere – so let's kill that myth right from the start. However, meta tags help tell search engines and users what your site is about, and when meta tags are implemented incorrectly, the negative impact can be substantial and heartbreaking.

The following are some examples of what Meta tags are and what they'r impact can be:

What Are Meta Tags?

HTML meta tags are officially page data tags that lie between the open and closing head tags in the HTML code of a document. The text in these tags isn't displayed, but is parable and tells the browsers (or other web services) specific information about the page. Simply, it “explains” the page so a browser can understand it.

Here's a code example of meta tags:

<head>
<title>Not a Meta Tag, but required anyway</title>
<meta name="description" content="Awesome Description Here">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8">
</head>

The Title Tag

Although the title tag appears in the head block of the page, it isn't actually a meta tag. 

Tips and Tricks to Promote your business

These are just basic ideas, I've come up with, some of them are tested and some of them just ideas that I've picked up throughout my business ventures. 

So now that you've made letterheads, business cards. I've notice many times that when people order business cards from us, they have everything on it. I mean everything, but the most important part, like your URL for your website. and of course don't forget to put in your e-mail signature. This tit bit may of sounded insane, but believe it or not, people don't do it. 

Small advice, think as though you're customer wouldn't think to look there. Just have it on there for safe keeping. 

I'm just a small fry in the big market of things, but my employees (me, myself, and I) all have t-shirts with our company name on it, and yes we have our URL on it as well. I'm a walking billboard. Free advertising people. 

If you haven't done it already, don't forget to put your web address in your Yellow Pages ad. That's one place people see it every day.

On my car, I have my magnet stamps that show my URL on the side. here is something what it looks like: (my shameless way of promoting ME.) 

The next advice is very important: Make sure you use SEOs if you don't know what those are I'll explain int the next blog. But these are very important. Can't wait send me an email. 

Need more exposure, you can explore search engine marketing, wherein you pay to have a text ad appear when visitors search for certain keywords.

Send out a weekly e-mail newsletter to registered site. Give them promotions on what your selling, related to your company with links back to your site. Again, like I've mentioned before, learn about your targeted audience. Send a well-planned, customer-focused e-mail promotion to a targeted list of potential visitors and offer a credit toward the purchase of anything from your site. Spend time on your e-mail's look and content. No matter how much you do it, just my advice, not saying it won't work, but I've never opened email from people trying to sell me something, its a long shot, but you never know. 

Create your own link exchange by asking sites complementary to yours (but that don't compete) to put your link on their pages and you'll do likewise.

 If your selling products online, every time you get a customer who's purchased, send them a coupon for the next purchase, and ask about their feedback about your website, sometimes you get people who'll guide you in the right direction.  Inspire your visitors to spread the word for you with viral marketing techniques, from the aforementioned newsgroup participation to including an "e-mail this link" on every page of your site. Not sure what your customers want? Try creating an online survey to get their crucial opinions on how well your site is selling to them.

This is important: When creating your own ads, make sure you understand who you're targeting, the goal of your campaign, and how to creatively use the ad confines to get viewers to click on your ad, not away from it. A lot of people don't use this way, but I say why not, try other selling venues like online classified advertising or online auction sites to increase exposure to your site and products.

First Impressions for your business

You maybe wondering why I’m writing about first impressions, rather than talking about promoting your business on the internet. Let’s say you walk into a restaurant, everyone in town has been raving about it. It’s the best food. You can’t beat the service. Everything you order taste fantastic. Well, WHAT IF, you went there, and your first impression was a dirty restaurant. Or maybe they forgot to vacuum or maybe they didn’t do a thorough  job of cleaning up. Think about this, that was your first impression. To my wife, it might disgust her out. To me, I’m a guy, and I don’t care how the place is, but the problem, is I’m not your average customer. You’re average customer expects certain image quality from you. I mean your business. * My lame website PROMO – if you want a good impression, on the web then let us help you, our website is www.webcreatingco.com. Now back to your regularly scheduled program J. You never get a second chance at making a positive and long-lasting first impression.  Although there is some debate as to how fast it takes for someone to make a first impression – is it in the blink of an eye? 30 seconds? 60 seconds? – simple and clear first impressions can never be AGAIN!  

Keep in mind I’m a web designer and I sell, basically images. What I’m saying is your first impression should be portrayed as positive and long-lasting for both your customers and from us.  It is on your shoulders to ensure that your first impression properly represents your company. 

First thing is when choosing your website, Don’t just go for the cookie cutter look. I know it’s simple and easy but that’s what it is simple and easy. Go for more of a look that’s YOU.

I was working on a project for a client of mine, and he/she wanted me to have a BIG strawberry in the background of their pages, and have bakery items float. Sounds great right? Actually No, majority of your clients want to see a professional website, not something you’ve half baked ( no pun attended J) Think about it, should be you. First impression are you.

1.     Pick the right color to represent  your company colors. ( this is up to you, there is no such thing as the right color – I actually think HOT pink wouldn’t be appropriate for a funeral home.( hey what do I know)

2.     Here’s a key piece but don’t get hung on it. LOGO. Yes your logo is important. This is your trademark, your image. You don’t want a BONG or a beer bottle as your logo if you’re selling cabbage patch dolls. ( for the younger generation those used to be the hottest item in the 80’s

Probably the single most important thing I can tell you is when you’re looking for someone to do your website, if not me L make sure they know what there doing, and most of all that the company and individual demonstrate they have value to offer you, just like www.webcreatingco.com (come on you’re reading my BLOG I have to shamelessly promote myself)  In business if you’re presenting new ideas and solving problems, you are creating and offering value, what we do here in WebCreatingCo

Remember that your customer is not simply buying from your company, they are buying from you.  You represent the company and its products.  If they trust and like you, they will be more likely to trust and like your company and its products. Remember when you’re creating your website image, let us help you. You may just see that we’re not that expense, and we offer great rates, and services.

Free Media through Social Sites

How To Use Free Media for Marketing! 

Hi Guys, I guess I hope some of my advice, on marketing has opened your eye to different ways to approach the same problem. I know many of us are looking for the safe and most importantly the CHEAP route, don’t get me wrong, I’m with you. I first started my business on a whimp, and paid my dues. What I mean by that is, I maxed out my credit cards, fell two payments behind on my mortgage, and yes I asked my relatives and anyone for assistance. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. The reason why I’m tell you this, is because A DON”T GIVE UP. It’s an ocean out there, and believe me, what you make is what you make, and what I make is what I make. What I’m trying to say is there are so many fish in the sea, that we’re not fight for the same one.

So, now on to bigger points. We’ve all started using Google, and Facebook what I should say is social medium to promote ourselves, by having our own page, of thoughts and friends. Wait a minute, why not do that for our business, a great idea!!! Actually a worn out idea. Everyone and there mother is doing it. I mean look at the big companies out there, they’re trying to attract the “loyal” customers by having them “click in”.  Well in this article I’m going to go through, the small business plan. Actually my plan, and you can see my mistakes and my wins. You may want to try to use them as well. 

Look here’s the #1 rule. KNOW your customer. Sounds easy right….actually this is the hardest thing. Companies pay other companies BIG money to find out what every kind of race is thinking? I mean this may sound “racist” but keep in mind, that our backgrounds govern how we buy. I come from a poor Asian home, where the mentality is get it while its good. Meaning forget about tomorrow live for today. Yes that mentally is not every Asian out there but only us. I mean my family in general. So enough said about that. Keep in mind we all have certain tendencies to how we approach a problem or purchase.  

With that big NOTE, just keep in mind that all of that writing/talking on top I did was to tell you to sell the right item to the right customer, or know your audience.

How to use Facebook.

Most businesses that offer or have Facebook pages,  are the best place to start. These pages allow businesses to collect “fans” the way celebrities, sports teams, musicians and politicians do. There are now 1.4 million Facebook Pages and they collect more than 10 million fans every day, according to the site.

Businesses can easily create a web presence with Facebook, even if they don’t have their own Web site. I own my web designing business. I know this may sound like a pitch, but you definitely needs a web presence. Now that you have your Facebook account, you need a presence on the web to back it up. Businesses can claim a vanity address so that their Facebook address reflects the business name, like htt://www.Facebook.com/WebCreatingCo. Facebook pages can link to the company’s Web site or direct sales to e-commerce sites like Ticketmaster or WebCreatingCo. (Pitch – If you’d like use my website: www.webcreatingco.com to help you out. I’ll do my best to give you best price, and make you happy. BECAUSE: I need the business –STAIGHT OUT)

Facebook offers an array of tools and networking solutions, I guess it’s easy to wander down too many paths, I recommend, that start with by asking yourself a simple question: What’s your goal? Is it getting more customers in the door? Building brand awareness? Creating a venue for customer support? Once you have set your goal, you can strategize accordingly. So basically put it on paper, check mark each stage of the game. J

Now that you’ve written all down, find out what your objectives are. Meaning are they baby steps or are you coming out RUNNING. So keep it simple. And most of all keep your ideas clean, meaning don’t have 40 objects for goal # 1.

Here’s a small hint, tell your family and friends to join your companies Facebook. You’ll be surprised how fast you’re Facebook page grows. Also keep in mind to have a Google+ account as well. Make your FREE presence known.

And don’t forget that you can enliven your page with photos, comments and useful information. As you grow more comfortable, you can add videos or business applications. Flaunt your personality. The page of an ice cream parlor should feel different than that of a funeral parlor. “The pages that are most successful,” said Tim Kendall, the director of monetization at Facebook, “are the ones that really replicate the personality of the business.”

Should It all be about SELLING? 

This may come at the end, but keep in mind, don’t try to end with a sale, sometimes a to empower someone with knowledge might win you more customers.  

Some basic rules:  The best practitioners make Facebook less about selling and more about interacting. Engage with fans and critics. Listen to what people are saying, good and bad. You may even pick up ideas for how to improve your business. Keep content fresh. Use status updates and newsfeeds to tell fans about specials, events, contests or anything of interest.

Remember with all these tools people aren’t going to flock to your social business site overnight. Technology is about the network effect. It takes time to make those connections, and more time for the one’s that grow. 

Sales Pages on Social Media

For Sale!, Now that you've opened up your online business and attracting customers to your ecommerce store or sales page. All of a sudden its much harder than you thought. Your blog about turning LEAD into GOLD gets more hits than your website. Why? It’s because no one really cares about your business. The only person that's actually bought something from you is your mom, and she got help from her BINGO club. Nobody really wants to know what you have to sell and no one likes being led to a sales page. Even if you think you’re offering the most magnificent products ever, the golden toilet bowl, by default people are going to ignore you unless they know who you are. And this is where the light should GO OFF!! UNLESS THEY KNOW YOU or your PRODUCTS!

Selling on Social Media is the RAGE?? Really?

Marketing your business on social media is all the rage right now but simply posting your online store URL on Facebook or any other social media isn't going to work. For one thing, most people are extremely suspicious of any type of sales page they encounter. Anything that even resembles a product page is just going to get passed on.

For example, whenever I click on any submission and am taken to a page full of products, I get pissed off and immediately leave. Ninity nine percent of the time I'm doing research or "window shopping", and on those social sites, I'm there to read about what others are up to or to just relax. My marketing and BS sensors are on full alert and I hate being led to a random store or ecommerce site. So what do you do?
 You Need To Create A Connection

The other thing you need to realize is that customers don’t necessarily shop at your store because of your products per se. They are shopping at your store because you've created a connection somehow. They want to buy from you because of the personality and your store products. Don't get me wrong you will definitely find that one guy up at night that needs that hand warmer pizza cutter, which happens that your store sells.

The best way to illustrate this point is to tell a story about an experience I had at a company I used to work for. At the time, I was a hardware engineer designing circuit boards and I had to select a device to use in my design from 2 competing manufacturers.

Company #1 was the leader in their field. They produced devices that were technologically superior to every one else. Feature wise, their product was the device of choice among developers. Company #2 was not as well known but had a decent product. However from a technical standpoint, their product was not as powerful as Company #1 but adequate for most applications.

In any case, it should have been a no brainer to go with Company #1, but ultimately I went with Company #2 and a lesser known product. Why? It’s because Company #2 projected this aura of really caring for their customers and providing superior customer support.

Because Company #1 was already the leader, they didn’t dedicate as many resources in trying to help me integrate their device into my design. Finding literature and documentation was more difficult as well because I had to manually request access to each document, a process which often took several days.

Meanwhile, Company #2 had a very open philosophy with their documentation and it really showed on their website. All of their content was freely available and as a result I got to know their products better and felt more comfortable using their devices. Whenever I had any questions, they immediately sent an engineer over to help even for the most minor of problems. Over time, I even became friends with the sales guy and FAE.

I continued to use Company #2′s devices throughout my entire stint at my job and never even considered switching, ever. I was a loyal customer for life.

The key takeaway here is that the superior product isn’t always the one that sells and the decision to buy is not always about the product itself. If you can establish some sort of connection to your customers through your website or customer service, then you will have the upper hand. In fact, that is one of the main ways that a small niche store or boutique can take on a larger business. The key is to make people want to buy from you and no one else. And to do that you need to make your store standout. Company #2 snagged me as a customer because their emphasis on good customer service was plastered all over their website.

The Secret To Marketing A Niche Online Store

So what is the secret to marketing your store? **Drum roll** The secret to marketing your online store is to keep your customer engaged with your website by showing them your personality. The secret is to keep your customer so interested in what you have to say that they don’t even realize that you are selling to them. And to accomplish this feat, you need to have engaging content.

In fact, I would argue that you shouldn’t think of your online store as a store at all. You should think of your ecommerce site as a content site that happens to sell products. Similar to a blog, if you have good content, the word will eventually spread, people will link to your website and you’ll get tons of organic traffic without having to spend much on advertising.

For our store, my wife and I engage customers by providing useful craft tutorials and other projects that can be created with our products for free. 70% of our web traffic comes directly through our content pages and a good portion of this traffic eventually goes on to purchase from us. I would say that initially, many of our customers don’t even visit our website to shop. Instead, they read about some of our cool DIY wedding projects and want to make it themselves. In the future, we also plan on adding video tutorials to our store as well.

Bottom line, the more you can engage with customers, the more you’ll be able to sell. Instead of a direct sales pitch, show them that you are a real person and that you are passionate and care about your products.

If you want to see a great example of this, take a look at what what my site webcreatingco.com. To understand what I mean, take a few minutes and check it out. My function is trying to sell YOU. That's my pitch. Of coarse I want to make a dollar at it, but most of all if you're successful, then I'm successful. I'm pretty sure, I'll get repeat business from you. So lets talk. Throw me a line if you think, I can help or if you have any ideas you'd like to bounce of me. 

Marketing Online HELP!

Ok, you’ve got hosting, you’ve made your website, and now you’re watching your email like a hawk. Day one, no emails. You tell yourself its cool, its only day one. Day two, same feeling. Its only day two. I got nothing to worry about. The clicks will start pouring in. Day 20 and now you’re nervous. You’ve emailed everyone you know, you’ve told your babysitter about your website. You’ve even discussed it at your local Church or Synagogue, and still nothing In this article I’ll discuss some basic marketing strategies, and how and what you need to do., to PROMOTE your BUSINESS or IDEA.

Marketing Online Strategy #1) Have a Blog/Website.

The first step to successful marketing online is to have a home base on the Web. It doesn't really matter if you have an official website or a blog or a combination of both. Either will give you a Web address where people can find you and a convenient way of referring to you, two things that will facilitate your marketing online efforts. So even if you don't sell anything online directly, you need a website.

I learned this the hardway, get a blog on their website or serving as a website because if you blog regularly and have something relevant to say, you will develop a following - and some of those people will help your marketing online efforts by spreading the word about you and your products and/or services.

Marketing Online Strategy #2) Online Advertising

Many small businesses in particular don’t bother with this marketing online strategy, I suspect because they don't want to use cash. They only want to do free marketing online. I say, there's absolutely nothing wrong with free marketing online strategies - as long as you realize they're not all that 'free'. Keep in mind that online marketing strategies I'm aware of take a considerable time investment, meaning they're only free if your time is worth nothing. A lot or running around needs to be done, meaning follow up work. Keep this simple rule in mind, you get what you pay for.

Traditional online advertising, on the other hand, takes relatively little time and can be a very effective marketing online strategy. The first thing you need to know about it is that there are two cost models, CPM and CPC.

CPM stands for Cost Per Thousand Impressions. With this type of marketing online, you basically buy space on a web page and pay for a certain number of impressions, or the number of times your ad is going to be displayed. Many of the banner ads you see on various websites are being paid for on a CPM model.

CPC stands for Cost-Per-Click advertising. In this model, you pay only for the number of times a viewer clicks on your ad, not on the number of times it's displayed.

Google AdWords is perhaps the best known Pay-per-click marketing online program. When you're marketing online with this program, you choose particular keywords that you want your ads to be associated with. When people search on Google using one of your keywords, your ad may appear next to the search results. The theory is that these people are much more likely to be interested in your products or services.

Another online advertising strategy you may wish to try is creating and posting an online video (either to your own website or to a popular video sharing site such as YouTube). See YouTube Rocks for Advertising Your Business. An online video can be marketing online gold if it becomes popular.

Marketing Online Strategy #3) Directory Listings

Adding your business to appropriate directory listings (local directory listings, business directories, etc.) is another way of marketing online that takes little time and is relatively inexpensive. Whatever local business groups you belong to, such as your local Chamber of Commerce, probably have websites where they allow members to list their businesses online and perhaps even place ads on the site at special rates. Search out other local sites, especially those related to tourism, and make sure you're listed there, too.

What other marketing online strategies might work best for your small business? Here are three more for you to try:

Marketing Online Strategy #4)

Joining the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and forums, posting on Flicker and YouTube, commenting on other people’s blogs, are all opportunities for marketing online.

Marketing online through social media requires a much more subtle technique than marketing online through advertising or directory listings. With all social media, the trick is to participate intelligently and actually attempt to converse rather than just advertising your products or services. Comments such as "Good point. See my site www.worldsbesttamales.com for the world's best tamales" are just spam, not conversation.

The downside of marketing online through social media is that it's time-consuming. If you want to do it well and see any real benefit from it, you have to work at it. The upside is that it's free and can really generate a lot of buzz about your products/services if something that you've done online ( a post, a video, an article) becomes really popular.

Marketing Online Strategy #5) Online Networking

Try Linkedin.  Its stated purpose is to help the world's professionals connect with one another to accelerate their success. As of this writing, LinkedIn has over 40 million members in over 200 countries and territories around the world. It's a powerful tool for marketing online, giving you the opportunity to connect with potential customers, partners and colleagues.

Besides being a great source of support and information, groups such as these also provide some marketing online opportunities. Other members may be potential customers or referral sources as they get to know you and what you do.

Like social media, online networking requires taking a subtle approach to marketing online. The same basic rule applies to online networking that applies to networking face-to-face. Give, give, give and don't worry about receiving; you will, likely in bigger, more powerful ways than you ever imagined.

Marketing Online Strategy #6) Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the best and most powerful ways of marketing online, in my opinion. For one thing, once you've developed an email list, (notice the word developed, not bought), you are, in effect, preaching to the converted, sending your marketing message directly to people who have already indicated some interest in your products or services.

For another, email is an excellent tool for building a relationship with your customers, letting you build both repeat business and good word-of-mouth through your marketing online efforts.

Newsletters can be sent to the email list you've built from the people who provided the necessary information on your website, for instance, providing these potential customers with news updates about your company, upcoming events and/or special offers – and, of course, reminding them that your business exists and that maybe it's time for another visit.

Email programs such as VerticalResponse and Constant Contact allow you to customize your email to your potential customer so you can send selected customers messages specific to their interests and actions.

Marketing Online and Offline Are The Same in One Way...

Just like any offline marketing, your marketing online efforts need to be planned. So don’t just post something here and place something there and consider that you're marketing online. Create a marketing online campaign and plan and measure your results just as you would with any other marketing.

And remember too, that targeting still matters. The more carefully you have targeted your potential customers and the more carefully you have chosen and placed your marketing advertisements or your conversations, the more successful your marketing online campaign will be.

The thing that's different about marketing online, however, is its incredible reach. The Internet gives your business the chance to reach thousands and perhaps even millions of people who would never hear of your products and/or services otherwise - making marketing online a marketing opportunity you don’t want to miss out on. If you still need additional help try logging into my website WebCreatingCo. 

Web Marketing Secrets

In a recent marketing workshop I attended, I've discovered that most business owners rely on just two or three marketing strategies to attract new business. However, there is a multitude of ways to drive new business to your door. Here are a few of my suggestions:

Networking: Networking is perhaps the most commonly used approach by small business owners. However, it is often poorly executed. Many people attend a networking function and take the wrong approach by trying to meet as many people as they can. They bounce from person to person, handing out business cards like it is an Olympic event and they are vying for the gold medal. They fail to realize that the most effective way to network is to cultivate relationships and give referrals to other members first.

Referrals. This marketing strategy places a close second in preferred methods of generating new business leads. The key here is to ensure that you take a proactive approach rather than a passive one. Instead of assuming that a satisfied client will refer someone to you, ask for that referral. Tell people who your ideal client is and ask for their help in finding these types of clients. The real estate agent who represented the seller when we bought our house sends us a card every year and reminds us that she loves referrals. It is not pushy, does not sound like she’s begging, and I’m confident it helps generate new leads.

Writing. This often under-utilized marketing strategy is an excellent way to become recognized as an industry expert. Every industry has trade magazines and most are hungry for good content. The Internet is also filled with websites and e-zines looking for material to send to their subscribers and customers. I now write at least one article every month and send it to more than two hundred publications. This marketing strategy alone has helped drive more traffic to my website more than anything else. It is sometimes challenging to come up with ideas and to write an 800 word article but the investment of time and effort is definitely worth it.

Newsletters. This is another powerful marketing strategy to keep your name in front of your customers and prospects. Provide key insight into business challenges and offer solutions to them. In other words, help your prospects and customers solve problems. Some newsletters are nothing more than advertising so be sure to provide valuable information to your customer. Although it is less expensive to send a newsletter electronically, you can issue it in paper format. A local real estate agent regularly sends out a one-page update of the housing market in our neighborhood. (More: Newsletters Are Smart Marketing.)

Cold calling. Without a doubt, this is usually the most challenging way to market a business - I know very few people who actually enjoy cold calling. However, it can be a good way to uncover qualified prospects in a relatively short period of time. Be sure to start your conversation with a good opening to capture the other person's attention.

Give free information. At the marketing workshop I attended, the facilitator suggested giving information to interested prospects. Using this marketing strategy on my website, I have quadrupled the number of subscribers to my newsletter in the last year. You do not need to give away all the information relevant to your product or service. Instead, offer information that will help your target market with their problems. For example, when people sign up to my e-zine, they receive a report that outlines 100 tips they can use to increase their sales.

Offer a guarantee. A concern many people have when changing suppliers is the risk associated with the change. They may not be completely satisfied with their existing supplier but the risk of choosing a supplier who may be worse can prevent them from changing. Eliminate this concern and offer a guarantee.

Advertising. This can be a great marketing strategy if you know how to create a good ad. The best marketers know that great sales copy is what makes the difference; I have experienced this first-hand. When I began selling my book on my website, I generated mediocre results for the first two years. I eventually changed the copy on my site and sales have soared every since. Glance through the ads in your trade magazine and you will quickly notice that most ads focus on the company's product features instead of on the customer's problem. Create a great ad by concentrating on the problem you can solve.

There are many other ways to market your business and generate new business leads. However, the marketing strategies I mention in this article are effective low- or no-cost options. Use them consistently and watch your sales grow. Remember you are your own marketing expert. 

Another great resource is your local SBA office.