onlinemarketing SUCCESSMagazine VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1 JAN/FEB 2015
YOU
THE AUTHORITY: TOP 7 ADVANTAGES OF BEING
A HIGHLY PAID AUTHORITY By Donna Gunter
ONLINE VISIBILITY AMP UP YOUR ONLINE VISIBLITY FOR AN
AMPED UP BUSINESS By Odette Laurie
8 STEPS
TO A FRUITFUL
INTERVIEW WITH
THE BUSINESS MARKETING ARCHITECT
PRODUCT LAUNCH By Pam Ivey
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
LISA MANYON
Spotlight on Certified Online Marketing Manager
BRENDA RIVAS, OMMC Doubled Income in Just 6 Months of Graduation
onlinemarketing SUCCESSMagazine VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5 ISBN: 978-0-9812585-1-5
PUBLISHING EDITOR Pam Ivey pamivey@omsmagazine.com
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Kate Smith
4 Digital Addiction
Mary Greenlees art@coloursomethingcreative.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kathy Colaiacovo, Tracey D’Aviero, Leigh Fowler, Donna Gunter, Pam Ivey, Odette Laurie, Linda Lopeke, Miriam Slozberg, Kate Smith, Stephanie Watson
ADVERTISING SALES advertising@omsmagazine.com Online Marketing Success Magazine is published
Strategy
HOW TO REACH US Letters to the Online Marketing Success Magazine can be emailed to editor@omsmagazine.com, or mailed to Online Marketing Success Magazine, 24 Kelley Crescent, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1J3 Canada
Follow OMS Magazine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/onlinemarketingmanagermagazine
By Tracey D’Aviero
7 Do Long Form Sales Pages Really Work?
By Pam Ivey
9 YOU, The Authority
By Donna Gunter
11 Get Your Social Media in Check Checklist By Leigh Fowler
13 OMMC Grad Spotlight: Brenda Rivas 14 Does Your Target Market Actually WANT Your Lead Magnet?
By Pam Ivey
15 How To Gather Social Proof
By Pam Ivey
16 What Topics To Write About On Your Blog?
By Kathy Colaiacovo
18 8 Steps to a Fruitful Product Launch
By Pam Ivey
20 Create the Perfect Products for Your Audience
6 times per year in digital format by the International Association of Online Marketing Managers.
So Many I Wants, Too Few Fingers! Gadgets To Make You Drool
5 5 Tips to Create a Solid Marketing
kate@omsmagazine.com
ART DIRECTOR
Volume 3, Issue 1 January/February 2015
CONTENTS
By Pam Ivey
21
INTERVIEW WITH
LISA MANYON
THE BUSINESS MARKETING ARCHITECT
BY KATE SMITH
27 What Is Ad Retargeting and Should I Do It?
By Pam Ivey
28 Online Visibility
36 Customer Engagement = Sales
By Pam Ivey
38
By Odette Laurie
30 5 Types of Revenue Stress That Kill
By Linda Lopeke
32 Define Your Cultural Tribe to Improve Conversions
By Pam Ivey
33 When It Comes To Social Media, Quality
Encourage Conversions with
Anchors
Matters – Not Quantity
By Miriam Slozberg
34 The Ever Changing Landscape of Content Marketing
By Stephanie Watson
40 Upcoming Events
EDITOR’S NOTE
H
ow exciting to be in 2015. It’s one of those “milestone” years that many of us have thought about in the past. For me, it was things like, “Wow, I’ll be OLD in 2015 - 48. I wonder if we’ll live like George Jetson with robot maids, floating cars, and a button on the wall that I can push and my dinner comes out delicious and piping hot.” Well, we haven’t quite come that far (although, regrettably, I can’t do anything about my age part – that did happen. LOL), it’s amazing the strides we’ve made. A number of my friends have drones – many in real estate, who are using them to take aerial shots of their properties for sale, I have a robotic floor sweeper (that totally teases my pets), and I have a watch that tells me how many steps I’ve taken, the calories I’ve burned and how restful my sleep was the night before. I’d love to hear what you thought life might be like in 2015. Hit us up on the Online Marketing Success Magazine Facebook Page.
Until next issue, make it super successful! Cheers,
https://www.facebook.com/onlinemarketingmanagermagazine This month is Mike Filsaime’s Marketer’s Cruise. Can’t wait! It’s my fifth sailing with this crazy group of amazing marketers and I’m heading there on my own. Looking forward to lots of networking, new connections and fun, fun, fun! Congrats to Mike and Michelle too – they’re getting married on the ship!
Pam Ivey, Cert SBM,CPREA,CRESS,CMP Founder, International Association of Online Marketing Managers
BY PAM IVEY
TECH
DIGITAL ADDICTION GADGETS TO MAKE YOU DROOL
SO MANY I WANTS, TOO FEW FINGERS!
phonesoap smartphone sanitizer ($74.32 CAD) That state-of-the-art smartphone you’re using has one function that no one likes: it’s a breeding ground for disease-promoting bacteria and viruses. What’s more, holding those microbes next to your mouth, nose and face makes you especially vulnerable to their effects. But with this easy-to-use smartphone charger and sanitizer, you can wipe out most of those germs without another worry. Simply place your phone inside, attach the charging cable, and close the lid. Exterior lights let you know when the phone is charging, and when the cleaning is complete. Inside, a pair of specialized, ultra-violet lights do the dirty work for you.
The device is large enough to contain most smarthphones. It comes with a micro USB charging cable, which can be easily switched out if your phone requires something different. The case even has built-in acoustic amplifiers that allow you to continue listening to music or using your phone’s alarm while it is cleaned. Made in China. Need to clean on the go? This set of two PhoneSoap microfiber patches adhere to the back of your phone for quick and simple cleaning. Keep your touchscreen looking pristine with the PhoneSoap Polish. Designed to fill in the microscopic pores scattered across your screen, the polish keeps oils and germs at bay while making your phone feel like brand new. Pair the patches and polish to get more mileage out of your smartphone or tablet. As the polish keeps screens slick and protected, the patches easily swipe smudges and grime away. A perfect pair!
http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/phonesoap-smartphone-sanitizer
smartphone projector ($33.47 CAD) Pop your smartphone into this handy projector and unleash the potential of your cramped screen by projecting it onto a wall. The retro-styled projector housing of corrugated cardboard is easy to assemble, includes intuitive icons to aid best projection results, and provides natural sound amplification. A sticky silicone pad inside the back compartment accommodates any phone up to 3 x 5.5 inches and keeps it in place. Slide the back compartment in and out to focus the image. The glass lens magnifies your phone’s screen image without the need for an additional power source, but the back compartment has two slots to accommodate your phone charger or speakers so you won’t run out of juice halfway through that YouTube cat marathon. Assembly required. Made in China. http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/smartphone-projector
usb wall socket ($29.99 CAD) Stop living in the dark ages and add a USB socket to your power points. This easy-to-install wallplug includes two regular power sockets as well as two USB sockets for charging all of your USB gadgets such as your iPod or smartphone. These days pretty much every smart device can be charged through a USB port yet the USB wall chargers that come with most of these items are bulky and a hassle to carry around with you…the USB wall socked is the ultimate solution to this problem. http://www.waycoolgadgets.com/usb-wall-socket/#sthash.Fcxwgubo.dpuf
hypnocube: the hypnotic 3d LED cube ($99.99 US) Take a deep breath, relax and just stare at the hypnocube and all of your troubles and worries will start to sloooowly fade far, far away as you sink deeper and deeper into a…. woah. We totally just nodded off for a second there. But that’s pretty common when you’ve got something as freakishly awesome and utterly mesmorizing as the hypnocube sitting on your desk. This miniature cube contains a total of 64 different LED lights (4x4x4) that create a super hypnotic effects that will draw your gaze and send you into a trance like state. It’s a great way to add some relaxation to a stressful environment and really helps you to zone out for a bit. http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e9a9/?pfm=Search&t=hypnocube 4 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
STRATEGY
5 TIPS TO CREATE A SOLID MARKETING STRATEGY
BY TRACEY D’AVIERO
W
hen we talk about marketing tools and plans, there are endless possibilities – how can you be sure to make the best choice for your business?
they be buying? Make sure that your end goal looks exactly the way you want it to.
Here are 5 tips to help you create a solid marketing strategy: 1 | DETERMINE YOUR END GOAL. Be sure to get really clear
smaller you go in breaking this down the easier it will be to implement, but you can start by chunking a large project down into smaller pieces. For instance, using our goal of getting new clients, let’s say we are looking to do a program launch to get 10 new clients into a particular program. What are the pieces of the puzzle that need to be put in place? Where will you find these clients? Do you have an existing pool of potential buyers, or does that need to be built? Where is your marketing going to take place? It’s important
on this. For instance, if you are looking to get new clients from a marketing initiative, how many new clients do you want? What is your specific time frame to sign these new clients on? Do you sign them all at once (program launch) or one at a time (private/project clients)? What type of service or product will
2 | BREAK YOUR LARGE GOAL INTO SMALLER GOALS. The
TRACEY D’AVIERO is a veteran VA and Founder of Your VA Mentor. Tracey trains and mentors professional women and men who are brand new to the VA industry or who have been struggling to make their business successful. Her mission is to educate professionals on how to build and grow successful and profitable virtual businesses in the VA industry by implementing systems and smart principles. Contact Tracey for speaking engagements, group training or private coaching at her website www.yourvamentor.com ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 5
STRATEGY to not only determine all the steps needed, but also to allow enough time to implement everything properly.
3 | PUT IT ALL ON THE CALENDAR. This will not only bring
greater clarity to the steps you need to take to complete each item, but it also helps you to make sure that you are allowing enough time for each activity. Scheduling your marketing properly is a very simple piece of the puzzle that a lot of small business owners leave out, especially if they are handling all of the planning and implementation themselves.
Marketing can be an ongoing challenge in any small business, but simply by doing proper planning and strategy, you can get have better control over everything you want to do. Your marketing initiatives will go much smoother, and you’ll have a much better understanding of what works for you in your business.
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4 | PLAN TO GET SUPPORT. When you set a lofty goal, there
is nothing worse that getting completely wrapped up in all the little pieces – and possibly even getting overwhelmed with the details. While the planning pieces can sometimes be done on your own, the implementation most definitely should not be. With the big, detailed goals, a second set of eyes on everything is the very least that you should have in place. But more than that, you should have specialized help with both strategic planning and implementation. If you have ever thought, ‘Hmm Facebooks Ads … sounds easy … I can do that’, that’s what I’m talking about. Leave the implementation to the people who really do know what they are doing.
5 | BE PREPARED TO ANALYZE AND ADJUST. Intentions
are wonderful, but the best marketing strategies are the ones that are assessed while they are in progress. Understand that whatever you have planned may fail at various stages, even with the most scrupulous planning and experienced support. The key is to be aware that you will need to asses things as they unfold, and be prepared to make decisions quickly on how to fix them. There is no reason to wait until the end goal does not happen, and then wonder why it didn’t. Monitor each piece as it happens and make the changes necessary to right your ship if things go wrong.
CLICK AD TO VIEW WEBSITE
6 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
CONVERSION
Do Long Form
Sales Pages
REALLY WORK?
E
BY PAM IVEY
ven though many people swear they dislike long form sales pages, there is a problem with saying that. The problem is test after test show that long form sales pages work better than shorter sales pages. Sorry, but it’s a fact. But, there are good ways to create long form sales pages and bad ways. If you want to create a long form sales page that gets amazing results that isn’t sleazy, and doesn’t turn off your readers, you can do that. This is how.
CENTER & BOLD HEADLINES This doesn’t mean you have to use red. You can use a beautiful graphical headline that looks great and that your audience can read well. If you use a graphic be sure to also include the headline in the images “alt” text for SEO purposes. Ensure that your headline tells the truth about what’s going to be talked about in the copy.
BUILD RAPPORT The best way to build rapport with your readers is to know in advance who they are. Write your sales page with your audience in mind. Create a persona that you pretend you are taking to in your own voice. Use an understanding and conversational tone written directly to the audience persona that you chose to speak to. Show that you know who they are, what they need, and how you can provide it. Get personal and commiserate with them.
USE AWESOME, COMPLETE & JUICY TESTIMONIALS The great thing about sales pages, especially long ones, is that you can include testimonials in many different formats. You can include written testimonials, video testimonials, and audio testimonials. You can even include recorded interviews to communicate the information your audience needs to make a decision to purchase. Always at least include a picture of the person giving the testimonial, plus a link to their website if it’s obvious that they’ve taken your advice and their website is active, current, and well made.
TAKE OBJECTIONS HEAD-ON Make a list of potential objections and go through each one in detail. Overcoming any objection that your audience may have will help provide more information that your audience needs to make a choice to purchase. Keep in mind that most people do weeks of research before spending more than a couple hundreds of dollars. If your product is priced higher than that, you need to give them weeks’ worth of research within the content of your sales page.
INCLUDE AS MUCH RELEVANT, COMPELLING INFORMATION AS YOU CAN Imagine that you are the reader, and you’ve never heard of the product or service and know nothing about it at all. The content and information that you include must address
ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 7
CONVERSION any question the reader might have. It must educate the audience about the product or service as if they’ve never heard of it before but in a tone that makes the reader feel smart and understood not spoke down to.
WRITE GREAT COPY AVOIDING HYPE & CHEESE One of the biggest problems with long sales pages, that makes so many people say they hate them in spite of the fact that they work so well – is that they have a bad reputation of being used by spammers and scammers. But, why do you think they use them? The simple answer is that they work. But you can easily differentiate yourself from spammers and scammers by not hyping up the content and making claims that you cannot meet. Remember to under promise and over deliver.
ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE’S PAIN POINTS THAT YOU SOLVE
ELICIT THEIR SENSE OF URGENCY Within the long form text of the sales page, be sure to address your audience’s sense of urgency. This means that you don’t want them to think they can come back a year from now and see the same offer. You want your offer to be so irresistible that they want to take advantage of it now. You can use special sales pages by using something called Lead Pages to create a page that changes the next time someone visits it if they leave and don’t purchase the first time. The reason long form sales pages work is that the reader can easily skim the headlines and sub headlines, and catch the testimonials quickly allowing them to determine if what you are promoting will solve their problems. Long form sales page work best with first time website visitors who don’t know much about your products. If you target the readers correctly and follow this advice your long form sales pages will produce exceptional conversions too.
Within the sales page, make list of your target audience’s pain points and go over how and why your product or service solves these. Remember that your sales page is a tool to educate your audience. They already likely know about their own pain points, but it’s up to you to show that you understand them enough to know their pain points and the solutions for them. Not only will this help your audience feel as if you know them well, it will also screen out people who aren’t in your target audience. After all, you don’t want to waste time with people who aren’t ready and who don’t fit with the product or service.
PRESENT BENEFITS OVER FEATURES You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating. Nothing is worse than going to a sales page and the person who wrote it just goes on and on about the features or worse, themselves and how great they are. No one cares. It’s not about you; it’s about the benefits of your product or service. By addressing benefits you’re focusing on the solutions your product or service provides to the reader, which is all they want to know.
PAM IVEY is a tireless champion of the online business industry and considered a
Thought Leader in Online Marketing and Outsourcing. Known for her warm and engaging manner and wide-ranging, comprehensive skills and experience, she has inspired countless entrepreneurs and other professionals to achieve greater heights in their businesses. Always at the ready to help, she taps into the Think Big Mindset by offering training programs for ‘newbie’ to seasoned VAs, online marketing professionals, freelancers from all industries, as well as online solopreneurs and entrepreneurs. Her flagship program, Online Marketing Manager Certification has received rave reviews from both students and clients, and begins the next session February 23rd, 2015. Learn more at www.OMMCertification.com. 8 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
VISIBILITY
YOU, THE AUTHORITY TOP
7
ADVANTAGES OF BEING A HIGHLY PAID AUTHORITY
T
BY DONNA GUNTER
here are a number of advantages to being the highly paid authority. Let’s begin by defining what an authority is, as there are a number of definitions. To some it’s synonymous with being the expert, thought leader, or guru in your industry; the “smartest person in the room;” or people who are the very best at what they do. To others, it’s someone people listen to, take notice of, recommend to others, buy more readily from, or someone the media comes to when they want a quote or interview. In my mind, an authority is someone who knows enough to help their customers and prospects with a particular problem and is willing to share that knowledge. I like to think of this as being an educator and advocate for your clients. Wouldn’t you find it easier to talk about yourself as an educator and advocate for your clients, rather than the expert?
Why would you want to be an authority? Here are the 7 best advantages to being the highly paid authority in your industry:
1 | Create business and brand domination: This goes
without saying, right? If you think of financial planner, you might immediately think of Suze Orman or David Bach. If you were to think about a medical doctor, Dr. Oz would probably come to mind. Once you’ve become the highly paid authority, you have name recognition when someone thinks of your industry.
2 | Gain a huge edge over the competition. There’s no
doubt about it. If both you and your competition are showing up on the first page of Google for certain search terms, the prize will go to the business that “appears to be everywhere,” or has a number of third party citations, like from affiliates of ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, or on YouTube or other blog or
DONNA GUNTER
Amazon best-selling author, , the Authority AlchemistTM, helps her clients become known as the #1 authority in their industry, then dramatically amplifies their message and teaches them how to convert the new audience into high-paying customers. She has been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox. Want to quickly learn how to position yourself as an authority in your industry? Get Your “Authority Domination Toolkit” to discover 5 essential tools you can use to quickly expedite your authority status at http://www.AuthorityDominationTools.com ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 9
VISIBILITY association sites. No longer is being on the first page of Google enough-- you have to demonstrate your expertise once someone has found you.
3 | Attract more quality clients who will pay you top dollar
for your advice. Once others view you as the authority, your clients will value your advice more and be willing to pay top dollar for it.
4
| Open more doors to bigger opportunities. Calls from radio and TV hosts, guest posting on popular blogs, keynoting a speech at a conference, and being asked to write articles for popular trade magazines are a few of the opportunities that will come your way as a highly paid authority.
ADVERTISE
in
onlinemarketing SUCCESSMagazine
5 | Develop
multiple streams of income from sharing your expertise. Multiple profit centers are a great way to leverage your expertise and into books, home study programs, ecourses, and high-end coaching or mentoring programs.
6 | Become the hunted rather than the hunter. It’s nice
Reach Your Target Audience
Affordably
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when your prospects chase you down to work with them rather than the other way around. Authority lets you stop the client chase once and for all!
7 | Create financial freedom where your biggest problem
is saying no. When you become the well-known authority, it’s much easier for you to pick and choose only the work that you truly want to do. And, if the opportunity doesn’t fit your needs or your schedule, you can say no without having to worry financially. If you’re not yet well-known in your industry, start your journey to become a well-known authority. Once you have achieved highly paid authority status, your business will really take off!
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10 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
SOCIAL MEDIA
GET YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA IN CHECK,
CHECKLIST! 6 Ways to Set Your Business up for Social Media Success in 2015
M
BY LEIGH FOWLER, ONLINE CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGIST, PRESIDENT RISE MEDIA + DESIGN
ore and more now we are seeing customers going online to research their options and as a result, your online presence is more important than ever. A portion of social media marketing success has to do with giving your site visitors, fans and followers the right FIRST impression. Showing that you take your online presence seriously implies that you will treat their business with equal attention and detail.
1 | YOUR WEBSITE REVIEW
As you go through this process, click through your website as if you were a potential customer or colleague. Note how you experience your website. Is it easy to purchase something or sign up to your newsletter or list? Is stuff out of date? Does it still reflect your current product lines and does your bio still reflect your success? Take inventory of this.
2 | YOUR ANALYTICS
Referrals, Time Spent, Total Traffic, and Top Content pages. Over time, this helps me make decisions on where to spend my marketing dollars AND what type of content is attracting visitors to my site.
3 | YOUR NUMBERS SYSTEM
There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’ve spent a lot of money on social media marketing and seeing no results. Don’t let that happen this year. Figure out how you’re going to track your success this year by noting what’s important and measureable to you. A good place to start is right here, right now by implementing a very basic numbers tracking system: Look up the numbers for your current “following”, the main traffic numbers for your website and the amount of people on your email list. Monitor and track weekly and review monthly.
4 | YOUR ABANDONED SOCIAL
Our analytics can tell us a lot about how people are experiencing our website. Do you have Google Analytics installed? It’s a free tool that is relatively easy to set up. Once it’s there, you have unlimited access to your data. My favourite numbers are under ACQUISITION – Social Media
MEDIA PLATFORMS
This is an easy step and perhaps one that you have been avoiding for awhile, and it’s your abandoned social media platforms. You know the ones that you opened up and never posted to? They are actually doing more bad
LEIGH FOWLER is the President of www.RiseMediaDesign.com and an online content marketing strategist. She is launching www.ConfidentContentCreatorClinic.com in February for entrepreneurs and business owners who want to create systematic and cost-effective online content for their business. She also provides online marketing strategy and consulting.
ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 11
SOCIAL MEDIA than good for your business! Review the pros/cons of keeping these platforms. Determine a plan of action – and determine if you need to close these accounts for good or start updating them today!
5 | YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA “ABOUT”
PROFILES
It may be painful, but take a look at your profile pages and about sections of your social media platforms. You may have created these a long time ago. Do they have links back to key product pages on your website? Is it clear what your business is and what you do? Does it guide people to connect with you via your opt-in email list or drive traffic back to your website or business with important website links?
6 | YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PHOTOS Nothing like taking a trip down memory lane and looking at old photos. When it comes to marketing your business, it’s probably a good idea to take a look at your online social media photo galleries and clean out any that don’t make a good first impression. If you have time, consider organizing them in a way that may encourage more people to enjoy them in albums or galleries instead of solo images. Can you transfer them onto your website and create a gallery from an event or make a blog post for them? (HINT: Repurposed content is cost-effective and creative, ask me about it sometime!)
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12 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
Q&A
OMMC GRAD SPOTLIGHT
INTERVIEW WITH
CERTIFIED ONLINE MARKETING MANAGER,
BRENDA RIVAS AVANTÉ STRATEGY
QUESTION: What made you explore Online Marketing Management as an option for your business? ANSWER:
I was very attracted to having a specialized skill set versus being a generalist and having strong industry credentials.
ANSWER: It’s really hard for me to choose just one thing as the curriculum was superb, Pam’s guidance was amazing and the relationships that I have created are priceless. QUESTION: What was your least favorite? ANSWER: I do not have a least favorite aspect!
I really
QUESTION: What attracted you to the Online Marketing
enjoyed all aspects of the program.
Manager Certification Program?
QUESTION: Have you taken on OMM clients as a result
ANSWER:
of the program?
I am passionate about marketing and was already working with clients in an online setting. The OMM program seemed like a natural next step for me. I have also known Pam for many years and knew that she would be a great mentor!
QUESTION: How do you feel the curriculum prepared you for becoming an OMM?
ANSWER: The curriculum is very inclusive and equipped me with the confidence to address my clients’ online marketing goals from helping them create their funnels to launching their products and services. QUESTION: program?
What did you like most about the OMMC
ANSWER: Yes! QUESTION: Would you recommend the Online Marketing Manager Certification program to those considering joining?
ANSWER: Without a doubt. QUESTION: Any other thoughts
you’d like to add about
the program / your results?
ANSWER: I am completely pleased with my results. When I came into the program I was “all over the place”. Since taking the program and getting certified, I have created a services menu that I am extremely pleased with. I stabilized my business model within 90 days of graduating and within 6 months I was able to double my income while working with fewer clients!
BRENDA RIVAS is an online marketing strategist who is passionate about helping
thought leaders create and implement stellar online marketing strategy that attracts and converts their perfect clients. As a message curator, Brenda has been instrumental in the design and execution of numerous six and seven figure online marketing campaigns for some of today’s most influential online brands. Author of the soon to be released, I N F L U E N C E, a guide for emerging and seasoned thought leaders, Brenda offers practical strategies on creating messaging campaigns that embody purpose and influence. From designing client experience funnels, creating influential messaging to marketing automation, Brenda relishes her experience of bringing her clients vision to life. Learn more about Brenda and connect with her at www.avantestrategy.com ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 13
LIST BUILDING
DOES YOUR TARGET MARKET ACTUALLY
WANT
YOUR LEAD MAGNET?
L
BY PAM IVEY
ist building is very important when it comes to online marketing. When people say that “the money is in the list” they really mean it. Email marketing is still one of the most effective forms of marketing the world has ever seen. It’s better than your website, better than social media, and better than any other form of marketing including pay per click.
ENSURE THAT IT TELLS YOUR AUDIENCE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THEM The item you
Many people create free or low cost items to attract people to their email list. It might be an information product, a checklist, a whitepaper, an eBook, teleseminar, Google Hangout, or even a webinar. You have to choose whether it will be a free item or a very low cost item based on who your audience is. When building your email list you want to choose your giveaway or low cost item carefully. Your lead magnet should scream “I am here for you” to your ideal clients.
ideal client feel very fortunate to be offered this item. They should be willing to pay more for the item whether it’s free or low-cost. It should be so special that your ideal client wants it right now.
If your lead magnet is too general, then you will get people on your email list who aren’t really part of your target audience. They’ll be thankful they got it, but they won’t really feel wowed by it and they won’t get a good idea of the other types of products and services that you offer. If you want to truly whet the appetite of your target market then your lead magnet needs to be very specific to your ideal client.
YOUR LEAD MAGNET SHOULD SOLVE A PROBLEM Any lead magnet that you create should address your audience’s pain points and seek to solve one of them. Make a list of problems that your audience has and pick one to solve in this product.
IT SHOULD BE IRRESISTIBLE TO YOUR IDEAL CLIENT The only people who should even want your lead magnet are members of your target audience.
are offering to them makes them say “Wow, She really gets me! This is a person I need to work with”!
ENSURE THE VALUE IS NOTICED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY The sales page must make your
When you are offering a lead magnet to your ideal clients to build your email list, you have only a very short time to get them to agree to trade their email address for your lead magnet. Lead magnets are sometimes free, and sometimes very low cost. But, they are of high value and worth more than you get and your audience knows it. You have about 8 seconds to impress them with your offer. Once they download your offer, the item needs to make them feel very thankful that they trusted you. Within ten minutes of receiving and implementing your offer they should feel as if they have hit the jackpot and they should be able to solve a problem that they have. If they can implement it right away and solve their problems, they will be hooked. Not only will you have a responsive member of your email list that can’t wait to get more information from you, you’ll likely have created a new client. If your lead magnet item is so good, they’ll be ready to fork over a lot more money for the services you offer that help them even more. If you manage this, you’ll turn that lead into a client in no time.
14 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
HOW TO GATHER SOCIAL PROOF A
BY PAM IVEY
nytime you create a new product or service, it’s imperative that you are able to provide social proof to your audience about how well your products and services work. In fact, the truth is, testimonials are a vital component of your offer. Testimonials are vital for every single offer you develop. They help those who are reading your offer feel trusting that you will deliver what you’ve claimed. But, sometimes how you get these testimonials might not be that clear.
SOCIAL PROOF IS ALWAYS HAPPENING Gathering social proof isn’t a one-time thing. It’s something you should be working on all the time, even when you don’t have a new product or service to promote. You do this by being completely transparent, gracious and flexible. Write articles for popular publications online and if you can offline. Publish a book, start a group on Facebook. Hold Google Hangouts. Be present all the time so that you can get your name known as someone to trust and who is a mover and shaker within your niche.
ASK YOUR AUDIENCE When you do have a new product, the best thing to do is offer an early bird offer for the product to those who have already purchased other product from you. Give a deep discount to them in exchange for them giving you advice on how to make the product better. They’ll jump at the chance if they were happy with their previous purchase to save some money and offer input to you. Give them a chance to use the product then follow up with them to gather feedback. Use a survey system like SurveyMonkey.com to ask each customer the same questions as well as give them an area to say what they’d like.
GET PERMISSION
When any customer, colleague or product reviewer offers nice feedback, immediately write them back and ask them if they mind if you use the information as a testimonial on your website, blog and within social media. You can quote them by adding their picture and a link to their website if they have one so that people know the person providing the testimonial is a real person. By asking permission you may also end up with even more of a testimonial than you had to start with. Most people who have taken the time to compliment you will enjoy having you use their testimonial.
BE CREATIVE You can also get testimonials by being super creative with contests. If you have other products in your funnel that you can offer as a prize, you can solicit video testimonials from your customers, let them promote their testimonial and get votes and likes on YouTube.com and the one with the most views or thumbs up will win the prizes you’ve promised. This type of testimonial-gathering can result in videos that go viral due to the contest component which requires that those who are providing testimonials share with their friends in order to win. Make gathering testimonials and building social proof part of your overall marketing plan. Do it after every single product release once customers have had time to use your product, do it for new products, and do it for older products. Make it simple for your customers to provide testimonials by asking on a regular basis for feedback. It’s essential to your continued success.
ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 15
CONTENT MARKETING
WHAT TOPICS TO WRITE ABOUT ON YOUR BLOG?
S
o… you have already decided to do blogging for business. You have put up your blog on your website to be able to reach your audience and to help boost web traffic . Unfortunately, you are at the stage now where you cannot make up your mind as to what topics you should be writing about to make it effective. My rule of thumb on blogs is always, always, always teach readers something in the article and write the article as if speaking to and teaching your ideal customer. If you think about different ways to do teach something this will be your guide as to the topics to include.
HERE ARE SOME IDEAS THAT YOU CAN INCLUDE IN YOUR BUSINESS BLOG: SOLVE A PROBLEM Articles that share how a client had a problem and how something you did or have helped them solve it is always a good article. These speak directly to your ideal client. And typically you will come up with ideas from everyday business life as that is what you do all day. Share some of these stories as ‘How to’ articles.
BY KATHY COLAIACOVO
PRODUCT OR SERVICE FEATURES AND BENEFITS Write an article that teaches readers something but also describes the features of the product or service that you are selling or offering. Be detailed about it. Highlight its strong points or benefits. Be fair and realistic - point out some of its weaknesses, if any, in the form of warning. Your approach or tone should also be natural, simple teaching content based on the nature of the products or services that you are promoting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS These can include the launching of a new product or upcoming promos that your customers should watch out for. These are helpful as they will trigger product interest and excitement, which can be passed to other potential customers by word of mouth. Be creative so your readers will be enticed to watch out for your upcoming products and promos, offer them a way to sign up for your newsletter to get the news first.
KATHY COLAIACOVO
is an Online Marketing and Social Media Consultant. Her passion is helping Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs increase revenue and sales with an improved online presence using web, marketing and social media tools available. She is a leader in the Virtual Assistance industry and is President of the International Virtual Assistants Association. Kathy also speaks to various groups and organization and is one of the “Matrixx” Experts to private groups working with Bob Proctor, a Motivational Leader and Speaker who was featured in the movie “The Secret”. Learn more at http://www.pepperitmarketing.com
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CONTENT MARKETING TUTORIALS
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You can offer tutorials related to the operation or functionality of your product or service. If your business is related to cars, for instance, you can upload videos demonstrating some “do-it-yourself” techniques to help customers perform simple repairs on such problems as car dents and scratches. Your readers and customers will even be happier if they can easily retrieve such tutorials from your blog in case they need it in the future.
RELATED NEWS
If your business is sportswear, your target market segment will like to read news about their favourite hockey players. If you’re selling computers, feature the latest computer software in your blog. This will make your blog more interesting and more useful to visitors.
RELATED TIPS
Readers will appreciate it when you include practical tips that are related to the product or service that you are offer. If you are engaged in a hotel business, for example, you can give tips on how to travel safely. Virtual Assistants can always teach readers how to do something more efficiently.
TESTIMONIALS FROM SATISFIED CUSTOMERS
You can do this creatively to show how your service or product has helped others solve their problems. Ask your customers if they will provide a testimonial and let them know what your plans are with it – some are encouraged especially when you post it on the web with a link back to their own business or will promote something new they offer. Now that you have the topics and ideas, the biggest trick is to ensure you post and format the blog content in an effective way. Use effective techniques for formatting and writing blog articles that will boost your online visibility and bring more traffic and sales. Most importantly – plan for blog writing time in your calendar!
Follow OMS Magazine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/onlinemarketingmanagermagazine
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ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 17
LAUNCH
8 Steps to a Fruitful Product Launch
C
rafting a successful product launch can basically be planned in advance. That’s right; you can actually know in advance that your product launch will be successful because you followed the following steps. Success doesn’t just happen by accident, well the truth is, some people do experience accidental success, but unless they get control of their success it won’t be lasting. That’s why most people who win the lottery end up broke within a year. They have no plan.
YOU CAN CREATE A SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT LAUNCH WITH THESE EIGHT STEPS: Step 1 | SPELL OUT YOUR GOALS & OBJECTIVES When you set your goals for your product launch it’s okay to be lofty. What would be the very best yet realistic result from your product launch? That’s the goal, now with your objective you need to quantify those goals. Be very specific in terms of what your goals are, and what constitutes success. For example, if you want to sell 100 information products in one business week that means you will need to sell 10 per work day. To sell 10 per work day you will need to understand your conversion rates which can help you know how much traffic you need to generate. Be specific; ensure that it’s measurable, and also realistic. Set them high, so that it’s a challenge, push yourself -- but don’t make it impossible.
BY PAM IVEY
Step 2 | FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU
ARE NOW
What are your assets? Do you have a large mailing list? Do you know someone who has a large email list? Do you have 1000 website visitors per day? Can you JV with someone to make your goals more realizable? Do you have a lot of testimonials, video, audio? What assets do you have that can help you achieve your goals and objectives? Do you already own software that can help you such as Lead Pages, or plugins that allow for retargeting website visitors if they did not make a purchase? List them all.
Step 3 | DEFINE YOUR STRATEGY
There are many strategies that you can use for your product launch. You have to understand your audience and your product to choose the best one. Some possible strategies are to build excitement until the day of the launch and launch with a webinar featuring your three Joint Venture partners with a time-sensitive offer that will compel your audience to purchase right away.
Step 4 | DECIDE YOUR TACTICS
Create a timeline in a calendar starting with the launch day, working your way back to today. This way you know what you need to do each day to meet your product launch day and have a successful launch. Decide where you’ll market and what tools you’ll use to do it such as press releases, blog posts, guest blogs, Google Hangouts, teaser emails and social media updates. Everything you want to do needs to be laid out in a chronological timeline so that you can get it all done efficiently and at the right time.
18 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
LAUNCH
Step 5 | CRAFT YOUR UNBEATABLE
OFFER
Not much is more important than your product offer. To help you write a good offer be sure to list every last benefit of your product or service can give your target audience. Match up the benefits with the pain points of your audience and describe in detail how your product or service solves all of those problems. Use that information to craft a killer offer. Answer all of the questions they may have such as how much the product is, why this price is worth it, how they’ll pay for it, how they will get it, and what they’ll get out of it.
Step 6 | PUT TOGETHER A
WINNING TEAM
No one expects a CEO to do everything themselves. Every CEO has a crack team behind them that they lead. You are a leader, therefore you need a team. Put together a team of contractors to help you do everything from write content, to creating sales pages, to crafting email series and more. Anything that you can outsource, so that you can create more ideas, and more products, will ensure that you experience more success.
Step 7 | TEST, TEST, TEST
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Every step of the way, it’s important that you test each area. Use A/B testing to ensure that you have the best headline for your email marketing or sales page. Testing two different marketing plans can increase your sales, and improve your marketing exponentially. Remember the experimenting is the best way to improve your performance. Split your population that views certain email subject lines, measure which gets the best results, then do more of what gets the results. Do this with all marketing materials.
Step 8 | TRACK & MEASURE
EVERYTHING
When you created your goals and objectives they should have been measurable and specific. This will enable you to use the software available to you to track and measure the results that you’re obtaining. This will enable you to watch how your campaign is moving along so that you know how well everything is working out. The great thing about online marketing is that you can change things that aren’t working on the fly. You can literally change a headline in ten seconds, and choose which half of your email list will receive the new email with the better subject line. Everything is adjustable. Due to that if you follow these eight steps you will have a fruitful and successful product launch. ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 19
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Create the Perfect Products for Your Audience
O
ne of the things that often affect your ability to create the perfect products for the right price, and the right time is lack of audience knowledge. Even if you, yourself are part of your target audience, you’re just one person. Understanding an entire target audience, their needs, fears, desires and that one big problem that nags them and keeps them up at night will allow you to create the right products that your audience wants to buy.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
You cannot influence anyone if you don’t know who you’re talking to or trying to convince. So, study of your audience has to come first. You have to be able to get inside their heads and hearts to try to determine what is keeping them up at night, matching that problem with your resources and skills – then marketing it in such a way that the audience knows, without a doubt that they have to have that.
WHAT’S YOUR COMPETITION DOING? Another thing that can actually help you create the perfect products for your audience is to identify and follow your competition. What type of products are they delivering to the audience? Can you do something better? You might be able to create a better more targeted product; you might also be able to provide better customer service or something that will differentiate you to your audience.
COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE Using social media, forums or other means it’s important to keep the line of communication open with your audience.
BY PAM IVEY It’s a way for you to keep your ears to the ground so that you can stay ahead of the competition to offer what your audience needs and wants before they even realize they want it.
SURVEY YOUR AUDIENCE
A further means of communicating with your audience is to send them a survey. You can use a survey solution such as SurveyMonkey. com to send pointed questions to your audience that you come up with based on your interactions with audience members so that the questions are most direct and get good answers.
MATCH PROBLEMS WITH SOLUTIONS When you identify the big problem that your audience has, you can then create a solution based on the resources and skills that you possess. Make a list of the problems that your audience has and match them to your skills. If there are problems outside of your skill level determine if you can outsource something to create the product or service that you know your audience has. Creating the perfect products for your target audience is all about identifying the audience; communicating with them to determine what keeps them up at night and what big problem they need solutions for, then matching them to your resources and skills. This might take a little time and effort but in the end you’ll be glad you did that extra work. Not only will you create more in demand products and services, you’ll know exactly where, how and when to market them for maximum results.
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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
The Business Marketing Architect
LISA
MANYON
L
BY KATE SMITH
isa Manyon is the President of Write On ~ Creative Writing Services, LLC. Known as “The Business Marketing Architect” she is a content and copywriting strategist for mission-driven entrepreneurs.
Since 2003, Lisa has supported hundreds of business owners through her various programs such as her Manyon Marketing Web Makeovers, 24-7 Web Sales Secret course she co-created with Ali Brown, and the widely-popular How to Create Marketing Messages with Integrity program. She also provides one-on-one coaching and consulting, customized planning and strategy sessions, PR consulting and more. In addition, she is also an award-winning blogger. Lisa is the creator of The New Marketing Model for Success: “Challenge. Solution. Invitation.™” copywriting and marketing formula which has shifted – and is shaping the future of – the way we market today. Her relationship-first
approach is friendly, effective and teaches people how to create marketing messages with integrity based on values. Her philosophies have been featured in Inc. Magazine and alongside visionaries Richard Branson, Jessica Jackley, Arianna Huffington and B Corporations like Ben and Jerry’s in the bestselling books Wonder Women: How Western Women Will Save The World and Engage: Your Step by Step Guide to Creating a Workplace that You, Your Co-workers and Your Customers Love! A thought leader in copywriting, strategy and marketing, she specializes in powerfully communicating your marketing message to increase results. Her innovative marketing vision has been known to accurately predict marketing trends. So let’s see what Lisa has to say in this edition’s spotlight interview!
LISA MANYON
is “The Business Marketing Architect.” She’s the creator of the NEW marketing model for success also known as the “Challenge. Solution. Invitation.™” marketing and copywriting formula. Her philosophies are featured in Inc. Magazine and alongside visionaries Richard Branson, Jessica Jackley, Arianna Huffington and B Corporations like Ben and Jerry’s in the bestselling books Wonder Women: How Western Women Will Save The World and Engage: Your Step by Step Guide to Creating a Workplace that You, Your Co-workers and Your Customers Love!. An award-winning blogger and president of www.writeoncreative.com Lisa focuses on turning prospects into paying customers by creating marketing messages with integrity. Lisa has presented at the California Women’s Conference, The Oregon Women’s Conference, and created training for Small Business Development Centers. She is available for speaking engagements and offers a FREE Copywriting Action Plan on her award-winning blog here http://writeoncreative.com/woc-ezine/ ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 21
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT Kate: Tell us how long you’ve worked in the online realm? Lisa: I have been operating WriteOnCreative.com since 2003. So, online for about 11 years with over two decades of experience in marketing, advertising and copywriting.
Kate: How did you get started? Lisa: I have an advertising agency
background and have worked in just about every medium out there (I’m a Certified Radio Marketing Master through the RAB - radio advertising bureau). In 2003, I resigned from the premier advertising agency in the market and I had a two-year noncompete, so I thought why not go global? I started learning online marketing techniques and investing in training to really hone those skills. I also started blogging.
Kate: You were a copywriter in that job? Lisa: I was an account manager and responsible
for all facets of client relations, advertising budgets and creative direction. So, yes, I wrote copy for traditional media campaigns including print, billboards and radio and television broadcast scripts (I also oversaw production direction). The interesting thing about writing and me is that I’ve always been drawn to the written word. As soon as I could pick up a pen or pencil, I was writing really bad poetry. In 4th grade, one of my schoolmates and I created the first school newspaper on a mimeograph machine. In high school, I was the advertising manager and lead reporter for the school newspaper called The Pepper Box. I’ve been writing ad copy throughout my entire career. I ping-ponged from careers in the service profession and advertising/marketing arena including non-profit and social services, newspapers, radio stations, ad agencies. In all of those positions, I wrote copy among other things. Writing is a crucial, fundamental piece of everything we do. When I started WriteonCreative.com, I decided I really wanted to focus on my writing. I started studying with the top copywriters to really hone my skills and learn long copy direct response techniques. I’ve had experience in radio, television, online marketing, offline marketing, billboards, print publications and more. You name it, I’ve likely done it.
Kate:
That’s quite an extensive background. With that you have an innate skill for writing that has propelled your career path.
Lisa: Yes, that’s true. I’m really good at leveraging publicity and PR too, so it is a very well-rounded skill set that I haven’t seen in a lot of other people. I often have people ask me, “What are you? You’re more than a copywriter, a consultant, a coach or mentor.” That’s kind of how I landed on The Business Marketing Architect title because I really look at the big picture of a business – to reverse engineering goals into tangible action steps. This helps turn dreams into reality. I also help uncover hidden revenue streams and identify unrealistic web expectations. So far, the title “The Business Marketing Architect” captures what I do most accurately. It’s all about creating marketing messages and strategy to get results. Kate: What’s the number one reason people struggle to write effective marketing copy?
Lisa: It really boils down to not being comfortable in their own voice and offerings. There are a lot of other layers, but if I had to choose the main thing after working with hundreds upon hundreds of entrepreneurs and business owners, that would be it. Kate: Do you have one tip you would give? Lisa: I think the biggest thing to realize is that we’re all way too self-critical. And the truth of the matter is we are experts in our own right. And what I mean by that is it doesn’t matter if someone else is doing what you’re doing, they will never do it the way you do it. I firmly believe there is more than enough business to go around, so you really have to own what it is you’re doing with great confidence in order for people to trust you and want to do business with you. You have to own your magic and then market it to make a difference.
Kate: Since marketing is all about relationships, what do you think is the most powerful marketing message people can bring to their audience?
Lisa: Their own individual truth and how it will help their prospects and ideal clients. Being clear about value CLICK AD TO VIEW WEBSITE
22 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT proposition and what your product and/or service delivers is also KEY.
Kate: It’s not just enough to say you’re passionate about helping somebody, correct? It’s more than that.
Lisa: Exactly. In fact, you absolutely have to be able to illustrate your value proposition. This is important when crafting your marketing messages – because marketing is all about relationships – you must craft stories that connect with the specific needs and challenges of your audience and you must be CLEAR about what you deliver and how it helps your clients/customers reach their goals. For example, when someone comes to me and their website isn’t performing as expected, I assess their overall strategy and their individual strategy. This is the starting point for a Manyon Marketing Web Makeover. From there, I’ll updated their headlines (this is the #1 most read part of all content and you only have 3 seconds to capture the attention of your audience online), offer suggestions for improving the copy, assess overall appearance and positioning and give suggestions to improve performance. For example, after working with one client, within 90 days, she increased her opt-in rate by 50%. We made some simple shifts that made a big impact. I’m not promising each person will experience the same results. Every situation is individualized. It can’t be cookie-cutter or paintby-number. I get that people will try to sell you systems that work that way. But I can tell you from over two decades in the marketing, advertising and copywriting arena, that’s not true.
Kate: Excellent advice. Lisa: The other thing about
value propositions is you should have a lot of specific stories to share with different people, depending on who you’re speaking to and where they are in their business, and depending on your offer. In other words, you should have stories that illustrate value
proposition for every revenue stream you offer. Another story I like to share is about the impact of my “Challenge. Solution. Invitation.TM” formula is having on those who learn about it. When people read articles I’ve been featured in or listen to radio interviews where I share my simple, 3-step approach to creating marketing messages with integrity, they get value based on the FREE information I’ve shared. In fact, I’ve received testimonials about results people have experienced just by implementing my approach. One woman had invested in sales training to increase interaction at her live events and wasn’t seeing the results she had hoped for. She read an article featuring my philosophies, applied the formula and received better interaction and results than she had all year. She gave me a testimonial about the impact it had on her business and she hadn’t even worked with me directly. This is the kind of story that shows me what I’m doing is working. I understand that it’s really important to profit from our passion. At the same time, I think it’s just as important to be of service and help others in any way that you can, so we need to have stories that are true and real that can illustrate our value proposition and speak to the heart of whomever it is that we are engaging with at that time.
Kate:
That also speaks to integrity marketing because you’re also glad to be supporting people in any way you can. It’s not all about the money.
Lisa: That’s exactly right. And I love that you bring up integrity marketing because the “Challenge. Solution. InvitationTM” formula is a simple, 3-step process to create marketing messages with integrity. It’s a relationship-first approach based on your individual values and coming from a place of true service. What I’ve found, for the most part, integrity has been missing in the marketing and advertising arena. I was really quiet about it for a very long time. CLICK AD TO VIEW WEBSITE
ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 23
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT Everyone else is teaching the traditional copywriting formula of “Problem. Agitate. Solve.” And I’ve found it isn’t resonating with most consumers. People are looking for solutions to their challenges. In the traditional formula, we are taught to focus on the pain points and create a heightened emotional state and then solve the problem. I believe people are in enough pain (one study revealed that 91% of women polled said they felt misunderstood by advertisers). We don’t need to be agitated to make a decision. In fact, especially for women, when someone acknowledges our challenges (and really understands where we’re coming from), provides a helpful solution and extends a friendly invitation, we’re more likely to take action. Nothing truly flows when it comes from a place of pain and fear. I’ve found that the agitation piece actually perpetuates buyer’s remorse. It’s manipulative and when people are manipulated into buying something, chances are they won’t feel good about it after the fact. I don’t agree with that approach at all, especially if we look at marketing as a relationship-building tool. That’s why I am so absolutely passionate about offering an alternative approach. And that’s what the “Challenge. Invitation. Solution.TM” is based on. True service and helping. It’s simple. Acknowledge the challenge with understanding and empathy. Then offer your solution. I tell clients who have been using the agitate process to gently step back, take a look at what their clients want and need. I don’t know about you but I definitely don’t do well when someone pokes at my pain points. I become a bit defensive and I back off. I think that’s true for the majority of women consumers. And this is a key point because women are influencing over 85% of all purchasing decisions. This is KEY information because if you’re using a marketing or copywriting technique that’s turning female consumers off, you’re also turning off your sales funnel and your profits.
Another interesting statistic shows that only 3% of creative directors of advertising agencies are women. I think there is a big correlation there. It’s really important to have both masculine and feminine energy in your marketing and advertising. But it’s even more important to understand those dynamics and how it works together. There is an age-old advertising and marketing and copywriting adage that says that copy is King. I believe that copy – that’s the content; the written part of all your marketing, advertising and promotional materials – is actually Queen. It’s like the feminine energy of your messaging. Whereas your strategy is actually King. You have to have both feminine and masculine energy working together in order to get results. You can have the very best message in the world and no strategy, and you won’t get results. Or you can have a really awesome strategy and very weak messaging (copy) and you won’t get results.
Kate: What should online business owners pay attention to most with their websites?
Lisa: Your strategy and your content. This is not the field of dreams. If you build it, they will not come. You have to have a plan. You have to be driving traffic to your website on a regular basis and you also have to have very strong content in order to engage. There is a 3-3-3 rule in online marketing. You have exactly three seconds to capture the attention of your viewer. You have 30 seconds to engage them. And they will make a decision within three minutes as to whether or not they want to do business with you after visiting your website. Kate:
So if you were somebody who didn’t understand how to write the copy, what would be an important tip? Where would they start?
Lisa: Getting training is really important. I have some selfstudy courses available. Ali Brown and I co-created the 24-7 Web Sales course which covers both strategy and CLICK AD TO VIEW WEBSITE
Lisa Manyon
“The Business Marketing Architect” A Content & Copywriting Strategist for Mission-Driven Entrepreneurs
Discover the NEW marketing model for success and get your FREE Copywriting Action Plan to help you improve all of your marketing messages (as seen in Inc. Magazine and Wonder Women: How Western Women Will Save the World). www.writeoncreative.com ~ Powerfully communicating your marketing message to get results! ~ 24 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
As Seen In
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT COMPETITION copywriting. I also have a lot of free resources on my website, on my award-winning blog. And there are a ton of articles. If you are a self-starter, you can go there and get really solid tips to help you build your business.
Kate: Speaking of your award-winning blog, what is the secret to an effective blog that engages?
Lisa:
You have to have relevant content that’s really interesting to your readers and you have to give tips that people can take action on. Many people make the mistake of being too salesy in their blog posts. A blog can be used as a sales tool. Certainly it should lead to the different offerings you have, but ideally, a blog is about promoting thought and engaging your readers by encouraging comments on your posts. It’s a bonus when people share via social media because your content is so good and helpful.
Kate: In an industry with so many players, how do you ensure you standout?
Lisa: I keep it real. I speak my mind. And I walk my talk. When people meet me they know they’ve met me. There is no big smoke and mirrors or dog and pony show with me. It’s me being of true service and being real. I’m really good at leveraging publicity and PR. So when I achieve something, I’m not shy about sharing it. I think this is important. As women especially, we’re taught not to brag based on societal, familial and governmental programming. So I shake the tree there a little bit because I share, not in a bragging way, but I share my wins with people so I’m positioned as top of mind.
because I build relationships with the people there. I enjoy that a lot. And I also really enjoy LinkedIn. I use Twitter as well. I’ve had some great success on Twitter. I’m also on Pinterest and am a rebel Instagramer. I don’t take selfies and only post nature pictures there (no filters).
The intent behind why you’re doing what you’re doing is transparent, and people can tell energetically if you’re coming from a place of true service. When I won The People’s Choice Award at the California Women’s Conference, I blogged about the back story and how that happened. Most people don’t get on stage at a large venue with no speaker’s reel. But I did. I did because I leveraged my relationships and my contacts and my knowledge and how to build communities to get the most engagement on the virtual stage. Then I was awarded a speaking spot so I can now say that I spoke at the same venue with Arianna Huffington, Jack Canfield, Lisa Nichols, JJ Virgin and more. I think it’s just a matter of being really strategic with everything that you do while staying humble and being of true service.
Kate:
What would you say is the top reason why you like LinkedIn?
Kate:
Lisa: I like the high level networking there. There tends
Lisa:
Kate: Is there a particular type of online tool that’s a goto for you?
Lisa: One of my favourites is Basecamp because it helps me manage all of my projects and team members. Kate: What social media sites are most important to you? Lisa: I tend to be active on Facebook more than others
to be more corporate, high-level connections. I think the best thing to think about when you’re playing in the social media arena is that each network has its own purpose. And you should have your own strategy for each of them.
What are your thoughts on how marketing has changed in past 10 years and where do you see it going now?
In 2009, I wrote a chapter in a book with my predictions on what was already changing. They’ve all come true. In the past 10 years, people have become really tired of inauthentic exchanges. So, it’s really going back to basics and being true to who you are and true to what
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ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 25
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT your clients need and using techniques that build those relationships as opposed to trying to manipulate people into sales. Or treating people like numbers, which is one of my biggest pet peeves. People are not numbers. We can have projections, but the moment we start treating people like numbers, we’ve lost a big piece of our humanity.
I’m super-excited about Pam’s certification training because I have had the opportunity to sit in and be involved in some of the case studies, and she’s doing a phenomenal job at training virtual service providers to be online marketing managers. I think the program is one of the key missing pieces in a lot of online marketers’ go-to toolkits.
Where do I think things are going? We’ve been given the power to be our own media. There is a book out called Be the Media. I was on a panel of experts who helped teach about that subject several years ago. The power is really coming back to the people. More and more people are beginning to question the mainstream media outlets because they realize that they are owned and that that information is controlled. The beauty in all of this is that we should be leveraging the tools that we have. The moment you start writing your ezine or newsletter, you’re now a publisher. I’ve been publishing Manyon’s Musings for eight years. Things are changing because we have a consciousness uprising happening.
Kate: Have you experienced any major ah-ha moments
Kate:
What roles do you delegate and what do you absolutely have to do yourself?
Lisa: I encourage people to get the support they need. I continue to work on this. Because I sometimes do more than I should. The roles I delegate to team members include bookkeeping (I also have a CPA to handle all the taxes). My client care specialist handles a lot of my email communications and requests that are generated on my website. I rely on my fabulous web designer to make things look fabulous and work with tech people who help with the technology piece including Google apps.
along the way in your entrepreneurial journey?
Lisa:
I’ve had so many. One is that I need to bring in people to help me manage my team because that’s really not where I thrive. And the other ah-ha is to really trust my intuition and own my voice so that I can share my magic with the world to make a bigger difference.
Kate:
What kind of speaking engagements or offerings do you have coming up?
Lisa: As far as speaking engagements, I’m currently filling my calendar. I offer interactive Business Marketing Breakthrough Boutiques. They’re like breakout sessions but better. I offer these at events, corporate communications meetings or private mastermind groups. The presentation is interactive and overviews my 3-step formula to create marketing messages with integrity as well as addresses individual participants’ challenges right there on the spot (think mini-hot seats). I’ve decided to permanently relocate to Ashland, Oregon, so throughout 2015 and beyond, I will offer VIP days in Ashland for anyone who wants to roll up their sleeves and work on their business with me. CLICK AD TO VIEW WEBSITE
I still handle my own schedule and that may not be the best thing but I just can’t let go of it because I want the flexibility and freedom (freedom is one of my core values). I also handle all of the content creation for myself. Everything I write is original content. I feel that’s important for me to do, especially because I specialize in marketing strategies and content strategies. I’ve seen a few people who have outsourced that to team members and found their voice was lost in translation. I think it’s important to know where your strengths are and to be really clear on the strengths of your team members.
Kate:
Is there anything you’d like to say about how important an online marketing manager is to a business owner’s team?
Lisa: When you hire a virtual team, make sure you’re hiring people who are truly trained and qualified. One of the biggest danger zones in the online arena is the fact that we are now the media, we are publishers. And there are a lot of people out there who are claiming they can do things that they can’t actually do. One of my biggest challenges has been finding all of the right team members who can support me in the way that they have portrayed themselves.
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26 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
STRATEGY
WHAT IS
AD RETARGETING
AND SHOULD I DO IT?
H
BY PAM IVEY
ave you ever wondered what you could do about the people who come to your website or blog and then leave without answering your call to action? Well, wonder no further because ad retargeting is here. Not only is it here, it’s completely accessible to any small business because it’s affordable. What ad retargeting does is deliver pay per click ads only to people who have visited your website through various channels from Facebook to Google. Both platforms allow you to invest in ad retargeting. Whichever platform you choose to use, basically you put some code that no one will ever notice, on your website that delivers a “cookie” to your website visitors that will then deliver the targeted advertisements to those who have visited your website at least once. What’s more is that you can also code your website in such a way that when a visitor comes back they see a different version of your calls to action than they did before. For instance, let’s say you want them to download a free guide, but they didn’t. Try a different version of the offer to see if a different version gets better results. Yes, you’re not dreaming, this technology exists!
If you use self-hosted WordPress you can use simple plugins like Google Remarketing to help you implement this marketing tactic easily along with a few other plugins that will make retargeting and remarketing easier. To
deliver different information to repeat website visitors again, if you use self-hosted WordPress it’s a lot easier. You can use something like Content Aware Sidebars that way only ads that are relevant to the content on that particular page has. So, instead of every page showing the same side bars, now each page looks different based on the content on that page. Blogging Concentrated offers a wonderful plugin called Sidebar Ladder. This plugin is amazing and enables your visitor to see different ads and calls to action the 2nd time they come back to your website, if they already bought an item, they won’t see an ad for that item ever again. Now, they’ll only see an ad for the next item in your product funnel. After all, why would your customers want to keep seeing the same offers over again when they already purchased or downloaded your offer? Retargeting is now an essential marketing strategy to use for any small business owner. After all, if a person has already come to your website it is very likely that they will go back. Even if they already bought something, getting them to come back to buy something else is important. If they did not buy something the first time, they may be ready after they see mention of your product more than once. Some experts claim that some consumers need to see an advertisement or product mention more than 7 times to make a choice to buy. Now you can use technology to your advantage to do just that.
ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 27
VISIBILITY
ONLINE
VISIBILITY VISIBILITY
T
he way to build a business is with BOTH online and offline visibility. You can’t build a business relying solely on one format or the other. There needs to be a marriage between the two, a blend and a congruent visible message. Here’s where business owners go wrong: They think they are being seen and being heard online but they are just 1 in a billion trying to carve out their name underneath the social galaxy. They hide behind social media, their website and they don’t get out into the real world. So what does a business owner need to do to get noticed online (and offline)?
THE 3 FUNDAMENTALS IN BUSINESS ARE:
BEING SEEN BEING HEARD BEING KNOWN And you need to do those three things both online and offline, at the same time with the same message, brand and image.
BY ODETTE LAURIE Here are a few quick tips to get started, to amp up your visibility and to be known that you are the ‘go to’ business!
1 | BE SEEN EVERYWHERE. Get your profile out there on the 3 major platforms (to start). Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. If you don’t know how to do it, you can either figure it out (I bought a book) or hire someone who knows what they are doing. And of course you need a great looking website.
2 | BE HEARD EVERYWHERE. Spread your message virally and out in the real world. People need to learn that you are the expert at what you do and they need to hear what you have to say. How? Where? What do I say? Keep reading.
3 | BE KNOWN AS THE EXPERT. We pay the experts handsomely for their knowledge. You are the expert at what you do and should be paid well for it. Being seen and being heard and smashing through the noise requires a strategy and a solid action plan.
ODETTE LAURIE
is a Business coach, Speaker, Supermom and Author. Her new book is “Paralyzed: Getting Past the Excuses of Why You aren’t Successful.” She is the founder of Women on Top Coaching and creator of The Profit Domination Club. Odette looks beyond the problem to uncover the possibilities! And she’s a survivor -- of much. She knows what it takes to build your business quickly and successfully, to make money and be happy. Using tough love, delivered tenderly, Odette helps her clients have the business and life of their dreams. Learn more at http://businesswomenontop.com/speaking/ 28 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
VISIBILITY BARE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: Fantastic website Professional and Selfie Videos Up-to-date professional Pictures Blogging (regularly) Networking offline and online Article writing Joint ventures Speaking everywhere Webinars Teleseminars FB ads Killer profiles The way you look, talk, speak, act, write, post, blog, message, brand, think and so on must be congruent and consistent…. like pulling a thread through it all. Without this congruency and consistency you are just cherry-picking strategy and action and hoping some of it will stick with your audience. You need to have a sticky platform (‘sticking the landing’ is an actual term) in which to capture people’s attention and have them ‘stick’ around to hear and learn more.
JOIN ODETTE LAURIE, BOB PROCTOR and 38 influential thought leaders and most famous names in Canadian business.
You need to answer the biggest question in prospects head: Why you? How can a customer tell the difference between you and your competition? Anyone and everyone is online nowadays and there is so much ‘noise’ out there that you need to really stand out in a crowd. Be different. Make an impact. Answer these questions and you will begin to differentiate yourself from your crowded industry: What makes you different? What makes you the same?
all the secrets all the insider info all the knowledge of top tier entrepreneurs this side of the 49th parallel!
How are you better? Worse? Where do you WOW people? Fail people? You need to just how crucial being distinct means to your bottom line. If people aren’t seeing you, hearing you or clear on why you, they are not thinking about you. When they aren’t thinking about you they aren’t buying from you. The only way to turn a prospect into a client is when they are thinking about you.
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Being distinct will be one of the more difficult things you do you in your business but it will be one of the most important. Otherwise you are leaving money on the table and it’s up for grabs. Who do you think will grab it? Your competition. Everything falls into place when your online visibility shouts out ‘WHY YOU?” ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 29
STRATEGY
5 TYPES
OF REVENUE STRESS THAT KILL
W
BY LINDA M. LOPEKE
ITHOUT REVENUE, YOUR BUSINESS HAS NO FUTURE.
Stress can kill you. Not just your business. You. Here are 5 common revenue-related-stress scenarios and what you can do about them.
1 | NO REVENUE Give yourself time to begin generating revenue. How much time you can afford varies. But know how long you can survive with no money coming into your business and plan ahead for it. How you fund your window of opportunity also varies. We all have different comfort levels when it comes to risk and debt. And many have others to consider in making this decision. Put a time limit on the acceptable period of no revenue you and loved ones can agree to, then uphold your commitment. After start-up, there may be times of year with no revenue. Plan ahead for dead periods by keeping some cash in reserve and have a backup plan for keeping things going until revenue resumes. Track revenue history to reveal predictable patterns you can plan for.
Bad debt (uncollectable revenue) is yet another situation you must plan for. It can arise from credit card refund fraud, outright theft, and dishonest business partners. You will learn from bad experiences but to believe they’ll never happen to you is naive.
2 | LATE REVENUE Late revenue also creates stress. First there is revenue you expected to start arriving in x months that takes y months to achieve, if you can achieve it at all. Eliminate this trap by doubling or tripling your estimate of how long it’ll take for money to come in until you have hard data to fuel estimates. The second is revenue you’ve earned but can’t collect from customers or withdraw from your merchant account for whatever reason. Until money is in your bank account and accessible, it does not exist. Many businesses have had successful product launches that resulted in their merchant accounts being frozen leaving them unable to cover launch-related expenses and service customers. Know your cycle-time from sale to bank deposit.
LINDA M. LOPEKE
is an internationally recognized authority on business management and creator of the award-winning SMARTSTART programs. She teaches creative entrepreneurs how to take decisive action so they can get their greatest work out into the world. Click the link for more useful advice from www.smartstartcoach.com.
30 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
STRATEGY
3 | NOT ENOUGH REVENUE
You can use third-party applications and services; just be aware you could lose them at any time. Build systems and processes to ensure you’ve covered yourself from data and revenue loss should this happen.
Industry-average conversion rates can help you create revenue forecasts but actual numbers, based on history, are more reliable. Use conservative ranges until you have actual conversion rates to use as benchmarks for sales forecasting.
Other situations you can’t control that interrupt revenue include: unexpected illness, accidents, and random acts of God. Maintaining a cash reserve, paying for insurance, and doing everything you can to protect your health are all strategies you can use to mitigate losses arising from such situations. But, you can’t rely on them indefinitely. No one can.
Don’t be overly optimistic about how quickly your target market will buy, how much they’ll spend and how frequently they’ll purchase.
If you don’t have enough new opportunities in play and sufficient leads entering your marketing funnel to drive revenue, focus first on building your pipeline. Then, work on optimizing conversions. Getting people onto your prospect list is not conversion. It doesn’t count until money hits your bank account. Overspending to get sales is another problem. Expenses cannot exceed revenue indefinitely. That leaves only debt and nothing for yourself despite having done all the work to make sales. Stress compounds if you’re missing revenue targets, having persistent cash flow problems, and making bad business deals trying to keep up with financial obligations.
4 | INTERRUPTED REVENUE
With an online business revenue can be interrupted for a variety of reasons, some of which are your own fault. For example, if running your business on platforms you don’t control is high risk. You might get notice a service or application you rely on is shutting down but often you don’t. With no Plan B in place, you’ll be scrambling. Techno-hell is not conducive to generating revenue.
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5 | TOO MUCH REVENUE
Can too much revenue be stressful? Absolutely! When you have too much coming in and haven’t prepared appropriately for high-volume sales, you may not be able to handle the extra demands placed on you and your business. However, an even more destructive stress that arises is spending like crazy having fallen under the spell of believing it’s going to be like this all the time, forever. Not so. It’s as important to practice safe revenue management when you have a lot of money coming in as it is when you have none or very little. Allowing unrelenting stress to continue, regardless of origin or nature, is unhealthy and irresponsible. Revenue is about energy flow and stress management as much as it is about running your numbers. Manage the risks under your control; hedge your bets with those that aren’t. Then go with the flow!
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CONVERSION
Define Your Cultural Tribe to Improve Conversions
P
eople gravitate toward being part of groups of likeminded people. That’s where the term “birds of a feather, flock together” comes from. While it’s not quite as black and white as that, in that many tribes often have people of varying views and experiences, people join a particular tribe due to what they have in common and that’s where they focus as part of that tribe. With this in mind, people might actually be members of more than one tribe.
DISCOVERING YOUR TRIBAL IDENTITY We might be part of many tribes based on the things about us that are clear such as race, culture, interests, education and so forth – it’s important for you to identify the tribe that your target audience belongs to. Who are they? What do they want? What do they fear most? What pain points do they share?
FINDING ACCEPTANCE & APPROVAL People naturally seek approval and acceptance from the people whom they view as part of their tribe. This is why so many associations pop up to help educate members of certain groups. People want education but they also want the social activity, approval and acceptance for those who are like them.
TRIBES AFFECT SOCIAL INFLUENCE Understanding who your tribe is will enable you to create some serious social influence within that tribe. Hang out where they hang out, give them the information they need to know that you’ve developed and also that other people have developed. Ask for references and testimonials from customers, colleagues and joint venture partners.
BY PAM IVEY Publicize the testimonials to your tribe to get even more social proof.
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS When you realize who your tribe is (or your audience’s tribe) that’s when you’ll truly be able to build relationships with your target audience. You want to affect their emotional center in a way that makes them remember you and your products and services. This can only be accomplished through relationship building. Try having weekly Google Hangouts, and / or create a private Facebook group to get to know a subset of your audience even better. FIND YOUR VOICE When you write copy for sales pages, blog posts, and to educate your audience it’s important to find your voice. You cannot be fearful of turning off people who aren’t in your audience; instead you can use the copy you write as a way to speak directly to your audience in the way they will enjoy, showing your personality. If your words turn away some outsiders, that’s perfectly okay, and so much better than being bland and boring. STUDY YOUR AUDIENCE To discover the tribe your audience is part of, learn about their demographics, as well as their fears, dreams and pains. Once you know that information then you can match your resources with your skills to help with product creation or developing services that your tribe needs. Understanding your cultural tribe can go far in helping you develop better products and services but will also help you market those products and services in such a way that you will get much higher conversions on your sales pages and offerings.
32 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
SOCIAL MEDIA
When it Comes to Social Media,
QUALITY MATTERS-
NOT Quantity
T
BY MIRIAM SLOZBERG
he idea of having thousands of Facebook fans is an appealing one. However, what good are they if they are not active on your Facebook like page? Not to mention if you have 1000 fans on your page and none of them interact with your posts, that in itself is apparent that those “fans” are fake. It is a lot better for your business to have 100 fans and having at least 25 of them interacting with you on a regular basis than having a huge number of fans who “sit there”. If you want Facebook fans, don’t get them for the sole purpose of increasing your count. Look at how likely they are to interact with your posts. Even if they don’t comment. If they “like” your status and posts that in itself is interaction and engagement.
WHY IS INTERACTION IMPORTANT ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE? Many business owners do not understand why it is important to have their fans engaging with their status updates and posts on their Facebook fan page. Here are a few reasons to know:
INDICATES THERE IS INTEREST Think about it. A potential customer or client looks at your
Facebook fan page and notices that you have only 70 fans but most of them are interested in what you post- that in itself will appear to be impressive to that individual. He or she will not be looking at the numbers so much. The activity on your page is far more important as it shows there is interest.
IMPROVES SEARCH ENGINE RANKINGS A busy Facebook fan page believe it or not will help increase your search engine rankings for that fan page than a page that has a lot of “fans” but has no or little interaction. After all, social signals of all types are looked at by search engines.
A BUSY FAN PAGE LOOKS AUTHENTIC A fan page with few fans but with a lot of interaction looks real and people want to associate with anyone or anything that is legitimate. Remember, a site with thousands of fans who don’t interact on there appears downright fake. That will ruin your business in no time. I hope this gives you insight on why it is important to have a few high-quality fans instead of a number of fake fans that take up space on your page and provide you with no real value.
MIRIAM SLOZBERG is a Canadian mom, author, and SEO and social media manager - who is focusing most of her time on teaching and empowering entrepreneurs and job seekers on how to be influential in their niche by harnessing the power of social media. Find out more about Miriam www.miriamslozberg.com. ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 33
CONTENT MARKETING
the ever changing landscape
of
A
marketing
s long as there has been online marketing there has been content marketing. One could argue that long before online marketing, all types of marketing involved content. What we do know for sure is that all forms of online marketing start with online content. Whether it’s a blog post, an article, a video, an infographic or some other form of content marketing everything starts with that piece of well-crafted content. As technology improves, content marketing evolves.
Content must be available 24/7 on a variety of devices. Long gone are the days when you could put up a website and tell the visitors that it’s “optimized for IE” or some other such nonsense. If your content is not readable or viewable by your audience in the method they want to view it, you’re sunk. It’s all about the audience, plain, and simple – as it should be. Thankfully, technology has evolved too. There is no excuse not to be optimized for however your audience wants to consume your content.
Content must also be authoritative, truthful, valuable and informative. It also helps if it’s not boring. If you do the work necessary to know who your audience is, you’ll be able to create more interesting content that your audience wants to consume. You want
BY STEPHANIE WATSON each piece of content that you create to create an impact on the audience that they can then put to use in some way. Whether that is an action to take after viewing or whether it’s just food for thought is up to you to determine based on your topic and audience. This is the only way to ensure that your audience will keep reading or viewing the content that you create.
Content must be findable. Along with changing technology come changing search engine optimization techniques and methods to match the new algorithms used by search engines. The main thing to remember here is that search engines aren’t here for you. Search engines exist so that an individual can find the information they want to find. The search engine’s job is to satisfy its audience. This means continuous improvements to deliver the right search results to the individual. The right results will become narrower as the technology improves. The best thing you can do is keep on delivering consistent, excellent, top quality content for your audience. Content must be in many different forms. Don’t just stick to writing blog posts. Create memes, infographics, videos, and more. There are many different forms of content that you can create; you should try to
ABOUT STEPHANIE WATSON With more than 20 years experience working from home in a variety of roles such as HTML Website Designer, Internet Marketer, Template Bender, and Virtual Assistant, today Stephanie is an author and content strategist who organizes, plans, writes and implements content strategies for business owners through her business at Barry Publishing. You can find her at Linkedin.com www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniewatsonbarry and contact her via her website www.barrypublishing.com. 34 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
CONTENT MARKETING create several types. You can repurpose content easily this way. For example, if you have a blog post that would make a great video outline, do it. If you have a lot of data in a blog post, maybe it’s more suited for an infographic? Perhaps having your information in many forms is best. It depends of course, on your audience, but start thinking outside the text blog box.
Article marketing and guest blogging isn’t dead, it’s just different. Yes, it was the good old days when you could take one article, spin it, and put it on many article marketing websites to help get links back to your website or blog. But, those days are over. However, the concept of article marketing and guest blogging still work. The difference is that you want the places you contribute content to be relevant, high-quality, and authoritative. The content you contribute will be unique and made just for the audience of the particular website. As much as things change, they are really the same. Your goal yesterday, today and tomorrow is to provide to your audience, the best possible information, products and services in your power to produce. As long as you do that, no amount of search engine algorithm changes can knock you out business. When all you think about is your audience, and being the best you can be, it just goes to logic that every piece of content you create will not only serve its purpose to your audience, but to your business as well.
onlinemarketing SUCCESSMagazine is a rich resource to help online marketing consultants and other service providers step into their power with confidence and know-how.
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ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 35
RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT = SALES
T
he best way to increase sales has long been known. Books like Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell and Build for Change: Revolutionizing Customer Engagement through Continuous Digital Innovation by Alan Trefler, speak to increasing customer engagement through various methods that all boil down to appealing to your customer and getting permission to market to them, and more than getting permission, but having the customer ask for your information and want your information. It’s important that you understand the factors that help your audience engage with you, what types of content work best, in what formats and which channels your audience likes to engage the most as well as how to get the most targeted subscribers for your email lists, social media fans and followers and blog subscribers. You can learn all of this information through research and testing.
THERE ARE THREE MAIN WAYS THAT YOU CAN IMPROVE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT:
BY PAM IVEY can attract your ideal clients to you and draw them in with fabulous design. You know exactly what layout and colors to use because you’ve studied your audience down to the point that you know and understand everything there is to know about them including what styles and colors they enjoy, that make them feel safe, in charge, and free to spend some money with you.
2 | CRAFT REGULAR, USEFUL
CONTENT
Don’t write for search engines, and don’t condescend to your audience. It’s true that you need an abundance of content in many different forms but, the content needs to also be useful to your audience. Consumers are educated and intelligent these days, and you can’t just tell them things without backing it up with sources and proof. A good source of proof is detailed and authentic testimonials that they can be assured are from real people by checking.
3 | APPEAL TO YOUR AUDIENCE’S
1 | CREATE BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED
The color and design of all your marketing collateral matters a great deal. Whether it’s brochures, or your website, you
The design and the words you use on your website, within sales pages, and marketing material and even information products should pique your audience’s interest by
MARKETING COLLATERAL
NEEDS & EMOTIONS
36 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
RELATIONSHIP MARKETING appealing to their own needs and emotions. It’s always about your customer’s needs and your customer’s emotions not yours. If you can remember that you can encourage better engagement. The reason customer engagement improves sales is because it improves brand loyalty, trust, and confidence in the products and services that you provide. The information you disseminate to your audience is very important, but even more important is how you respond to their comments and questions as your community matures. Keep the lines of communication open through every channel including social media networks, your blog and email for the best results.
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ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 37
CONVERSION
Encourage Conversions with
Anchors
W
hat if I told you that most conversions have to do with the psychology of the consumer and your ability to affect that psychology? That’s why you have to study your audience so closely. You have to understand them inside and out. You have to know what their pain points are and how your products and services solve them. Plus, you have to learn the science behind making offers that convert. Part of the information you need to learn is referred to as anchoring. When you learn about anchoring you’ll be able to encourage higher conversion rates. Anchoring helps set the tone of the offer and puts your customer’s mind in the place you want it to be before you make your offer. For example, if you have three ways to pay for your product if you put the least expensive choice first, you may trigger your customer to start thinking in a way that you don’t want them to think. But if you put the most expensive option first, then the middle option, and lastly the least expensive you’ll find that you’ve changed the mindset of your customer to accept the higher price. An anchor acts as a reference point for your customer’s mind to focus, instead of something else. So, let’s say that your website visitor comes to your sales page and sees a product that you’re charging $699.00 for, this will set an expectation of a certain price point for like products. Anything lower will be seen either as a bargain or perhaps not even good enough or somehow cheap or less than the
38 | ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
BY PAM IVEY
CONVERSION first offer. If you want to anchor your customers’ minds into seeing your products as high value, you now know what you have to do. When you want to anchor your audience with a certain mindset you might think that having price comparisons is a good way to do it. Oddly, this often backfires. Once people start comparing prices they are no longer looking for value, but instead looking for bargains. This can be a killer for your business. You want value seekers, not bargain seekers. Therefore, avoid comparisons and instead offer details of value. The other issue you want to avoid is trading time for dollars by demonstrating your expertise. The more your audience is anchored in the idea that you’re an expert the more they’re going to be willing to pay for that knowledge. They won’t focus on time, but will instead focus on knowledge and how you can impart that knowledge on them. You have to realize that with everything perceptions matter. If you want your audience to have a particular perception of you, your products, services and work then you can set those thoughts in motion with the right information on your sales pages by using the technique of anchoring. People remember the first thing they read longer than anything else that is in the body of the message therefore, if you want to properly anchor your customers’ mindset do it from the beginning
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ONLINE MARKETING SUCCESS MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 | 39
Become the Conduct ONLINE MARKETING MANAGER CERTIFICATION
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tor
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January 28 - 29, 2015 Rakuten Marketing San Francisco, CA http://marketing.rakuten.com/symposium-san-francisco Symposium AFFILIATE MARKETING February 2 - 4, 2015 Email Evolution Miami, FL http://emailevolution.org/ EMAIL MARKETING Conference February 4 - 5, 2015 Digital Summit Phoenix Phoenix http://digitalsummitphoenix.com DIGITAL MARKETING February 9 - 11, 2015 SES London London http://sesconference.com/london/ SES February 10 - 12, 2015 Social Media Las Vegas http://socialmediastrategiessummit.com/las-vegas-2015/ Strategies Summit SOCIAL MEDIA February 16 - 18, 2015 B2B Content2Conversion Scottsdale, AZ http://content2conversion.com/ CONTENT MARKETING February 22 - 25, 2015 iMedia Brand Summit: Amelia Island, FL http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits/ BRAND & AUTOMATION Man vs Machine February 23, 2015 Media Post’s OMMA Miami, FL http://www.mediapost.com/omma-miami/ DIGITAL MARKETING http://www.meclabs.com/training/marketing-summit/email-summit-2015 February 23 - 26, 2015 Marketing Sherpa Las Vegas Email Summit EMAIL MARKETING February 23 - 27, 2015 Social Media Week New York http://socialmediaweek.org/newyork/ SOCIAL MEDIA March 3, 2015 Leadscon Las Vegas http://www.leadscon.com/leadsconlv/ LEAD GENERATION March 3, 2015 International Search San Jose, CA http://www.internationalsearchsummit.com/san-jose.html Summit SEARCH MARKETING March 3 - 5, 2015 SMX West San Jose, CA http://searchmarketingexpo.com/west/ SEARCH MARKETING March 9 - 13, 2014 Adobe Summit Salt Lake City, UT http://summit.adobe.com/na/ DIGITAL MARKETING March 11 - 12, 2015 Dx3 Toronto http://www.dx3canada.com/Content/2015-Information DIGITAL MARKETING March 13 - 14, 2015 SXSW Interactive Austin, TX http://sxsw.com/interactive DIGITAL MARKETING March 23 - 25, 2015 Intelligent Content San Francisco, CA http://www.intelligentcontentconference.com/ CONTENT MARKETING Conference March 25 - 27, 2015 Social Media San Diego, CA http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/smmworld/ SOCIAL MEDIA Marketing World March 25 - 28, 2015 Content Marketing Scottsdale, AZ http://www.mediapost.com/contentmarketinginsidersummit/ Insiders Summit CONTENT MARKETING March 26, 2015 SES Miami Miami, FL http://sesconference.com/miami/ SEARCH MARKETING March 28 - 29, 2015 Canadian Internet Squamish, BC http://digitalbuzz.ca/ DIGITAL MARKETING Marketing Conference Mar 29 - Apr 2, 2015 eMetrics San Francisco San Francisco, CA http://www.emetrics.org/sanfrancisco/2015/ ANALYTICS Mar 30 - Apr 1, 2015 Affiliate Management San Francisco, CA http://www.affiliatemanagementdays.com/sanfrancisco/2015/registration Days AFFILIATE MARKETING Mar 30 - Apr 2, 2015 ClickZ Live New York http://www.clickzlive.com/newyork/ DIGITAL MARKETING Mar 31 - Apr 1, 2015 MarTech 2015 San Francisco, CA http://www.martechconf.com/ DIGITAL MARKETING Mar 31 - Apr 2, 2015 InfusionCon Phoenix http://attendicon.com/ INBOUND MARKETING April 13 - 16, 2015 New Media Expo Las Vegas http://nmxlive.com/2015-lv/ DIGITAL MARKETING The Media Revolution