MarketingMoment

If there is one online marketing tool that is possibly the most underused and least understood it has to be web analytics.

At its most basic, traffic analysis involves collecting and interpreting information visitors to your website. At the more advanced level, tracking systems can provide an array of key data about the journey your visitors make once on your site, what your most cost-effective traffic sources are, which pay-per-click (PPC) or search-engine-optimisation (SEO) keywords and key phrases to concentrate on, and a whole host of other sales and ROI information.

A really fantastic resource that is FREE from Google is their Analytics program – http://www.google.com/analytics/. As well as being able to track your web visitors, page views, and more, you can also track your email campaigns, referrals, and even offline campaigns. This is definitely one to bookmark . . .  and USE! 

Your website’s statistics provide a LOT of clues as to what visitors make of your site.  Don’t ignore them!

Adapted from: “Using Online Marketing to Your Advantage“

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Let’s say you’ve just spent the best part of your month creating and fine-tuning your core marketing message. How do you REALLY know whether it is likely to be of any interest to your target market? The research you will have carried out (oh, you didn’t — OK, straight back to the start! Do not pass ‘Go’ and do not collect £200!) is inextricably linked, but so is testing. But there is another, much simpler way to gauge its success . . . just ask yourself: “Would it be possible for anyone to say the opposite of this?”

Here’s an example of what I am getting at:

* Your message: “We firmly believe in always putting our clients first.”

* The opposite: “We don’t firmly believe in always putting our clients first.”

* Conclusion: No one would say the opposite (unless they were intent on committing business suicide!). So this gives a fairly good indication that your message is no-goer. Apart from being meaningless, it isn’t going to rub well with your prospective clients.

OK, let’s try a different message:

* Your message: “Our support team is ready to help you at all times.” 

* The opposite: “Our help desk closes at 11pm.”

* Conclusion: You could certainly say that your help desk isn’t always open. Not everyone can provide a 24/7 service. So your message is worth trying out. 

Of course, the more specific you are, the better the message. And the more you show how you differ from the competition, the greater the chances of your marketing’s success.

Try it and see — and DO let me know of any successes!

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I heard on the news (BBC) this morning that supermarkets are spending more on advertising and less on branding, in an attempt to lure shoppers and defeat the credit-crunch fallout.

Does this mean that you should follow suit?

Advertising – whether it’s advertising in magazines, newspapers, the trade press or online – CAN be yield a good return on business. But it’s generally more appropriate for larger brands with the advertising budget to match their size.

That said, advertising DOES work, and it can work for you . . . providing you advertise the right things to the right people in the right places and in the right way.  

If you do wish to dip your toe in the advertising arena, then I would suggest spending your budget very carefully to ensure you receive maximum returns for your expenditure.  

My step-by-step, lead-generation system High-Powered Ads that Generate Sales reveals where to place your ad – and where NOT to advertise – as well as how to triple the results of ANY ad you write . . . guaranteed! For more information, point your browser to: http://mediaminister.co.uk/products.htm#HPA 

But back to the question of whether you should ditch your branding efforts. I think not. Branding is crucial to any business – at any time and regardless of the state of the economy.

It can reinforce your image so that you stay in your existing customers mind, as well as grab the curiosity of potential new customers. 

Central to effective branding is the concept of consistency. No matter what you do, you absolutely MUST be consistent with your core marketing message. That’s because you want your business image and brand to be easily recognisable, and you want your prospects to conclude that your company is a confident, credible and stable one.

To really strengthen your brand image, as well as being consistent, you should be educating your potential customers about WHY they should buy your product or service (no one likes to be sold, right?). The use of case studies and testimonials is a great way to achieve this. You’ll find plenty of other ideas in posts here on MarketingMoment.

So what about you? How are you educating your customers to increase sales?

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Perfect for testing an idea before making a commitment, a mini or condensed version of the standard marketing plan can prove valuable in a number of ways. Not least to analyse the year before, review where you are now and focus on what you wish to achieve over the next six months.

Start by heading over to this handy page where you can download a variety of one-page marketing plan templates – F.R.E.E. of charge.

By putting it in writing, you will identify tactics and strategies to help you with your business goals. 

Psssst . . . Not sure where to start? As well as offering worksheets and home-study tools, I can give you profit-multiplying advice and pointers on things you can do straight away to attract new business with my Powerfully Effective Marketing sessions.  

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The subject line is one of THE most powerful weapons in your internet-marketing arsenal. Yet it’s one of the most overlooked. So how do you get your emails recognised, opened AND acted upon? Easy, sign up to my newsletter and you’ll receive a ‘hidden’ link to the article I ran on this very topic in last week’s issue.

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Top web advertisers and marketers favour search and email marketing, according to a recent survey carried out by industry leaders ad:tech and MarketingSherpa. The annual survey is a good indicator of what’s working online and what’s to come.

Behaviorally-targeted ads rated higher than any other online performer. The advertisers and marketers questioned plan to invest more in PPC and behavioral ads this year, and move away from poorly-targeted display ads.

Other top tactics include:

- House email lists.

- Testing. Marketers are measuring, testing and split-testing more than ever in almost all categories surveyed.

- Search engine optimisation (SEO) is delivering a strong return on investment.

- Agencies are urging marketers to explore viral marketing and advertising in mobile phones, online video sites and virtual worlds.

The latter reflects the changing landscape of the online advertising world. 

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According to a study by Forrester Research, the top three elements visitors look for in websites are (in no particular order):

1. High-quality information – useful, relevant content is the biggest influence on a visitor’s decision to return to any given website.
2. Ease of use – your site’s architecture should be simple, accessible and intuitive.
3. Quick to load – people are far too busy and will NOT tolerate ‘lag’ time. In fact, they’ll get frustrated if they have to wait more than a few seconds for a page to download, and will abandon it altogether after just five-seven seconds. 

Source: Internet Marketing Report

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The lead article in the latest issue of MediaMinister’s Communiqué for Success reveals that far from being the kind of lovely lady who rejoices in handing out cough drops while sipping chamomile tea, Aunty AIDA is more akin to Checkpoint Charlie in character.

AIDA is in fact one of the most useful formulas for keeping your creative thinking on tap. And it has the potential to substitute flagging sales with a roaring trade . . . BUT only if you pay attention.

To read the full article and gain hidden links to recent CfS newsletter editions, you’ll have to become a subscriber. As well as being FREE, you’ll receive a business-building report and audio CD simply for signing up and trying it out. 

Subscribe here.

Recent CfS newsletter issues cover:

• The Most Important Action You Can Take For Your Business This Year 

• Recession-Proof Your Business
• Stand Apart From ‘Me-Too’ Competitors 
• Stop! Don’t Post that Letter!
• Common Mistakes that Can Kill Business
• When Push Comes to Shove
• How to Bolster Trust on Your Website 
• Just How Believable Are You? 

Subscribe here. 

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Without a marketing plan, your business will meander along the ‘hit and miss’ path. For you will tend to set no specific goals, and therefore not really progress. Your budget, time and other resources allocation will be either non-existent or haphazard at best. And generally you will – intentionally or not – let things slide.

But all you need to get started is three minutes. Not much, really now, is it?

Sure, a big international player such as Cadbury Schweppes may have a marketing plan that runs to 100 pages. However, your first marketing plan need not be more than one single sheet of A4.

Here are the key steps to getting your marketing action plan moving:

1. Write down in one or two short sentences the purpose of your marketing. Be specific. Examples include:

   • To get published in the local media.
   • To get more repeat customers.
   • To attract new women customers within the age group 30-45.    

   Your goal here is to make sure your marketing goal is a ‘doable’ one. Do not set yourself up for a fall at this stage. Think small, work towards big…

2. Write down your budget for achieving this marketing goal. Be sure to budget enough of your money, as well as time and other resources (eg, staff) to get the desired results from your marketing plan. If you are a start-up, then ideally you will be allocating the majority of your time to marketing. If you are more established, then you may be too busy to put 80-100% of your time towards marketing activities. In that case you would outsource the majority of the marketing tasks to freelance professionals (ie, copywriters, marketers, and so on). 
    
3. Now schedule what you will do and when to get things moving. Eg:

   • By the end of next week I will have achieved…………………………….
   • To do this I will spend ………. hours on marketing activities.
   • These activities will include…………………………………………………….
   • Within one month, I will have completed/acquired………………………
   • The days and hours I will dedicate to marketing each week will be..
   ……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Taking your first mini-marketing plan as an example, you can now go on to develop several for each marketing or business goal. Start right now: one for ‘creating a monthly ezine’, one for ‘referral or word-of-mouth marketing’ and one for ‘developing free samples of your services’. These are just examples; you are, of course, free to choose your own!

Obviously, the above mini-marketing plan assumes that you have already worked out who your target audiences are, as well as your positioning statement, USP and so on. If you need any help in these areas, then there are a myriad of both free and inexpensive tools to guide you.

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At any given point in time, there are a number of major ‘conversations’ going on inside the heads of your prospective customers. This is partly down to the increasing demands on our time and attention… What’s more, your target market will only be aware of a small portion of this inner talk.

So you can appreciate why trying to sell anything – online, via a classified ad, or a letter, wherever – can be nigh on impossible. Until you find a way to stop all that mind chatter. And it’s your opening, or headline, that gets you noticed.

As well as grabbing that all-important attention, a great headline will help pull your readers into the body copy, so compelling them to read the rest of your message.

Here are three top headline formulas that have, over the years, proven to be winners. Try one or all of them in your own advertising and marketing materials, and see your response rates change for the better.

1. The ‘how-to’ headline

Perhaps the most used (and abused) headline of them all. When done well, the ‘how-to’ headline has the ability to dramatically improve the response. I use this type of headline all the time. What you’re selling here is how to achieve a given result. Some examples of ‘how-to’ headlines include:

• “How To Have a Long and Healthy Life”

• “How a Computer Crash Can Be Good For Business”

• “How to Open Your Own Online Shop in Just 15 Minutes”

• “How to Lose the Bloat (Safely) in Just 10 Days”

2. The question headline

Another winning headline formula I use often is the question headline. This can be a very effective way of using headlines, as the question will (or should) appeal to your prospects’ emotions. It’s a good way of engaging your readers, too. When they read a headline written in the form of a question, they’ll usually answer the question in their mind. Examples include:

• “Are You Making These Five Marketing Mistakes?”

• “Want to Stop Spam Once and For All?”

• “Are You Sick and Tired of the Daily 9-5 Routine?”

•  “Does Your Partner Do Any of These Embarrassing Things”

3. The testimonial headline

This is a very powerful headline technique IF you have specific and exceptional customer testimonials you can use. Examples include:

• “Everyone Keeps Commenting on How Well I Look – and I Feel Years Younger Already…”

• “My Website Traffic Increased by 315% In 31 Days…”

• “I Made £276 Yesterday Alone Using Your Marketing System! I Didn’t Think This Was Possible – Especially As I’m No Marketing Expert Myself.”

• ”Tom Jones’s Consulting Is Magic – My Sales Have Increased by 25% Over the Past Two Months!”

Tip: To appear credible, always include your clients’ full names and their websites or the cities they live in. Oh, and be sure to get permission first!

Your headlines literally have the power of making or breaking your marketing efforts. So, take your time and test the different formulas above to see which works best for you. By testing and refining, you should hopefully see your sales grow considerably.

(C) 2007 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved 
Article first published in the August 2007 of CfS –– a free newsletter aimed at helping entrepreneurs, solo professionals and small businesses: 
 

 gain more customers
 secure more sales
 increase website hits
 and generally be more successful in today’s fierce marketplace.

Want to use this article on your own blog, or website, message board or in an ezine? Not a problem! But please give credit where it’s due. You MUST include the following: 

Tracey Dooley of MediaMinister (www.mediaminister.co.uk) is an experienced copywriter, editor and marketer. She has spent 14 years crafting compelling concepts and copy that successfully sell, inform, educate or entertain. =====>Get a FREE business-building audio CD by signing up for her freebie business-building tips, marketing and publicity pointers: www.mediaminister.co.uk.

***Would you like some help in developing or polishing your headlines? I would be glad to help or act as a facilitator for you and your team… Just let me know.

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