Years ago while working in the hospitality industry I had an article published in Frugal Fun magazine. The article was about Author Stephen Crane’s roots to the town of Port Jervis and offered information on historical tours that I created for one of my employers. I have just learned that the article was picked up by Global Travel Review, an International Travel Magazine. If you would like to read the article you can log onto http://www.frugalfun.com/travel.htm or http://www.frugalfun.com/portjervis.html . It is a good example of how article distribution is not a new idea as well as how to use articles to promote tourism packages
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
When it comes to advertising do you spray and pray?
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
Advertising, whether you love it or hate it, all successful businesses must engage in it in one form or another. It is actually how a business chooses to engage in advertising itself that determines whether or not their advertising efforts succeed.
Successful advertising starts with a well thought out plan. Unfortunately many business owners do not take the time to create an advertising plan. Instead they adopt what is traditionally known in the advertising industry as a “spray and pray” approach.
This approach involves scattering a company’s limited advertising dollars far and wide while praying for the best outcome. It is an approach that tends to make business owners more susceptible to affable advertising sales reps and most importantly, it rarely takes into account the company’s overall marketing strategy.
Before any advertising dollars are spent there are crucial tasks that a business owner should engage in. Failing to take into account these tasks will result in wasteful advertising expenditures.
One such crucial task is the creation of a positioning strategy. A positioning strategy simply defined is deciding what you plan to do to position your business into the minds of the buying public. Ideally it should work in tandem with all aspects of your business.
For those unfamiliar with the positioning process here are six basic questions to ask yourself before embarking on the creation of a positioning strategy;
1. What position do you own? In other words, how do your prospects see you now? What goes through their mind when they think of your company?
2. What position do you want to own? Are you the market leader or one of the market followers?
3. Whom must your outgun? Who are your biggest competitors?
4. Do you have enough money? It takes both time and money to position your business in the public’s eye. You will want to think about such things are whether or not you can effectively advertise in more than one marketing statistical area.
5. Can you stick it out? Like question number 4 suggests, it takes a certain amount of resources to get the public to recognize and remember your business. When it comes to successful advertising, you have to have enough resources and be prepared to be in it for the long haul.
6. Do you match your position? There is an old adage that states “just because a zebra wants to be a horse it doesn’t mean that it will become one. In other words, you have to be realistic about what you are selling as well as your company’s resources and commitment level to the task.
Once you have the answers to those six questions you will undoubtedly have a better idea of how to proceed with creating your positioning strategy as well as your overall advertising plan.
In conclusion, don’t fall prey to the “spray and pray” mentality and remember that deciding on advertising can be a lot like traveling, if you don’t first decide on a destination, any road will get you where your going.
Advertising, whether you love it or hate it, all successful businesses must engage in it in one form or another. It is actually how a business chooses to engage in advertising itself that determines whether or not their advertising efforts succeed.
Successful advertising starts with a well thought out plan. Unfortunately many business owners do not take the time to create an advertising plan. Instead they adopt what is traditionally known in the advertising industry as a “spray and pray” approach.
This approach involves scattering a company’s limited advertising dollars far and wide while praying for the best outcome. It is an approach that tends to make business owners more susceptible to affable advertising sales reps and most importantly, it rarely takes into account the company’s overall marketing strategy.
Before any advertising dollars are spent there are crucial tasks that a business owner should engage in. Failing to take into account these tasks will result in wasteful advertising expenditures.
One such crucial task is the creation of a positioning strategy. A positioning strategy simply defined is deciding what you plan to do to position your business into the minds of the buying public. Ideally it should work in tandem with all aspects of your business.
For those unfamiliar with the positioning process here are six basic questions to ask yourself before embarking on the creation of a positioning strategy;
1. What position do you own? In other words, how do your prospects see you now? What goes through their mind when they think of your company?
2. What position do you want to own? Are you the market leader or one of the market followers?
3. Whom must your outgun? Who are your biggest competitors?
4. Do you have enough money? It takes both time and money to position your business in the public’s eye. You will want to think about such things are whether or not you can effectively advertise in more than one marketing statistical area.
5. Can you stick it out? Like question number 4 suggests, it takes a certain amount of resources to get the public to recognize and remember your business. When it comes to successful advertising, you have to have enough resources and be prepared to be in it for the long haul.
6. Do you match your position? There is an old adage that states “just because a zebra wants to be a horse it doesn’t mean that it will become one. In other words, you have to be realistic about what you are selling as well as your company’s resources and commitment level to the task.
Once you have the answers to those six questions you will undoubtedly have a better idea of how to proceed with creating your positioning strategy as well as your overall advertising plan.
In conclusion, don’t fall prey to the “spray and pray” mentality and remember that deciding on advertising can be a lot like traveling, if you don’t first decide on a destination, any road will get you where your going.
Want to know how to choose a show that’s right for your business?
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
Exhibiting or visiting industry trade, association and or public shows can be an integral part of a business’s success if done properly. Some businesses put a lot of effort into the show itself. But they are missing what should be the first step in employing such shows into their marketing strategies – picking the right show.
Not all shows are created equal. Some business owners often fall into the trap of automatically assuming that the bigger the show is the better. This is not always the case. Quite often it is one’s attendance at the smaller shows that yields the biggest profits.
Another common mistake business owners make is assuming that just because they use a certain show every year, they should continue to do so. You should scrutinize every show you attend on an annual basis as a show’s effectiveness can change over time as can your company’s. Different goals equate with different shows.
Which brings us to the first crucial thing you should do when determining which show to attend, ask yourself, what specifically do I want to accomplish at the event? Your answer to that question is going to help you narrow down your show selection.
For example, if expanding your market reach is your goal, look for a show that targets your desired market segment. On the other hand, if market research is more your aim, look for a show that attracts the market your currently in or the one you wish to enter.
Once you have decided on your focus and narrowed down the field a bit go a few steps further. Take the time depending on your goal to talk to the people you want to reach.
Ask your best customers what shows they attend when they are preparing to make some critical buying decisions. Or, if entering new markets is your goal ask the people you’d like to have as customers what shows they attend. In addition, find out what shows your competitors are attending and the track record of the show’s management.
If after all that you are still unsure which show to employ into your marketing plans, engage in a little reconnaissance mission. Instead of exhibiting at a show your considering go as a visitor and check it out first hand. While there walk around and ask other attendees and exhibits what they think of the show. If it all checks out, consider exhibiting at the show the next time around.
In conclusion, considering the high costs associated with shows and the current economic climate it is imperative to take the right first step. Do your research and based on your research choose the right show for you. Your potential profits depend on it.
Exhibiting or visiting industry trade, association and or public shows can be an integral part of a business’s success if done properly. Some businesses put a lot of effort into the show itself. But they are missing what should be the first step in employing such shows into their marketing strategies – picking the right show.
Not all shows are created equal. Some business owners often fall into the trap of automatically assuming that the bigger the show is the better. This is not always the case. Quite often it is one’s attendance at the smaller shows that yields the biggest profits.
Another common mistake business owners make is assuming that just because they use a certain show every year, they should continue to do so. You should scrutinize every show you attend on an annual basis as a show’s effectiveness can change over time as can your company’s. Different goals equate with different shows.
Which brings us to the first crucial thing you should do when determining which show to attend, ask yourself, what specifically do I want to accomplish at the event? Your answer to that question is going to help you narrow down your show selection.
For example, if expanding your market reach is your goal, look for a show that targets your desired market segment. On the other hand, if market research is more your aim, look for a show that attracts the market your currently in or the one you wish to enter.
Once you have decided on your focus and narrowed down the field a bit go a few steps further. Take the time depending on your goal to talk to the people you want to reach.
Ask your best customers what shows they attend when they are preparing to make some critical buying decisions. Or, if entering new markets is your goal ask the people you’d like to have as customers what shows they attend. In addition, find out what shows your competitors are attending and the track record of the show’s management.
If after all that you are still unsure which show to employ into your marketing plans, engage in a little reconnaissance mission. Instead of exhibiting at a show your considering go as a visitor and check it out first hand. While there walk around and ask other attendees and exhibits what they think of the show. If it all checks out, consider exhibiting at the show the next time around.
In conclusion, considering the high costs associated with shows and the current economic climate it is imperative to take the right first step. Do your research and based on your research choose the right show for you. Your potential profits depend on it.
Why are you in business?
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
Ask yourself what is the sole purpose of business? If your only answer is that it is to make money you are missing the broader picture. Stating that the sole purpose of a business is to make money is a lot like saying that the sole purpose of life is to eat.
Eating is a requirement of life, not the purpose for it. Without food people die. Profits are to business like food is to people. Profits should be a requirement of business, not the sole purpose. In other words, it remains as true today as it was years ago, customers abandon companies that do not place a high value on them and they take their money with them.
From an elementary marketing perspective the purpose of an organization is to satisfy consumers’ wants and needs. These wants and needs can be satisfied only to the extent that the business owner understands those that use his products and or services and that he can provide what the consumer wants and needs better than the competition.
In order to do this the business owner needs a marketing plan that contains a targeted marketing strategy. The strategy should define both the market and the tactics used to reach that market. Creating such a plan is actually a very complex and fluid process that requires some degree of marketing skill.
Nonetheless, there are eight basic steps a business owner can take to get started on creating a targeted marketing strategy. They are as follows; define the relevant market, analyze characteristics and wants of potential customers, identify bases for segmenting the market, define and describe market segments, analyze competitors’ positions, evaluate market segments, select market segments and finalize the marketing mix.
Once a targeted marketing strategy is created the ultimate test of it’s success is consumer response and whether or not that response ultimately translates into what your business needs – profits.
In conclusion business owners need to consider understanding and fulfilling the needs and wants of consumers as the purpose of their business. They also want to keep in mind that the keys to understanding consumers are proper research and planning. Those who believe that the sole purpose of their business is to “just make a buck” should remember that without people there can surely be no profits, and without profits there surely will be no business.
For more information on creating your own marketing plan contact a local marketing professional near you. If you do not have a marketing professional near you, you can search for on online at such sites as guru.com or liveperson.com.
Ask yourself what is the sole purpose of business? If your only answer is that it is to make money you are missing the broader picture. Stating that the sole purpose of a business is to make money is a lot like saying that the sole purpose of life is to eat.
Eating is a requirement of life, not the purpose for it. Without food people die. Profits are to business like food is to people. Profits should be a requirement of business, not the sole purpose. In other words, it remains as true today as it was years ago, customers abandon companies that do not place a high value on them and they take their money with them.
From an elementary marketing perspective the purpose of an organization is to satisfy consumers’ wants and needs. These wants and needs can be satisfied only to the extent that the business owner understands those that use his products and or services and that he can provide what the consumer wants and needs better than the competition.
In order to do this the business owner needs a marketing plan that contains a targeted marketing strategy. The strategy should define both the market and the tactics used to reach that market. Creating such a plan is actually a very complex and fluid process that requires some degree of marketing skill.
Nonetheless, there are eight basic steps a business owner can take to get started on creating a targeted marketing strategy. They are as follows; define the relevant market, analyze characteristics and wants of potential customers, identify bases for segmenting the market, define and describe market segments, analyze competitors’ positions, evaluate market segments, select market segments and finalize the marketing mix.
Once a targeted marketing strategy is created the ultimate test of it’s success is consumer response and whether or not that response ultimately translates into what your business needs – profits.
In conclusion business owners need to consider understanding and fulfilling the needs and wants of consumers as the purpose of their business. They also want to keep in mind that the keys to understanding consumers are proper research and planning. Those who believe that the sole purpose of their business is to “just make a buck” should remember that without people there can surely be no profits, and without profits there surely will be no business.
For more information on creating your own marketing plan contact a local marketing professional near you. If you do not have a marketing professional near you, you can search for on online at such sites as guru.com or liveperson.com.
Radio Advertising Secrets
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
With any form of advertising reach and frequency are the keys to your ad campaign’s success. Radio advertising is no different.
Just because you can run your radio ads during a whole host of time slots on a whole variety of stations doesn’t necessarily mean that you should do just that. Take the time to think about your consumers listening and purchasing habits, the radio station’s targeted audience and format, the purpose and message of your advertising campaign as well as what kind of budget you are working with before designing your ad schedule.
Once you know what you want, where you want it and the resources your working with you can begin to sketch out a rough draft of your schedule. Here are a few things to think about while sketching out your draft.
A good advertising rule of thumb to remember is that it takes more than one ad exposure for a consumer to recognize, recall and respond to your ad. It is just natural human behavior. To fully understand consumer behavior you need to first acknowledge that it is based in part on two age old psychological learning theories – cognitive and behavioral.
Think about how young children learn to read and write. It takes several exposures of the letters of the alphabet before they recognize them. Additional exposures until they can recall them and even more exposures until they can use those letters to form and understand words. As the child’s exposure to letters increases so does their mastery of the language.
Positioning your product or service into the minds of the consumer and getting them to not only recognize and recall but respond to your message also takes time. Much like it takes time for children to master a language.
Therefore when designing a radio ad schedule you should try and have at least three exposures run per advertising period. You can use a variety of exposures to get to that number such as 30 sec, 60 sec, 60 min live remote, 15 sec live mention, or 15 sec tags. However, do not get stuck on the mentality that you have to run a certain number of ads and that it has to be during drive time for your campaign to be successful. You can run all of your ads on one day all running between 4 and 5 am if you want to. How do you decide what to do? It all goes back to knowing and understanding your customer. Use your knowledge as a guide.
If your resources are limited consider the less expensive ROS rotating donut ads for multiple or individual messages in place of the more expensive “drive-time” slots. In addition also consider asking your advertising representative if they would supplement your paid ad schedule with free mentions in exchange for you gifting your products and services to them. Items such as gift certificates are normally used by the radio station as part of show sponsorships and or promotional on-air giveaways. Often these giveaways are done during peak listening times so when you employ them you can get a lot of extra “holler for your dollar” without the corresponding big price tag of prime time slots.
In the end, no matter what radio advertising schedule you choose just make sure that the reach and frequency you decide on is right for your business.
If you would like additional information on this topic contact your local advertising professional.
With any form of advertising reach and frequency are the keys to your ad campaign’s success. Radio advertising is no different.
Just because you can run your radio ads during a whole host of time slots on a whole variety of stations doesn’t necessarily mean that you should do just that. Take the time to think about your consumers listening and purchasing habits, the radio station’s targeted audience and format, the purpose and message of your advertising campaign as well as what kind of budget you are working with before designing your ad schedule.
Once you know what you want, where you want it and the resources your working with you can begin to sketch out a rough draft of your schedule. Here are a few things to think about while sketching out your draft.
A good advertising rule of thumb to remember is that it takes more than one ad exposure for a consumer to recognize, recall and respond to your ad. It is just natural human behavior. To fully understand consumer behavior you need to first acknowledge that it is based in part on two age old psychological learning theories – cognitive and behavioral.
Think about how young children learn to read and write. It takes several exposures of the letters of the alphabet before they recognize them. Additional exposures until they can recall them and even more exposures until they can use those letters to form and understand words. As the child’s exposure to letters increases so does their mastery of the language.
Positioning your product or service into the minds of the consumer and getting them to not only recognize and recall but respond to your message also takes time. Much like it takes time for children to master a language.
Therefore when designing a radio ad schedule you should try and have at least three exposures run per advertising period. You can use a variety of exposures to get to that number such as 30 sec, 60 sec, 60 min live remote, 15 sec live mention, or 15 sec tags. However, do not get stuck on the mentality that you have to run a certain number of ads and that it has to be during drive time for your campaign to be successful. You can run all of your ads on one day all running between 4 and 5 am if you want to. How do you decide what to do? It all goes back to knowing and understanding your customer. Use your knowledge as a guide.
If your resources are limited consider the less expensive ROS rotating donut ads for multiple or individual messages in place of the more expensive “drive-time” slots. In addition also consider asking your advertising representative if they would supplement your paid ad schedule with free mentions in exchange for you gifting your products and services to them. Items such as gift certificates are normally used by the radio station as part of show sponsorships and or promotional on-air giveaways. Often these giveaways are done during peak listening times so when you employ them you can get a lot of extra “holler for your dollar” without the corresponding big price tag of prime time slots.
In the end, no matter what radio advertising schedule you choose just make sure that the reach and frequency you decide on is right for your business.
If you would like additional information on this topic contact your local advertising professional.
Promotional Planning Basics
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
There are so many things that go into proper promotional planning that it would be impossible to include them all into one article. Therefore, this article will briefly touch on six basic steps that should be part of all proper promotional plans.
Step One: Ask yourself what it is specifically that you want to promote? Be very detailed in your answer as this will make your promotions easier to plan, easier to run and easier to measure the end results.
Step Two: Take the time to know your audience. Many promotions fail because the business owner doesn’t know enough about their customers. The more customer- centric your company is, the easier it will be to target your promotion to the consumer.
Step Three: Decide how to attract attention. Once you know what your promotional goal is and who the promotion is meant for you will need to decide on an event. As yourself what kind of event will attract the attention of your targeted market and has the best chance of delivering the desired results.
Step Four: Be creative with a purpose, not just for creative’s sake. Consider your customer and your goal and then creatively design your promotion to reach your customer in such a way as to compel them to act. Be sure to choose your media and construct all of your promotional collateral with the idea of motivating your customer to act.
Step Five: Remember timing is important. Your customer should be the most important factor in timing your promotion. You must reach your audience not only at a time when they will be around to be reached, but at a time when they will be most receptive to your message.
Step Six: Conduct proper follow-up including measurement. After the promotion you will want to be sure to follow up on any sales leads generated and to measure the actual results of the event to what you projected them to be. In other words, did the promotion achieve your goal?
Promotional planning can be a complex and daunting task for the uninformed. If you would like more information or assistance in planning a promotional; event contact your local marketing professional. If there are no marketing professionals in your immediate area you can search for one online at sites such as guru.com or liverperson.com.
There are so many things that go into proper promotional planning that it would be impossible to include them all into one article. Therefore, this article will briefly touch on six basic steps that should be part of all proper promotional plans.
Step One: Ask yourself what it is specifically that you want to promote? Be very detailed in your answer as this will make your promotions easier to plan, easier to run and easier to measure the end results.
Step Two: Take the time to know your audience. Many promotions fail because the business owner doesn’t know enough about their customers. The more customer- centric your company is, the easier it will be to target your promotion to the consumer.
Step Three: Decide how to attract attention. Once you know what your promotional goal is and who the promotion is meant for you will need to decide on an event. As yourself what kind of event will attract the attention of your targeted market and has the best chance of delivering the desired results.
Step Four: Be creative with a purpose, not just for creative’s sake. Consider your customer and your goal and then creatively design your promotion to reach your customer in such a way as to compel them to act. Be sure to choose your media and construct all of your promotional collateral with the idea of motivating your customer to act.
Step Five: Remember timing is important. Your customer should be the most important factor in timing your promotion. You must reach your audience not only at a time when they will be around to be reached, but at a time when they will be most receptive to your message.
Step Six: Conduct proper follow-up including measurement. After the promotion you will want to be sure to follow up on any sales leads generated and to measure the actual results of the event to what you projected them to be. In other words, did the promotion achieve your goal?
Promotional planning can be a complex and daunting task for the uninformed. If you would like more information or assistance in planning a promotional; event contact your local marketing professional. If there are no marketing professionals in your immediate area you can search for one online at sites such as guru.com or liverperson.com.
Friday, June 19, 2009
5 Keys To Successful Virtual Events
5 Keys To Successful Virtual Events
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
In today’s economy as marketing event planners take a harder look at their company’s bottom line, shrinking budgets and the trend to “go green” online events are increasing gaining favor. More and more virtual events are being added as a way to reduce the number of their more expensive counterparts - physical events. Some examples of virtual events include trade shows, open house tours, user conferences, roundtables and seminars.
With that said there are five keys to planning and executing a virtual event that businesses should be mindful of.
First and foremost one should treat virtual events like all other events - which means proper planning is still paramount.
Secondly, be aware that interactivity and collaboration are different. Online people tend to communicate in a more straightforward manner than they do in person. In other words keep the “hearts and flowers” speech to a minimum.
Thirdly, remember to plan a post-event strategy. Though approximately 70% of the marketing activity takes place leading up to and during the event itself, another 30% happens after the event ends. You should plan on your post-virtual event time window to range roughly between 30 to 90 days. It is in this period in which you should conduct traditional follow-up to see if your event attendees were happy with the event, if they would like additional information and if they would like to refer your firm to their friends.
Fourthly. proactively manager your guest speakers. Consider a dry run well ahead of time to address any potential speaker and or technological issues. There is nothing worse than successfully advertising a virtual event and on the day of discovering that the technology you were counting on to broadcast it isn’t working properly.
Fifthly as in any event content is king. Event planners should bear in mind that virtual attendees are much more quick to abandon an online event if it doesn’t meet with their needs than they are with a traditional physical event. With a virtual event if they are not happy all they have to do is take a ½ a second to click of your site and all will be lost.
If you are interested in learning more about adding virtual events to your company’s marketing strategy contact your local freelance marketer or find an expert online at guru.com or liveperson.com
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
In today’s economy as marketing event planners take a harder look at their company’s bottom line, shrinking budgets and the trend to “go green” online events are increasing gaining favor. More and more virtual events are being added as a way to reduce the number of their more expensive counterparts - physical events. Some examples of virtual events include trade shows, open house tours, user conferences, roundtables and seminars.
With that said there are five keys to planning and executing a virtual event that businesses should be mindful of.
First and foremost one should treat virtual events like all other events - which means proper planning is still paramount.
Secondly, be aware that interactivity and collaboration are different. Online people tend to communicate in a more straightforward manner than they do in person. In other words keep the “hearts and flowers” speech to a minimum.
Thirdly, remember to plan a post-event strategy. Though approximately 70% of the marketing activity takes place leading up to and during the event itself, another 30% happens after the event ends. You should plan on your post-virtual event time window to range roughly between 30 to 90 days. It is in this period in which you should conduct traditional follow-up to see if your event attendees were happy with the event, if they would like additional information and if they would like to refer your firm to their friends.
Fourthly. proactively manager your guest speakers. Consider a dry run well ahead of time to address any potential speaker and or technological issues. There is nothing worse than successfully advertising a virtual event and on the day of discovering that the technology you were counting on to broadcast it isn’t working properly.
Fifthly as in any event content is king. Event planners should bear in mind that virtual attendees are much more quick to abandon an online event if it doesn’t meet with their needs than they are with a traditional physical event. With a virtual event if they are not happy all they have to do is take a ½ a second to click of your site and all will be lost.
If you are interested in learning more about adding virtual events to your company’s marketing strategy contact your local freelance marketer or find an expert online at guru.com or liveperson.com
The Write Way To Promote Your Business For Free
The Write Way To Promote Your Business For Free
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
In today’s tough economy it is crucial that businesses get “creative” with their marketing techniques. Including employing low to no-cost methods such as “article distribution”.
Article distribution is an age old marketing technique wherein businesspeople write articles that focus on their business to achieve, in part, free exposure and brand positioning.
Two main keys to effective article distribution is to write articles that are long on helpful information and short on pure advertising. For example, a custom framing shop could write an article on the proper way to frame a photograph as opposed to one wherein they merely extol how wonderful their frame work is.
Once written the article should be sent to assorted media outlets including article distribution web sites such as ArticleDashboard.com and Searchwarp.com.
For those not familiar with article distribution websites, they are designed to be article warehouses where countless on and offline publishers go to get news and or articles to publish as fillers in their publications.
By uploading your articles to such websites businesspeople get wide exposure of their business at no cost.
If you are uncomfortable with writing your own articles or unsure how to go about distributing them, you can invest in hiring a professional freelance copywriter. If there are no copywriters in your geographical area you can log onto such sites as guru.com or liver person.com and hire one to complete the piece vie telecommuting.
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
In today’s tough economy it is crucial that businesses get “creative” with their marketing techniques. Including employing low to no-cost methods such as “article distribution”.
Article distribution is an age old marketing technique wherein businesspeople write articles that focus on their business to achieve, in part, free exposure and brand positioning.
Two main keys to effective article distribution is to write articles that are long on helpful information and short on pure advertising. For example, a custom framing shop could write an article on the proper way to frame a photograph as opposed to one wherein they merely extol how wonderful their frame work is.
Once written the article should be sent to assorted media outlets including article distribution web sites such as ArticleDashboard.com and Searchwarp.com.
For those not familiar with article distribution websites, they are designed to be article warehouses where countless on and offline publishers go to get news and or articles to publish as fillers in their publications.
By uploading your articles to such websites businesspeople get wide exposure of their business at no cost.
If you are uncomfortable with writing your own articles or unsure how to go about distributing them, you can invest in hiring a professional freelance copywriter. If there are no copywriters in your geographical area you can log onto such sites as guru.com or liver person.com and hire one to complete the piece vie telecommuting.
Number One Secret Businesses Need To Know About Blog Usage
Number One Secret Businesses Need To Know About Blog Usage
By Mrs. Killeen M. Gonzalez
It is estimated that there are over 133 million blog records indexed in the U.S alone since 2002, Further support of the widespread use of blogs can be found in the 2008 study from Universal McCann that revealed over 77 percent of active Internet users read blogs.
Given the widespread use of blogs it is easy to see that blogs are an important and inexpensive marketing tool that businesses can use to build brand awareness, drive traffic to their websites, promote their products and services, attract new customers and network with current customers. Before any of that can happen though, you have to understand the secrets of both how to set the blog up and the best techniques to use to make the blog both intergraded and profitable. Read on for three secrets to making your business blog work for you.
The number one secret to making your business blog work for you is content. You will want your blog to meet the needs and wants of those who visit it. It must also work in harmony with your overall marketing plan. A professional freelance marketeer can help you with this or you can try and achieve it on your own through careful research.
If you are unsure of what to put on your blog you can log onto www.compete.com. Compete.com is a free online tool that lets you see website traffic numbers for up to 5 websites including sub-domains. You can use the tool to find the top visited blogs in your industry and check out how they have their blog set up. Once you’ve viewed the top sites you may have a better idea of what you want to write about on your blog.
Secret number two is that once you’ve established your content be sure to consider additional ways to make your company’s blog work for you such as advertising through pay-per-click programs like Google AdSense or display ads. If you are not sure what companies to approach about advertising on your blog you can match you blog content to that of your potential advertising partners by using either ValueClick or Tribal Fusion. Both ValueClick and Tribal Fusion have extensive networks of advertisers that you can match your blog’s content to, which greatly increases your advertising conversion rates.
An last but not least Secret number three has to do with E-mail. With the price of postage climbing ever higher, it makes sense to use your blog to set up E-Mail sign-up programs so that you can send out targeted E-Mail offers at a fraction of snail mail costs. FeedBurner is a good ( and free ) e-mail collection service that any business can use. FeedBurner is offered through Google. If FeedBurner isn’t for you, there are other e-mail service providers out there that offer ways to collect and manage your blog subscriber data. Some services manage the collected data for you whereas others such as Best Contact Form and FormSpring let you set up your own forms to collect names, e-mails and demographics that you can then import into your own marketing programs.
For additional information about low to no cost ways to market your business online contact a professional freelance marketer for assistance. You can find one on such websites as www.guru.com or www.liverperson.com.
By Mrs. Killeen M. Gonzalez
It is estimated that there are over 133 million blog records indexed in the U.S alone since 2002, Further support of the widespread use of blogs can be found in the 2008 study from Universal McCann that revealed over 77 percent of active Internet users read blogs.
Given the widespread use of blogs it is easy to see that blogs are an important and inexpensive marketing tool that businesses can use to build brand awareness, drive traffic to their websites, promote their products and services, attract new customers and network with current customers. Before any of that can happen though, you have to understand the secrets of both how to set the blog up and the best techniques to use to make the blog both intergraded and profitable. Read on for three secrets to making your business blog work for you.
The number one secret to making your business blog work for you is content. You will want your blog to meet the needs and wants of those who visit it. It must also work in harmony with your overall marketing plan. A professional freelance marketeer can help you with this or you can try and achieve it on your own through careful research.
If you are unsure of what to put on your blog you can log onto www.compete.com. Compete.com is a free online tool that lets you see website traffic numbers for up to 5 websites including sub-domains. You can use the tool to find the top visited blogs in your industry and check out how they have their blog set up. Once you’ve viewed the top sites you may have a better idea of what you want to write about on your blog.
Secret number two is that once you’ve established your content be sure to consider additional ways to make your company’s blog work for you such as advertising through pay-per-click programs like Google AdSense or display ads. If you are not sure what companies to approach about advertising on your blog you can match you blog content to that of your potential advertising partners by using either ValueClick or Tribal Fusion. Both ValueClick and Tribal Fusion have extensive networks of advertisers that you can match your blog’s content to, which greatly increases your advertising conversion rates.
An last but not least Secret number three has to do with E-mail. With the price of postage climbing ever higher, it makes sense to use your blog to set up E-Mail sign-up programs so that you can send out targeted E-Mail offers at a fraction of snail mail costs. FeedBurner is a good ( and free ) e-mail collection service that any business can use. FeedBurner is offered through Google. If FeedBurner isn’t for you, there are other e-mail service providers out there that offer ways to collect and manage your blog subscriber data. Some services manage the collected data for you whereas others such as Best Contact Form and FormSpring let you set up your own forms to collect names, e-mails and demographics that you can then import into your own marketing programs.
For additional information about low to no cost ways to market your business online contact a professional freelance marketer for assistance. You can find one on such websites as www.guru.com or www.liverperson.com.
In Business, True Listening Creates True Wealth
In Business, True Listening Creates True Wealth
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
With a downward spiraling economy and customer expectations shifting, companies must respect, value and listen to their customers like never before. Many companies are realizing that being able to execute a consistent high-quality customer experience has become more of a necessity because people on a whole are being much more discretionary with their spending.
Marketing and economic data supports this theory. According to Carlson Marketing, in a good economy “U.S. companies lose 50% of their customers every five years. Yet just a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by nearly 100%. With that it is not hard to imagine that in today’s economy customer loss can sound the death knell of a once profitable business.
Listening to your customers is not a “new” or complicated business idea. However, with the advent of the internet the ways in which a company can effectively and efficiently listen and respond to their customers has both changed and increased dramatically over the years.
Nowadays building a successful customer driven marketing plan requires a balance of technologies and strategies that are coordinated, insightful and responsive. Creating such a plan requires that you first look at the degree to which your current business strategy creates tangible value for your customers. And secondly that you use what you learn from your customers to guide your company’s decision making.
It is imperative to remember that today’s definition of customer driven marketing requires more than the use of technology. It requires a seamless integration of that technology along with a variety of other marketing, sales and customer service tactics. Furthermore, it requires that the customers always remain at the center of your thinking and that you communicate that through all of your company’s activities.
There are both tried and true as well as new and exciting ways to listen to and engage your customers such as surveys, social networking, and live chat. There are also countless ways to analyze and measure the data received while actively listening to ones customers. That customer data, if used properly, can make the difference between a successful company and an unsuccessful one. This article will attempt to touch briefly on a few of these techniques.
First and foremost, to truly have a fresh and accurate perspective on it’s customers attitudes, a company should conduct monthly or quarterly surveys of a random sample of customers. The survey questions should be pertinent and measurable. The information gleaned from the surveys should then be factored into the company’s overall marketing research data.
Secondly, fusing surveys with social networking is another prudent approach. Doing this helps to give companies an unprecedented opportunity to uncover and act on the voice of their customer base in real time both effectively and efficiently. Unlike pre-formed survey questions, social networking sites give the consumer an opportunity to tell you what is on their mind as opposed to what you think to ask them in your surveys. They are a great way to uncover information that you may not have thought about as being important to your customers.
It is important to note that the social networking audience is growing exponentially each year. In 2008, 79.5 million people ( 41% of the U.S. Internet population ) visited social networking sites at least once a month. By 2013, an estimated 52% of Internet users are projected to be regular social network visitors. With data such as this it is clear that it would behoove companies to start and or perfect their forays into the social networking realm as quickly as possible.
As part of including social networking in your marketing plan consider putting your best customers to work for you by engaging them to participate in online communities and or focus groups. Word-of-mouth referrals have been and remain one of the best new business prospecting sources out there. People are more apt to take the word of their peers about the value of your product or service than they are from a company spokesperson. And don’t shy away from customer complaints. A customer complaint handled successfully is worth it’s weight in gold.
Thirdly, though not yet considered “mainstream” another good approach is employing “live chat”. Providing customers assistance in real time, live chat can take on many forms and can take place via text or voice activation. It is most frequently used for sales and support based functions in combination with the traditional call center modules.
Gathering customer data both online and in more traditional ways is just half of the battle. Many people are aware of the more traditional marketing analysis techniques. But not all are aware of how to obtain and analysis on-line marketing data. This is done through what is generically called web analytics. Web analytics are not really new. For years savvy marketers have been looking at web analytics such as bounce rates, click paths, find ability, lead scoring and multiple conversion streams. It is just that nowadays web analytics are becoming more in-depth and thus giving a firm a deeper understanding of their customer’s buying patterns.
For those just starting out or on a limited budget there are free analytic services offered by sites such as Google. In addition there are other web sites that offer inexpensive ways to get started with web analytics such as click-tale.com, CrazyEgg.com and Pagealizer.com. You will need to shop around to find the analytic service that is right for you.
Once you have integrated technology and top-notch customer service you can better personalize your customers experience and anticipate customer needs while maximizing promotional spending. It all comes down to ultimately realizing that the relationship between effectively applying customer feedback insight and customer retention is the key to profitability in any economy. In other words, true listening is the key to a company’s true wealth.
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
With a downward spiraling economy and customer expectations shifting, companies must respect, value and listen to their customers like never before. Many companies are realizing that being able to execute a consistent high-quality customer experience has become more of a necessity because people on a whole are being much more discretionary with their spending.
Marketing and economic data supports this theory. According to Carlson Marketing, in a good economy “U.S. companies lose 50% of their customers every five years. Yet just a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by nearly 100%. With that it is not hard to imagine that in today’s economy customer loss can sound the death knell of a once profitable business.
Listening to your customers is not a “new” or complicated business idea. However, with the advent of the internet the ways in which a company can effectively and efficiently listen and respond to their customers has both changed and increased dramatically over the years.
Nowadays building a successful customer driven marketing plan requires a balance of technologies and strategies that are coordinated, insightful and responsive. Creating such a plan requires that you first look at the degree to which your current business strategy creates tangible value for your customers. And secondly that you use what you learn from your customers to guide your company’s decision making.
It is imperative to remember that today’s definition of customer driven marketing requires more than the use of technology. It requires a seamless integration of that technology along with a variety of other marketing, sales and customer service tactics. Furthermore, it requires that the customers always remain at the center of your thinking and that you communicate that through all of your company’s activities.
There are both tried and true as well as new and exciting ways to listen to and engage your customers such as surveys, social networking, and live chat. There are also countless ways to analyze and measure the data received while actively listening to ones customers. That customer data, if used properly, can make the difference between a successful company and an unsuccessful one. This article will attempt to touch briefly on a few of these techniques.
First and foremost, to truly have a fresh and accurate perspective on it’s customers attitudes, a company should conduct monthly or quarterly surveys of a random sample of customers. The survey questions should be pertinent and measurable. The information gleaned from the surveys should then be factored into the company’s overall marketing research data.
Secondly, fusing surveys with social networking is another prudent approach. Doing this helps to give companies an unprecedented opportunity to uncover and act on the voice of their customer base in real time both effectively and efficiently. Unlike pre-formed survey questions, social networking sites give the consumer an opportunity to tell you what is on their mind as opposed to what you think to ask them in your surveys. They are a great way to uncover information that you may not have thought about as being important to your customers.
It is important to note that the social networking audience is growing exponentially each year. In 2008, 79.5 million people ( 41% of the U.S. Internet population ) visited social networking sites at least once a month. By 2013, an estimated 52% of Internet users are projected to be regular social network visitors. With data such as this it is clear that it would behoove companies to start and or perfect their forays into the social networking realm as quickly as possible.
As part of including social networking in your marketing plan consider putting your best customers to work for you by engaging them to participate in online communities and or focus groups. Word-of-mouth referrals have been and remain one of the best new business prospecting sources out there. People are more apt to take the word of their peers about the value of your product or service than they are from a company spokesperson. And don’t shy away from customer complaints. A customer complaint handled successfully is worth it’s weight in gold.
Thirdly, though not yet considered “mainstream” another good approach is employing “live chat”. Providing customers assistance in real time, live chat can take on many forms and can take place via text or voice activation. It is most frequently used for sales and support based functions in combination with the traditional call center modules.
Gathering customer data both online and in more traditional ways is just half of the battle. Many people are aware of the more traditional marketing analysis techniques. But not all are aware of how to obtain and analysis on-line marketing data. This is done through what is generically called web analytics. Web analytics are not really new. For years savvy marketers have been looking at web analytics such as bounce rates, click paths, find ability, lead scoring and multiple conversion streams. It is just that nowadays web analytics are becoming more in-depth and thus giving a firm a deeper understanding of their customer’s buying patterns.
For those just starting out or on a limited budget there are free analytic services offered by sites such as Google. In addition there are other web sites that offer inexpensive ways to get started with web analytics such as click-tale.com, CrazyEgg.com and Pagealizer.com. You will need to shop around to find the analytic service that is right for you.
Once you have integrated technology and top-notch customer service you can better personalize your customers experience and anticipate customer needs while maximizing promotional spending. It all comes down to ultimately realizing that the relationship between effectively applying customer feedback insight and customer retention is the key to profitability in any economy. In other words, true listening is the key to a company’s true wealth.
Psychographics VS Demographics
Psychographics VS Demographics
By Mrs. Killeen M. Gonzalez
Ever wonder what the difference is between demographics and psychographics?
In a nutshell, demographics allow marketers to describe who buys, but psychographics enables them to understand why people buy. That is the crucial difference.
Demographics are observable measurable segments of a populations characteristics such as age, family size, gender, race, ethnicity, income, and education. These segments have long been used to create consumer profiles out of any given population. A demographic segment however does not take into account the important of one’s culture on one‘s behavior.
Continually evolving, the effects of culture on consumer behavior have long held great depth and breadth. In essence understanding a culture is a lot like putting your finger on the pulse of a society’s personality. It is an important element in diagnosing the overall health of any marketing plan.
Unlike demographics, psychographics uses psychological, sociological and anthropological factors to determine how the market is segmented by the predilection of groups within the market as well as their reasons to make a buying decision, hold a certain point of view or employ a medium in a particular way. It was developed circa 1960’s and 1970’s as part of an effort to address the shortcomings of relying purely on demographics to create consumer profiles. It took the information gleaned by the broader demographic segmentations and further divided it based on cultural related markers such as values, activities, interests, opinions and overall lifestyles.
There are many segmentation systems used through the psychographic research field. Perhaps the most renowned segmentation system was created circa 1980 by Arnold Mitchell. Mitchell’s system placed consumers into one of 9 lifestyle clusters which he referred to as “VALS”. Though his original system has been modified throughout the years, it was originally based on the splicing together of perspectives from two well-known social scientists, Abraham Maslow (psychologist) and David Riesman (sociologist).
Today instead of directly referring to the original VALS system, many marketers segment using generational names such as Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y.
With psychographics, once the larger lifestyle segments are determined, the market researcher must then ascertain which segments are producing the bulk of customers for a particular product. This action follows an old business rule, that of the 20/80 split. For those not familiar with the 20/80 rule, in marketing the rule dictates that 20% of a product or services’ users accounts for 80% of the volume of the product or service sold. To better analyze the life segment data and determine who the products‘ 20% are marketers look at things such as patterns of usage and the attitudes of heavy users towards the product. Not all heavy users will be the same. It is well known that different people have different reasons for doing the same thing. It is the market researchers job to use what they learned from both demographic and psychographic research to better understand those various reasons.
In conclusion, in order to be successful in today’s world marketers need to employ both demographic and psychographic data into their marketing plans. Though both are needed it is good to understand that the critical difference between demographics and psychographics is the type of information gathered. Demographics tells you who your customers are whereas psychographics helps you better understand why your customers buy in the manner that they do.
By Mrs. Killeen M. Gonzalez
Ever wonder what the difference is between demographics and psychographics?
In a nutshell, demographics allow marketers to describe who buys, but psychographics enables them to understand why people buy. That is the crucial difference.
Demographics are observable measurable segments of a populations characteristics such as age, family size, gender, race, ethnicity, income, and education. These segments have long been used to create consumer profiles out of any given population. A demographic segment however does not take into account the important of one’s culture on one‘s behavior.
Continually evolving, the effects of culture on consumer behavior have long held great depth and breadth. In essence understanding a culture is a lot like putting your finger on the pulse of a society’s personality. It is an important element in diagnosing the overall health of any marketing plan.
Unlike demographics, psychographics uses psychological, sociological and anthropological factors to determine how the market is segmented by the predilection of groups within the market as well as their reasons to make a buying decision, hold a certain point of view or employ a medium in a particular way. It was developed circa 1960’s and 1970’s as part of an effort to address the shortcomings of relying purely on demographics to create consumer profiles. It took the information gleaned by the broader demographic segmentations and further divided it based on cultural related markers such as values, activities, interests, opinions and overall lifestyles.
There are many segmentation systems used through the psychographic research field. Perhaps the most renowned segmentation system was created circa 1980 by Arnold Mitchell. Mitchell’s system placed consumers into one of 9 lifestyle clusters which he referred to as “VALS”. Though his original system has been modified throughout the years, it was originally based on the splicing together of perspectives from two well-known social scientists, Abraham Maslow (psychologist) and David Riesman (sociologist).
Today instead of directly referring to the original VALS system, many marketers segment using generational names such as Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y.
With psychographics, once the larger lifestyle segments are determined, the market researcher must then ascertain which segments are producing the bulk of customers for a particular product. This action follows an old business rule, that of the 20/80 split. For those not familiar with the 20/80 rule, in marketing the rule dictates that 20% of a product or services’ users accounts for 80% of the volume of the product or service sold. To better analyze the life segment data and determine who the products‘ 20% are marketers look at things such as patterns of usage and the attitudes of heavy users towards the product. Not all heavy users will be the same. It is well known that different people have different reasons for doing the same thing. It is the market researchers job to use what they learned from both demographic and psychographic research to better understand those various reasons.
In conclusion, in order to be successful in today’s world marketers need to employ both demographic and psychographic data into their marketing plans. Though both are needed it is good to understand that the critical difference between demographics and psychographics is the type of information gathered. Demographics tells you who your customers are whereas psychographics helps you better understand why your customers buy in the manner that they do.
Better Utilize Your Company’s Web Presence
Better Utilize Your Company’s Web Presence
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
Company websites are only as valuable as the effort you put into them. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons many business owners do not fully utilize their web presence in their overall marketing efforts. With that said, here are just 7 of the many low to no-cost ways you can better utilize your company’s web presence.
1. Submit your website address to various directories and search engines. Just because you have a web site doesn’t automatically mean that it is listed in every popular directory or search engine. You have to submit your sites URL to these directories. Some directory services like DMOZ are free, whereas other directories like Yahoo charge a fee for site listings. In addition to general directories do not forget to consider submitting your site to Niche directories. Niche directories typically focus on a specific industry and can often provide more marketing value than general directory submissions. Not having your website listed in the popular search engines and directories is a little like not listing your business in the phone book. It just doesn’t make sense.
2. Remember keywords are key! When you are submitting your website address to the assorted directories and search engines, you will need to choose keywords that best describe your business. To discover what keywords are best for your business, you can enlist the help of a free online tool called “Google External Keyword” (GEK). GEK users can type in a potential keyword and Google will show the user the total number of searches using that keyword in the past month. Naturally you will want to pay special attention to what keywords are most popular in your search category. GEK will also generate for its users other potential keywords that they may want to consider when listing their website. Not only is keyword information helpful when attempting to increase your web sites ranking, it is helpful for business owners who want to understand more about how their target market searches for products and services.
3. Search out the competition. Business owners should periodically conduct their own internet searches using assorted keywords and then take note of what web sites are coming up in the top 10 slots. If your competitors web sites are coming up in the top 10 search results (SERPS - Search Engine Results Pages) but your company listing is buried at the bottom of the list you are going to want to investigate why. It could be that your web site needs updating, that your using the wrong priority of keywords, or that your not listed in enough directories or search engines.
4. Invest In Social Media. Nowadays it is a smart investment to build a profile on social media sites as well as social media article distribution. When creating your profile consider creating two profiles. One that focuses on the company name and one that focuses on the company as a brand. Furthermore, as is always the case when writing articles, make sure your content is audience specific. A social media-centric audience is different as opposed to a more traditional one.
5. Join The Blogging World. It is a good idea to create a blog and link it to your company’s main web site. It is essential that your blog’s content meets the needs and wants of your customers. Remember, it is also imperative that your blog seamlessly integrates with all your other marketing efforts. Once your blog is established be sure to submit it to the top blog directories out there such as NetworkedBlogs to gain it more exposure. NetworkedBlogs is affiliated with FaceBook and allows users to not only search through hundreds of blog listing but also add the content of their favorite blogs as widgets to their profiles. In addition to directory submissions, consider piggybacking your blog posts with your company’s social media profiles and employing at least basic linking strategies.
6. Sign Up A For E-mail Collection Service. E-mail subscriptions are just one efficient and effective way to send your target audience valuable information. Almost all e-mail service providers offer ways to collect and manage subscriber information. Some even offer Feed Reader services which is a potenant method of disseminating your company‘s information. The costs of such services varies so you will need to conduct research to see which ESP and or Feed Reader service would best meet your company’s needs.
7. Develop A Linking Strategy. Linking your web site to others who address your target audience’s needs is a wise choice. For example, a “green” hotel can request a link to a company that sells “green” products. Linking strategies shouldn’t focus on the quantity of the links but the quality of them. In order to determine if a website is worth linking to you will need to engage in some research. There are several web sites out there that can help you discover a websites demographics data such as Quantcast.com. You can use such sites to locate some of your industries top websites and then approach those sites about reciprocal linking.
In conclusion, don’t let your company’s web site be the proverbial “red-headed step-child” of your marketing plan. There are many low to no cost easy ways to rev up your websites revenue potential. You just have to learn how. If done correctly increased web traffic translates to more company profitability. If you need assistance in revving up your website, contact your local freelance marketing professional. If you don’t have such a person in your area, you can find freelance marketers online at sites such as guru.com or liveperson.com who can assist you in your efforts electronically.
By Killeen M. Gonzalez
Company websites are only as valuable as the effort you put into them. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons many business owners do not fully utilize their web presence in their overall marketing efforts. With that said, here are just 7 of the many low to no-cost ways you can better utilize your company’s web presence.
1. Submit your website address to various directories and search engines. Just because you have a web site doesn’t automatically mean that it is listed in every popular directory or search engine. You have to submit your sites URL to these directories. Some directory services like DMOZ are free, whereas other directories like Yahoo charge a fee for site listings. In addition to general directories do not forget to consider submitting your site to Niche directories. Niche directories typically focus on a specific industry and can often provide more marketing value than general directory submissions. Not having your website listed in the popular search engines and directories is a little like not listing your business in the phone book. It just doesn’t make sense.
2. Remember keywords are key! When you are submitting your website address to the assorted directories and search engines, you will need to choose keywords that best describe your business. To discover what keywords are best for your business, you can enlist the help of a free online tool called “Google External Keyword” (GEK). GEK users can type in a potential keyword and Google will show the user the total number of searches using that keyword in the past month. Naturally you will want to pay special attention to what keywords are most popular in your search category. GEK will also generate for its users other potential keywords that they may want to consider when listing their website. Not only is keyword information helpful when attempting to increase your web sites ranking, it is helpful for business owners who want to understand more about how their target market searches for products and services.
3. Search out the competition. Business owners should periodically conduct their own internet searches using assorted keywords and then take note of what web sites are coming up in the top 10 slots. If your competitors web sites are coming up in the top 10 search results (SERPS - Search Engine Results Pages) but your company listing is buried at the bottom of the list you are going to want to investigate why. It could be that your web site needs updating, that your using the wrong priority of keywords, or that your not listed in enough directories or search engines.
4. Invest In Social Media. Nowadays it is a smart investment to build a profile on social media sites as well as social media article distribution. When creating your profile consider creating two profiles. One that focuses on the company name and one that focuses on the company as a brand. Furthermore, as is always the case when writing articles, make sure your content is audience specific. A social media-centric audience is different as opposed to a more traditional one.
5. Join The Blogging World. It is a good idea to create a blog and link it to your company’s main web site. It is essential that your blog’s content meets the needs and wants of your customers. Remember, it is also imperative that your blog seamlessly integrates with all your other marketing efforts. Once your blog is established be sure to submit it to the top blog directories out there such as NetworkedBlogs to gain it more exposure. NetworkedBlogs is affiliated with FaceBook and allows users to not only search through hundreds of blog listing but also add the content of their favorite blogs as widgets to their profiles. In addition to directory submissions, consider piggybacking your blog posts with your company’s social media profiles and employing at least basic linking strategies.
6. Sign Up A For E-mail Collection Service. E-mail subscriptions are just one efficient and effective way to send your target audience valuable information. Almost all e-mail service providers offer ways to collect and manage subscriber information. Some even offer Feed Reader services which is a potenant method of disseminating your company‘s information. The costs of such services varies so you will need to conduct research to see which ESP and or Feed Reader service would best meet your company’s needs.
7. Develop A Linking Strategy. Linking your web site to others who address your target audience’s needs is a wise choice. For example, a “green” hotel can request a link to a company that sells “green” products. Linking strategies shouldn’t focus on the quantity of the links but the quality of them. In order to determine if a website is worth linking to you will need to engage in some research. There are several web sites out there that can help you discover a websites demographics data such as Quantcast.com. You can use such sites to locate some of your industries top websites and then approach those sites about reciprocal linking.
In conclusion, don’t let your company’s web site be the proverbial “red-headed step-child” of your marketing plan. There are many low to no cost easy ways to rev up your websites revenue potential. You just have to learn how. If done correctly increased web traffic translates to more company profitability. If you need assistance in revving up your website, contact your local freelance marketing professional. If you don’t have such a person in your area, you can find freelance marketers online at sites such as guru.com or liveperson.com who can assist you in your efforts electronically.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Samples Of My Work
For a while I was a regular community columnist with the Florida-Georgia Times Union Newspaper.
The column can be viewed by clicking onto
http://jacksonville.com/community/cc/kdecker
I worked on the column as a way to promote the company I was working for at the time.
The column can be viewed by clicking onto
http://jacksonville.com/community/cc/kdecker
I worked on the column as a way to promote the company I was working for at the time.
Publications I Have Appeared In & Writing Awards Received
Over the years I have had my writings appear in advertisements, menus, books, magazines, trade journals, newspapers and lyrics. In addition, some of my writings have won awards. Listed below is a partial list of places where my work has appeared, publishing companies I have worked with, as well as a partial list of awards received.
Amherst Society
Amherst, NH
Certificate of Poetic Achievement, 1995
American Poetry Annual, Anthology
The National Author’s Registry
Sterling Heights, MI
1996 President’s Award For Literary Excellence
Achieving Excellence, Anthology
The National Library of Poetry
Owings Mills, MD
A Voyage To Remember, Anthology
The Rainbow’s End, Anthology
On The Threshold Of A Dream, Anthology
Whispers At Dusk, Anthology
The Cambridge Collection
Waynesboro, TN
American Poetics, 1986, Anthology
The New York Poetry Foundation, Inc.
New York, NY
The National Poetry Anthology, 1986
Creative Arts & Science Enterprises
Painted Post, NY
Accomplishment Of Merit, 1996
Journey To Our Dreams, Anthology
Poetry.com
Owings Mills, MD
Editor’s Choice Award, 2002
The Storm Within, Anthology
The Sound Of Poetry, Anthology
Cader Publishing, LTD.
Sterling Heights, MI
Verses Magazine, 1995 Winter Issue
Verses Magazine, 1996 Fall Issue
Verses Magazine, 1996 Spring Issue
Verses Magazine, 1996 Summer Issue
Verses Magazine, 1996 Winter Issue
Poetry International
Alachua, FL
Volume IV - American Poetry Showcase, Anthology
Poetry Magic
Haslett, MI
Over The Rainbow, Anthology
Poetry Unlimited
Mt. Pleasant, TX
Skyline, Anthology
Ages & Stages, Anthology
Sweetheart, Anthology
Illiad Literary Awards
Troy, Michigan
Summer 1995 Contest, Fourth Place
Summer 1995 Contest, Honorable Mention
Winter 1996 Contest, Honorable Mention
1996 President’s Award For Literary Excellence
1997 President’s Award For Literary Excellence
Perspectives, Anthology
Green Valley Publishing
Albia, Iowa
The North American Poetry Review, 1986
Fine Arts Press
Knoxville, TN
The American Muse - A Treasury of Lyric Poetry, Anthology
P & S Publishing
Holly Hill, Florida
P.S. My Heart Belongs To You, Anthology
American Poetry Association
Santa Cruz, California
Volume I American Poetry Anthology
Volume II Hearts On Fire, Anthology
Volume III, Hearts On Fire, Anthology
Hieroglyphics Press
Daytona Beach, FL
Volume I, Kids, Cats & Puppy Dogs Anthology
Volume II, Kids, Cats & Puppy Dogs, Anthology
Volume III, Teardrops & Laughter Anthology
Volume I, From The Heart Of A Poet, Anthology
Volume II, From The Heart Of A Poet, Anthology
Volume III, From The Heart Of A Poet, Anthology
Volume I, Sands Of Time, Anthology
Volume II, Sands Of Time, Anthology
Volume II, Dreams & Wishes, Anthology
Volume III, Dreams & Wishes, Anthology
Volume I, Sunshine & Butterflies, Anthology
Volume II, Sunshine & Butterflies, Anthology
Volume I, Scratch-Ings To A Flea, Anthology
Volume II, Scratch-Ings To A Flea, Anthology
Poetry Publishers Association
Portland, OR
Special June Supplement 1984
Suwanee Poetry
Florence, AL
Reflections, Anthology
The Tender Passion, Anthology
Gifts Of Words, Anthology
Poetry Press
Pittsburg, TX
Love Poem Contest & Anthology, 1995
Mirrors Of The Mind Contest& Anthology, 1995
Freedom Poetry Contest& Anthology, 1995
Cut To The Chase Contest& Anthology, 1995
Pauses In Time Contest & Anthology, 1986
Sparrowgrass Poetry Forum
Sistersville, WV
Distinguished Poet Award
Treasured Poems Of America, Anthology
Frugal Fun Magazine
National Social Worker Magazine
Tri-State Gazette Newspaper
Port Jervis, NY
The Times Herald Newspaper
Middletown, NY
The Charlton County Herald Newspaper
Folkston, GA
The Georgia-Florida Times Union Newspaper
Jacksonville, FL
The Waycross Journal Herald Newspaper
Waycross, GA
The Nassau Record Newspaper
Hilliard, FL
Pike County Dispatch Newspaper
Milford, PA
Pike County Courier Newspaper
Milford, PA
The Raider Newspaper
Port Jervis, NY
Courier Magazine
DBA National Tour Association
Group Travel Leader Magazine
DBA GLAMER Association
Hudson Valley Magazine
Hudson Valley, NY
Destinations Magazine
DBA American Bus Association
International Operators Council Newsletter
DBA Choice Hotels International
Orange County Community College Course Guide Insert
Orange County, NY
Nassau County Broadcasting, Radio
Sussex, NJ
Clear Channel Broadcasting, Radio
Newton, NJ
Jimmy L. Gravely Publishing
New York, NY
Volume II, Themes, Thoughts & Treasures, Anthology
Volume I, Lemons, Limes & Broken Bicycles
Yes Press
Waynesboro, TN
P.S. I Love You, Anthology
Poems: A Celebration, Anthology
Troiano Publishing Company
Derry, NH
Nashville Music Productions
Nashville, TN
Five Star Music Masters
Boston, MA
Amherst Society
Amherst, NH
Certificate of Poetic Achievement, 1995
American Poetry Annual, Anthology
The National Author’s Registry
Sterling Heights, MI
1996 President’s Award For Literary Excellence
Achieving Excellence, Anthology
The National Library of Poetry
Owings Mills, MD
A Voyage To Remember, Anthology
The Rainbow’s End, Anthology
On The Threshold Of A Dream, Anthology
Whispers At Dusk, Anthology
The Cambridge Collection
Waynesboro, TN
American Poetics, 1986, Anthology
The New York Poetry Foundation, Inc.
New York, NY
The National Poetry Anthology, 1986
Creative Arts & Science Enterprises
Painted Post, NY
Accomplishment Of Merit, 1996
Journey To Our Dreams, Anthology
Poetry.com
Owings Mills, MD
Editor’s Choice Award, 2002
The Storm Within, Anthology
The Sound Of Poetry, Anthology
Cader Publishing, LTD.
Sterling Heights, MI
Verses Magazine, 1995 Winter Issue
Verses Magazine, 1996 Fall Issue
Verses Magazine, 1996 Spring Issue
Verses Magazine, 1996 Summer Issue
Verses Magazine, 1996 Winter Issue
Poetry International
Alachua, FL
Volume IV - American Poetry Showcase, Anthology
Poetry Magic
Haslett, MI
Over The Rainbow, Anthology
Poetry Unlimited
Mt. Pleasant, TX
Skyline, Anthology
Ages & Stages, Anthology
Sweetheart, Anthology
Illiad Literary Awards
Troy, Michigan
Summer 1995 Contest, Fourth Place
Summer 1995 Contest, Honorable Mention
Winter 1996 Contest, Honorable Mention
1996 President’s Award For Literary Excellence
1997 President’s Award For Literary Excellence
Perspectives, Anthology
Green Valley Publishing
Albia, Iowa
The North American Poetry Review, 1986
Fine Arts Press
Knoxville, TN
The American Muse - A Treasury of Lyric Poetry, Anthology
P & S Publishing
Holly Hill, Florida
P.S. My Heart Belongs To You, Anthology
American Poetry Association
Santa Cruz, California
Volume I American Poetry Anthology
Volume II Hearts On Fire, Anthology
Volume III, Hearts On Fire, Anthology
Hieroglyphics Press
Daytona Beach, FL
Volume I, Kids, Cats & Puppy Dogs Anthology
Volume II, Kids, Cats & Puppy Dogs, Anthology
Volume III, Teardrops & Laughter Anthology
Volume I, From The Heart Of A Poet, Anthology
Volume II, From The Heart Of A Poet, Anthology
Volume III, From The Heart Of A Poet, Anthology
Volume I, Sands Of Time, Anthology
Volume II, Sands Of Time, Anthology
Volume II, Dreams & Wishes, Anthology
Volume III, Dreams & Wishes, Anthology
Volume I, Sunshine & Butterflies, Anthology
Volume II, Sunshine & Butterflies, Anthology
Volume I, Scratch-Ings To A Flea, Anthology
Volume II, Scratch-Ings To A Flea, Anthology
Poetry Publishers Association
Portland, OR
Special June Supplement 1984
Suwanee Poetry
Florence, AL
Reflections, Anthology
The Tender Passion, Anthology
Gifts Of Words, Anthology
Poetry Press
Pittsburg, TX
Love Poem Contest & Anthology, 1995
Mirrors Of The Mind Contest& Anthology, 1995
Freedom Poetry Contest& Anthology, 1995
Cut To The Chase Contest& Anthology, 1995
Pauses In Time Contest & Anthology, 1986
Sparrowgrass Poetry Forum
Sistersville, WV
Distinguished Poet Award
Treasured Poems Of America, Anthology
Frugal Fun Magazine
National Social Worker Magazine
Tri-State Gazette Newspaper
Port Jervis, NY
The Times Herald Newspaper
Middletown, NY
The Charlton County Herald Newspaper
Folkston, GA
The Georgia-Florida Times Union Newspaper
Jacksonville, FL
The Waycross Journal Herald Newspaper
Waycross, GA
The Nassau Record Newspaper
Hilliard, FL
Pike County Dispatch Newspaper
Milford, PA
Pike County Courier Newspaper
Milford, PA
The Raider Newspaper
Port Jervis, NY
Courier Magazine
DBA National Tour Association
Group Travel Leader Magazine
DBA GLAMER Association
Hudson Valley Magazine
Hudson Valley, NY
Destinations Magazine
DBA American Bus Association
International Operators Council Newsletter
DBA Choice Hotels International
Orange County Community College Course Guide Insert
Orange County, NY
Nassau County Broadcasting, Radio
Sussex, NJ
Clear Channel Broadcasting, Radio
Newton, NJ
Jimmy L. Gravely Publishing
New York, NY
Volume II, Themes, Thoughts & Treasures, Anthology
Volume I, Lemons, Limes & Broken Bicycles
Yes Press
Waynesboro, TN
P.S. I Love You, Anthology
Poems: A Celebration, Anthology
Troiano Publishing Company
Derry, NH
Nashville Music Productions
Nashville, TN
Five Star Music Masters
Boston, MA
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