Online marketing solutions

The Internet has truly been the best thing that has happened for anyone involved in e-mail marketing strategies and e-mail marketing campaigns. With the emergence of the Worldwide Web and a constant growth and expansion of our state of the art technology, a more innovative, creative and more accurate e-marketing keeps evolving, with every campaign and new market segment opportunity found.

No longer for the young, the geeks, or the techies, technology has integrated itself into all our daily lives.  People rely more and more on e-mail and the internet as a source of information and survival.  No longer a luxury, the Internet is a real necessity, essential in everyone’s life. Using the Internet and e-mail to market, generates more sales than the older traditional ways of print, snail mail promotions, and announcements. Nevertheless, any good marketing campaign requires skills and tools to create successful and profitable results.

Whether you are a minor or major player, small or medium business, e-mail marketing has a great appeal to all and is constantly gaining popularity.  E-mail marketing is still the most cost effect tool a marketer has at their disposal allowing for lower costs while resulting in higher conversion rates.  So, how does one effectively use e-mail marketing to market?

Building an E-Mail Marketing Address List
Whatever your profession, an e-mail list plays a very integral role.  Your list will be the heartbeat of your strategies.  Building an accurate list, based on accurate demographics, along with researched behavioral data, will enable you to communicate market your clients, with relevant and interesting information pertaining to their interest, age, gender, and lifestyle.  Whether someone is buying your products, wanting further information on your company, or is visiting your website, you need to build a finely tuned e-mail marketing subscriber list.

Good Content or Just Another Sales Pitch?

Content – Every direct e-mail marketing campaign needs good copy.  Remember, your client may never meet you.  Your content will always reflect your voice, whether it is personal or just another sales pitch.  Their responses and decisions will be solely based on what they see, read, and perceive.  Realistically, both content and a good sales pitch are needed.  Without good copy, no one will read past your first paragraph.

Sales Pitch – Without a good pitch, you may never see any click through results.  But as we have said above, your content needs to be relevant and targeted to a specific audience.  Once size does not fit all.  Demographics and behavioral research proves this out over and over again.  While focusing on relevant and dynamic content, the average user is scanning their inbox using only seconds when deciding to read, keep, or trash their e-mail.  Use that window of opportunity wisely.

Building Relationships
Digital relationships are very fragile and need to be nurtured. Your clients and prospects are constantly being bombarded with aggressive email marketers looking to entice and lure them away, as they build their own successful email address lists.  This action calls for a smart strategy on your part, making sure that you are sending the right message to the right audience.  Bring your campaigns to a personal and dynamic level.  Let your audience know that they are important and their choices and opinions are respected and noted.  Do not give them an excuse to leave.  Loyalty is built slowly and consistency.  Trust does not come overnight.

Create a Secure Environment

Identify Theft is a very real threat.  With a majority of people giving out their personal information online, there is a need to be concerned.  In a report put out by e-marketer.com in March 2010, it was stated:   “Overall, consumers expressed the most concern about conducting financial transactions online, including banking and bill pay. E-mail was a greater concern than online shopping, perhaps because of the wealth of personal data contained in e-mail accounts.”

Never forget that you are marketing to real people, with lives, families, jobs, and responsibilities.  Respect their time and intelligence.  Send campaigns out that are relevant, valuable, and worth reading.  Make your communications worth waiting for and greatly anticipated.

Using effective and powerful tools, does not guarantee success.  Tools cannot do anything by themselves.  As a captain needs to steer his ship, keeping it on course with precise and accurate instruments, an e-mail campaign needs to be kept on course with good strategy, great content, and the right targets to bring in a successful ROI.

Once considered a luxury, (hey I am dating myself), cell phones are now falling out of everyone’s pockets, including kids.  Having a cell phone is like having a watch; you can’t leave home without it.  How exciting it once was to receive a call outside the home!  You felt important, privileged, and singled out from the crowd.

In 2010, from Nextel to Blackberry to IPhone to Android, the transformation of that little cell phone, coupled with the latest state of the art technology, has overwhelmed and excited even us die hard techies.

Nope, it’s not just for texting and taking pictures anymore.  Cell phones are being used to help people in developing nations, bringing global awareness of their needs, raising their living standards, along with diagnosing their problems!

Mobility and literacy
“A variety of other applications for cell phones in remote areas are also being developed, including some aimed at improving coordination in areas where transportation both for people and goods is often unpredictable. One such system, called Transport Link, also developed in NextLab, is a way for people who rely on infrequent bus service to get timely updates on when the next bus will come through their area or to arrange informal transportation with others in the area who have private vehicles.”  Read Entire Article

Predictions for 2013
“Yet, personal mobile devices with Internet connectivity encompass a broad array of devices and with a wide range of functionality that continues to evolve and expand rapidly.  To put this in perspective, the number of mobile devices accessing the Internet is projected to reach 1 billion by 2013 based on research by IDC.  Say “mobile” to most marketers and they think cell phone, maybe SMS (define).”

Mobile E-Marketing Strategies
From an e-marketing perspective, this leads to increased complexity and expense. In order to integrate a mobile strategy to take advantage of this evolving market, here are some basic suggestions:

Conform your e-marketing campaigns for mobile surfers. Make sure your mobile campaign can be easily read on a mobile smartphone.  Most mobile shoppers are looking for high priority items, quickly scanning the surface in between meetings and travel.  They want to find what they need quickly.  As with any email marketing campaign, use brand name they will recognize, with a visible call to action.  Don’t forget to include your phone number, e-mail address, or Web site on the bottom.

Mobile Demographics

Before starting a mobile-oriented marketing program, gather your demographics.  Survey your customers and prospects, finding out which devices they use and what type of mobile content they’d like to receive from you.  Don’t forget to find out what your competitors are creating and sending.

Create a Mobile Website

“Think of where customers are when they access your information and include critical information like phone number, store hours, location and/or directions,” recommends Microsoft Mobile Solutions Specialist Steve Siegel.

Register and Index your Mobile Site on:

• Yahoo.mobi
• msn.mobi
• Google Mobile
• aol.mobi
• 4info.mobi

Based on Nielsen tracking, mobile search grew 102% in 2009.  Remember you can’t be found if you aren’t there.

Mobile Metrics
* Count the number of impressions from mobile Web sites.
* Track your mobile marketing advertising results.
*  Monitor social media stats related to mobile communications.

As the variety and power of mobile devices continue to grow, marketing strategies need to evolve as well.  Remember, whether or not you have a mobile strategy, your prospects and customers are already receiving your competitor’s marketing messages via these devices.  Don’t be left behind.  Your ROI is depending on it.

If you have chosen to try email marketing, you have chosen a good path.  Email marketing is still one of the most cost-effective ways to promote any business.  While balancing your business and life in a tough economy, the tough need to be creative and resourceful.  Using email marketing campaigns enable you to be creative, while learning who your niche market is.  As you know, with any serious investment risk, planning and strategy need to be included to achieve successful results.

How do you Get Started?
There is a learning curve when it comes to sending out direct email marketing campaigns.  You may find yourself having difficulty trying to figure out your first step.  We have anticipated that question and hope that this article will help provide you with good basic starters to get you up and running.  There are no pat answers, so you need to see what will work for you within your budget and time frame.

Mailing Lists for Targeted Email Campaigns

Without a mailing list, you have no one to send your e-campaigns to.  But how do you start?  Normally, there are three options:  Buying a list, renting a list, or creating your own.  If you are a new business, the last choice may be impossible, even though it is the best one.  You may not have time to wait, and need to start somewhere.  Here are your options:

1.    Renting an Email Address List
Renting an email address for direct email campaigns can be very cost-effective.  Whether obtained from email campaigns, direct bulk email marketing, or an email newsletter subscription, these email address lists are a valuable source of sales and leads.

2.    Buying an email address list
The alternative to renting an email list is to buy the list.  Once bought, you have full control over your list sending out your own promotions, whenever you want.

3.    Building your own mailing lists
Building your own mailings lists takes time.  Your reward is the fact that you have managed to create a list of prospects who want to receive your information and e-newsletters.

An Optimized Website:

Getting on board with SEO: How do get started?  Here are some of the key things to know:

Keywords and key phrases: Know the right key phrases or key phrase optimization.  These are the words and phrases that will be picked up by the search engines when someone does a query.

You need the specific key phrases that describe your services or products, strategically placed within your content, thus allowing your site to show up on the first results page, of a search query commonly referred to as the (SERPs).  If you are not sure what those words are, go to Google AdWords – this site will help you determine what words come up in a search.  You can also put your competitor’s website URL in the search to see what keywords they are using.

Back links: Back links are links on one website that lead back to another.  Creating back links to your site is another way to be found.  Here are some suggestions:

1.    Articles: Write articles – get them published with your website and name as a signature.  There are at least 100 websites called Social News and Social Book Marking.  Write an interesting article about your field or something you feel strongly about.  Once published, your article will be parsed in the Search Engines and come up under the right keywords, as well.

2.    Press Release: If you are new and have newsworthy information to share, write a press release about your company or product and get it published on as many press release submission sites as possible.  Remember, it must have a common interest to your targeted audience.

3.    Reciprocal Relationships. Find products that compliment what you do and agree to put their link on your site, with a reciprocal back link to yours.

Networking and Sales Leads: Join Yahoo Groups that align with your goals and business objectives.  Answer questions poised by other members.  Show your knowledge and get your name out there.  Attend different events that partner with other organizations.  Make contacts as you create new leads.  Do not let them grow cold.  Reach out in someway.  Keep your name and company in the front of their minds.

Company Blog: Not only is this a great way to share information about your company or service, but you are communicating to your audience in a person voice.  Blogging is huge, and people love to share their opinions.  Start a conversation with your clients and prospects.  Let them know you are a person, not just a company.

Landing Pages: Before sending out any email marketing campaign, you must have a matching landing page.  This is page will have a specific and clear call to action.  Your page should match your campaign and create a strong sales pitch to the prospect upon landing.

Communication and Permission Email
Before sending any of your leads any email newsletters or campaigns, reach out to them in a personal email or phone call, asking them if they would be interested in joining your newsletter or reading your blog.  Don’t be labeled as a spammer.  Your reputation represents your company, product, and service.

Get informed. Any email campaign marketer needs to become familiar with The federal CAN-SPAM Act protects consumers against unwanted e-mail.

Becoming an email marketer is easy.  Becoming a successful one takes research, time, and planning.  Before taking the plunge, make sure you know how to swim.

With millions of people using the Internet and the Worldwide Web for shopping, communications, and business, reaching your targeted segment online becomes easier each day.  No one can promise any method of marketing brings in 100% results. However, the bigger the marketing mix, the better your chances are for success.

An email campaign marketer should use every resource available to create buzz about their company, product, or service.  The acceleration of knowledge and technology is growing and changing at lightning speed.  Sometimes is seems that we will never be able to keep up, but keeping up and staying on top, are the key elements of remaining competitive.

Marketers are very resourceful people, constantly looking and searching for the latest new technology to help their business be seen and heard.  Well Google and Yahoo are actually out there helping.  Not only do these tools work, but they are free!

Google Local Maps: There are so many ways to be found on the web.  When people are searching for products and services, does your business come up on top?  Do you know how your business ranks in the search engine results pages (SERPs)  Some marketing analysts  have stated, it may take from 3-6  months to gain good rankings.   Is there a way to expedite your business ranking?  Yes, with Google Local.

1.  Go the Google Maps. Click “Put your Business on Google Maps.”  -  If you do not have a Google Account, take a few minutes to set one up.

2.  Log into Google with your user name and password.  Click on “Add New Business”.  Note:  If your business has more than one location, you will need to create an excel spreadsheet and use the selection “Upload a Data file.”

If you need any help or information before proceeding, watch this video:  http://www.google.com/help/maps/tour/

3.  Fill in all the information  You will be able to edit, add photos, etc. after completion  Please read paragraph on top of the website page before going on.   Review all your information before hitting next and submitting.

4.  You will have the choice to be contacted by phone or by post card via mail.  Make your choice and hit submit.

Once you are confirmed, check to see if you are coming up with your search tags in the listings.  Google suggests 7-10 days.  Some people have found their listings within hours of verification.

Yahoo Local Maps.  Yahoo combines a search engine with a yellow pages style type listings.  Yahoo gives most of its space to business listings, while providing a tiny map in the left column.

Go to Yahoo Local Maps.  Click Sign up.

1.  Fill out all the information provided on the screen.

2.  Review and submit.  Yahoo states it will take around 3-5 business days.  Check your submission status at:  http://local.yahoo.com/ – for questions or to contact Yahoo Local,  go to this link:  http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/local/

Be aware, that Yahoo gives paid ads more prominence than Google.

Research and  use every tool available to help create a buzz about your business or service.  In today’s Internet marketplace, you need to be a very active player.   The tools are there, using them is up to you.

Valuable Resources: Here is a link that gives you great sites in which to start networking your site, service,  and brand.  Happy surfing!