Internet Marketing For Small Businesses
Internet Marketing For Small Businesses
"Sure it sounds like something that could help me grow my business and get more new clients, but it sounds far too complicated. I wouldn't know where to begin." If you're an entrepreneur or small business owner, I'm here to tell you that Internet marketing does not need to be complicated and that when implemented correctly, it can fulfill the promise of making your business life a lot easier.
One of the problems is that Internet marketing covers a wide range of topics, thus it can easily overwhelm anyone who is'’t immersed in the topic. At a fundamental level, internet marketing is a system for 1) driving traffic to your website 2) capturing data on who is visiting and then 3) automatically communicating with these prospects to build trust, credibility and ultimately motivate them to take action. So let's begin in the beginning.
We begin by creating some sort of offer or free report that will entice people to give you information about who they are. Although it would seem that free reports have been done to death, the reality is that they still work extremely well. The key is to make sure that your report targets a very specific group of visitors. For example "Time Management" probably won't elicit much interest. However, "Time Management Techniques For Busy Dental Offices" is likely to stimulate high curiosity among the target audience.
A second key point is to make sure that your report has a compelling title. Remember that people won't know about how valuable the information is until after they read the report. Thus what will motivate them to request it in the first place, will be the title. One important point to keep in mind is to emphasize the benefits that one will get from reading the report in the title.
The report is made available on a one-page website whose sole purpose for existence is to get people to sign up. This could be a free-standing one page site or just an additional page to your established website. Either is fine. The important point to keep in mind is that the internet is a very fast medium. That's both good and bad news. The positive aspect is that people can get to your site in the blink of an eye. The bad news is that they can click off your site in the same amount of time. By offering free reports you are slowing down the process and increasing the likelihood that your visitor will remain with you for at least a couple of minutes. That's why your page should heavily promote your report and not have the "call-to-action" hidden in some obscure part of the page.
Naturally in order for people to get the report they need to give you their contact information. I've found after years of testing that just asking for name and email will yield the highest response. By stating on the form that "The information you requested will be sent to the email address you provided" you will eliminate people giving you bogus email addresses just to get your free information. You can also add a page after they have signed up stating that you have additional information that you would like to send them if they provide you with their mailing address and phone number. I've found that around 25% of subscribers provide me with this additional information. If you think of internet marketing as following these basic steps you can start to use electronic tools to grow your business without getting overwhelmed.
Internet Marketing For Small Businesses - To learn more about this author, visit Mark Satterfield's Website.
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When one raises the topic of internet marketing there are usually a couple of responses. From the technically gifted, they immediately go off onto an elaborate discussion about the nuances and subtleties of the newest software or services. For small businesses, there is usually a completely different reaction.
"Sure it sounds like something that could help me grow my business and get more new clients, but it sounds far too complicated. I wouldn't know where to begin." If you're an entrepreneur or small business owner, I'm here to tell you that Internet marketing does not need to be complicated and that when implemented correctly, it can fulfill the promise of making your business life a lot easier.
One of the problems is that Internet marketing covers a wide range of topics, thus it can easily overwhelm anyone who is'’t immersed in the topic. At a fundamental level, internet marketing is a system for 1) driving traffic to your website 2) capturing data on who is visiting and then 3) automatically communicating with these prospects to build trust, credibility and ultimately motivate them to take action. So let's begin in the beginning.
We begin by creating some sort of offer or free report that will entice people to give you information about who they are. Although it would seem that free reports have been done to death, the reality is that they still work extremely well. The key is to make sure that your report targets a very specific group of visitors. For example "Time Management" probably won't elicit much interest. However, "Time Management Techniques For Busy Dental Offices" is likely to stimulate high curiosity among the target audience.
A second key point is to make sure that your report has a compelling title. Remember that people won't know about how valuable the information is until after they read the report. Thus what will motivate them to request it in the first place, will be the title. One important point to keep in mind is to emphasize the benefits that one will get from reading the report in the title.
The report is made available on a one-page website whose sole purpose for existence is to get people to sign up. This could be a free-standing one page site or just an additional page to your established website. Either is fine. The important point to keep in mind is that the internet is a very fast medium. That's both good and bad news. The positive aspect is that people can get to your site in the blink of an eye. The bad news is that they can click off your site in the same amount of time. By offering free reports you are slowing down the process and increasing the likelihood that your visitor will remain with you for at least a couple of minutes. That's why your page should heavily promote your report and not have the "call-to-action" hidden in some obscure part of the page.
Naturally in order for people to get the report they need to give you their contact information. I've found after years of testing that just asking for name and email will yield the highest response. By stating on the form that "The information you requested will be sent to the email address you provided" you will eliminate people giving you bogus email addresses just to get your free information. You can also add a page after they have signed up stating that you have additional information that you would like to send them if they provide you with their mailing address and phone number. I've found that around 25% of subscribers provide me with this additional information. If you think of internet marketing as following these basic steps you can start to use electronic tools to grow your business without getting overwhelmed.
Internet Marketing For Small Businesses - To learn more about this author, visit Mark Satterfield's Website.
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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