Spinning The Web Into Gold

The Wealthy Freelancer Book Review

2010-08-09T13:42:00.003-04:00

I was sent a copy of the book The Wealthy Freelancer and asked to review it. The premise of the book is a guide to help individuals that wish to become a freelance copywriter, web designer, consultant, etc. where you own a solo business and don't have employees.

The 3 authors of the book are freelance copywriters and you can see a little of that come through in the advice, but overall the book is generic and the strategies and tips easily apply to just about any type of freelance business you may want to start.

It is set up in 12 chapters with each chapter being a self contained topic or "secret" as the authors call it and also has a decent misc. question section at the end. The target for the book are people just starting out or planning on starting out in a freelance business, but even more experienced freelancers will learn tips and strategies and should read it.

High Points

The book is excellent in terms of its ability to effectively deal with a variety of subjects and also focus on the one key weakness of freelancers.

Marketing Focused: The number one issue with freelance businesses is getting clients. This typically provides the biggest challenge to new freelancers and is probably the number one reason freelancers either don't start a business or fail after they do. This book does an excellent job at detailing how to get clients, nurture leads, build lists, and provides many tactics for marketing and selling your skills. Because the book is generic in terms of its focus any type of freelancer will benefit from this key focus on developing business.
Lead Nurturing Covered in Detail: If marketing is a key point of success than lead nurturing is definitely a close second. The authors dedicate a whole chapter to this, plus add other helpful advice to other chapters like developing a "buzz piece", which was fantastic! In addition, they discuss several techniques for nurturing someone who is interested but not quite ready to buy. This is a critical skill for freelancers and one that could mean the difference between success and failure. They cover this topic very well.
Inspirational: As you read the book you get the perspective of 3 different authors and get a sense of their journey into the freelance world. They share mistakes they have made as well as things they did right and the lessons learned. For the beginning freelancer you really get a feel that you can do this successfully by reading the book, which is very important to the first time freelancer.
Comprehensive: In addition to being marketing focused the book discusses other key topics that are extremely useful to the beginning and even experienced freelancer including:

Pricing your services
Boosting productivity
Developing alternative streams of income
Creating a work/life balance

Improvable Points

Overall the book is extremely well written with a lot of great information, but I found a couple of areas I think could have been stronger.

Freelance Money Management: The book does touch on this topic, but doesn't really delve into it in any kind of depth, but unfortunately this is a key area where many freelancers fail at. A little more depth on the managing up and down cash flows, money management, and taxes would have made the book better and more comprehensive. I realize this can be a huge a complex topic worthy of its own book, but a little more detail would have been really helpful.
Strategic Partnerships: One thing many freelancers will quickly discover is that they can't do everything themselves. They need employees, which wouldn't make them freelancers any longer or they need strategic partners. For example, copywriters can benefit by having partnerships with graphic designers and possibly printers. Web designers can benefit from having partnerships with graphic designers, database developers (assuming they don't do this themselves), copywriters, and others who can expand their capabilities and give clients the same turn key solutions that larger companies can give them, but without the cost and overhead. This would have been a wonderful chapter to include in the book because it is very important to long term prosperity as a freelancer. To be fair the authors do touch on the topic in a couple of pages of chapter 11, but such a great topic really deserves its own chapter.

Overall the book is excellent and a great read for both the first time freelancer as well as offering a lot of great advice to freelancers that have been around a little while. There is definitely a surge in this country of individuals deciding to give up the old 9-5 corporate job and work in a way that becomes part of your life as opposed to something you do for income.

You really see that point come out in the book, which is very inspirational and useful for the first time freelancer. The area of freelancing isn't one where a lot of material has been published and most of the material that has been published is focused a particular industry or profession. This book keeps a broad and open view so it really doesn't matter what area your business will be in, you can apply what you read.

I will sum this up simply by saying...

Buy This Book! You Won't Regret It.

Internet Marketing is a Journey not a Destination

2010-07-20T19:11:00.000-04:00

This is a blog post I have been meaning to write for sometime now. As an Internet marketing consultant I work with a variety of businesses of all sizes and industries. Far too often I get businesses that simply don't understand that Internet marketing and honestly all marketing is often a process or journey as opposed to fixed finite projects that can be forgotten about as soon as they are "finished".

The core of most Internet marketing revolves around a web site. Most businesses undertake the development of a web site akin to the process of building a pyramid! They hire someone to design, develop, write and complete a web site and once done, like God in Genesis, they declare it is good and forget about it for a few million years! They never add content or do search engine optimization activities. They don't test their copy or test their pages. They simply walk away from the project. I find small and even some medium sized businesses to be the primary offenders here and unfortunately those are the companies that shouldn't be doing it.

SEO (Search Engine Optimaztion)

Take search engine optimization (SEO) for example. There are a variety of activities that you can do, but for simplicity sake I am going to break it down into two general categories. Building content and building inbound links. Doing both will help boost your search engine strategy. Contrary to myths being promoted by some in the market there is no "adjustments" "buttons" "quick fixes" or "tweaks" that suddenly shoot you up to the top of the search engines and keep you there. Simply doesn't exist any longer. Those strategies worked years ago in some cases but now days the search engines are smarter and better built. They aren't fooled so easily no matter what any snake oil salesman says. Therefore you are left with doing it the hard way which means creating quality content and building incoming links. You need to be working on this process all the time to insure that you are constantly improving. If you aren't going to do it then you need to hire somebody to do it. Simply ignorning it or doing a few things every once in a while is simply not going to cut it.

eCommerce Marketing

eCommerce is another area that requires constant work. If you just sank a chunk of your retirement savings into a new retail store I am reasonably sure you wouldn't show up on the first day and open the door and then leave for 6 months and occasionally stop by the clean out the cash register. As ridicoulous as this sounds this is exactly how many people who get started in eCommerce act. They pay to create a nice store somewhere and then walk away and think people will simply find them and buy from them. Simply not true. A good eCommerce site is like a good store requiring constant marketing, testing products, testing copy and pages, building an email marketing list, social media presence etc. As you do this over and over eventually you tap into those strategies that are working and those that are not and your success builds.

Internet Marketing is Direct Marketing

Most marketing on the Internet falls into the category of what we call direct marketing, which means you are trying to get people to take some type of action right now as opposed to waiting until later. That being said direct marketing requires that you are always tweaking and changing your marketing startegy until it pulls better than anything else and once that is done you start the process over again to improve it even further. You need to be trying new copy, pages, offers, technology, graphics, etc. In direct marketing we say test, test, test. That is how successful Internet marketing is done.

It is a journey which never ends. It is a process that requires constant and never ending improvement like the Japanese term of Kaizen. If you aren't willing to do this then you shouldn't expect your marketing to produce good results, but to those businesses that are willing to take the time and effort to do it right they will find the rewards far exceed the work.

Inbound Marketing Disorder

2010-06-29T15:25:00.021-04:00

Today the new marketing rage is social media and inbound marketing. It started a few years ago when people started developing the opinion regarding email that nobody had any right to contact you via email unless they received your express permission written out on approved forms in triplicate that had to be approved by 13 committees, 24 czars, 5 departments and signed off by God himself. If you didn't follow that route you were not allowed to send even a single email to someone. Obviously I am being a bit factious, but hopefully you get the point.

Then along came social media and inbound marketing. The concept that started with email has moved into this area. Marketers are not to communicate with customers at all. Instead customers must come to the marketer and get the information they want. If you go to them it has become an unforgivable sin for which you must beg the marketing gods for forgiveness. Everyone is apparently SO busy these days that even the smallest interruption, no matter how it is done or how often is not to be tolerated. Marketers who break this sacred *new* rule will be shot on sight and survivors will be shot again!

The famous permission based marketer Seth Godin is a proponent of this school of thought. His blog routinely bashes the marketers of the world who dare communicate with their customers instead of waiting until they communicate with them. That strategy works well when you are an internationally acclaimed best selling author and have a household name among the marketing world and can probably pay people to help you generate content or do all the things necessary to run your business so you can sit around and develop content all day that will attract customers to you like bees to honey. However what is small to medium sized business that needs customers today to do? What if he or she doesn't have time, budget, or skill to become a best selling author and thought leader?

The point is that sometimes businesses just need to sell a product and people that are so busy that even the slightest interruption at any time is intolerable are also too busy to go read ALL the content that every marketer and business owner is now expected to generate so the customer comes to them instead of being notified about a new product or promotion. As marketers change tactics and evolve I believe it is possible to go too far in one direction or another. I don't disagree that that the traditional way of marketing is probably too much of the marketer telling people things and not enough of an interaction or conversation. However it is also possible to go too far the other way and assume all marketing must be this social media and/or inbound marketing approach and their is no room for direct or traditional marketing any longer under any circumstances. I believe the truth probably is somewhere in the middle.

Seth Godin makes a good living out of telling you all marketing is now social, web 2.0, permission based, inbound, etc., but then that works for him and he has made himself a household name telling us all that.

Let's look at another example...

There is a carpet store in anywhere USA. This store is a small family owned business and sells various flooring products such as carpet, tile, and hardwood flooring. They sell and install carpeting within a 50 mile radius of their store and up until today they have used display ads, direct mail, a simple 10 page web site, TV and radio to sell their services. The new media gods have decreed this company change or be destroyed. So using the books and tactics out there let's see how their new marketing program looks...

They set up a huge web site with tons of great content on everything from every style of flooring ever made, but also gripping attention content like "flooring through the ages" and "the history of carpet from the Renaissance to today" and of course more mundane articles like how carpet is made and the process the fibers are treated with to be stain resistant. They have installed a live chat feature on their web site to be interactive. You can now contact them 24/7 through a live chat on their web site to chat about carpet. Their web site has tons of user reviews on carpet and they create a web site that rivals Amazon.com, but it is focused on selling flooring.
They create hundreds of webinars on how to select flooring and decorate your house.
They write white papers explaining the intricacies of making various styles of flooring and how to select just the right kind of flooring for your totally unique situation which is unlike anything anyone else has ever experienced in the history of the world.
They start a world class blog to discuss carpeting and flooring to give decorating and style tips. They bring in the top designers from around the world to write on their blog.
They post tons of podcasts on their site about how to pick carpeting out and the most intimate details of the construction and manufacturing of hardwood flooring. Today's topic is especially noteworthy, "hardwood flooring the real story"
They shoot tons of videos on all the styles of flooring and give detailed video seminars on exactly how to pick out the perfect flooring for your situation.
They start a Twitter feed and update their feed 30 times per day and get 12,000 followers who hang on their every post about flooring. It becomes a situation of running into a person dying of thirst in the desert and suddenly they get water! They keep drinking, but just can't get enough. They want MORE!
They start a forum on the web about flooring and use all kinds of SEO strategies and links built into their signatures to cleverly get all their content indexed and entice people back to their enormous web site of content. Remember you can't tell them about it, they must discover it and be "invited" to visit.
They also open up a Facebook account and set up a Facebook Fan page showing off their world class knowledge of the flooring industry. They post 900 pictures of various styles of flooring and houses it has been installed in.
The owner of the shop writes some best selling books on flooring that take the carpeting world by storm and establish the owner as the undisputed world leader of flooring. He is put on the President's Council of Advisors for his flooring expertise and flown into sensitive flooring meetings and conferences around the world.

They have built a flooring information empire! The information is soooo compelling it goes viral! They have people from all over the world flooding their web site because of all the information they have. Now unfortunately for them the 5 competitors they have in town are not going to be outdone. They also spend piles and piles of cash to create rival strategies.

Before long the average flooring customer in anywhere USA can spend 5 decades reading and watching a staggering 327,000 pages of web and blog content on flooring! They can quit their job and watch 4 months of video and attend a whooping 357 webinars and in the spare time they have left they can read the 6,712 white papers they have downloaded on carpet. If they are still unsure of where to go they can start following these guys on Twitter and click all the "like" buttons on the Facebook Fan Pages or read 1.7 million user generated posts and reviews that have now accumulated on these web sites.

Or everyone can agree to tolerate a little interruption from time to time in their mailbox, email account or on TV to learn about a sale or new product at the local carpet store. Those people that are interested in buying new carpet or flooring will go check out the basic information they need on the little old 10 page brochure web site get the store hours, directions and some basic information about what the store carries and what they might be looking for. Then they will take an hour and half out of their busy life and go see some choices in person, feel them, see the pros and cons of each style and brand, get a price, buy it and have it installed the next day.

What will the rest of the people that aren't interested in buying new carpet, which will include our example customer in the paragraph above the day after tomorrow, they IGNORE IT! And that is OK!

The ridicoulous example above is written to demonstrate that I think we have gone a bit too far with this whole social media/inbound marketing concept. The concept works great for some busineses, but it is not right for everyone. The fact is the ideal marketing mix is somewhere in the middle as are most things. For some businesses the social media and inbound marketing approach works wonderfully and should be used, but for other small businesses the simple web site and direct marketing model are just fine.

This latest FAD with social media is just that, a FAD. I saw it during the dot com era when every single consultant and expert was absolutely certain the rules of business have changed forever and nothing would again be the same. I am hearing many of those same voices this time saying EVERYONE must follow this strategy or go out of business. There is NO middle ground. The traditional approach to marketing is totally dead and so will you be if you keep following it.

I want everyone to first take a deep breath and then take one thing away from this article. The rules of business are still functioning and it is OK to use traditional approaches to marketing in the right circumstances and in other circumstances a new approach should be considered, but it truly is a case by case basis and a middle approach is still acceptable.

Now assuming you want more than one thing to take away, consider that social media will still be here tomorrow morning. For some businesses it is a great strategy. Also understand that while I did call it a FAD and I believe that to be true, I also believe it will morph and change and find it's rightful place in the stars and all the marketing planets will continue to revolve and universe will not end today if you don't immediately implement this strategy. During the dot com era I heard that people like Warren Buffet simply didn't "get it" any longer. He was the old school of investing and the new economy and style of investing was to buy stock in companies that didn't have a single customer and could burn through 30 million dollars of cash in 6 months because they were the next big thing.

Fast forward to today and Warren Buffet is still one of the richest people on planet earth worth tens of billions of dollars. He continues to make more money every single year. Most of the people that owned the gravity defying dot com companies of the late 90s are still not billionaires. What is true today is that there is a more vibrant Internet as a result of the dot com era. There are great technologies out there and wonderful companies. People have found what works and what doesn't some things stayed and some things got left by the side of the road. I promise the same thing will happen in a few years with social media. Some of it will stay, some will go, and we will have a better Internet and marketing world in the future.

"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain

This quote starts off the first chapter of the book Inbound Marketing. I would suggest you keep that quote handy as you read the book.

Removing Writer's Block

2010-02-15T10:15:00.002-05:00

As a copywriter there is nothing worse than having a paid assignment with tight deadline and sitting down to write and finding your mind a blank slate! Anyone that does any copywriting for a living can sympathize with this. Fortunately, removing writer's block doesn't have to involve going to a voodoo priest or praying to the writing gods. It can be broken with a systematic approach.

Pat Friesen, wrote an article for Inside Direct Mail that I found had several helpful tips. Check out her article here. The next time you run into writer's block simply break down the steps and follow them. I believe you will find in short order that you will have plenty of ideas.

Interview with Internet Marketing Expert Dave Conklin

2010-01-25T13:08:00.004-05:00

I recently had an opportunity to do an interview with Internet marketing expert Dave Conklin. I wanted to offer my readers a different perspective on this topic for your consideration. Please read and enjoy and take a moment to visit Dave's web site.

What first got you into Internet Marketing?

I've always loved playing around on computers and staying on top of internet trends, but I first realized how beneficial internet marketing could be as a real estate agent. Tons of people go online to do research before picking a real estate agent, and I realized that I could generate leads online by offering them exactly what they wanted - info on their home's value, or the value of a home they were considering buying. That just got my mind turning with all the possibilities and opportunities marketing on the web could open up.

How long have you been at it?

Since the early 2000s. I really got in deep once my partners and I created GetMyHomesValue.com, a lead generation and internet marketing company for real estate agents.

GetMyHomesValue was built strictly through internet marketing - no traditional advertising was really used - and it's made the Inc 500 list two years in a row - so that showed me just how important internet marketing is to the success of business. And I've been in love with it ever since!

So many things have changed in the SEO world, since you began. What, in your opinion, is the most interesting/integral part that you've seen?

The most exciting part of SEO and the internet marketing world is that it's always changing. The internet is constantly evolving, and SEO has to evolve with it...so things that got you rankings 2 years ago, may not work as well today. As an Internet marketing speaker and consultant, I make sure to constantly research and adapt to the new and up and coming methods of SEO and web marketing to keep my clients at the top of their game.

I think one of the most interesting things I've seen is the development of social media and what it can mean for businesses - it opens up a whole new world of connecting with consumers and prospective consumers. Google and the other search engines have also been putting more weight on social media - you see a lot of Twitter and Facebook accounts showing up for search terms - Google has even incorporated real time tweets into some searches - it's just crazy, and there's so many ways it can be utilized to help businesses grow.

What aspect of your job keeps you coming in to work everyday?

I think you can probably use that above answer as well! The ever-changing nature keeps it exciting - you never know what's going to happen next. I also work with an awesome team of some of the most creative, intelligent, dedicated people I've ever worked with.

Sitting in a room, brainstorming creative marketing ideas for clients, everyone getting excited and jumping in with ideas...it's a rush!

Just for fun: Do you have a favorite quote you live by?

If you don't risk anything, you risk even more.

What's one big secret to SEO you wouldn't mind sharing with us?

Getting 10 links from people that rank in the top 50 for the term that you're looking to rank for is better than 1500 links on low quality directories and such. Take the time to get to know those people and come up with ways that are mutually beneficial for you to exchange links on your site.

About Dave:

Dave Conklin is a nationally known internet marketing speaker,consultant, trainer and entrepreneur. Dave is also the co-founder of two very successful companies: GetMyHomesValue.com and ProspectMX.com. He is passionate about the internet marketing world and makes it his goal to aim high and get results. Find out more about Dave at http://www.DaveConklin.org.

Money is made in recessions

2009-09-30T10:24:00.002-04:00

I have heard the saying and advice that "money is made during a recession" a few different times during my life, but wasn't really sure what it meant. Now going through one of the worst economic recessions in recent memory and having my own business I get to see first hand what that advice means and how it works.

During a recession unemployment rises and incomes fall. Simple economics. Normally this isn't an issue if the average person or business isn't over extended or have too much debt. A family that lives within their means for example can usually survive a short time with one spouse out of work. Businesses are the same way. However what is making this economy particularly bad for both is that as a nation we are way over extended on debt and that goes for both businesses and individuals. With home and stock values falling and unemployment running very high people have to sell things to make ends meet. Bargains are out there.

I know it seems somehow dirty to "take advantage" of people who are desperate, but you need to look at the other side of the coin. This person or business that is selling something needs cash now - not stuff - and while they can't sell whatever it is they are selling for as much cash as they may want, getting no money for it is probably worse. Their economic circumstances actually get better by being able to sell something for cash and you get a good deal. This is happening with houses, stocks, and other things.

So where I am going with this. Well, one thing that also happens during a downturn is that businesses pull back on spending for advertising and marketing. They view it as an expense not an investment; first mistake. During this period all business do the same thing. Those companies that continue to invest in marketing actually get noticed more because so few businesses are continuing to spend that there is less competition against your marketing efforts. In addition, companies that continue to market during a recession can often buy services and ad space cheaper and get a bigger bang for their dollar because they get a larger voice as it is called in the industry. With less competition from other ads the chances their ads are noticed increases.

Those businesses that continue to invest in their growth will not only get a better deal, but also increase their market share. There are still customers with money out there, your job is to find them. Marketing during a downturn helps you do that. Hiding in the hills and hoping for the best is exactly what all of your competitors are also doing. Do you want to be like them or would you rather be prospering? If you chose the later than copying their strategy logically isn't the best idea.

I will repeat how I started this post money is made in recessions. If you invest now you will gain market share, get more for your money, find good deals on both services and ad space and when the economy does turn around you will be flush with cash and new business. Poke your head in the sand and hope for a brighter day tomorrow and you will come out of this with less cash, less market share and weaker business.

Some of the best investments you can make right now is Internet marketing. Also a well written direct response marketing package or online promotion written by an experienced direct response copywriter can have a wonderful return on your investment. If I can help anyone do that please give me a call.

If you happen to be in the Toledo Area there is a fantastic advertising and marketing conference coming up on October 9th, 2009. We have a fantastic speaker, Mark LeBlanc, as the keynote speaker as well as various break out sessions where yours truly will be speaking and presenting on Internet marketing. If you would like to learn more check out the web site for the event.

Matt Cutts Discusses Google Use of Meta Tags

2009-09-25T10:24:00.004-04:00

Here is a new video by Matt Cutts on how Google uses meta tags in search results...

I have had my doubts for a while now that meta keywords tag was used much, if at all, by Google. I know many SEO consultants shared the same opinion. Here is Matt confirming that Google doesn't use this particular meta tag in their search criteria. Over the years I have heard a lot of uninformed SEO "gurus" talk about the all powerful keyword meta tag. I hope this video finally puts to rest this tired myth.

However what I find most interesting about this video is not Matt's confirmation about the meta keyword tag usage, but how Google DOES use the meta description tag. If you put a meta description tag in there Google may use part or all of that to display a description of your web site. I have also known this for a few years and advocate that people write persuasive, direct response, type descriptions. Please note, I didn't say keyword filled-barely readable-pile of crap description. I have read in other places how you should "keyword stuff" your meta description tag. However please notice HOW Matt mentioned Google uses this tag. He didn't say it was used in search criteria, but he did say it might be used entirely or partly as your site description. I think this is an important point so I don't want to lose anyone here. Now to be fair he also didn't say that is wasn't used either, but either way I think there is a better way to use the meta description tag.

Why do I care so much about this tag being used as part of the description for the site? Direct response advertising. The goal of any pay to click ad and search result is to get a real live person to click on your ad or search result. Your only chance to do that well is with a description that entices people that THIS is the web site they are really searching for. I read the descriptions all the time before clicking on the search results and it amazes me how many of them aren't included in a site or terribly written. Remember based on what Matt is saying a user will read this because of where Google displays it and then determine if that description is really enticing enough or persuasive enough to get them to click on the link and actually visit the site. This is where a good direct response copywriter can be his or her weight in gold.

Remember it won't do you a bit of good to have a top ten listing if nobody ever clicks on your search link or very few people do. However if you have a very well written description that utilizes good copywriting and persuasive and direct response oriented language and strategy you might boost the number of people that do click on it. More clicks equals for conversions. The bottom line is improved sales. Don't blow the description meta tag by listening to a half brained, uninformed "SEO consultant" that doesn't know how it is used and tells you to dump a bunch of keywords in there that don't make a lot of sense to a user actually reading the description.

Twitter to Allow Advertising

2009-09-15T09:52:00.002-04:00

I came across this news announcement this morning about Twitter changing their policies and now allowing advertising. You can read the news release here. I think this is an interesting development for a few reasons. First, some of the most successful advertising on the web has been content based, which means that the the advertiser generally tries to match up ads with the content that is most closely associated with it.

As people read content or search for specific items they are served up ads that relate to what they are reading or searching for in many cases. Most people probably look at this as yet another source of information or products related to what they are doing at the moment. However I am not sure how that would work on Twitter. With so many tweets going on about different topics and different people chiming in at any given time I think it may be more difficult to serve up ads that are relative to the conversation at any given time. In my opinion that may depress the response of those ads. Of course as a direct marketer I never know the answer to these types of questions without actually testing it, but it certainly seems logical that this is a distinct possibility.

In the release Sean Corcoran, analyst at Forrester, said "You can combine research and public relations and CRM and direct marketing in one place, both quantitatively and qualitatively, which is very strong," I agree with this up to his comment about direct marketing. Direct marketing is a very different animal than PR. At the moment I am not sure how he is making the leap that this move by Twitter incorporates direct marketing. In fact, I think that it is the direct marketing element that may be missing from the equation as stated above.

However the concept of linking CRM and PR together is extremely intriguing. Typical CRM data comes from touches with a customer as a the result of delivering a product or service to a customer from departments like sales, marketing, shipping, accounting, etc., but typically not PR. I happen to be of the school of thought that social media is revolutionizing the way we learn about customer wants and needs to be able to gather that information and somehow integrate it into CRM gives a much more full picture of a customer than marketers may have had before.

It will be interesting to see how this change in Twitter actually turns out and what the benefits ultimately become.

2009-07-29T11:43:00.001-04:00

If you are one of the people out there experiencing a bit of hard luck right now and need a job then this is a must attend event. Our topic this month is focusing on helping people use social media to land a great job.

Remember most jobs are filled by referral from knowing people who can help you discover open positions and get interviews. Social media will help you take that natural networking process to a new level and help you land that next great job. Program registration is from 7:30 to 8:00 with the program starting promptly at 8:00 to 9:00. The cost is $20 at the door or $15 if you register online at...

http://smbtoledo5.eventbrite.com/

Internet Marketing Consulting for Free

2009-06-23T18:03:00.002-04:00

I came across this great video on Alan Weiss's blog. It is hillarious and unfortunately way too real for people in my field of Internet marketing and I am sure Alan posted it because of how true it is in all consulting fields.

If you happen to be one of the clients in this video let me ask if this looks any different from our side of the table.

Toledo Social Media Breakfast 4 - July 10th, 2009

2009-06-22T10:03:00.003-04:00

We didn't want to crash everyone's Freedom day celebration known as 4th of July weekend, so we have moved the Social Media Breakfast this month to the Friday after the 4th; therefore the event will be on July 10th this month same place (Elks Lodge in Sylvania Ohio) and at the same time (7:30 to 8:00 is registration. program starts at 8:00) and the same price ($15.00 advanced registration or $20 at the door) Now onto the important stuff, content. This month we chose to put together a program for how to use social media marketing for non-profits.

Let's face it some of the hardest working people are the tireless employees and volunteers of non-profit organizations. This economy stinks right now, which makes these wonderful people have to work even harder to keep from losing ground. We decided that we would focus one entire breakfast on their unique needs for marketing and communication by showing them how to use social media to communicate with their constituency, volunteers, donors, and the community.

These groups have such a great message to tell we hope that coming to our breakfast will help them learn how to tell it better and it in a different channel. This session would be a great learning experience for employees of non-profits, volunteers, and board members. If you fall into any of these categories you should take a morning and come and learn. You will walk away with a unique perspective of how to use this amazing communication channel to tell the world your story.

When: July 10th
Time: 8:00 A.M.
Where: Elks Lodge on Holland Sylvania in Sylvania
Cost: $15 advanced registration $20 at the door.

See you there!

Google Study Shows Execs Are Viewing Web

2009-06-12T14:33:00.002-04:00

A few years back there was a survey that came out that cited how many CEO had never accessed the Internet. We have come a long way since those days. B2B magazine came out with this study by Google showing that C-level execs are indeed viewing the web and using it for research.

If these execs are using the web first hand what are they finding when they come to YOUR site? Do they find a web site that is a template or has all kinds of poorly written copy with lots of misspellings in it? Worse do you have a web site up or is it something you "will get around to"?

Most small and medium sized business owners would kill to have 10 minutes to speak directly to a C-level executive. Entire sales books have been written on how to circumvent the "gate keeper" and get those precious few minutes with the C-level executive. When you do actually get in front of them you are pushing your message at them and hoping to interest them enough to ask you for more information or a meeting to discuss it further. Unfortunately pushing your message at anyone is not the best way to get them to remember or take action. How would you like to change that psychology?

According to this study a web site now meets all of these things and more...

Direct Communication: According to this study there is no gate keeper the executive is willing to go and read this stuff themselves. They are not delegating it and they aren't being tricked into going. They are doing it willingly.
Different Psychology: When you reach an exec the old fashioned way by scheming past his gate keeper you are pushing your message at him or her. With web site they are pulling the message to them... totally different psychology and mind set to have your potential buyer in. They are actively involved by clicking and reading their way through your site. They are taking in your message as opposed to trying to repel your message in the old paradigm.

However all of these benefits are lost if you have a poor web site or worse no web site at all. Having a poor web presence is like meeting this executive face to face and being dressed in sweat pants and a dirty T-shirt. Not having a web site is like standing this executive up for a meeting you had scheduled. Most people would never consider doing the either of these so why would you have a web site or no web site that does exactly that?

Assume this exec comes to your site and it is clean and neat as well as being well written. The exec is not immedately offended by the appearance or the copy which means you are starting off on the right track. Now problem two surfaces, what are you doing on the site to get the executive to take action and become a qualified lead?

Most sites do a very poor job at moving the visitors to their web site from casual browser to active prospect. Without your visitor making this critical shift you aren't building leads which isn't going to help your business grow. There are many ways to help your visitors make this shift which I will talk about in a future post.

If you would like to speak to an Internet marketing consultant that understands all of this and can help you and your company take that next step please give me a call today. I will be happy to give you a free no obligation consultation to discuss your project and marketing needs. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Blogging - The Marketing Advantage

2009-05-29T20:31:00.004-04:00

Toledo's premier Social Media Breakfast number 3 is coming up on June 5th at 8:00 A.M. You don't want to miss this one! Dave Rigotti will be showing the group how to use blogging to blast your marketing efforts through the roof! Here are just a few things he will be covering...

Should I blog?
How do I get started?
What should I write about?
How do I integrate a blog into my current marketing efforts?
How do I maximize effectiveness?
How do I measure effectiveness?
What are some resources for getting started?

Act now and there is a bonus....

Each event has been pulling in 60-70 entrepreneurs, small business owners, and business leaders, which makes it a fantastic networking event as well. Still not convinced, then let me throw in an awesome breakfast. Our caterer puts out a spread that is to die for!

You get all of this for the low, low price of $15 bucks if you register ahead of time at....

http://smbtoledo3.eventbrite.com/

If however you are a procrastinator it will end up costing you an extra $5 bucks for a total of $20 bucks at the door... still an incredible deal. However we want to save you a buck or two as the old AT&T commercials used to say so register now at...

http://smbtoledo3.eventbrite.com/

I promise you it will be well worth your time and you will learn a lot of great stuff about using your blog to boost your marketing efforts. Dave has been running some very successful blogs for a couple of years now so he is the person you want to be listening to. I know I have convinced everyone reading this to attend so sign up today and I guarantee...

It won't wibble, wobble, shake, break, rust, bust, collect dust, or go out on a Saturday night!

Man, I watch way too many infomercials :)

Also want to point out our sponsor this month is...

PWG Marketing...

Toledo's Small Business Coach

Check him out today!

Is Social Media Marketing a Scam?

2009-05-21T10:10:00.004-04:00

I came across this article in PC World today where Robert Strohmeyer is writing about all the charlatans that have showed up on the social media marketing scene as consultants. I believe Robert has several valid points in his article, but I also believe he is being a bit short-sighted as well.

On the positive side I believe he is absolutely correct that suddenly a ton of "consultants" have come to the party and all of them seem to have the "secret" to utilizing this new tool called social media. Unfortunately this has been the case since time immemorial anytime a new technology or phenomenom hits that suddenly there is a ton of people claiming to understand the secrets and are the ONLY consultants who can show you how to cash in.

Also on the unfortunate side is a willing group of people who are dying to learn the "secret" or risk being left behind that they pay some of these clowns a lot of money for bad or useless advice. It is an unfortunate side effect of any new marketing medium being born. However he goes on to say that people go to social media to avoid being marketed to and that any marketing done there will have negligible benefits. Really? I would ask exactly how he is defining marketing and how it is being performed.

Over this post and future posts I will offer a few alternative points of view on this issue. As a real life Internet marketing consultant and not just someone between jobs at the moment I have to look at all of these tools and try to see how they can be used to better market your organization. Here is one suggestion that comes to mind right away...

Market Research. Doing research is a critical piece of marketing for any company big or small. Unfortunately most marketing research is extremely expensive to do and for small businesses it simply is not in the budget. For large companies they simply would not consider any research that isn't done by a large well credentialed market research firm, at least in most cases.

However social media allows someone to be the fly on the wall as the saying goes. It allows both small and large business marketers alike a chance to listen in to the marketplace and see what your potential customers are saying. Listen enough and you are likely to find out what they want and don't want in products and services and probably how to sell to them as well. Admittedly uncovering this information in the midst of all the other conversations going on isn't going to be easy or straight forward, but it can be done. Also unlike formalized market research where customers are filling out surveys or participating in some type of focus group the information you will get from social media is more raw and some would argue more real. People are more relaxed in the social media spectrum then sitting in some room with a focus group. Because there is a certain sense of anomonity in some social media situations people sometimes feel more willing to open up and share feeling, thoughts, and ideas. The point is that this market intelligence is out there if you are willing to go and look for it.

Market research through the social media spectrum is also not just a waiting game and hoping that someone will talk about your product or service. There are whole communities out there that make up your target market. Join this community and offer value, i.e. read that to not mean sales messages. Talk and share. Once people trust you then you can probably ask some specific questions and get some answers from people. In short social media is a conversation starter and there is nothing wrong if some of that conversation is about a business, product, or service.

There is also ways to use social media to get new customers and retain old customers. Real, measurable, and significant ways to do this. I will share those in a future blog post. To give you a taste, remember what I said at the beginning of the post, it is how you are doing the marketing not that you are doing it. I believe this is where Robert has gone astray in his article, but I give him credit for making several valid points and pointing out that yes indeed there are lots of charlatans out there; but just because this might be true doesn't mean that social media can't be a valid and useful marketing channel. Stay tuned for some future posts on this issue.

NY Times on Pay to Click Fraud

2009-05-13T10:26:00.002-04:00

Here is a story I came across done by the NY Times on pay to click fraud. They were one of the papers that did an extensive write up about this a few years ago. Here are my past comments on pay to click fraud To catch some readers up essentially what click fraud is is advertisers paying money for pay to click advertising where the people clicking on the ads are getting financially compensated and therefore are not really potential customers.

How does this situation occur?

In short I can set up a web site and choose to sign up for Google Ad Sense where I display ads that are paid for by other people on my site. When a visitor to my site clicks on one of those ads I get paid a small fee by Google for delivering the person that clicked on the ad. Now in an honest world people set up good content and advertisers support that content development with ads. People that are interested read, watch, or listen to the content and support the advertisers by clicking on the ads. Everybody is happy, sort of.

The problem occurs when one person really wants to cheat the system. They put Google Ad Sense on their web site and use either automated software or worse a large network of individuals to go to their web site and click on those ads. Every click earns them some coin. Google and Yahoo as well as other advertising providers have forensic departments and ways of supposedly figuring out which clicks are fraudulent and which ones are not. I won't spend a lot of time discussing the massive effort this must take or the obvious mistakes that must occur. I think most of my readers are smart enough to figure out the obvious problems in supposedly catching all the fraudulent clicks.

However like email spam the main issue here is economics. There is a financial motivation for people to set up sites, display ads, and find ways to generate clicks both legitimately and fraudulently. The one power on the planet I have utmost respect for is the power of economics. As long as their is economic gain to be had people will find a way to subvert and move around almost any type of blockade or system created to stop them from doing said activity. Simply put no matter what Google or Yahoo do they will never stop click fraud because the financial incentive is there to subvert any protections they put in place.

However one option not explored is to remove the financial incentive. If advertisers weren't paid by the click or Ad Sense didn't exist then the only money to be made would be by Google or Yahoo themselves and it becomes pretty simple to figure out who benefits then.

The issue however is a complex one because some people completely support their web businesses on ad revenue. These individuals provide excellent in demand content that people will read, watch, etc. and then support the advertisers. I am not suggesting this model go away I am simply saying that as long as dishonest individuals have an economic incentive to perform or encourage click fraud this will be a problem.

Right now Google has a methodology in place to track the quality of landing pages and ads. Poor ads and landing pages will pay more money for advertising and ultimately could find their ads disabled if they are too poor. Perhaps a model that evaluates the content on web sites where people will display ads is a good idea. I realize this is subjective and who gets to decide the standards, but we have all seen "web sites" that are simply parked domains loaded up with advertising links. This type of thing is not good content.

There is a distinct probability that those sites are major sources of click fraud because their isn't really any content of value on said site. It is simply taking advantage of a domain name and maybe the owner is perpetrating fraud by using automated software to go to the domain and generate clicks or writes a virus that infects computers to go generate these clicks. The hardest to detect is when the domain owner sets up a willing network of individuals to go and click on these ads. This last scenario looks like a real people doing a legitimate click through.

Therefore, I am suggesting two key things. One, as long as economic interest is there to perform click fraud it will always occur and the only way to completely stop the fraud is remove the economic interest. The second key take away is that a good first step to removing the economic motivation, at least, partially, is to judge content. Quality content providers get ads and poor or non-existent content does not. How one judges content and what is quality is an argument for another day.

Social Media Breakfast Toledo Number 2

2009-04-29T18:20:00.004-04:00

If you missed the first Social Media Breakfast in Toledo on May 1st, than you missed an amazing event! We had an incredible turn out and delivered some really good information to small business owners on how to ride the Social Media Wave to help them market better and become more successful. If you missed that event I encourage to NOT miss number 2 which is in two days!

Techrigy Founder/President Aaron Newman will discuss the social media platforms and monitoring tools available; brand names, trends and other examples of what can be monitored; ways to measure and analyze your results and related topics.

Social Media Breakfast-Toledo #2 is 7:30-9:30 a.m., May 1, at Toledo Elks Lodge #53, 3520 Holland-Sylvania Road, Toledo. Registration by or on 5 p.m., April 29 is $15, and $20 afterwards. To pre-register, visit http://smbtoledo.eventbrite.com. Seating is limited to the first 100 registrants.

Nearly 80 people attended the inaugural Social Media Breakfast-Toledo April 3. Those who cannot attend the May 1 event can watch it stream online live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/social-media-breakfast-toledo.

The train is leaving the station, question is will you be on it. Register here

What was old is now new

2009-04-15T10:01:00.002-04:00

Here is another column by Karen Gedney about the principles of online copywriting being really about the old school of copywriting. I couldn't agree more. Karen is right on the mark talking about how too many online "copywriters" are suddenly discovering how effective some of the old school techniques of direct response copywriting are in an online world.

I recently read a quote by Jeffrey Gitomer...

"If you want to read something new then read something from 100 years ago"

Excellent observation. It seems for too many years individuals involved in the advancement of technology and the Internet kept arguing that the Internet changed all the rules. Please don't misunderstand me; the Internet has broken a lot of traditional long standing rules, but some rules have never changed. What has not changed is business principles about what it takes to run an effective business, i.e. finding good sources of products, high customer service, sharp marketing, good business development, strong sales, etc. is what it takes to run any business on the web or off.

In the same vein is direct response copywriting principles. The principles of good copywriting are based on human psychology. Those principles of what motivates people to take action hasn't changed in hundreds or even thousands of years. Copywriters from yester-year understood this and simply applied those techniques to the new medium. Modern copywriters who didn't have this understanding about history have made the mistake of believing that the new economy and medium of the Internet has changed the principles of copywriting. Not so.

One of the best books ever written about copywriting in my humble opinion is Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples. This book was orginally written around 1923 and has gone through multiple revisions, to update the examples but not change the techniques. The principles of what works has not changed in almost 100 years. If you want to become an effective direct response copywriter then go back and study history first.

Dirty Secrets of Internet Based Copywriting

2009-04-09T14:59:00.004-04:00

I read this article in Brandweek that had an interview with copywriter Karen Gedney. I wasn't sure where the article was going based on the title, but she is dead on the mark with her observations.

I completely agree with Karen's positions on items, but I think the best dirty secret of online copywriting is...

Online direct response copywriting is the same as the old offline direct response copywriting.

Karen does an excellent job in the article of pointing this out with actual examples. The media is different, but the techniques and strategies one uses to motivate a person to do something are not any different. There are definately some tweaks you must adapt to in terms of technology limitations and media differences, but at the end of the day the way you motivate someone online with "online direct marketing copywriting" is the way you have always motivated them from a copywriting and direct response point of view.

All the people that have come out and published books about online copywriting are simply taking old ideas and re-packaging them. That is not innovation. Now if you decide you need someone that can do both direct response copywriting and SEO copywriting, now you may have something and need someone with a different skill set. You need a skilled direct response marketing and SEO copywriter. That combined skill set is not shared by all good direct response copywriters.

There are some extremely good direct response copywriters out there, but they don't necessarily have the SEO skills to give a company the double bang they do often need in an online environment. However if you don't require the SEO angle on your copy, perhaps because it is an email marketing campaign or you use other advertising like pay to click ads to drive traffic then hiring the best direct response copywriter you can find regardless of their SEO skills makes great sense.

The bottomline is just don't get sucked into the belief that online copywriting outside of the exception I noted above is somehow different to the point that you can't use a good copywriter, even one that doesn't advertise being an "online copywriter" a good direct response copywriter regardless of his/her background in online promotions is worth their weight in gold.

First Toledo Social Media Breakfast - Total Success!

2009-04-03T18:09:00.009-04:00

The first Social Media Breakfast Toledo was a stellar success! We had 79 people attend and 67 who watched the live stream online. The tweets and other positive comments starting rolling in almost immediately. Everyone had a great time and said they would be coming back for the next one which is on May 1st, at the Elks Lodge #53. Hope to see you there!

Our Panel of Speakers, from the left...

Victoria Kamm
Dave Rigotti
Allen Mireles
Damian Rintelmann

Here I am facilitating the panel...

Here are some of the attendees...

Don't miss the event next month; we have a great speaker you won't want to miss...

2009-03-13T20:29:00.003-04:00

Patrick Giammarco, owner of PWG Marketing has put together a team of marketing and PR professionals to organize and plan Social Media Breakfast events in Toledo. “I came across Social Media Breakfast just before the holidays and made it a 2009 goal to start the event in the Glass City,” says Patrick Giammarco.

The Social Media Breakfast was founded by Bryan Person in August 2007 as an event where social media experts and newbies alike come together to eat, meet, share, and learn. “Things have progressed rather quickly. I started a discussion thread on the Ad Club of Toledo LinkedIn group and, within a couple of hours, had three people express interest in helping to plan SMB events in northwest Ohio. Today, the planning committee consists of nine other people,” says Patrick Giammarco. “We’ve been meeting for about a month and are pleased to announce the inaugural Social Media Breakfast Toledo will be held April 3, 2009.”

Social Media Breakfast Toledo planning committee:

Julie Cantu
Kevin Cesarz
Janeile Cudjoe
Mike Driehorst
Patrick Giammarco
Victoria Kamm
Tim Langhorst
Allen Mireles
Steve Robison
Michael Temple

About Social Media Breakfast Toledo Social Media Breakfast Toledo is a place where people of all levels of social media knowledge can come together to meet, share & learn how to utilize social media to connect & profit. Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, podcasters, new-media fanatics, and online social networkers are all welcome to attend.

Only 200 seats available! Register now for the Social Media Breakfast Toledo premier event April 3, 2009.

Web Analytics vs. Business Know How

2009-03-11T15:03:00.002-04:00

I read a recent article published by a company from Australia. You can read the article here. The author raises the issue that digital marketing campaigns are becoming more useful through tracking because of the improved analytics programs that are now available.

For example, in the article he gives a case of a person that goes to a web site via a pay to click ad, but doesn't buy. He later returns via a direct mail campaign and finally submits a form showing interest. His argument is that the person was not really a lead until he submitted the form, but most analytics programs would have targeted him from pay to click ad. What part of the campaign was responsible for making him a customer?

First, in advertising it often times takes multiple touches before someone will buy. Therefore, simply saying that the last item is what turned them into a customer is really incorrect. It might and most likely was a combination of multiple advertising messages. Unfortunately determining that is a business decision, not an analytics decision.

The point is that in any direct marketing analytics is very important, but how you interpret those analytics is what gives you real decision making information. Not everyone will use the same criteria to interpret something.

The author also seems to suggest that there is technology that is available to track a person from beginning to end. How exactly would someone do that if you are doing both offline and online marketing? The methods for tracking a unique person on a web site are flawed at best. I know hard core analytics gurus will argue with me on this point, but it is true. There is no definitive way to determine that a specific person with identifiable concrete information about their identity visited your web site through a certain channel and then later returned through another channel that isn't even online, unless they fill out some type of form or request some type of report or something, but that isn't analytics telling you that. CRM systems can get close on some of this if you have the rigtht business systems in place, but again the interpretation of analytics is an excercise in business decision making.

I agree with the author to a point that their are technologies available that will help track a prospect from beginning to end, but how you interpret data, what specific technologies you use, and whole host of other variables will determine the true effectiveness. Thankfully I believe we are still a very long way from replacing all people with analytics programs and computerized decision making software. For now anyway analytics is a tool and should be used, but don't put too much stock in it. It is simply one more piece to a very technical puzzle of direct marketing.

Is Direct Mail Dead?

2009-03-04T15:13:00.002-05:00

I saw a recent report in Ad Week that was discussing the decline and eventual death of direct mail. You can read the story here. I found the arguments that the writer made accurate, but it made me wonder if there is still a role for direct mail in our digital world.

The article says that the economic circumstances are certainly adding to the issues and that direct mail may bounce back somewhat after the economy improves. It said most marketing managers were focused on digital channels to get their message out because it was lower cost.

A few questions...

Is it really a lower cost?
Is it as effective?
Is there a role for direct mail in this digital world?

Let's start with the first question, is it really lower cost. From the perspective of having to print and pay for postage, yes it is certainly cheaper. However, in direct mail you used to always be able to purchase lists and hence always had someone you could mail to. With email marketing you must develop a list. I know there are services out there that allow you to use their lists, but this has a ton of disadvantages which I will discuss in a future post. Therefore, when you factor in the cost of developing a list, paying for copywriting, and set up, as well as distribution it is far from "free" or even cost effective. Is is cheaper than direct mail, yes, probably, but I wouldn't call it low cost. Now since we know you have actual hard costs and those aren't probably as low as we believe they should be we come to the next question.

Is it effective? Because everyone today wants to get into the digital marketing game everyone has some type of newsletter or promotional email mailing. Many of us subscribe to those. Add this email on top of the tons of messages you normally get everyday and if you are like most people you have waaaay more email than you can reasonably keep up with. Now keep in mind this is the email you said you actually wanted. What about the email that comes that you don't care about? The point is that we all get so much email and our attention is focused in so many directions that I am not sure email marketing is always super effective, at least most email the way it is currently executed.

Before someone writes to me and says "hey, you are an email marketing guy" don't misunderstand me. I believe email marketing can be very effective, but it must be done very well, be branded, have superb copy, and be very well executed with a great list. We are simply too short on time to react to email that isn't well put together. Therefore, to summarize you need the following...

Now the last question, is there a role for direct mail? As people move to digital from direct mail there will be more opportunity to have your mail you do send stand out more. Because people will be getting less mail the mail that does come will probably get more attention, seems logical, right? Well, I would use direct mail to drive people to my web site where I would then use excellent copywriting to get them to take action. I will argue that my direct mail coming in a less crowded space and being augmented by my online marketing efforts will actually outperform a pure digital marketing campaign. Someday I will find someone to pick up this challenge and we can see who is right. In the meantime this is a strategy I am not ready to toss to the curb just yet and my clients will still be getting the benefit of it.

Online mediums 'becoming more credible for direct marketing'

2008-12-31T10:56:00.002-05:00

I came across this article claiming that online channels such as email marketing were now becoming credible enough to rival offline channels like direct mail. There may be some merit to this observation, but there is one critical component that will always cripple email marketing when compared to offline mediums like direct mail, and that is the ability to get a list.

In direct mail, marketers have always been able to purchase a variety of mailing lists from brokers and other list owners/providers. Direct mail marketers never had to contend with the problem of developing or building a list every time they wanted to do a campaign outside of simply purchasing the correct list from someone. If they purchased a list they never had to worry if everyone on the list was "opt-in" or all the legal problems that were caused by the idiots in our Congress with the CAN-SPAM act of 2003 that did nothing to stop really egregious spammers, but added all kinds hurdles for small businesses to overcome.

However email marketers have all of these problems and more to deal with. First, they have to actually build a list name by name of opt-in subscribers. Now to be fair, some magazines will send out email marketing messages to their subscribers on your behalf, but they will never give you those names to mail your campaign to as direct mail list providers do. Therefore, while you can technically still do a campaign without building a list first you are severely limited in your control over how the piece looks and works. This of course takes a lot of power out of how well an email marketing campaign can and should work.

The second problem you face assuming you can get a list from anyone is to know if the entire list is really opt-in. If you fail to do this and someone that gets your email marketing messages files a CAN-SPAM complaint against your company you could be facing some stiff fines and penalties and possibly even criminal charges.

Therefore, it seems to me until a source of 100% verifiable opt-in lists can be purchased from a source and you can send your email message directly to the user rather than through a proxy and not have to sweat out the heavy hand of government coming down on you every time you send a campaign then email marketing will never be as accepted or as easy to perform as direct mail.

Email marketing has wonderful advantages in terms of customization, branding, speed, tracking, and response that direct mail will never be able to rival. Unfortunately, the problems with SPAM, morons in Congress and technical limitations will always keep email marketing a second tier marketing option unless you build your own list to market to or the laws and technology make it more feasible.

Email and Direct Mail Marketing - Weak Combination

2008-12-11T10:02:00.002-05:00

I read an article today where an expert claimed that combining email marketing and direct mail could be very beneficial for a business. You can read the full article here. I found this combination of channel marketing very weak.

First, with direct mail you never know how many people actually received your piece and what the response rate was unless you have some type of unique offer and can track when people call or respond in some way to that offer. If after mailing out a piece like this you then follow it up with an email you have some fundamental problems...

Opt-In: Is the list you are emailing to 100% opt in email addresses? If not, you are breaking the law. Unless you are mailing to your own customers and/or opt-in list the email portion is probably not opt-in.
Spam Blockers: You are going to have a portion of your messages sent via email shaved off by spam blockers. Therefore, you have no concrete way of insuring that everyone gets both pieces from your campaign and hence is responding because of receiving the 1-2 combo piece.
Measurable: If someone responds to either your email or vice versa if you do it the other way around, how do you know that they are responding because they received BOTH pieces; hence being rewarded for combining channels. You may just as easily won that customer with only one of the pieces.

To accurately measure this type of campaign you would have to know for certain the prospect received both pieces and responded after receiving the second piece. This would be very hard to guarantee with a campaign and channel choice like this.

A vastly improved model is using direct mail or direct response ads and driving the person to a web site. Once the person receives the mailing if they then click through and go to the web site you can be assured they performed that action because they received the post card. If the portion of the site you direct them to is a specialized landing page you can track the entire encounter and measure how many people converted from your landing page. This would be completely measurable from beginning to end and work better than the proposed plan above.

An alternative of my strategy is using email (from a 100% opt-in list) and tracking how many people clicked through to a specialized landing page and eliminate the direct mail component entirely.

Combining email and direct mail will not achieve the results this expert claims. It is filled with a variety of problems and will most likely be a large waste of money.

The Financial Meltdown

2008-09-18T10:13:00.002-04:00

It is hard to turn on the TV in the last week without seeing another catastrophic meltdown in the financial services industry. AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and the pile of corpses continues to grow.

Many are saying this crisis dwarfs the S&L crisis in the 80s and is more akin to the Great Depression than we would like to believe. The credit crunch is killing the real estate and credit markets. One of the issues businesses being unable to borrow money for operations. Unfortunately there is no easy fix here.

Many are wondering when is the devastation in the financial services industry going to drag the rest of the economy into the pit with it? I don't think anyone knows for sure if or when this will happen.

While many may never admit this I believe the Internet is going to play a significant role in helping the economy avoid total catastrophic meltdown. I am not suggesting that we won't have a recession or that it won't be painful for many people, but I believe the Internet will make it less painful. Here are a couple areas...

Lending: With web sites like prosper.com and kiva.org liquid capital may still be available to some groups. It just won't be going through a bank. I don't say this is a perfect market, but it will serve the purpose of bringing borrower and lender (no matter how small) together in a market for credit that could not have existed 15 years ago.
Retail: This is a two for one bonus. Retail is assisted by being able to create more channels to get product into the market for established stores. For other retailers the Internet aggregates small groups of buyers in specialty products in way that simply wasn't possible before the Internet. In marketing we referred to these groups as target markets that were too small and dispersed to target effectively or too small to be profitable. The Internet has changed that. Now these groups can be reached effectively via the web and using the Internet what was tiny groups have become bigger and more viable as a profitable group.

Now this doesn't mean that a recession still will not pull everyone down, but I suspect the recovery period will be quicker and not everyone will be hit as hard. The other thing I would suggest is using the Internet to create multiple streams of income for yourself or your business. I will be writing more about how to do that in future posts and articles.

Adobe, Google, and Yahoo Working To Make Flash Search Engine Friendly

2008-07-02T12:49:00.002-04:00

Adobe made an announcement that it will team up with Google and Yahoo as well as other search providers to create advances and technology that will make Flash content more search friendly on the web. The release says they are working with Google and Yahoo, but it is sketchy on the details of exactly how it will do this. While I applaud all companies involved for attempting to collaborate and advance the end user experience I believe this will not be the panacea for Flash and SEO that everyone has been hoping for.

First, one of the greatest secrets in the world next to what really goes on Area 51 is how, exactly, Google indexes and ranks its search results. Google keeps this secrecy on purpose because it doesn't want people like me to manipulate its results. Fair enough. However for true SEO improvement to take place I believe all companies involved will have to divulge a lot more secrets on how things work than anyone involved is actually willing to do. Second, indexing content that is Flash based video and audio will probably still be difficult if not impossible. With so much content now becoming audio and video this still leaves a gapping hole in the true indexing of Flash based content for the future. This will mean you will still need to create search friendly pages that show up well in the indexes to get the video and audio content on them to be used by visitors. Content is still no good if users can't find it.

About a year ago I published position paper on the weaknesses of Flash in building up the marketing effectiveness of business web sites. You can download and read that paper here. In this paper I discuss not only the search weaknesses of Flash content, but also many other issues that will not go away even if Flash content becomes 100% search friendly, which I don't believe it will. Certainly being SEO friendly will help, but it is not the silver bullet everyone is hoping it will be. I encourage everyone that reads this post to read the position paper and consider if you believe I am right or wrong.

Michael Temple

2008-05-16T10:46:00.002-04:00

According to today's Wall Street Journal CBS has made a $1.8 billion dollar offer for CNET Networks Inc., which is 22 times earnings! CBS apparently has issued this offer as a way to boost its own sagging earnings by generating Internet buzz.

This is very sad on multiple levels. First, while many may like CNET it is a generic site on technology news. It doesn't really have anything terribly unique about it. There are plenty of other sites that offer similar information and news. While there is value in the domain name, traffic, and current content I don't think that it is worth 22 times earnings.

The only reason the domain name is worth anything and it gets any traffic is because of the content. Unfortunately because most of the content is about technology it has a very short shelf life and quickly becomes outdated. If you did nothing to update it the domain and traffic would quickly lose any value. Therefore it is up to CBS to continually add to content and remove outdated stuff.

Why do I point out the obvious? Because CBS is a news organization! They find and develop information everyday. Why in the world don't they simply start a new site on this topic, create their own content and build it up into a high traffic site with some brand value?

Instead they will pay 22 times earnings for something that is deteriorating in value as they are signing the contract. I work with new businesses all the time that start new web based businesses and build up the content from scratch and eventually have the traffic, value, and earnings they want. Sure, this approach takes a little longer, but it also doesn't cost 1.8 billion dollars!

This just looks like a dumb business decision with too many people not questioning the "why" of the decision before they plunge headlong into actually executing it. I would never advise my clients to do this. I wonder if the story of what a dumb decision this will turn out to be is going to appear on their nightly news.

Michael Temple

Retirement - Internet Style

2008-04-29T16:04:00.003-04:00

The other day my accountant informed me that he sold his practice and was moving on to do something else. Doh! He was a very good accountant. He called me up and wanted to meet, which I thought could only mean bad news. As it turned out he wanted to start an Internet business rather than retire. In my grandparents generation if you were standing in front of the door after the retirement party you would probably suffer high impact injuries from them running over you on the way out the door!

Today, with the Internet, people are finding new ways to spend retirement. They are deciding that running a small Internet based business is a great way to earn some extra cash and keep your mind sharp. I love the idea! I am a looooong way from retirement, but I seriously doubt I will ever retire in the traditional sense. Sitting on a beach, even a really nice beach, day after day doing nothing would drive me insane.

Fortunately the Internet comes to the rescue of ADD riddled Internet junkies everywhere by giving business opportunities to retirees and others. For a fraction of the cost of starting a bricks and mortar store you can start an Internet based eCommerce site. Retail not your style, no problem, start a content based site and sell ad space or membership subscriptions. The capital to start such a business is very minimal and by minimal I mean as low as a few hundred bucks. It is easy to run and easy to manage. You can do it with a laptop computer and Internet connection. It may take a few skills that you don't currently possess today, but even those can be learned in a relatively short period of time.

Here is a check list of items to consider before embarking on what could be a seriously cool retirement...

Be realistic: While I never want to be classified as a dream crusher please be realistic about what you want to start and how fast and big it will grow. As the dot bomb era taught us growing into an Internet giant and surviving only happens to a few of the start ups. Starting out and saying you are going to create the next eBay is probably not realistic. Not impossible, but unlikely, so don't set yourself up advance for failure.
Don't Quit Your Day Job: It is possible that you hit the perfect combination of variables and your Internet business starts dumping cash into you lap over night. However the odds are definitely against you on this. Be sure if you are indeed retired that you don't risk the 401(k) funds on this venture. A couple thousand bucks is probably ok. A couple hundred thousand dollars probably not a good idea. If you are receiving a pension or proceeds from retirement investments then you are probably ahead of the game. Take a few hundred or couple of thousand bucks and set it up. You can live off your monthly proceeds while you are building the business. If you are working a full time job and you need the money make sure you don't quit until you have replaced the income, common sense.
Learn the Skills: Be willing to learn the skills to do the work on your own. It is fine to outsource some of the work like programming or design, but you should know how to do your own marketing and web site updates yourself. Once the business is producing revenue it is fine to bring in some big gun talent to help grow the business, but not when you are starting.
Spend the Time: Be willing to put the elbow grease into your business at the beginning. If you create a site and head back out to beach and expect to simply check your bank balances once a month and spend the money you might be disappointed. You have to put the time in to set up, manage, and build this business just like any other. Just because it is located on the Internet doesn't mean the rules of building a business are suspended or go away.
Have Fun: Make sure this is a business that is fun to do. The best are hobbies that you can turn into a cash generator on the web. I have a friend who is a photographer, a pretty good one, and he uses his blog to post pictures and his web site to sell some of his prints. He loves doing it, doesn't require it to support his entire lifestyle, and has a blast at it. If you hate doing it then go back to simple retirement and walk away. That kind of misery isn't worth it even when you must work for a living.

Making money on the Internet is easy to do and can be a cheap, fun, and lucrative business opportunity. It can totally re-define what it means to be "retired". It is truly a marvelous world we live in when a laptop and Internet connection can so dramatically re-define what it means to be retired or working.

Years ago I had a friend in the real estate investment business that said you could lock him in a dark room with a telephone and he would make money. His point was that by using the phone and making deals he could find a way to make money.

Today I can say the same thing. I can be locked in a room with a laptop, Internet connection, and a cell phone and I will find a way to not only set up but grow a fantastic business and make money. It doesn't matter if I am in my working years or "retired" the opportunities are the same. Want to learn more check out some of the info on my web site.

Asian Micro Lending - Internet Style

2008-03-19T10:58:00.003-04:00

Back in the early 90s there was an article written up in the Wall Street Journal about a Korean family business that was re-building after the riots in L.A. During the profile they discussed how the family had immigrated to the U.S. and through micro loans from their church they started their business, bought their home, and fulfilled other lending needs. Apparently that had never used a bank. All the families of the church pooled money and did this for everyone in the church. I was fascinated with the concept of this Asian micro-lending concept and have tried to find information about it on and off for years.

Apparently this type of micro-lending is very common in Asia and also in the Middle East and I am guessing other countries in Africa also have similar systems. What is interesting about the concept is that it appears to be systematic and as reliable as banking is in the U.S.

I am also fascinated by the concept of how the Internet re-makes old industries or finds new ways for them to work more efficiently. There are far too many examples to go through, but you know many of them by name like eBay.

When you take the Internet and mesh it with this concept of Asian micro-lending you get web sites like Kiva.org and Prosper.com, both are micro-lending sites that utilize the Internet to match borrowers and lenders together. Both sites have received national recognition and a basic search on Google will uncover tons of articles and blogs on both.

I don't really want to discuss these sites again as it has been discussed much better by others. I do want to discuss how another industry is in danger of having the Internet kick its tail if it doesn't get its act together.

The banking industry right now is going through a serious credit crunch. Lack of liquidity by banks as well as shedding bad debt is causing them to become stingy with their lending practices. Just a year or so ago people with decent or good credit could get all the credit they wanted. Now they are struggling to get the bank to come up with similar terms and coming up empty.

Everyone has probably heard that necessity is the mother of invention. Well the concept of micro lending over the web is here and if the banks don't find a way to open up their purses a little wider they will find a bite being taken out of their backside by these micro lending sites.

Banks that believe the loyalty from their clients because of the relationship and the a face to face transactions may be surprised how quickly that loyalty vanishes in the face of need. The need for cash will outweigh those factors and people will move to the micro lenders. Now some may return when the credit crunch is over, but many will be perfectly content to stay put. Some will actually prefer the new method. The micro lending may really take off and hurt banks over time.

During the Depression a similar credit and liquidity crunch occurred, no, I am not that old, and it caused people to become innovative. People started using barter and actually printing their own money that could be used within their groups. The point is that when government or industry don't step up and help in rough times people will find their own solutions. This is a good thing. In my humble opinion it has been a talent woefully lacking in modern society.

Now with the modern Internet if the banks don't step up and take the lead people will again become innovative and move around them. I have read numerous stories on the Internet in the last several weeks or months of small businesses and people already using these sites because their banks wouldn't give them the cash they needed.

Interestingly many of these stories have a variety of quotes from the person that received the loan. These people sound so grateful and talk so highly of how "these people" stepped up and helped them in their time of need. Many say they will gladly do it again and the terms and ease of getting the money made the experience very nice.

Uh oh, bad news for banks. I don't hear too many people gush this type of love for the bank even in good times. The banks may be shocked at how little loyalty and love they really do enjoy from their customers.

As an open message to the banks, you guys better get your act together. The Internet has already made minced meat out of many other industries that failed to heed the call of the consumer. You appear to be next. You may wake up one day and find banking is only a minor activity for people and that most small businesses and consumers have embraced an age old concept from Asia, with a mixed in modern Internet and made you obsolete.

Ad Dollars Focused on Specialty Sites

2008-01-28T11:32:00.000-05:00

The Wall Street Journal had a special technology pull out section today and in there they cited some interesting stats about where ad dollars are being spent. According their stats here is how ad dollar spending breaks down...

44% with Internet Companies, i.e. Monster, Google, specialty interest sites, etc.
33% Online Newspapers
10% Online Yellow Pages
9.3% Local Television sites

This year (2008) local online advertising is expected to rise 48% according to Media research firm Borrell Associates, led by growth in car, job, and real estate ads.

The numbers don't surprise me at all. For years Internet marketing consultants, like myself, have been telling web site owners that content is king. The more content you have the better you will do in search engines, getting inbound links, and now it appears ad revenue. The fact the yellow pages still squeaked out 10% DOES surprise me. I can't imagine a more outdated advertising venue than the phone book and to simply take an outdated advertising medium and put it on the web and still get 10% of the dollars seems a bit surprising. However I am reasonably sure that number will continue to fall as more dollars are allocated to specialty sites and online newspapers.

For those you out there that are content producers you better put on shades because the future is going to be bright. For those you out that think you build a web site once and update or add to it once every 34 years whether it needs it or not better get your act together. Content is the growth potential of the future. Either learn how to create it or buy it. If you don't the power of online economics will make you a dinosaur headed towards extinction.

Dot Com Crash - Here we go again?

2007-12-08T10:09:00.000-05:00

In previous posts I have shared some of my past experiences including my very rough ride through the 1990s dot com rise and fall. While it was a bit painful at the time I wouldn't trade this experience in for anything as it helped me shape who I am today and the philosophy I use when working with clients. I was inspired to write this post by another awesome blogger who publishes a blog called The Digerati Life.

There is a quote by Robert Penn Warren...

"Those who don't remember history are condemned to repeat it."

I believe this to be so true. In the 90s we had a dot com bubble that eventually popped after that or even during that we had a real estate bubble that has now popped. What is it about Americans and our love of bubbles! It seems we are always looking for a fast and easy buck, but it seems only the first ones in the bubble ever make out and many of them end up losing because they get greedy and come back for more and end up losing it all. I can sympathize.

Anyway now that the real estate bubble has popped I am wondering if we are going back to technology to create a new bubble. I know I am going to do my best to educate my clients not to do this, but as Robert Penn Warren's quote tells us...know your history. For those thinking of the next Internet gold rush here is a video, which I originally saw on The Digerati Life blog...

While the video is funny it rings with an element of truth. Learn your history when it comes to the Internet it just may save you from some stupid choices down the road. However if you don't learn it, the good news is that you can come and hire me to clean up the mess and I will make a pile money! I have decided this time around instead of jumping in the actual Internet gold rush I will just sell the rest of you picks and shovels :)

Music Industry Is Missing The Train... Again!

2007-08-29T20:22:00.000-04:00

For years the music industry pretty much ruled with an iron fist. They decided when and how to release music no matter what the consumer wanted and in what format. They would put a bunch of crappy music on an album with one good song and force the fans to buy the entire album for that one decent song. They also decided who would be blessed with star status, whose music would be reviewed and who would get lucrative recording contracts. Then the Internet arrived...

The music industry chose to ignore this and file sharing grabbed a hold of the market and after years of piracy and demands by music fans finally they [music industry] were forced kicking and screaming into the Internet age by releasing music one song at a time for .99 cents each. Many of us Internet industry guys watched this and marveled at the sheer power of the Internet to force change where it was needed.

However the music industry decided it might move into the Internet age, but it wasn't going to be nice about it. They have and continue to develop extremely draconian policies and security to stop piracy. I can understand after the entire Napster era their need for this, but they are again missing the train.

Now I am no sound recording genius, but I quickly figured out that music that was compressed from CD into MP3 format lost some of its quality and sound. I found as did probably many others that the sound quality just wasn't there.

However the market was quick to develop a solution, a software company developed a special plug in that as music is played from your favorite MP3 player jukebox software that it essentially "re-processes" the music and really brings it a lot closer to its original sound. I have no idea how this works nor do I care. I just know that it does work. The company that invented it used the Internet to distribute said software to everyone. Life was good.

However in an effort to again be idiots the music industry has put protections on music you download so that this third party application can't re-process the music and so it sounds terrible if you are used to hearing it the old way. Essentially they have stopped the players from feeding the music through this processing software because they believe it could jeopardize their iron-fisted grip on the Internet music market. Unfortunately customers like me who have already paid for this music and essentially own it for private use are unable to play it in a format that makes it better. They have seriously diminished my and many other's customer experience so that they could keep iron fist control of the industry.

Now if that isn't bad enough most of the players won't or can't allow users to burn this music to a CD. Again the whole piracy issue. As if I am really going to rip thousands of CDs and distribute them worldwide for my own profit potential, really, get real.

So again music that I bought online is again controlled in another fashion to "protect" the industry. So let's summarize, shall we, they were forced onto the Internet, which they reluctantly entered, but then decided to be as absolutely unhelpful and restrictive as possible.

Unfortunately this won't stop creative programmers from finding a way around this and when they do the music industry will again be forced to make changes, but not before they miss the train again. You see this draconian security they are using here is simply a way to make the Internet market a little less attractive than buying that CD in the store. Another very feeble attempt to hang onto their control and power and force the consumer to adopt to them instead of the other way around. One would hope that one day they will get smart enough to realize in the Internet age it really is about the customer and not your pathetic control that matters.

When software companies and innovative programmers find a way to again work around the fools in the music industry they will again be behind the curve and not in front of it. They will again be playing catch up. If they would simply find ways to make the customer experience number one instead of number 306 on their list of priorities they wouldn't have so many people trying to stick it to them.

At .99 cents per song, even hard core pirates have to acknowledge that it might just be easier to do it the right way instead of constantly dodging the music industry law suits and harassment's. Unfortunately when music purchased over the Internet is inferior, consumer will simply seek out alternatives, i.e. non-protected, i.e. non-Internet purchased music.

Too bad that means most likely pirated music which doesn't have the security and therefore isn't subject to all the restrictions. It is superior and superior product leaves the market wide open for pirates to keep doing what they are doing and you will have plenty of consumers willing to skirt the law to get the "good stuff".

To quote Mr. Smith from the Matrix 3... "Do you know what that sound is Mr. Anderson? It is the sound of inevitability!" In an open message to the morons running the online music industry...

That sound of pirated music is the inevitable sound of change and it is coming for you. You can be ahead of the curve or behind it the choice is yours, but know that the Internet and willing consumers are a powerful economic force that will and has changed many industries, including yours.

Internet Marketing Finds Offline Advertising Important

2007-08-21T11:36:00.000-04:00

A new study recently completed by Jupiter Research revealed that 67% of online searches were driven by offline advertising channels, such as TV (37%), Word of Mouth (36%), Magazine ads (30%) with the balance coming from other sources.

In addition, 39% of the above cited searches converted into actual sales. Now that is impressive! One other interesting note about the study is that apparently after viewing the advertising the primary key word used in the search engine was the company name (44%) followed by other key words related to products or services (24%) with the balance coming from other items like company slogans or other product names/advertising.

I found the study very interesting for a number of reasons. First, it validates a strategy I have been advocating for years. On of my suggestions to many companies is an aggressive offline advertising campaign with the stated purpose to drive traffic to the site. My primary offline advertising has been direct mail and display advertising, which has worked very well for my clients.

Push vs. Pull

I believe this strategy is so powerful for a couple of reasons. First, mass market advertising has two principles to make it work, one that it is frequent enough for people to remember the ad and number two be memorable enough to have someone take any type of action. A key principle is that mass market advertising is very much a "push" type advertising where you are pushing your messages to people. Internet marketing is different in the sense that it is, in most cases, a "pull" type advertising meaning that the person is actually seeking you out and listening and absorbing your message.

Utilizing a relatively low cost offline channel to influence people from the "push" mentality to the "pull", i.e. your web site you change the psychology of the situation 360 degrees on the spot. Now add to that the power you have on your web site with the rich multi-media, such as video, audio, strong copy, testimonials, information collection tools, etc. and you have one very powerful marketing vehicle on your hands.

Strong Strategy for Local Marketing

This strategy works very well for companies that operate in a limited geographic area and it doesn't pay for them to obtain visitors and inquiries from other geographic areas outside of their area of operation. However as this study indicates it also works for companies that use the strategy to drive traffic to a site regardless of geographic operation.

Now to make this strategy work well, especially if you use direct mail or display advertising as I have is to...

Use a strong headline to get attention
Use the company name in the headline
Use well written and hard hitting copywriting and direct response strategies.

Without a strong headline you will never have anyone even notice your ad, which will make it a waste. Not using your company name in the headline is also a big mistake according to this study since a bulk of the searches done after viewing offline advertising were on the company name.

Finally, failing to use persuasive and well written copy for your ads and direct mail packages will not convince someone that taking the time to even sit down and search for your company is worth their time. You need to give them a reason, benefits, and irrestable offers to take time to actually sit down and search out your site.

If you accept the findings of this study it will have a dramatic impact on the convergence of Internet marketing and offline advertising, which some of us have known for a while now, but it is good to have your strategies validated by others, even if they are bit late to the party.

Michael Temple

Open Source vs. Pay to Play Software

2007-08-07T14:18:00.000-04:00

A new article in InfoWord wonders if open source software will eventually take down the big pay to play software companies/applications from Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP. The article goes on to state they don't believe this will happen.

Personally, I love open source software and whenever I get a chance I have my developers develop web based applications in PHP with MySQL. I think the open source movement is an excellent one for a variety of reasons. First, from a security standpoint with so many companies and individuals working on applications a lot of the security holes that appear in Microsoft applications find a way of being worked out in Open Source. Now obviously this isn't always the case, but more times than not you don't have the same types of security problems with open source as you do with other vendor specific applications.

Second, open source applications can work extremely well. I have several open source tools that I use on a daily basis and even a few I openly recommend to clients for specific purposes. In these specific cases I find it difficult to even find a pay to play application that works as well.

However, sadly, I have to agree with the writer of this article. I don't believe the open source movement is going to eliminate the vendor specific applications anytime soon. For several reasons. First, at the end of the day we have a market economy and it takes money to continually develop, improve, and market a software application. The open source movement is one of volunteers and voluntary collaboration and while this does work for the open source movement many IT directors and corporate managers will not be willing to risk their butt on applications that may not be supported or have regular production schedules associated with them. There is an old saying that nobody ever got fired for buying IBM. This saying developed because at the time IBM had the best systems in the world and gave outstanding support to their clients and buyers knew that if they had a problem that IBM would fix it.

Unfortunately open source can't compete with that... yet. Many times if you have an open source application and need help you must spend a great deal of time posting and reading in various communities to find a solution to a problem and sometimes you never find one. Now this happens with Microsoft applications as well, but if you need it you can call a company that can offer support. They can offer this support because they are making a profit on the sales of their application and the corresponding support contract.

In addition, open source programs are released as people work on them and don't have specific releases and dates for releases. This makes it very tough on the company that needs to carefully plan upgrade schedules and roll outs to users. In addition, if a feature or problem is present in an application often times there is no guarantee when or if a new release will come out that will address the problem, which creates a problem for managers when they must answer to their bosses, boards, and shareholders.

I believe the strongest contribution that open source provides to the market is its ability to scare the pay to play vendors into constant improvements and innovations in their products. They know that if they fall asleep for even a little while that the open source guys can and will be there to eat their lunch. I love the fierce competition these guys must endure to stay alive because it ensures that we the consumer always have the best products and applications to choose from which is a fundamental principle in economics.

I will always use and endorse open source programming and movements, but I simply don't think they will eliminate the pay to play vendor. However if they keep that vendor on his toes and constantly innovating then they have provided a priceless service to the industry.

CAN-SPAM 2007 - The Revenge!

2007-07-18T18:02:00.000-04:00

Congress, in an effort to avoid solving any serious problems like Social Security or Tax Reform has latched onto "SPAM" as its next legislative victory. They are in the early stages of forming a new committee to look at the original CAN-SPAM 2003 law and see what modifications it requires since, in their enlightened opinion, it isn't working...really?

As someone that provides email marketing services to legitimate businesses I can safely report that the first version of the law has been totally successful at choking out a marketing channel to small businesses, increasing the marketing costs and legal hurdles while not even putting a minor dent into the real problem of spam. Sounds like just about every other "solution" that Congress puts in place to me.

I am thinking Congress should take a quiz before being allowed to modify this law the quiz would prove that they indeed know that the spam they are trying to stop doesn't come in little metal cans that contains some mystery meat. Turning over any technology solution to the idiots on Capitol Hill is like giving dynamite to your local street gang and hoping things work out OK.

The problem with spam is not a legislative problem, it is an economic problem. As any reasonably astute student of economics can tell you people will do what is in their own best interest including BREAKING THE LAW! Yes, I know this comes as a horrible shock to the intelligent ones on Capital Hill. The fact is because email is basically a "free" marketing tool, it will continue to be the tool of choice for scum sucking spammers that can't and won't carry their own weight in the marketing world.

Editorial Note: ISPs and IT Managers please note I am not implying there is no cost in providing and supporting email services. I am keenly aware of the costs associated with this, but "free" is a word that those in the non-technical fields understand when talking about email.

When I say "free" I simply mean unlike direct mail, TV and radio advertising, and other marketing channels that I am simply saying that the typical high costs associated with doing this type of marketing generally doesn't exist with email marketing. The point is if I can blast out 1,000,000 emails for virtually no cost, it pays if off if I receive a fraction of one percent as a return rate. Try that with 1,000,000 pieces of even the most cost effective direct mail campaign and you will probably have a pink slip or a very angry client by the end of the day.

Because it makes economic sense to break the law for spammers they will continue to do it and hope they don't get caught. Making the law even more stringent or adding in other commerce killing clauses will simply raise the cost of using this medium for legit businesses while again not making a dent in the real problem, remember brilliant ones on Capitol Hill, these people are already breaking the existing laws! What would possibly make them think if they make the laws more stringent that these clowns will see the light of day and quit spamming. Fat chance.

I had lunch the other day with a guy from a business that indicated his company was breaking the CAN-SPAM 2003 law. He explained that they gathered up email addresses from lots of public sources and would send an initial blast to this list. The message was from a real, legit, bricks and mortar business. The email address to reply to was real and the company's address and phone were clearly displayed on the message. If someone wanted to unsubscribe there was a link at the bottom to do so. Unfortunately for them because the list wasn't made up of individuals that indicated BEFORE the email was sent that wanted to receive the message they were law breakers and could be seriously fined for this.

Now to add one more element to this story you should know that over 8 jobs were created by doing this because it was the primary lead generation vehicle for the company. Some hard core web guys out there right now are no doubt screaming that it is still SPAM and that it costs money to deliver and maintain all the infrastructure to deliver those messages and they should all be locked up and have the key thrown away.

However I disagree. In my opinion they are a struggling small business and while yes, they are technically breaking the CAN-SPAM law they are taking great strides to insure that if you don't want the message you can get off the list immediately. They have clearly identified themselves so they are not hiding behind spoofed email addresses from servers located in Southeast Asia somewhere and they are trying very hard to offer a real product to the market.

Now assume just for the sake of argument that the entire list was also opt-in...wouldn't you still need the servers, IT personnel, and infrastructure to deliver this blast? Yes, you would and with this one minor change you have taken an email blast that was illegal and made it legal, but you did nothing to remove the stress such a blast puts on ISPs and IT Managers.

My point is that the law simply makes criminals out of legit businesses while not stopping the true spammer who hides his identity and goes to great length to skirt the law and does absolutely nothing to help victims stop this from happening again and again.

This company is simply trying to find a cost effective way to market their services and keep the people they have employed. Why we have this attitude about email that we apply to no other marketing medium is beyond me. You don't sue the post office because they deliver ads and direct mail packages you don't want do you? Do you think we need a law that says we all need to opt-in to some type of mail list before you can deliver mail to us, after all it does cause additional stress and resources on the postal system to deliver messages people don't want.

Solving spam is a complex problem, but ultimately it is a technology and economic problem and NOT a legislative problem. On a scale of 1-10 for technology awareness I would rate most of Congress with a -6 so I really don't want these morons spending more of my tax dollars trying to solve a problem that ultimately needs to be solved by the private sector with technology and the market place with economics.

The only thing a change to the law will do is make it harder and more expensive for a legit business to use this medium and give a few more lines of legislative crap for hard core spammers to ignore. If Congress wants to truly solve the problem then they simply need to keep their hands off the Internet and let private business solve this problem and the market solve this problem.

Michael Temple

Who Certifies the Certifiers

2007-07-12T10:01:00.000-04:00

Several months ago I had come across a news story that indicated the Direct Marketing Association was going to start offering a certification course in search engine marketing. You can see it here. There is also another certification from another group here. I was intrigued by this for several reasons. First, early in my career involving Internet marketing I was essentially a certification junkie, I sought out every certification I could find and collected titles like baseball cards. I spent a huge pile of money and used up the very valuable resource of time. Then one day a question came to me...

Who certifies the people doing the certifying?

Interesting question don't you think? It brings to mind that whole chicken and egg riddle. To offer a certification you yourself must have some type of certification or authority to do so. Who gave you this authority and how does anyone know that the individual or organization that gave it to you had the authority to do so? Of course this question can go in circles forever, but I think you get the idea.

Maybe it is because I have been in this field for so long I am a bit jaded, but I think the Internet revolution and more broadly, technology has produced huge quantities of "certifications" in everything you can imagine from hardware installation to now search engine marketing. However at the end of the day a certification simply says all you did was expose yourself to information from someone that presumably knew more than you and possibly took some quizzes or tests and now you are "certified" to do "that", whatever "that" is.

The bad news is I have run into people over the years that had various IT and technology certifications that couldn't install a light bulb much less Windows Server or individuals that have some marketing certification that is equally meaningless. I have also ran into "trainers" that know less than me and many others that knew just a little more than the class they were teaching. Conversely I have met people with no certifications who had vast amounts of experience and knowledge that would blow away most trainers. Now I certainly don't want to trash all trainers across the globe because after all I am one of them, but a valid question of any trainer is what makes you an expert that qualifies you to teach me? Here is mine

If life were so easy that all we had to do was simply go take a 10 week certification course in something and then we were presumably qualified to do that it would be a perfect world, but alas it doesn't work that way. True knowledge in any field comes from years of experience, reading, learning from others, researching, and writing. Anyone who has done what I just said for anything will also realize you can't impart this knowledge and experience to anyone by simply "certifying" them after 10 weeks and a few tests.

Now just so you certifiers out there don't get mad at me here is a bone for you. Certification (with the right teacher) can be a good way to start to learn a topic and gain some expertise. If the training is developed well and focused correctly it may even give you a good knowledge on one key element.

The certification course will help outline and package the information in a way that allows you to start down the path towards competent or with enough effort, expert, but please don't make the mistake when you are finished and have your shiny new certification that you are qualified or ready to go out and tackle the world and solve all of its problems.

These days all a certification says to me is that someone has taken the time to show me they are willing to learn and have a basic understanding of the topic and if leveraged correctly will guide them over time to resources and opportunities that will allow them to truly become an expert.

The other bad news about certifications is that they are typically very expensive and in my opinion not always worth the money you have to pay to get them. However way too many of us want things yesterday and don't want to really put the time and energy it takes into something to really learn it and become an expert. So we go out and pay large piles of cash and invest 10 weeks of our life and take a few tests and viola we are an expert...sure you are.

One of the best ways I have found to start learning any new topic is to write about it. Write an article or book on it. To do this article you will have to research, interview real experts, test your theories, think through the information and write your conclusions. You do this enough times on any topic and you will become an expert. Unfortunately you can't typically do this type of thing in 10 weeks and get a shiny certificate at the end.

If you want to take a certification in something to start you out on the basics and get you started in the right direction and you have the money and time, then great do it, but please don't think when you are finished that your certificate means you are an expert or ready to solve those problems for everyone else. Often times the certification isn't worth the paper it is printed on.

Many people today realize this, but many more still think that all they have to do is go get some certification in IT and they are no longer going to be flipping burgers and instead will be on the road to Internet riches.

If you are willing to start learning this stuff the old fashioned way that is a tried and proven model then visit my web site where I offer articles and position papers for free on many of these topics. If you find you need even more coaching and help please consider giving me a call to discuss a consulting or speaking engagement.

Oh, many of you may be wondering if I still go get certifications today. The answer is no, after a long and painful treatment program I was able to break my addiction to certifications :) Now I just learn the old fashioned way and it has proven to be the way that works best, but certainly not the fastest.

Michael Temple

Y Generation Entrepreneurs!

2007-04-13T23:34:00.000-04:00

Readers of my blog will notice I have taken a little sabbatical, well sort of, I am waaaayy too riddled with ADD to every really take time off. I never really rest or sleep, or anything else that most people would consider fun, I am basically a workaholic. I have been working on bringing a really neat program to fruition. Over a year ago I started working with my local school district to found an entrepreneurial program in the business tech program.

I am proud to say that program is now a full blown success. The program has only been done one other place in the entire U.S. I am proud to say that our program is the second time it has ever been done. We took a class of kids from the business tech program and divided them into two groups. One group wrote business and marketing plans for businesses they would like to start. The second group were coached to be the "venture capital" group.

The kids writing the business plans presented their plans and defended them to the venture capitalists and requested funds to start and run their business. Both groups were coached by local business leaders including yours truly. The entrepreneurs were coached on how to write business plans, defend them, and get venture funds. Now they are being coached in the actual running of the business. The venture group was coached to look at business plans critically and evaluate them based on merit and opportunity.

The winning plans were awarded real cash as seed money to found their companies and see how they do with it. They are coached and mentored by the local business leaders that serve as their board of advisers and a sounding board for new ideas and help when things don't go as planned.

The program started off with an amazing success with 5 student planned and established companies receiving funding. All of them have gotten off to a really strong start with a big sales push through a local business expo. All of them are so excited and doing well.

I raised the money for the initial venture fund by approaching the president of a regional economic development agency that had seen the program work in another state. He agreed to fund the venture and ultimately would like to see it duplicated in all the school systems in the area.

Entrepreneurship is one of the great dreams of people in many countries including the U.S. and an awesome experience for anyone regardless if they stay the course or work for someone this experience will be with them forever. Now thanks to this program the new "Y Generation" has the chance to live this dream.

You can see a write up about the program in our local newspaper here. The program has even attracted the attention of business writers and columnists around the country for its uniqueness. I was interviewed by a nationally syndicated business columnists today that will be discussing the program in his May 9th column that will be syndicated to 400 newspapers nationally!

I feel confident that some of the seeds that were planted today will grow into great trees in the future and will no doubt change the course of some of these kids futures. That will be a site worth seeing.

Michael Temple

Google Announces Local Search

2007-01-31T09:38:00.000-05:00

A Google blog has announced that it will begin showing local business results every time a you search for a local business or information. In addition, they will begin showing ratings and other information about that business. Here is what they said...

From now on, you'll see this every time you search for a place, business, or other local information. In addition to providing the basic contact information and map locations for several choices at the top of the page, we also show ratings and provide one-click access to reviews on the search results page so that you can make more informed decisions about where you want to go.

The ability for local businesses to harness the power of the Internet has been a growing trend for years now. However the problem was always the same. Either they didn't want to do eCommerce or their business wasn't suited to eCommerce or they didn't know how to get people to view their web site if they invested the dollars into building it.

There was nothing I could do for the first problem, either you wanted and could do eCommerce or you couldn't. However for a few years I worked around the second one by utilizing local offline advertising outlets to advertise a client's site. This worked well and still continues to be a tool in the box for promoting a local site or for a business with a local only business.

However with this new feature, Google, which is arguably the best search engine, is making the ability of people doing local searches to find a business without spending piles of money in pay to click advertising. Now the announcement doesn't say it will specifically list a URL of the company's web site, but if it doesn't do it now I am confident it will soon. Google will begin listing this URL for some type of fee and the rest will be history.

For a local business this is very powerful. You could advertise in the Yellow Pages and for a large color advertisement pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month, but now with this tool you can create even more powerful advertising, i.e. color pages, photos, testimonials, product or service information, etc. for a fraction of the cost of putting even a limited amount of this info in the Yellow Pages. Now that is power.

While I use and still advocate traditional advertising channels like direct mail and others I also tell clients the flexibility of being able to add or change your "advertisements" on the web per se and still have it be in full color with all the power of full multi-media features like video, audio, etc. is really incredible for the small business. Add the new feature from Google and small and even medium sized businesses have capabilities that only very large companies with big marketing budgets had 15 years ago.

Michael Temple

Yahoo Follows Google in Ad Quality

2007-01-24T10:49:00.000-05:00

Yahoo announced yesterday that on Feb 5th they are rolling out a new advertising system that will among other things base the price of advertising on both bid price and quality/relevancy of the advertising. This follows Google's strategy to do the same thing. You can read the press release here.

As I wrote before upon Google's announcement this will force advertisers to use more talent in creating an ad, which even if they don't agree today is a good thing for them as well. The new technology will use the relevancy of an ad as well as its historical performance in arriving at a "quality rating".

The relevancy is really a key because with so much information on the Internet misleading ads causes people to waste a lot of time by clicking on ads they think is about one thing, but it turns out was simply a bait tactic. That creates a very poor prospect for the company and causes them to lose money. Therefore, choosing relevant key words to your product or service and writing good advertising will help create a better prospect.

The next grade is determined by effective advertising. Just like in normal direct advertising a compelling headline or opening statement that gets a prospect's attention is key. Using solid copywriting that builds your case to the customer is the next most important item. Finally, you want a compelling call to action. As with any direct marketing if they don't take action you have lost a lead. Using these principles in both the ad as well as the landing page will not only boost the conversions from the ad, but also the quality score that Yahoo is going to assign it.

Once you think you have developed a winning ad you are going to want to test it with an A/B split test at a minimum, but now there are tools on the Internet that will let you test multiple variables in your advertising at once. Test, Test, Test is an old rule in direct marketing and now it appears Internet marketing as well.

If you are running an online advertising campaign or considering one it might be very beneficial to hire a good copywriter and/or Internet marketing expert to help you get a quality ad campaign off the ground. With Yahoo's new search technology going into effect it will save you both marketing dollars, by helping to lower your cost of advertising, but also make each marketing dollar you do spend work harder by creating more conversions from the ads that are placed.

Michael Temple

SAP Feeling Pressure from Slow Growth

2007-01-23T09:56:00.000-05:00

A story this morning in the WSJ illustrates a good point. SAP is suffering from slowing growth in the business software market even though the industry of business software is increasing and spending in this area is on the rise.

The article illustrates a good point that smaller and more innovative companies are creating better applications and getting them to market faster. It points out that businesses aren't spending large sums on new enterprise wide applications as readily as they did a few years ago.

I have often thought that companies like SAP, Oracle, and when they still existed independently, Siebel would run into a wall. There are only so many huge companies in the world and they are only going to spend or upgrade so many times. If you don't have really good mid-market and even small business solutions you might miss an incredible growth opportunity. All of these companies to a large degree have ignored the small business and even mid-market solutions. Unfortunately new and small business is where most of the job and economic growth is coming from and the smaller software companies that can roll out solutions to these markets in a cost effective way are going to beat the big guys that are still chasing huge fish.

The other point along this line is the ability of small companies to simply out maneuver the big software companies. We have all heard the jokes about big companies holding meetings to decide if they need a meeting and having tons of committees and hoops to jump through to act on anything. The large software companies that based their early growth on being quick and nimble are now HUGE companies that can't move as fast or innovate as fast, which is a big weakness in the technology industry. Take a look at Microsoft. They are a good company, but their stock price reflects investors skepticism that they will be able to grow as fast as they did 15 years ago.

One of their greatest strengths of the large technology companies 5-6 years ago is now gone. The growth in Internet technologies and innovative software is not a market that can allow huge companies that can't move quickly stay in control. It is too easy for 2 guys in a garage to start a software company and launch it to a worldwide market over the Internet and start eating the lunch of the big guys.

In addition, being able to create small business and mid-market applications and solutions that can be rolled out quickly and cost effectively without huge specialized teams of developers and high priced consultants will be more attractive to the larger and growing small-mid market companies. If this market is where job and economic growth is at doesn't it make sense this is where business software spending might be occurring at as well?

Guerrilla style marketing and economics is alive and well on the Internet and in technology. Those companies that still practice this will continue to grow. Those like SAP and Oracle, while still very powerful companies with a lot of capabilities, will be having more of those uncomfortable shareholder meetings to explain their lack of performance.

Michael Temple

Local Internet

2007-01-16T09:10:00.000-05:00

To me the word "local Internet" is somewhat contradictory, but more and more people are starting to use the Internet for local marketing and what some are calling micro local community news as discussed in this NY Times story. I came across the story this morning and found it interesting to individuals and businesses trying to find a way to do local marketing and communication via the Internet.

I believe local Internet marketing will become wide spread as time continues, but it does create an interesting paradox. Sometimes people simply like the experience of going into bookstores to touch and see books they are buying or into a unique gift shop. To these people it is as much about the experience of shopping as the actual act of purchasing something.

This particular article discusses the web being used as the virtual town square. Now the question is will people truly use it or is the physical experience of walking through and enjoying the real town square what people enjoy. I guess time will tell.

If this trend continues it will be interesting to see how individuals and businesses find ways to create money out of these virtual "local" experiences. After all the original town square was often where merchants and farmers set up booths and shops, hence creating money in a prime location. Will the same thing happen on the Internet's local town squares and shopping centers?

Michael Temple

Market Killing SPAM Protection

2007-01-15T10:51:00.000-05:00

Over the last couple of weeks I have been helping some clients with email issues. They weren't getting certain emails from clients that were sending very important emails with contracts attached to them. After doing some research I discovered that the sender's domain had been entered on a SPAM list despite not ever being used to spam or even send automated emails.

This spam protection as it turns out was being applied at the server level of the hosting company. In otherwords the customer never even received the email - even in their personal spam filter - or had any opportunity to accept or reject this message. For all intensive purposes they did not even know the message had been sent.

I realize that ISP companies are involved in a never-ending battle to stop a tsunami of spam, but killing off email before the customer even has a chance to see it or somehow ok it is going a bit too far.

For email marketing providers this presents an even bigger problem. If your clients or customers have opted in or even double opted into your email marketing list then they should receive those messages. It shouldn't matter if the provider sends them with an automated system or if they have HTML in them or any of the other long list of things that ISPs will reject an email for.

My suggestion is that once an ISPs is contracted to provide services for a domain that the client should be allowed to upload some type of "white list" to the ISP. This list should be able to be updated quickly and easily by the client to adjust for continuing email needs. If the ISP chooses to run server level spam protection is should be secondary to the white list of the customer. If a domain is on the list they get through, period. If they are not on the list then the ISP has a right to do some spam filtering.

I know such a suggestion is more work for ISPs, but it is wrong to simply eliminate all emails based on some set of criteria that the ISP sets. Not allowing the client to have some say in what comes through at the server level is denying them control over their own email management and what they choose to get.

I have found spam protection companies that ISPs can hire that allow clients to log on and list people they want to get email from or domains. If an email comes from that domain the ISP using the service lets it go through even if it would have been stopped for some reason before, such as having HTML in the message or coming from an automated server.

If you are a client that is not getting your email because the provider, i.e. GoDaddy has decided to kill your email prior to you ever seeing it then you need to find a new provider. There are solutions out there and not using them is an injustice to the client and the marketers that worked so hard to gain their trust and permission to send them messages.

Michael Temple

Microsoft using Hotmail to Sell Targeted Ads

2006-12-26T17:30:00.000-05:00

In the Wall Street Journal reported today that Microsoft is using its Hotmail email system or rather the data it represents to sell targeted "behavior based" ads. The article states that the data users put in when the set up the account along with their search habits will be used to sell ads that can be very targeted to the user... or will they?

You basically are going to quickly develop two groups of people here. The first are people that put in real and honest data about themselves and will consider this a HUGE violation of privacy and they should. This is data that they willingly gave up to get an email account, not give marketers an edge in marketing to them. If they wanted to let marketers have this information they would have given it to them.

Microsoft should be ashamed. If I found out my dentist or doctor or anyone else that I provided personal information to sold my information to make a buck to other marketers I would be very upset and probably take it out on the marketers trying to contact me as well as the company that violated my privacy.

Now Microsoft says that they don't give personal information just general info, but the important thing here is they shouldn't be giving anything without my (or your) permission.This is the reason why trust continues to be an issue on the Internet and makes it harder for legitimate marketers to get people to give up information on themselves. Once they give it up, presumably for one purpose they find later it has been sold or used for another purpose they wouldn't approve of.

In addition, you have the added benefit of continual spying by Microsoft by monitoring your search habits. Next we will hear that they are reading the contents of the emails and presenting ads based on the types of emails you receive. Way to go Microsoft! Now that is a strategy to be proud of...full sarcasm intended!

The second group of people are those that provided totally false data when they set the account up to insure that if such a day would come like this that their information wasn't at all representative of them and what appeals to them. Yours truly falls into this category. Now Microsoft is out there selling my data along with everyone else's the problem is that the marketers that use it aren't getting a picture of the real person so the ads they present to me will be seriously off the mark. What do you think the chances are that I will correct their assumptions for them?

Building trust with customers is a very hard thing to do both online and off, but why you would deliberately violate that trust is beyond me and I believe Microsoft is on the verge a serious back lash from customers over this one. Those that gave real information will be angry and those that gave false info will have even less trust than they had before and will be even more wary of online marketers.

Michael Temple

Google Docs

2006-12-16T15:28:00.000-05:00

Google is really starting to score some kudos these days. I just started playing around with another one of their free tools, online document collaborator. Now similar systems sell for three times this price, but act today and you get it for the low, low price of nothing!

Ok, I couldn't resist my info commercial routine, but seriously this is a neat tool and in the past you did have to pay for software to help you do online collaboration of documents, but now Google has added it to their suite of free portal applications.

As a business model Google is moving more to the portal model, which is what Yahoo did a number of years ago and it appears to be working for them. The danger of course is that they begin to dillute their core competency of being a search engine. However for the moment the tools they are creating are useful and this is one I would recommend if you need to share documents and spreadsheets with people to do online collaboration. Check it out here.

Michael Temple

Google Conversion Tool Beta Launch

2006-12-13T09:24:00.000-05:00

Google is working to be the greatest asset on the Internet to marketing professionals. They have just announced the beta launch of their Website Optimizer tool. The tool is designed to help marketers test different elements of their landing pages. In my last post I wrote how Google was going to start grading landing pages for ad word sites and those sites the provided "poor experiences" were ultimately going to pay more for ad word purchases.

It now appears that Google is going another step forward and helping marketers build those great landing pages. In the old days when we used direct mail...you know the stuff in envelopes that goes through the post office and has been called "snail mail".

Well for those of that do remember scientific advertising using things like split A/B tests have been around almost as long as direct mail marketing. The problem was that a true A/B test could really only allow you to test one variable at a time against another. Using mail this was obviously a slow and expensive way to develop the ideal marketing message.

What is exciting about Google's tool is that it allows you to perform multivariate tests. Which is a fancy way of saying you can test multiple variables about your landing pages at once, i.e. two headlines, two sets of introduction paragraphs, two offers, etc. all at the same time and according to Google their tool will keep track of the performance of each of these tests and help you narrow down the most effective message and landing page quickly. When you combine such a tool with Internet speed you get very fast test results.

While I have a love/hate relationship with Google I have to really give them kudos on this one. I am really impressed with the free tools they are developing and making available to help move Internet marketing to a more mainstream advertising medium instead of the lawless wild west.

However please remember the tools are only useful if you are putting the quality ingredients into the marketing campaign, i.e. strong headlines, powerful copy, calls for action, strong offers, etc. If you develop a poor marketing piece and use every tool Google has it will only tell you that you have developed a crappy piece of marketing that is causing your marketing budget to vanish faster than an Arizona frost. The first step will still be finding the right marketing consultant to help you identify the target market, develop the message, and improve upon it once Google's tools start giving you information about results.

Michael Temple

Google Landing Pages Requirement in Force

2006-12-05T21:15:00.000-05:00

Google has started their new requirement for an improvement in the quality of landing pages for Google ad words. As I have said before, it is about time. Creating ads that actually lead to informative pages for the purposes of creating leads and buying opportunities hasbeen sorely lacking since Internet advertising became the "in thing" to do. Now Google has actually gone so far to make this a part of their ranking system. I thought it would be interesting to go and see what Google thinks a "quality" landing page is.

As you might expect they are a bit vague, probably on purpose. However one thing they say is...

Openly share information about your business. Clearly define what your business is or does.

While this isn't very specific it does say one thing loud and clear that a well written page, i.e. good copywriting and solid communication skills is going to play a role in the quality of a landing page. Bravo Google, welcome to the club, to those of us in Internet and direct marketing this has pretty much been rule forever now. Better late than never I guess.

If you want to get the most from your advertising dollars online you should have been doing this all along, but if you weren't well now you have even more reason to join the rest of us in land of sound marketing principles. If you need help figuring out how to write good landing pages and copy for your pages please contact me or another competent copywriter because it now counts in more ways than one. If you want to see what else Google has to say about what a good landing page is you can read it here.

Michael Temple

Merging Media

2006-11-21T09:33:00.000-05:00

For a few years now two trends have been shaping up in online marketing. The first is the use of the Internet to promote local businesses that are constrained by geography, in other words it does them no good to get hits from people in another state or even city for that matter. Over the last 4-5 years companies that need promotion and think the Internet can give it to them have struggled with this aspect of a web site investment and promo strategy. This is one area that is showing some promise and will no doubt continue to expand. There are a number of good strategies that can be employed here.

For example, using offline local media to promote your web site. This is the concept of merging media. This has been common for large sites like Amazon, but not as common for the small or medium sized business that needs traffic on its site. I am speaking to an association of mortgage brokers today and will be talking about using local print ads to drive traffic to a lead generation web site and how to make that work for them as local brokers competing on national scale. Once you get local prospects to your site the idea is to convert them into a lead by having them sign up for a white paper or something else they find useful.

This morning's Wall Street Journal is reporting on a rumor that may be close to reality between Hot Jobs and 6 major newspapers to allow for cross promotion and the boosting of presence in local markets.

As I said I have been promoting this strategy for a while now, but this is the first time I have seen a major national Internet player merging attempting to boost marketing at the local level like this. If you want to read the story here. This will definately be a trend to continue to watch as it will have a large impact on both local and national businesses strivng for better marketshare in specific markets.

Michael Temple

DMA Email Marketing Guide

2006-11-20T15:06:00.000-05:00

The DMA (Direct Marketing Association) recently released its email marketing guide that is jammed full of great info for email marketing. They just announced that it is now available online and I thought some of my readers might like to see it. Here is the link...

DMA Email Marketing Guide

This is a very good area for the DMA to spend resources for a few reasons...

Email marketing is growing
Email marketing and direct marketing go very well together and are really one and the same.
The incredible amount of bad info regarding email marketing that is out there.

I felt the guide was pretty good overall. Please keep in mind as you look it over that the majority of the content was written by consultants and service providers so to some degree the information will be slanted, but probably not any more than any other "free" info is on the Internet.

Happy reading.

Michael Temple

Landing Pages Receive a Needed Boost

2006-11-11T13:25:00.000-05:00

It appears that Google has just changed the ground rules yet again for Internet advertisers, but this time for the better although many advertisers may not think so, or at least the lazy ones. Google has changed their algorithms to start "grading" the quality of the landing page that users land on when they click on an ad. Those landing pages that are done poorly or advertisers that simply send users to their home page will end up paying more for their ads.

While the change won't affect everyone it will raise the cost of the minimum bid for those advertisers that provide a "poor quality experience" for the people that click through from an ad. Unfortunately while some information is provided about what Google considers a "good page" it is a bit vague. However the good news is that I can predict with almost 100% certainty that the rules of good copywriting and advertising will still apply!

The lazy advertisers that don't want to go the extra mile and write a quality landing page for each and every ad they create will end up being charged two ways. The first way of course is through lost conversions. The second way is having Google raise the minimum bid on ads.

Now what I find amazing is the the first cost has been around since the beginning of pay to click advertising and yet I find way too many advertisers that simply want to go the easy route and send everyone to their home page figuring that somehow this says it all. Unfortunately what ends up happening is that people land on the home page and don't see IMMEDIATELY how the ad they clicked on is relevant to where they landed. Rather than stick around and try and hunt it out they simply leave. This is a long way of saying NO CONVERSION and hence NO SALES, which means NO PROFIT!

A conversion is the whole reason behind Internet advertising so I am amazed at the number of advertisers that don't know or care about the landing page. This has obviously cost them in lost sales, but many of them have ignored it. Then a few of them having evolved past the stage being able to simply make fire, like our primitive ancestors, they started creating copies of their home page so they could track how many clicks they received from an ad, but still no landing page! They wanted to know how many clicks they got, but still didn't go the extra mile to create and test the landing page.

Now Google has made this lazy way of advertising more expensive. It is like a new tax increase on poor practices. Creating winning landing pages can be technical from using the scientific methods behind direct response such as A/B splits and solid copywriting principles.

If anyone is contemplating advertising and wants to insure they get the most for their marketing dollar please contact me to help you with the copywriting, strategy, or consulting on making your campaign better.

If you would like to read the full post where this info came from check out my friends over at searchenginejournal.com I find their information very good.

Michael Temple

Data you can Bite Into

2006-11-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

Here is a great study that was done by CIO Insight magazine about using the Internet as a sales tool. Now we are talking! The study is interesting in that it says most companies are using the web for new customer acquisition and revenue growth over all other things it could be using the web for. It also goes on to state that only half the companies surveyed believe the web is their most profitable sales channel...interesting.

Well the research confirmes it for me, most web sites and Internet marketing strategies suck! If they actually spent the same kind of effort on their web strategies as they do their sales force and other marketing they might just surprise themselves about how much more effective it can be.

If I have said it once I have said it a thousand times. The key points of utilizing the web as a profitable sales channel are *still* the same...

Develop interested and qualified traffic to your site. No easy task with the problems with click fraud and the constantly shifting ground of SEO.
Have an effective web site. I know this one should be a no brainer by now, but I still find tons of sites infected with Flash, poor navigation, crappy copy, and a host of other problems that will always keep them in the slow lane.

Now there are other elements that make for an effective web strategy such as loyalty programs and such, but these two are the biggies for the goals of most companies that were surveyed. This really isn't rocket science, but these people are still looking at the web the wrong way. Technology still doesn't sell, it helps sell, period. In my ideal world any web development company that ever used the words "new technology' or "cutting edge" in any sentence describing a business acquistion web site would be voted off the island and not allowed back ever again.

It is not that I am anti-new technology or still carve my notes in clay tablets. It is just that when you go to a lot of sites they have cutting edge this or that, Flash blinking all over the place and the copy looks like a 2nd grader wrote it and the navigation is so poor you couldn't find what you were looking for with a police search party.

Develop your sites around proven navigation, which can be augmented by research on your audience and effective copy, with just a sprinkling of the right technology tools to boost (key point) the sales process, not become the substitute for the sales process.

If you are interested in reading the date yourself here is the link...

CIO Insight Survey

Remember a profitable web strategy is possible for 100% of the companies if they learn how to do it effectively and spend the same types of resources developing it as they do their other sales channels.

Michael Temple

Evils of Flash Catching On???

2006-10-28T16:41:00.000-04:00

Here is a blog that I read on a regular basis and it appears they have posted a quick article on the evils of Flash. I read the blog and agreed with all the points. Unfortunately many of the comments posted were negative because they claimed this was an old argument and that Flash was simply a tool and that any tool could be used incorrectly. Fair enough, but unfortunately many designers that say that still use the tool incorrectly.

Rather than write out a long article on this, I will simply refer people to a position paper I wrote on the how Flash damages your Internet marketing efforts and why. You can read the the position paper for free here. I will also direct people to the post on this fellow bloggers site which you can access...

Blog Here

My short answer to all of this is that even if you don't build a site out of Flash which is one of the worst things you can do most designers still use it incorrectly because while they understand technology and miss the mark on marketing. There is a process that people go through in the sales/marketing process and in almost all cases using Flash on a web site throws a wrench into that process. Read the position paper and learn more.

Michael Temple

Blog Use Growing in Canada

2006-10-26T09:53:00.000-04:00

Here is an interesting article that shows that almost 1/3rd of active Internet users in Canada have used a blog in the last 3 months. While the study was performed in Canada, you can probably safely extrapolate those numbers to just about any industrialized country in the world and it would be fairly accurate representation of blog use.

The article mentions that blogs are a double edged sword. On the one side it gives companies a great way to spread information about their product and services as well as feedback from customers, but on the other side it gives customers a great way to spread complaints. Finally, it mentions that blogs can be written by professionals or amateurs. Let me just say that if you are a company wanting to use blogs as part of a marketing campaign that you don't hire amateurs. Not to say amateurs can't write well or help boost existing marketing efforts, but they should never be the marketing effort.

For an effective blog strategy to work you need to formalize it as you would any marketing or PR campaign. You also need to use a professional writer to help develop the content for the blog. Finally, you need an Internet or marketing consultant that can help you integrate this into your existing marketing and PR efforts and make field adjustments along the way to get the most from your investment.

Here is a link to the full article

Michael Temple

Blogging Changing the News World

2006-10-17T10:45:00.000-04:00

I found this interesting story and I wanted to share it with my readers. The story is about how blogging is becoming a "source" for journalists when finding, researching, and writing stories. The author of this article is going to be presenting this talk at the DMA Association meeting coming up, but the stats of journalists turning to blogs instead of press releases and more traditional PR firms for stories is staggering.

Click Here for the Story.

I found it interesting that the author of this story used the words push vs. pull in terms of PR. I have written and used this terminology for years regarding advertising and marketing, but this is the first time I have seen someone else use it in conjunction with PR. However the strategy is the same in either case. The audience (in this case journalists) wants to pull their stories and sources as opposed to having stories pushed on them or "pitched" as the term is often used by PR firms.

This will really change the way PR firms work in the future if the trend continues. If you want to see my thoughts on this same topic regarding Internet marketing and advertising see my white paper I recently wrote on this topic in conjunction with Flash based ads and web sites.

Also a couple of years ago I came across this article that discusses the need for "corporate blogging policies" if the blogging trend continues. Basically, the thought is that PR firms can sanitize or spin stories certain ways to achieve a certain effect and it appears that journalists are pushing back against this by using blogs as sources, which they probably feel gives them a different angle to look at or a more "raw" version of the story before the PR people re-work it.

If corporations are going to include blogging as part of their marketing and PR strategies then how they use blogs will have to be formalized, just the current PR strategy is. You don't want cowboys out there in your company writing whatever comes to mind in a blog and having it become the "official" position of the company or put the company on the defense because a journalist read the blog and follows the trail.

From politics to business to life style, blogs are changing the Internet and offers a tremendous opportunity to businesses if it is implemented correctly. I offer help and consulting on this topic as well as many others and if I can be of help to your company please give me a call or email me with your questions and thoughts.

I am also working on a new white paper about blogging strategies that will be published on my web site soon. Please check that or this blog for an announcement when I have it ready. Until next time may your Internet marketing strategies be successful.

Michael Temple

The Trinity Strategy

2006-10-15T10:03:00.000-04:00

The trinity of Internet marketing is a triangle of competencies you need to focus on to build your web site strategy. If you focus on these 3 areas your Internet strategy will improve. If you focus on just one of them to the detriment of the others you will develop an unbalanced strategy that will not yield the results you are looking for. Here are the 3 competencies...

Customer Centered Web Site: The first step in any web marketing strategy is creating a great customer centered web site. This is much easier said than done. You need to understand who your audience of your web site is. What problems do they face? what solutions can you provide?

Once you know that your site needs to match the two things together. It is ok to talk about your services and products, but remember if that is all you got than don't expect too many visitors to come and stick around. People search the web for information if your site can provide that and other value based information and resources visitors will want to visit, spend time, refer others to the site, link to the site, and many other great things you want them to do.

Traffic: It doesn't matter if you have the greatest web site on earth, if nobody knows about it and don't visit, your site will fail. Now once you build your great web site and create content you need let people know. Obviously being listed in the search engines is a key and the fact that your site is content and value driven will make this process easier. Work on building incoming links to your web site. Share the wealth, give away some of your content for others to put on their sites or put in their blogs with the understanding they link back to you. let the press know about your site with press releases that offers links back. Finally, don't forget about good old advertising both online and offline to let people know what they can find if they come to your site.

Action & Loyalty: Once you have visitors on your site you need to do two things before they leave. You want them to take some type of action. This action can be purchasing a product, calling about a service, signing up for a newsletter or Filling out a form for a free whitepaper or special report. This step generates a lead, sale, or prospect that you can market to in the future, but people won't do this unless they find enough value in what you are offering and trust you enough to take this action. That is done with effective copywriting.

The second step is creating some type of loyalty program, i.e. giving people a reason to come back and be repeat visitors, not just a one time visitor. Ideally this visitor has the ability or resources to offer a link to your site, recommend it to others or bookmark it for future reference. If this is what you want them to do make it easy and obvious for them to see this and take that action with design and copy. Another component of your system needs to be capturing their information in your CRM (customer relationship management) database so you can begin the process of building a relationship with them which will create the highly coveted trust that is required in business and the very profitable repeat business and increased lifetime value of a customer.

There you have it, the trinity. If your sites focus on all three of these elements you will be on your way to a better web strategy, more visitors, increased leads, more sales, and higher profits.

Michael Temple

Content & Value Win Award

2006-10-04T20:38:00.000-04:00

Here is an interesting story that backs up what I have been saying for years. Thomasnet.com has won for another year the Web Awards, which is awards that are given to the 96 top industry web sites each year for excellence in Internet marketing. Here is a link to the press release...

http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/495533

What I find interesting about the story is the fact that content is one of the key reasons given for winning the award again. The site offers drawings for engineers, news, etc. Obviously a site that has done it's homework on what the audience wants/needs and provided it via their web site.

The days of simply throwing up a web site and forgetting about it are (thankfully) long gone. We are in the era of content equals value. If you need some value based content for your site check out some of the services I have on my site such as copywriting and development of white papers. If you really need to step up to the next level a full blown consulting project on developing a destination site may be in order. these items can really help you begin creating the very valuable content that will win customers and bring new visitors to your site.

Michael Temple

Click Fraud - New York Times

2006-09-26T09:46:00.000-04:00

It would appear that pay to click fraud is getting some serious attention these days. Here is another article in the New York Times that appeared over the weekend...

Full Article

A few interesting things I found in the article...

One of the best way to defend against it is to measure conversions against ad dollars.
This is very difficult for small businesses to do.
The only sure way to defend is to audit your click stream data for accuracy.

I also found it interesting that the article pointed out doing the above (with the exception of 1) is extremely time consuming and difficult for small businesses that are already overwhelmed with search engine marketing. The other option they had was to hire expensive search engine marketing firms to monitor and track this information for them, which might be as expensive as the fraud itself.

There is another option that didn't seem to make it into the article...EDUCATION! If you understand how SEO and Pay to Click marketing works and how that works with an overall web marketing strategy you might be able to do this more effectively for your business. I offer a number of seminars on web marketing and SEO where these small businesses can come and learn.

I suggest those of you that own small businesses consider getting a group together for me to come and speak or have your professional associations call me to come and speak at an annual conference for your group. Also by all means check my web site article and position papers areas reguarly as I will be posting articles of interest for free there that will help educate small and medium business owners on these topics. I also publish an Internet marketing newsletter for the best price on the Internet, anywhere...free.

Remember the best offense is a good defense and knowing how to defend your business from this will come from a solid understanding of web marketing and its associated topics.

Michael Temple

Pay to Click Fraud - Padding the Numbers

2006-09-24T10:31:00.000-04:00

Here is an interesting story I came across that I thought my readers might appreciate. The article was written in Business Week and addresses a clearly growing problem of click fraud. Click fraud is the manipulation of paid to click ads to rack up extra cash for the ad sellers like Yahoo and Google.

Of course both companies claim they have sophisticated formulas and techniques for eliminating bogus clicks, but my question is how do they know what a bogus click is? Who is to say that clicks from China, Egypt, and other countries are not actual real clicks. How do they actually know that a paid group of "professional ad clickers" in Minnesota isn't actually legit. The fact is they don't. They can write formulas that nail some of this activity, but it won't stop all of it because stopping all of it requires they stop recycling ads and become mind readers that can determine a person's intent...two things I don't see in their future.

Some percentage of clicks on recycled ads and other bogus campaigns is always going to get through. It is like tolerating some percentage of corruption from the Mafia, we know it goes on, but since it is such a small percent and spread over lots of victims we can tolerate it. I wonder if everyone of you that use pay to click ads feel this way as well.

The FBI and Postal Service is now investigating this according to the article, but clearly their resources are limited at best and even if they discover a fraud if it is located in another country the actions they can take will also be very limited. In the end there are only two choices you will have available to you...

Stop using pay to click advertising and put your marketing dollars in other places.
Police your own pay to click results and report what you believe to be scams.

The first choice is an easy one. The second is bit more problematic as it involves you looking at your click results and trying to determine if the people coming from those clicks would be "real" prospects or scams. Here are a few suggestions to help you determine good clicks from bad ones...

Insure that you are getting distributed clicks from a wide area and be suspicious of all activity coming from foreign countries unless that is the target of your campaign.
Use specially designed landing pages for your click through results and measure those pages carefully for the amount of time people spend on the pages and where they go after landing on the pages. Quick hits with very short visits and then leaving again may indicate a scam.
Measure your conversions from ads. Any direct marketing effort needs to be measured against actual results. If you track your numbers and find over time that it takes 200 hits to get one conversion and suddenly you start getting 800 clicks with no conversions and your ads or landing pages haven't changed you better start looking for a scam.
Test your ads against other forms of marketing such as SEO or other online marketing (not pay to click) and see what performs better.

In the end nothing will protect you completely, but careful vigilance and whatever, if anything, that Yahoo and Google does will be your only defense. Here is the link to the article...

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Until next time, watch those clicks!

Michael Temple

More than a Sign

2006-09-05T21:23:00.000-04:00

In my daily combing of the Internet looking for valuable info to share with my readers I came across this article for using Internet marketing to improve business in the lawn care and landscape businesses. Having just spent a fortune on both of these items this year I took a special interest in this and started to read. I think you will find the article interesting as it echoes much of what I say on this blog...

http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/news/news.asp?ID=4688

The author says some key points here that bare repeating...

More than a sign: The author astutely points out that a web site can't just be an electronic version of a sign in front of your building. In the industry we refer to these sites as "brochureware" sites which is another way of saying a site that looks like an electronic copy of your brochure and is updated about as often.
Generate Traffic: The old Zen saying is that if a tree falls in the forest with nobody to hear it does it make a sound? Consequently if a web site is on the Internet and gets no visitors does it exist? I actually have the answer here...no, if nobody sees your site it might as well not exist. Your site exists to convey or communicate a message. If nobody ever hears that message than it falls on deaf ears, or in this case no ears. The point is you must use search engine marketing, optimization, and advertising to insure that people see your site.
Offer Value: The author also points out that your site must offer value. This can be white papers (gee where I have I heard that before) software applications, calculators, articles, etc. It must give a value to the user outside of simply conveying what you sell and what your hours are etc. Make your site customer centered.
Branding: The author finally points out that your site is a great place to brand your logo and image. Building a brand is expensive and time consuming. The Internet can help speed up this process if used correctly. What does your web site say about your brand?
Lead Generator: The author goes on to talk about how the site helps generate leads for their franchise's and helps consumers locate them throughout the country and because they do all the things above they have a site that is seen, valued, and acted upon by their audience.

This guy is clearly on the right path and his company will be one of the success stories of the Internet. To those you that are still are not convinced that a web site is a living, breathing, and growing entity that requires constant attention will not get much value from your site.

This guy has figured out how to spin the web into gold and his company will reap the rewards. I am giving this guy my "straw into gold" award of the week.

Michael Temple

Small is Standard

2006-09-01T09:46:00.000-04:00

In this recent article, I came across a British writer that says that CRM is a making a come-back after a few years of massive failed implementations. He goes on to say that taking a pragmatic approach and realistic expectations are one of the reasons for this trend. I pretty much agree with him to this point. By the way here is the link to the article...

http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,39404093,00.htm

Unfortunately this is where his vehicle starts careening over the cliff. He goes on to state that small businesses are using CRM on demand (fancy term for CRM that is web based) because the cost of ownership is lower, fine, that is true, but then he says something I can't believe, I actually had to read it a couple of times to make sure I wasn't seeing things...

"Smaller businesses tend to have relatively standard business practices"

You have to be kidding right? Some of the most complex CRM implementations I have ever done were for small or medium sized businesses. Typically there is nothing "standard" about these businesses. That term is reserved for giant companies that can't steer out of the path of the ice berg if that had a over a month to see it coming!

Small businesses can't afford to be "standard" in anything, if they are they will be a standard statistic for why they went out of business. Small and medium sized companies that want to be big companies and survive need to be fast, unorthodox, creative, smart, and able to dodge bullets!

Small businesses don't have the luxury of a giant staff, vast marketing budgets, a well trained sales force and many of the other "standard" things of large Fortune 1,000 companies. Instead they have far fewer resources and must use what they have very well and achieve higher than normal "home runs" to be successful.

CRM can give a small business some of these advantages, but rarely have I seen a system that will work out of the box (or off the web) because the company is standard. All companies have some standard things they need to do well, i.e. achieve sales, effective marketing, strong financial management, etc., but how those things are done and how many resources it takes to do them well is what separates the winners from the losers.

"Standard" is great for things like car parts and computers, but not for marketing and sales operations of any business, least of all a small or medium sized one. Large companies have tried for years to bring in new talent and set up "entrepreneurial" centers in an attempt to replicate some of awesome power of small and medium sized companies and their ability to innovate and out smart much larger opponents.

While CRM may be making a come-back because of things the author has stated the weakness of CRM solutions has always been the ability to offer cost effective customizations for the small and medium sized company. The CRM firm that figures out how to create customizations, scalability, and cost effective implementations and management as well as ease of use in a box or on the web will be the next great software company.

Michael Temple

Flash Burns

2006-08-27T01:34:00.000-04:00

Adobe Flash is all over the Internet these days. There are thousands of sites that have Flash banners, headers, videos, and entire sites built in Flash. However I don't think all this Flash is a good thing. Flash is often a distraction that is introduced to a web site visitor and the distraction often takes the person's attention away from other elements or sections of your web site that are much more important.

I have written previously about having a purpose for your web site and offer a program called "The Purpose Driven Web Site". Without a well planned web site strategy your web site will probably be a dismal failure. To avoid this you need a purpose for your site and that purpose has to be clear to you and your audience. You should have a defined action you want them to take and a goal you want to accomplish and help your audience accomplish.

I think that purpose or goal is often interupted and often not completed because of poorly planned Flash elements that distract a user from doing what you hope they would, like say BUYING SOMETHING! If your Flash is costing you in lost sales and lower profits you need to read my most recent FREE position paper...

How Flash Is Costing You Money and Hurting Your Internet Marketing Strategy

I hope that those of you with Flash infected web sites will take the time to read this free white paper before it costs you too much in lost sales and profits. The choice is up to you and the clock in ticking. Lost time is lost opportunity. Read it today.

Michael Temple

Make It Personal

2006-08-18T21:30:00.000-04:00

I am often reminded in this busy world in which we live soaked with technology that we often forget to make a personal connection with our friends, customers, prospects, and others. We often forget that a personal note or card sent on the right occasion can really pour a turbo boost on your relationships with everyone.

Now many of you are saying that is great, but I don't have time to keep up with something like this. Well, technology has come to the rescue here. There is a great new web based company that allows you to shop for a card, write a personal note in the card, and drop in the mail with a live stamp on the envelope from the comfort of your own computer in about 2 minutes for a cost that the card store simply can't beat. Check it out at...

https://www.sendoutcards.com/9441

This is one of the ideal uses of technology. It takes an age old tradition such as sending out personal cards and makes it easier, faster, and cheaper than it has ever been in the past. Like all of my strategies blending common sense marketing with technology is a winning combination. Check it out today.

Michael Temple

Quiet Desperation

2006-08-02T19:35:00.000-04:00

In Pink Floyd's famous song "Time" on the Dark Side of the Moon album they have the following lyrics...

"One day you find out 10 years got behind you no one told you when to run you missed the starting gun"

As I thought about these lyrics I realized this is pretty much the average company's Internet marketing strategy. Back in the height of the dot com era several now non-existent companies thought all they had to do was get their business on the web and some of the magical dust everyone was snorting in those days would make them a millionaire!

The more frenzied the action got the more people believed nothing mattered except getting your business on the web. Once that amazing strategy got de-bunked we still have a whole group of people putting up web sites, but not doing anything with them. They spend money to build it and figure "they" will come, but they usually don't and hence your investment is wasted. Just as Pink Floyd's lyrics say no one told them to do something so 10 years later they find they missed the boat. Lost time is lost opportunity.

Your web site strategy breaks down into 3 neat chunks if you will (4 actually, but who is counting). The first one is developing traffic to your web site. If you fail to get people to your site then it doesn't matter how cool it is or how much awesome Flash you have or anything else. You can develop traffic both online and offline and I have found both are critical to your success. How much of each depends on your business, customers, markets, goals, and a host of other factors. However the point is there is a constant battle to keep your site visible and get people to come to it. I could discuss strategies to do this all day long, but that is a story for another day.

The second main component is getting someone that actually stumbles (yes stumbles is the right word for most people) to your site to actually find what they are looking for and take action. That action might be signing up for a newsletter, picking up the phone, buying a product in the store, completing a survey, etc. I have talked many times in the past about getting someone to take action once they are on your site. As a quick summary I believe this is done through sharp copy and content, intuitive navigation, layout, and a few other tricks that will funnel the visitor to the action you want them to take.

The final component or next to final is doing something with the person that takes action. If they buy something online, sign up for your newsletter or some other self-fulfilling action then we go to the next step (below), but if the action was to email you or pick up the phone and call you then you need somewhere to put this lead and a system to move the sale along. This is best accomplished with a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system that tracks all the basics about a lead, automates some of the basic sales functions, such as mailings, email follow ups, and scheduling calls.

A well designed sales system in your CRM program is going to yield gold because it will help you follow up with each person systematically (key point) over time until you close the sale or the lead is dead, which in my universe, like in the cartoons, death is only a temporary set back. Once they are dead you can always recycle the lead on a new sales system that isn't as aggressive. Who knows someday that person/company may become a live lead again long after you competition has given up and found another job. Wouldn't you like to be the one there at the right time to land the account?

The final step regardless if you closed a sale (loosely defined) once they visited your site or as a result of the CRM follow up you now have to ask yourself about the life time value of a customer. There are countless stats out there that I won't make you drudge through that say it is much easier to make a sale to an existing customer than constantly finding a new one. Unfortunately new customers become old and forgotten once you have closed them to many companies. The Righteous Brothers have it right in their song "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling"...

"There is no love in your eyes when I reach for you and you are starting to criticize little things I do"

The point is that once sales people have "conquered" the customer they forget about them and move on to the next elephant and eventually your competitor will be waiting in the shadows for you to slip up so they can club you over the head and take your hard won customer away.

Therefore you need strong loyalty and customer service programs to keep your customers; to show them how much you appreciate them. If your business is strictly over the web then you need to give people a reason to return to your site. In other words get the maximum value from each and every customer you bring to your site, get to take action, and close the sale. You are never done "closing the sale" in my book, it is something you must do each and every day to insure that your competitor keeps following you and not leading you.

Martha Rogers and Don Peppers in their now famous books on One to One marketing are always talking about share of customer not share of market. In other words if a customer buys $100 dollars a month of services or products you sell do you get the entire $100 they spend or do you get $50 and your competitor gets $50. Your goal is obviously to get every last dollar that your customers spend on a category of product or service that you sell with every customer you land.

Loyalty and service programs that are off the charts will do this (as well as having a great product or service) if that service is your web site it better be top shelf as well or else your competitor who is only a click away will eat your lunch.

In summary four key parts of a successful web strategy...

Develop Traffic
Get visitors to your site to take action
Close, track and keep selling with a sales system and CRM system
Have awesome service and loyalty programs to maximize the value of every customer

Anything less is going to cause you and your web strategy and marketing to fail. Pink Floyd says it so well...

"Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time...Hanging on in quiet desperation"

That is, in my opinion, the average company's web strategy. They never seem to find the time to develop new traffic, update content, close new sales, etc. So their web site and as a result sales hang on in quiet desperation and they wonder why they can't get ahead.

Start running today or else you will wonder why you missed the starting gun.

Michael Temple

What is Your USP

2006-07-19T16:36:00.000-04:00

Imagine for a moment that when you got ready to do your grocery shopping every grocery store in your area suddenly showed up at your front door and offered you their best rock bottom price on the stuff you were looking to buy? Would you ignore the lowest price and buy from Kroger instead simply because they are Kroger? Probably not.

Now imagine if among the grocery stores that showed up a farmer came as well and while he wasn't the lowest price person that came, he offered wholesome, fresh, and all organic foods. Now would you choose the lowest price producer or would you be willing to buy from the farmer that had a better product, but not the lowest price.

This strange scenario is exactly what the Internet has brought to us today. If you are ready to buy something in about 3 minutes you can have your computer go out on the Internet and bring back a list of the the products you are looking for, ranked from lowest price to highest. Each of these companies will even ship it right to your door.

The Internet has created a true commodity market for a lot of products. In my example at the beginning of this post is not realistic and unless you have a ton of extra time on your hand driving or calling all around town to get the lowest price on your groceries you will end up paying a premium on some of your stuff.

However for the things that you buy on the Internet this is not true. Several search robots and other tools will give a total list of online sellers and give you the option of buying at the lowest price, so why wouldn't you buy at the lowest price since it is so easy find and buy at the lowest price?

USP - What is yours?

The answer is USP which stands for Unique Selling Proposition. This concept is what truly makes you different from other competitors. Hint here, lowest price is not a good USP. Unique selling propositions can be based on service, quality, brand appeal, and many other elements, but the key is they are things that are unique to you and difficult or impossible for your competitors to duplicate and still offer it at the lowest price. If your competitor can match your USP perfectly and still offer the lowest price maybe you should find another line of work.

If you have an eCommerce site you need to know what you are selling (hint: I am not referring to the product itself) for example when people buy a plane ticket they don't really want a plane ticket they want the ability to be transported from point A to point B quickly and efficiently. So I ask you again what are you really selling.

Next how can you add value to what you sell that is difficult or impossible for your competitor to offer? You need to be able to create true value for the premium you are going to charge for your product.

USP is Critical to Your Survival

If you can't add distinction and value to your product then the consumer has no reason to pay anything more to you than the lowest price for the product or service, which means that with the Internet they probably won't buy from you. Sad, but true.

I know I am shattering the dreams here of tons of people that hired consultants that said just put your business on the web and retire to Maui. Running a business on the web is just as difficult as running it in the bricks and mortar world, maybe even more difficult because without a solid USP you are going to be reduced to a commodity in very short order.

I recommend that if you truly want to succeed on the Internet that you start with USP. Find out those unique selling points you can offer and charge for them. If your USP is truly unique and not easy to duplicate and if you can get traffic to your site and persuade them to buy with your copy and USP then you will make money.

Man that is a lot like a real business and work isn't it? Better cancel that flight to Maui.

Michael Temple

Twice as much, but same total

2006-07-07T22:37:00.000-04:00

Back in the days of my youth I had a childhood friend that I used to spend the summers with including a couple of weeks per year with them at his family's cottage on a nice lake. My friend's father was the type of person that always had a neat way of looking at the world and great insight into people and business.

One day after coming in from swimming I saw my friend's dad cutting a brownie out of a pan of fresh brownies. First, he cut the entire pan into nice even squares and then carefully removed one square for himself. He then proceeded to cut that square in half and only ate that half. I didn't say anything to him, but about 15 minutes later he went back and ate the other half of the brownie.

Now with my curiosity peaked I asked him why would he take a normal size brownie, cut it in half and eat both halves 15 minutes apart? Without missing a beat he replied "so I can eat twice as much"...

Now math wasn't my best subject, but I was pretty sure there was something wrong with his math and his logic. He didn't say anything else and for 30 seconds I sat there in silence trying to figure out what the heck just happened. Finally, I replied, that doesn't make any sense whatsoever! He just laughed and walked away.

For years I have remembered that day at the lake and still can't figure out his logic to this day. Since we are in the midst of summer right now and I recently got back from a lake I was thinking of this event again. I started wondering if this logic applied to marketing and sales and sure enough I think it does.

There are plenty of marketers out there that go out and slice the market up into tiny segments and then proceed to cut those segments into yet smaller segments. Then they do this flurry of activities and don't seem to get any more sales than before. They create expensive customized marketing to each of these little segments hoping to boost response rates. In sales, reps will go out in the field and spend twice as much time doing wasteful activities and at the end of the day will still have the same [poor] results.

My point is that there are a lot of web sites, marketing campaigns and sales reps out there that do twice as much, but still end up in the same place as if they had done half of that work. Why? Several reasons actually, but I am going to focus on just a couple. One is that they aren't figuring out how to pre-qualify the target market with their copy or their offers.

By their very nature headlines, copy and offers can speak to a very specific group of people and call out only the ones that are truly good prospects. Sales people will sometimes waste tons of time doing paperwork, driving around meeting customers on opposite ends of town, and other activities that are wasteful. In short both the marketers and sales people end up doing twice as much work and still end up getting the same slice of the pie.

Poor copy, bad lists, poorly organized web sites, wrong target markets and a host of other factors are to blame. Year after year this goes on and year after year it never improves in many companies. The reason is that with so much "activity" going on they must be doing everything right, but yet they still end up with the same thing when they are done.

I think the reason for this is that most marketing (including Internet marketing) is not treated like direct marketing. For years direct marketers were forced to show results. Everything they do is measured. They measure how many pieces go out, total cost, how many responses, which pieces produced the most responses, how fast those responses came back, total lead cost, per lead cost, increase in sales, etc.

Unfortunately too many marketers today and Internet marketers aren't forced to do business the same way. They can promise cool technology and the newest and best gee gaw on the market and businesses will pony up the cash for it. This is one of the reasons for the dot bomb crash in the late 90's among other things.

My point is that if all marketing was like direct marketing and all the stuff you did was measured for its exact effect you would start cutting out the half of crap you are doing that isn't bringing any benefit to your business. There is a saying in advertising that half of what you spend on advertising is a waste, unfortunately you don't know which half.

Your Internet marketing campaigns from the email sent out, delivered, opened, clicked on, landing page visited, time spent on page, number of visitors, number of sales, and total sales is all measurable. Unfortunately too many companies don't conduct a campaign this way. They just put up a web site, forget about it and wonder in a random meeting at some point in the future if that stupid "web thing" they bought was worth it.

The goal should be to measure everything. If you put up a new article on your site put it on a special landing page first and notify your eNewsletter subscribers that it is available and track how many come and download or read it. If you are doing banner advertising make sure that the ad clicks through on a unique page that is not part of your overall site so you can measure how many people come through. If you are not sure what message to use in a campaign do an A/B split and create two landing pages with the two versions on each one. Then send out two batches of emails with half giving links to "A" and half to "B" then figure out which of the two messages produced more sales.

The next time you do a campaign take the best one of the two and change two things and run another split test and see which of those two pulls better. Keep doing this and keep perfecting until you have a campaign that has eliminated the half that doesn't work and gets you the results you want. This is scientific and while I would love to take credit for it marketers much older than me came up with these concepts years and years ago.

The goal is to continually and ruthlessly cut out the wasteful non-producing marketing activities and keep the stuff that works. Your goal should be to grow sales, but if you fail to do that at least be sure to only do half of the amount of wasteful activities to get to the same spot!

Michael Temple

Gone Fishing

2006-06-29T23:37:00.000-04:00

I always like those bumper stickers that say things about the owner has gone fishing or would rather fish than work and all the derivations of each of these. While stuck in a traffic jam one day and wishing I was actually fishing instead of looking at orange barrels I started calculating how much money I was losing because I was in the middle of a traffic jam and not at my laptop, phone, or in front of a client selling something or billing out my time to a project.

just for the record, I would not recommend you start calculating how much money a traffic jam is costing you, it could be hazardous to your mental health and possibly the physical health of the next construction worker you see stacking another orange barrel right in the middle of the only lane that isn't already blocked and jammed up!

Ah, but alas I am on a tangent. My point is that too many business owners (of all sizes) waste time or have their time wasted by other activities, like orange barrels and hence are not able to do activities that help make them money. Question, is your web site in this category? Does it help you make money or simply waste your time and hence cost you money?

Simple question for some, more complex for others. A recent statistic I read said that most white papers (those prolific 7-12 page marketing pieces that are rarely printed on white paper) are delivered electronically more than in any other format.

This little nugget of information combined with the rage at the orange barrels created the fishing model in my head. If my web site had a great, well written bait piece, call it a white paper, booklet, tip sheet, etc. on it and people were finding it and downloading it while I was stuck in traffic doing absolutely nothing than I would be making money and gathering leads for when I got back to the office.

Ok, some of you are saying "hey genius, people have been doing this for years on the Internet, where have you been". I would respond I didn't realize it because I have been in this stupid traffic jam for the last several years! No seriously I realize this is not rocket surgery, but I am still amazed at the number of web sites that doesn't have this material on it and don't create fresh versions of these materials to continually gather leads while they are doing other things. I still come across tons of sites that have the typical about us, services, products, pictures of our employees (including pets) and many other things that couldn't interest the prospect less. So while the model is not actually mine nor is it completely new and innovative it also is not being followed by a large amount of buisnesses.

However imagine a prospect that comes to your web site and instead of being put to sleep by reading about your latest "about us" overhaul he/she finds some well written copy talking about a new booklet you have made available called "How to Create a Profit Centered Web Site" (one of my own creations) do you think they might be enticed to download it? I am guessing if they don't know the last person that called them because of their web site they might want to.

Now you don't just include a simple link where they can download this document, you ask them to give you their email address, name, and maybe phone number and then once they submit this information then you roll them over to another page where they can't download the document...yes you read that correctly I don't give them the bait at the rollover page. Why? Because years of driving around orange barrels has made me a cruel and insensitive human being. No, because if you are a fisherman like me the fish come up and take your bait and at the end of the day your net is still empty.

I recommend that you roll them over to a page that offers your newsletter sign up, information about your downloadable products, the ability to refer a friend to your site for another free download that was even better than the last and of course a note that tells them that an email will be arriving shortly with a download link. By doing it this way you will be assured that whatever email address they gave is actually real and you can actually deliver a message to.

In addition, you should have this email message go out automatically. Don't make the person wait until you get the message and respond because if you do they will get upset and may even forget 10 minutes later they visited your site and asked for it. You want them to have it right now, after all it is a bait piece and designed to move them one more step into your sales process. Here are the items I think this strategy must have to be successful...

A way to make your prospects aware this document exists on your web site and why they want to get it. This can be done with an email blast, radio ad, direct mail postcard, or any other vehicle designed to alert people.

Fantastic copy that gets the reader's attention as soon as they land on your site letting them reinforcing and expanding on the message in your step above as to why they want this and how to get it.

A truly well written and (important point) educational document that is not just an oversized brochure for your company. People want information, not just sales crap.
A web site processing system that collects their contact information and attempts to alert them to other things you might have available they might find interesting.
An automated way to send them the document they just asked for.
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to put the lead into and track it to the successful close of the sale (a story for another day).
A catalog or other sales piece that is built right into the white paper or email message that tells them about all the products and services you offer. If they find your bait piece valuable and informative you want to make it very easy for them to buy your additional items.

If you follow this simple, but proven model on your web site the next time you are in a situation where your time is being wasted you can be confident that your web site is constantly fishing and delivering new leads and prospects to you.

This little bit of information may keep you safely within the little white lines on the road when you are stuck in the next traffic jam. You won't necessarily be making piles of new money, but you also won't be wasting all your time either...you will be fishing.

Michael Temple

Internet Killed the Video

2006-06-13T17:19:00.000-04:00

In the early 80s when M-TV launched the very first song they played was video killed the radio. This was their idea of saying a revolution had occured and radio lost. Now music would be delivered with video and music and change the way people enjoyed both. Now this trend is continuing yet again only it is our old friend the Internet doing the killing.

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal (June 12th, 2006) talks about how local TV stations are struggling to stay alive as the consumer finds new sources of entertainment and ways to get that entertainment delivered to them. The article discusses how local TV stations used to be some of the most profitable businesses in the country, but now that people are using the Internet more and content is also being delivered via through cable companies they are hurting. The article goes on to say that advertisers are not putting as much money into these stations as it did in the past because the viewers just aren't there.

In MBA lingo this is known as a paradigm shift which is a fancy way of saying the ground rules are changing for these guys and is fundamentally changing the industry. Industries that have this happen to them either adapt and find new ways to exist or fade away.

Now enough about the downside, what is the upside here. Well quite simply it is opportunity! The advertisers that are no longer spending money with local TV stations are going to be spending that money somewhere and since the Internet is the thing stealing viewers attention away I am willing to bet that a large chunk of that cash will be diverted to the Internet.

The next question is where on the Internet are all these stacks of dead presidents headed? Of course it will be with those web sites that attract and retain visitors or as the Ad industry calls them "impressions". Is your web site in a position to get some of these ad dollars? Well if you have visitors coming to your site and those people read, download, and spend time on your site doing stuff and (key point here) you know who that group is then you can bet your bottom dollar that advertisers will be willing to spend some cash with you.

I am going to start a new thing here called TIR which is going to be my own acroynm that stands for "Temple's Internet Rules" since my name is the front of that acryonm I get to make the rules up. My first rule is going to be...

TIR #1: Create compelling, fresh, and innovative content and visitors will come and return to your site.

It doesn't matter what your site is about as long as it attracts an audience. On any given day I browse the web for news, politics, economics, finance, hobbies, etc. You name it I have probably browsed a site about it. The good sites I put in my favorites menu, the crummy sites I have totally forgotten the name of... bad news if you want to attract advertising dollars.

With the continuing spread of high speed access to the Internet video will play an increasingly larger role in dynamic content as well as the old standby of text, photos, audio and dynamic content like database driven information. The web site owners that create this content and get larger and larger shares of viewers the more likely they have ad space to sell.

Once this content is created you can sell ad space, sell memberships to premium content, sell information products and many other methods of making money off of this content. You can deliver this content with video, podcast, audio, text, ebooks, etc. To those that can generate this content you are on the verge of a new world of opportunity.

Now I don't know about you, but I think buying a radio or TV station is a little bit more expensive than starting a web site so the future will be in the content itself not the capital it takes to broadcast this content. Local TV stations 10 years ago probably thought they were indestructible, today they are wondering if anyone got the license plate number of the truck that just hit them.

Question, are you driving the truck or laying under it?

Michael Temple

Are You Getting Fresh!

2006-06-05T23:26:00.000-04:00

It has been a little while since my last post. I have been working with several clients recently on completing new web sites. On a few of the projects I am getting a distinct impression they want me to go away and so they can actually pay for their kids to go to college instead of paying me so my kids can go to college! Building and designing an effective web site can be a large undertaking for any business, but especially a small business.

It is expensive and time consuming and many clients just want to take a deep breath once "it is done" and throw my business card in the garbage and be glad that they are done paying me. Not so fast, unfortunately you have only paid enough for my kids to get through their Freshman year, so we need to find something else to spend your money on! Fortunately for me I have just the thing... Maintenance!

I am obviously being coy here, but the point is an accurate one. Too many individuals want to just forget about their web site once they get it finished, but unfortunately you can't do that or your investment in a new site will be quickly lost.To get the most value from your site you need to keep working it like a farm. Most farmers wouldn't last long if they just planted some seeds and stopped working.

Your web site needs to grow and mature and that is where the work comes in. Fresh content is the only thing that keeps people coming back over and over again and brings in new people from word of mouth and/or better rankings in the search engines.

Here is just a partial list of things I have found to add to a company's web site after they were created...

Articles
Discussion boards
Reviews of new products
Technical support docs and forums
Calendar of events
Product/service manuals
Tip sheets
Booklets of new functionality, services, information
Videos
Audio files of shows, events, and other content
Free reports
Newsletter archives
Links to stories/info your customers would find interesting
eBooks
Podcasts
Blogs

As you can see the list is basically a long one and with a little thought I am sure you can come up with items I didn't add to the list. Now you obviously don't have to add all of these, but if you did imagine the visitors you would have!

The point is that once your perfectly crafted text about who you are and what you sell are done you have a lot of work ahead of you to keep the leads and customers coming back. Your web site is a lead generating and tireless salesperson for your organization, but it needs one thing to keep going...new fresh information and content.

Now how do I create all this "stuff" you may be saying. Good question, a lot of it you can find from other sources and just post the content on your site (with the author's permission of course), some of it can be developed by research and in some cases you will need to hire a professional copywriter to help develop certain things like white papers. Did I mention I also am a copywriter... hey my kids want to be doctors, you know how expensive medical school is :)

Seriously, you don't have to create all of it at once, it is done little by little each month or quarter and you will update old stuff while adding new things, eventually before you know it you have a kick butt web site that gets tons of visitors and lots of kudos for the great content you have developed. Remember growing content and your web site is a marathon, not a sprint.

So once that project is finished don't just forget about your site and hope the leads and sales will start pouring in, because they won't.

Michael Temple

Direct Response Web Site

2006-05-22T13:52:00.000-04:00

One of the things I ask clients and prospects alike is what they want from their web site or Internet marketing strategy. Some have exact answers and some don't have a clue. Some tell me they are not sure, but they are being told by people that they have to have a web site. Now don't get me wrong I love marketing and helping people but if I was alive 60 years ago and someone came to me and said their was this great new thing called TV and I should be advertising on it for my business I think I would want to know how that is going to benefit my business. I think I would want to know the exact effect it would have on my company's bottomline. Unfortunately not enough business owners ask those questions and for the small business person that can really create a hard ship as they toss money out that could be better spent somewhere else.

Now somebody reading this right now might be scratching their head wondering why I would be willing to turn down business from someone that couldn't answer this. I would tell them I don't do it often, but I have turned people away because I tell them I don't think I can help them and in those cases I won't take their money. To most people I simply need to coach them through the thought process and we can come up with a strategy that will work and a way they can benefit.

One of those strategies is the direct response web site. This is where the site literally guides the user into a certain course of action just like a piece of direct mail would do. I work with the client to figure out what the "thing" the person is supposed to do is and then we plan the strategy around it. This strategy is a combination of traffic generation, site architecture, copy, and offer.

This last element the offer is really a key piece. People are not going to call you or give up their email for no reason. They are going to have to find something on your site that is so interesting and so valuable that they give you their contact information so they can have this item in your offer. It could be free subscription to your newsletter, it might be a tip sheet, software trial or might be a white paper or even e-book. Whatever "it" man, that sounds like eBay, is what is going to cause them to say they trust you enough to give up some information to get this information from you.

It helps to get this information if you also have a rock solid privacy policy that basically says you won't spam the crap out of them or sell their name to every email list on earth. In otherwords that you and you alone will use this information to communicate with them.

In direct response marketing this is known as the "bait piece" and is so named because it gets an otherwise nameless prospect to talk to you and thus allow you to "catch" them. However you must then show respect to the trust they gave you by respecting their privacy and giving them the information or thing you promised. If you execute this step well then moving the person to the next phase will be easier. If you blow it at step 1 by sending them a bunch of crap or the thing you promised never arrives or is a blatant marketing piece your chances of moving to step 2 have probably dropped to zero or worse!

The information that you offer should do two key things. First it should set the standard for what you are selling and in the process show why you or your company meets that standard. Second, it should give solid easy to digest information that is going to help them today. If all you do is mail or send them one of your 3 panel brochures you have just thrown a great opportunity away.

Other things the bait piece should do is demonstrate that you or your company is the expert or the premier company to deal with on whatever it is you are selling. This will be done through the quality of the information you present in your bait piece and from quoting or referencing other credible sources to back up your statements and position so people can see you actually do know what you are talking about.

This strategy needs to be carefully thought out and executed to work well. I help people all the time to develop these marketing pieces and place them on an effective web site that will actually accomplish something besides sucking up server space on the Internet. However too many individuals don't think this through and then can't figure out why they don't get any leads or help from their web site.

A direct response web site includes all the same elements as any direct response media, get attention, get them interested, get them to desire what you have, present a great offer, and fufill your promises. Do these and you will be amazed at the responses you get from your web site. If you want more information on this type of stuff please check out the articles section of my web site to learn more or sign up for my awesome e-newsletter.

Michael Temple

Copy is King

2006-05-11T23:37:00.000-04:00

I seem to have a theme here about coming down hard on all the fancy "jee-wiz" technology someone can incorporate on a web site. Now don't get me wrong, I use and believe that technology is necessary for your web site, but that shouldn't be the only thing that makes your site "great". People come to a web site for information and unfortunately when you have flashing ads, fancy Flash intros, and scrolling ads etc. you don't give them this information.

The best way to give them this information is through copy on the site. This copy is typically delivered through text on the page, but could also be delivered through a video or audio file on your site as well. Your copy needs to get the visitors attention right away and pull them into the body copy. As the person reads you need to build interest in your business, service, or product. In addition, you need to convert this interest in desire to have what you are selling. Finally, all the desire in the world is no good without action. Get the person to take action!

This principle is called AIDA which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. This is one of the many models that copywriters and advertisers have used in developing marketing pieces for years. There are many other models, but they are just others ways of saying the same thing.

Now the question probably arises is how do you accomplish this task? Write about the benefits of your service or product not the features. What is the difference, well my smart ass answer is higher sales. Features are the facts about your product or service such as it has a 80 GB hard drive and 3.2 Ghz chip etc. Benefits by contrast is what someone will get out of doing business with you. For example, a computer that is faster allows you to access files faster, complete work more quickly and hence makes you more efficient and more profitable.

If you don't remember anything else I wrote here remember this...

People buy benefits not features!

If the copywriting on your web site or in your marketing materials follows AIDA and is benefit based writing and not just features you will find your web site more productive and not just an alter to the gods of fancy but useless technology. Copy is truly King, those that know this sell more and those that don't give jobs to the rest of us by keeping useless web sites on the web and mailing out tons of worthless marketing materials. Hmm, come to think of it, maybe you should just continue doing all the web sites and marketing the old way so I will always have a job!

Michael Temple

Added Web Site Value

2006-04-30T16:05:00.000-04:00

No matter what size your company is or how big your web site the question of creating added value with your web site for your prospects and clients is a critical one. All too many companies decide that the web site is about them and their company, but it is not, at least not in the way most companies think.

Ask yourself what can you do to your site that will get people to come back and visit if they are not a customer? Is it articles, free resources such as software, eBooks or bulletin boards that add value to the user's life and create a positive experience for them. Creating a community of some type around your site is a way of building a base of visitors that come and visit; even if they don't buy something or call right now, if they keep coming and learning about you eventually they will want to do business with you.

I know a web site that I visit regularly because the owner posts an MP3 of his talk radio show he does each week. Plus he puts articles and other great resources up there. Over time I have really come to appreciate his philosophy on life and business. His offering is seminars that he teaches, which are pretty expensive.

Had this guy emailed me, sent direct mail, advertised on TV or radio or heck even called me I probably wouldn't have been interested. Instead I found his site on the Internet while searching for something because he did the right things to give exposure in the search engines. Once I was on the site I started looking around and it wasn't long at all before I could see all the value this guy was offering.

The more I listen and read his "free" stuff the more intrigued I become with him. I am sure eventually he and I will meet and I will be forking over the hefty sum of cash for his seminar because I already have a good idea what I am going to get from it and I want more. He has taken the time to build a relationship with me through the offering of his resources and ultimately that is what every owner of a site that hopes to sell something, anything has to do.

Now for people that are already a customer for this guy his site continues to add value on topics of information they may not have taken from him. They will learn and grow because of listening to his additional programs and reading the articles. Because they have already had at least one class from him they now have even a better appreciation for his philosophy and I have no doubt over time will be repeat customers over and over again.

If your web site is simply an overview of your company and services/products with a contact page and it only gets updated once a year weather it needs it or not (sarcasm intended) then it is doubtful you will ever win as many customers or get repeat ones from your web strategy.

Remember your site is about the prospect and customer. If you spend time giving them value they will in turn provide your business with value. Help them get something more from your site besides a list of your services and a phone number and you will be surprised how many new customers come from your web site, but you will also be developing stronger loyalty to your existing ones.

Now this strategy can go much deeper with online communities that people sign up for with newsletters and forums as well as web casts and "member only" types of information and account information, but that is only the same strategy I am already talking about taken to a higher and more refined level.

It is all about added value and if you give it you will get it back many times over. If you choose to keep a simple "brochureware" site, save yourself the hosting and development money and mail them a brochure instead it is cheaper and will get about the same pathetic response.

Michael Temple

The Clean Web Site

2006-04-21T11:18:00.000-04:00

The old saying that cleanliness is next to godliness should be applied to many web sites today. There are tons of sites on the Internet that can't decide if they are promoting their company or trying to attract gamblers from Las Vegas with the banners, animation, blinking and flashing ads, scrolling text and other distracting elements. These sites look like a bill board on the Vegas strip! Unfortunately these companies are trashing their web site with elements that probably have very little to do with the stated purpose of their site (see post below) and as a result all the junk on their site is just a distraction to visitors.

Research has proven over and over again that adding the newest and most "glittery" technology and animation you can find won't increase your conversions of prospects to customers. It may look cool and cost you a bunch of cash as your webmaster tells you how complex it was to create so he/she can keep their job, but at the end of the day it probably won't have any marginal effect on your bottom line.

Web sites should be kept lean and mean, which means minimal outside elements that aren't directly tied to the key purpose of your site. Create logical and intuitive navigation, plenty of white space, clean tasteful graphics that DON'T blink and flash to get attention. If they are designed well they will create a positive image without all the animation. However the most important element on the site is always and will always be the copy (text). People visit a site to learn things and the copy on the site needs to get their attention, be easy to read, and most important get them to take some type of action. Flashing graphics and spinning logos aren't going to do that, but powerful and well written copy will. Creating a site with these elements will always be more effective than the site that has too much junk on them and contains poorly written copy.

In Ayn Rand's famous book The Fountainhead the main character is an architect named Howard Roark. He is practicing his trade at a time when creating ornate buildings was the standard practice. The architects that are his competition believe all buildings need to have ornate carvings, pillars, and other dramatic designs more like a Greek temple than a modern office building. Roark stands alone among the men of his day that believe buildings should be clean and modern without all the excess of classical design. His ideas are attacked, but in the end we see today they are the standard rather than the exception. I know some of my ideas of minimal sites are also not shared by others in the industry. How could they be with all that cool Flash that let's you create the "classical" look to the site, but there are some, and the number is growing, that know the future of the web is well designed, clean, minimal sites with sharp copy.

If your site is one of those that looks like it belongs in Vegas then bust out the Mister Clean and get to work making a site that has a stated purpose and is minimally designed for that purpose with sharp and effective copy. Your business will thank you for it and so will your customers!

Purpose Creates Success

2006-04-18T13:08:00.000-04:00

In my consulting practice I often come across many small and even medium sized businesses that can't really answer the question of what the purpose of their web site is, why does it exist? What do they hope to gain from having it? They often give some vague answer that it was created to promote the company. Promotion is a worthy goal for a web site, but it is also an indirect benefit of your web strategy. In other words having a successful Internet marketing strategy will promote your company, but will also accomplish much more if it is designed and executed well.

For example, does your company have an eCommerce site? If yes, is the goal to create a new channel to sell your products or is it to "promote" your company. The obvious answer is it is created to boost sales. That is an easy one, but if you don't have an eCommerce site is the purpose of your site to get people to sign up for your newsletter (building your list), to call your sales department (increase sales through direct response), or is the purpose to provide information to your customers that improves their position and creates loyalty with your company and site?

Your purpose could be one of these or it could be all of them in different degrees of importance. It could be another reason like pre-qualifying customers, or creating online customer or vendor service channels to reduce costs. No matter what the primary goal of a web site is you need to know that purpose and have all of your online marketing goals prioritized.

If you don't know what your primary goals are how do you expect your customers that visit the site to know them? Once you know what your all your goals are for your web site then you can start the process of ranking them and organizing your site, navigation, information architecture, copy, and other elements of your site to channel or "push" your customers to that purpose.

However if you don't know what those goals are and have made no effort to channel your visitors to meeting that goal or purpose then your web strategy is most likely missing the mark. If you are one of the countless sites out that has an about us page, our services, and a few other "canned" elements that may entice a visitor one time to look at them, but give them no reason to stick around or come back you have what is known in the industry as a "brochureware" site. These sites will always fail to accomplish much accept take up server space.

To have a successful Internet marketing strategy know what the purpose of your site is and what all your goals in order of importance are. Work with your marketing and web departments to organize your site around these goals and give your customers a reason to spend some time on your site and come back.

I have a new article on my site on this very topic and I invite you to take a moment to visit my site and download/read the article. Pass it along to your friends in business and hopefully you will gain something from it. To access the article click on this link:

http://www.michaeltemple.com/Articles/Purpose.pdf

P.S. I also have other articles that you may find interesting and have an awesome free eNewsletter that you can sign up for.

Spinning Straw Into Gold

2006-04-07T23:56:00.000-04:00

I have been asked many times why I continue to use the brand "spinning the web into gold". This tag line appears on my web site and in my articles. I have decided to end the mystery with my first post.

The Original

The Grimm Brothers published a story almost 200 years ago called Rumpelstiltskin. If you have read this story you know that a Miller who wanted to improve his station in life lied to the King and said that his daughter could spin ordinary straw into gold. The greedy King immediately takes the daughter and locks her in a tower with a bunch of straw and an ordinary spinning wheel. She is given the command to spin all of the straw into gold by morning or she will be executed.

Of course she can't do this and gives up all hope. Eventually Rumpelstilskin arrives and agrees to spin the straw into gold for her necklace. She readily agrees, but this doesn't satisfy the greedy king. Again on the second night she is given the same command and again Rumplestilskin comes to her aid. On the third night she has nothing left to offer and Rumpelstilskin agrees to do it if she will give up her first born child to him. In despair for her situation she agrees.

The King thinking he has a great thing going here marries the Miller's daughter. She eventually has a child and Rumpelstilskin comes for his payment. He agrees to let her out of the bargain if she can guess his name. Through some stupid actions on his part the daughter hears him by the fire one night shouting out his name. When he returns to claim the child she guesses his name and the deal is foiled.

By now many of you are saying I need to put down the fairy tales and tell you why I developed the tag line. I couldn't help but see as I read this story to my kids the modern translation it had, so let me tell you another version of the story...a modern version.

A Fairy Tale For Modern Times

Once upon a time there was a CEO of a company who was perplexed about how to raise profits for his company. Try as he might he couldn't come up with a way to boost sales. The board of directors was about to throw his sorry butt out of his job when in a desparate attempt to boost his credibility with the board he promised that the Internet would be the gold the company was seeking.

He could turn their ordinary web site into gold. The board of directors being shrewd managers took him up on his offer and locked him away with the ordinary web site and orders to spin this site into gold. Naturally he doesn't know how to do this and despair quickly sets in.

Then our hero arrives. He a is dashing and handsome non dwarfish Internet consultant (hey, this is my story, I will tell it my way). He agrees to spin this ordinary site into gold for a fee to which our CEO agrees.

Our skilled consultant quickly spins this ordinary site into gold for the company. The board rejoices, but being greedy they demand more. The CEO eventually pays up and our consultant again spins more straw (our ordinary boring web strategy) into yet more gold.

Unfortunately for our CEO his budget runs out and he is forced to face the fact that he must admit to the board he can't really spin straw into gold unless he can find something else to pay with.

Our dashing and handsome consultant has two children and is not interested in taking the CEO's kids and besides his name is on the contract so it really wouldn't be fair to ask the CEO to guess it.

To give our story a happy ending the CEO finds more money in his budget because he pays for actual results and realizing he is getting them pays our dashing and handsome consultant to continue doing what he does best, spinning the ordinary straw of the Internet (badly outdated and poor Internet strategy) into gold for its owners. The CEO and company live happily ever after.

The Actual Point of All This

Ok, I know many of you think I need to get out more, so let me explain in plain terms. Many companies and investors were sold a bill of goods back in the 90s that the Internet would totally change the way we did business. In many ways it has. However the problem as with most business problems is that it still relies on solid business principles to work and requires good old fashion work and innovation to realize the true gains.

Looking around the technology landscape one can see all the "straw" that abounds. Straw fills up a lot of space and is expensive to keep and grow, but unless your a horse it doesn't have much value. Many web sites and Internet strategies of today are not unlike this. They are poorly conceived and executed. They become expensive to keep and in the end don't produce much value.

Along comes the army of fake consultants who promise to turn this straw into gold, but alas all they do is make it shiny with lots of fancy flash, floating graphics, little movies, poor copy and charge piles of money to do this. At the end of the day the strategy is still poor and fails to produce true value.

I figured out what was missing. It is not always the technology stupid. It is the strategy behind the technology that creates the value. It is the tactics and techniques of marketing, management, sales, and business that creates the value. I founded my company on this principle.

Like the original Rumpelstiltskin I come along and use this "magic" to transform the straw into real gold. In short I create value using the things that has been producing value since the beginning of time. Giving customers what they need to make their lives and jobs easier. Producing value where there was only straw before. It only seemed fitting to use such a tag line.

Before you hire the next consultant who starts talking about how cool this new technology or technique is start asking yourself the simple questions...

How does it improve the business?
How does it add value to our customers?
How much value does it add?
Will it improve our bottomline and can we track that?

Simple questions, but certainly ones that still elude many companies both big and small today. Until my next edition of fairy tales...sleep tight.

Michael Temple