Know Your Computer Consulting Clients
Know Your Computer Consulting Clients
If your marketing does not seem to be working it is likely because you don’t know your prospects as well as you should.
In order to market effectively you have to understand specifically who your audience is and how to get your message to them directly. There are many details about your prospects you should know. Missing just one minor nuance could spell disaster to your entire marketing campaign.
A common mistake I see is that business owners make assumptions about their prospects and then base their entire campaigns around these assumptions. Also, since they don’t do any research or attempt to find out details about their prospects, they tend to have a generalized view of who they are marketing too and this leads to generalized marketing campaigns (which are never effective).
You will not be effective marketing your business if you generalize. When you generalize, you fail to speak directly to a particular audience, and as a result, NO ONE will listen to what you have to say.
Whether you are just starting out or you have an existing business, it is very important that you know the demographics and psychographics of your clients.
Demographics are all the tangible details about your clients: Age range, sex, income, education, # of children, own or rent, etc.
Psychographics are all the intangible details revolving around your clients likes and dislikes: interests, hobbies, places to hang out, favorite websites, businesses frequented, etc.
When you are just starting out and don’t have any past experience to base your answers off of, you’ll want to talk with potential clients and find out first hand details about their lives. You may also need to make educated guesses on certain categories and then update/tweak your answers after you get some experience with clients. You should make it a practice to always be re-evaluating your clients, your understanding of your clients, and your marketing. Constant tweaking will make your business efficient and adaptable.
To start, you’ll want to pick a target group that you want to service. Based on your judgement of your area, pick a target market that is in abundance. Are there more middle class, suburban, families in your area? Are there more small businesses? Are there older folks with lower income? Maybe you live by a huge wealthy community?
Decide which target market in your area you want to focus your business around based on what services you are planning on offering. If you start out offering virus removal, you will be most valuable to families with children. Children are major culprits to downloading viruses by mistake. If you start out offering network security and maintenance, you will be most valuable to small businesses with 3+ machines.
Evaluate where your strongest networking connections are in your community and what target market you think you’d have the easiest time breaking into.
After you decide who you want to target, you’ll want to talk with at least 5 or 6 people in that target market and ask them questions ranging from what kind of computer and how many computers they have, what software they use, what tasks they use their computer for (personal, work from home, etc.), what magazines they read, what websites they frequent, how much money they make, whether they are religious or not, what there hobbies are, etc. You’ll want to gauge the questions as you go. If a prospect seems to not feel comfortable sharing information about income, that’s ok. You could instead ask what income bracket
they fall into (e.g. – under k, k – k, k – 0k, etc.). They may feel more comfortable with that.
The more people you talk to, the more common trends you’ll see. You may also learn information you were not expecting. For instance, perhaps you will find out they go to the same church, or maybe love the same hobbies. Any characteristics that are commonly shared will give you more insight into who these people are, what is important to them, and what motivates them to buy. This will start to give you tons of places you can start marketing that you may never have imagined on your own.
This will also make your marketing more effective because you’ll know exactly who you want to get your message to, how to get your message to them, and what to say.
While Web Designing, We Work Closely With our Clients
While Web Designing, We Work Closely With our Clients
Web designing
We are experts in web designing, flash site designing, multimedia, animations, logo designing, graphic designing, web site development, top ranking, promotion, internet business solutions.
The way we design
Web-mantra designs Web sites with a smooth, elegant style, international look, far above the ground impact, a Web-friendly palette, and fast-loading pages to bring hooked on being the most advantageous Web experience: a site that gets it message from corner to corner quickly and attractively.
While web designing, we work closely with our clients to develop a creative direction and architecture for the site, for more detail visit www.10-website-programming-tricks.com refining and building to meet the objectives our clients lay out for us. We believe that chock-full of zip client participation in the design and feedbacks along the way are crucial to creating a site that works for you.
Upon completion of site construction (once web designing is over), web-mantra tests the site’s functionality on multiple platforms and with multiple browsers. Web-mantra will then undertake additional testing to ensure that the site is functioning properly.
Finally, we work with the client’s staff to ensure that it possesses all the technical skills needed to maintain and update the site on a regular starting point because content that is refreshed regularly is one of the cornerstones to having a site that receives repeat visitors.
Logo Designing
Every website is anchored by a logo. At its most excellent, a logo makes a strong first and lasting impression. We have talented designers on staff that can help you by designing a logo that works with your branding and for the online experience.
Graphic Designing
Our clients need sites that inspire people to care about issues and to get a hold involved. Sites that feature a lot of bells and whistles, that not all users can see, don’t serve this purpose well. We make sites that are graphically engaging and accessible to a broad range of Internet users. Great graphics are an important part of web design. You will want to include relevant pictures, a catchy logo and a very distinctive and customized header. Graphics tend to make people feel more relaxed and trusting. If you have pictures of your products or people enjoying your product, for more detail visit www.15-ways-to-boost-website-response.com people can in good health imagine themselves happily using your product or service. Pictures and graphics help make over a website from simply boring text addicted to something that is a large amount warmer, lively and inviting. Having a great header and logo is important as well. These will help to brand name and identify your business.
Marketing Through Keyword Research Will Help You Find Clients
Marketing Through Keyword Research Will Help You Find Clients
On a typical Marketing campaign you will conduct a Market Analysis to determine the viability of a market and to recognize its growing opportunities and trends as they correlate to the strengths and weaknesses of your Business.
To arrive to that determination you analyze the following reasons:
* Market size (current and future)
* Market growth rate
* Market profitability
* Industry cost structure
* Distribution channels
* Market trends
* Key success factors
The Internet world is not a great deal dissimilar, except that on the Internet you arrive to that same discernment by utilizing Keywords and Keywords sentences or phrases.
Keywords are terms or words that link to exact topics. Keyword research will comprise many aspects, such as discovering sales oriented keywords or driving highly qualified buyers to boost your online visits and therfore, sales.
Keyword research is the most important step towards a effective search engine optimization campaign. You have to be very cautious when selecting keywords, as it can be extremely delicate to select targeted keywords for a website.
The selection of keywords must always be based on various aspects such as product names, services, brands, or universal terms. Often times, people forget to target geographical terms when they have international presence.
While conducting keyword research, it’s highly suggested to do a very systematic market research examination to find the best keywords used by search engines to find products and services on the internet – and discover what keywords are targeted by competitors who are thriving in marketing on the internet.
The fundamental step in discovering the top keywords is to prepare a list of the products, topics, and services that you offer. You can also make good use of your website logs to know which keywords have originated you traffic in the past.
Be certain to pick keywords that unmistakably describe your business and goods to lure traffic from the search engines. There are various websites which produce high levels of clicks because of general keywords, but generic traffic might not inevitably generate sales. Just keep in mind that for a enterprise to continue to exist it have to have sales.
Today, users of search engines are conscious of how this work, and how to look for for products and services on the web. Internet shoppers are clever and experienced and they know exactly what they desire; they look for and demand, superior products, quality, price, convenience, service and so on. The more of those requirements you can fulfill, the better the chances of turning visitors into sales that you will have.
Doing this market analysis and keyword research by hand, is extremely time consuming and boring labor.
You can utilize free services such as Google Adwords Keyword tool, Yahoo Keyword tools or, you can take a shortcut and utilize some of the tools that can effortlessly identify the Keywords that will produce the clicks and the revenues. There is some investment involved, but the benefits on accuracy, speed and outcome, make those tools merit it.
The challenge on Internet Marketing is to determine which keywords will allow you to put your products in front of the individuals that are searching for them and that are ready tolikely to purchase.
Maverick Web Marketing – Helps Adelaide Businesses get more, leads, clients and profit
Maverick Web Marketing – Helps Adelaide Businesses get more, leads, clients and profit
Adelaide, Australia. Maverick Web Marketing is based out of the Adelaide, SA area and utilizes Internet Marketing Strategies to bring new customers to local Adelaide businesses. We are an internet marketing company that specializes in getting local Adelaide businesses more leads, more customers, becoming the AUTHORITY for their industry and dominate the web.
Visit: http://maverickwebmarketing.com.au
We are also social media business experts and know how to properly utilize Twitter, YouTube, FaceBook and many other social media sites to help your business. We have perfected a formula that allows us to leverage the power of the internet and create ongoing automated marketing systems for our customers.
We are not an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) company but a search marketing company. We will put your business in front of people who are looking for your products and services online. With more and more people utilizing the internet to find local Adelaide businesses it just makes sense to position your business to be seen.
Traditional advertising is becoming less reliable. Have you noticed that TV, radio, news papers, and the Yellow Pages are all trying to get into the online advertising game in Adelaide? Yet they don’t have a clue what to do. They are grasping at straws trying to figure it out. While they are still trying to make it work they are raising their rates.
Maverick Web Marketing brings an affordable proven option to local Adelaide businesses who are tired of the run around. Most businesses know that they should be doing something different but just don’t know where to turn. We offer a marketing system that produces results fast and continues to deliver long after we are done. (Our Clients can start to see results within 3 days.)
So why not give Maverick Web Marketing a try? We are dedicated to get results for your business-or you get your money back. (What newspaper, radio station or TV channel has ever guaranteed your results?)
Visit: http://maverickwebmarketing.com.au
Ride the Social Media Bandwagon or Lose Your Clients
Ride the Social Media Bandwagon or Lose Your Clients
Recently, Dashal received a fantastic question on our blog. Cindy Kim, a Corporate Communications Executive from Scottsdale, Arizona asked us this question:
“What is your recommendation for agencies that have yet to launch their SM strategy or have no presence at all? I know of several and it’s baffling to me that they are in this wait and see mode. Their media buying is the traditional approach. So I would like to get some recommendations on why it’s critical for agencies to get started and how this impacts results and branding?”
Well according to the classic adage, there are no stupid questions, and this is absolutely not one of them. The question is so critical and timely that Dashal had to respond immediately on our blog.
We’re just happy to be able to answer this brilliant question in response to Dashal’s recent interview about advertising agencies and social media:
http://www.dashal.com/comments/dashal_interviewed_about_social_media_and_advertising/
Any agency that is not engaged with social media is just like any public relations firm that is not blasting RSS feeds from their own corporate website. Both types of firms are social-media-phobic and are doing a huge disservice to their cliental. In today’s market, your clients deserve an agency that is both technically savvy and fully vested in social media tools and practices. And, if you don’t step up to the plate, your clients will turn elsewhere.
Let’s take a look at some current social media usage statistics. Facebook reports that they currently have over 122 million total users and Twitter posts about 22 million average monthly visitors. The difference between social media and traditional advertising is simple. When your company has a “friend,” a “follower,” or a “fan” you have the ability to talk with them again and again and again without having to purchase advertising space to distribute the message each time. Not only can you reach your friends, fans, and followers, but you have the potential to reach deep into their extended circles of personal friends and contacts. Then, if your friends and fans each tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on. You get the picture; the reach of your message expands exponentially – all without the additional hard cost of purchased ad space.
Social media is also extremely powerful in regards to the feedback loop – both for customer service and new product development. In the world of social media, active participants do not hesitate to tell you what’s on their mind – for good and for bad. You are able to get instant feedback from your customers about your product or service. In the best case scenario, your customers rave about your fantastic product or service or give you ideas for new product development. In the worst case scenario, you can also receive negative feedback. But, this too, turns into a positive in short order. Previously, you could not have imagined real-time feedback from customers. Now, if you receive a negative review or comment, you can address the situation immediately and in real time. That’s never been possible before.
Here’s the best advice that I can offer for an agency that is on the sidelines of social media: start today (as in right this minute) or direct your clients to another agency – an agency with bona fide experience in the field. If the agency (or its principals) lack a Facebook page and/or a Twitter account, you shouldn’t take social media advice from them.
If you are starting on your own in the social media world and you are trying to build a presence, the most important thing you need to do is “start.”
The first thing that your company needs to do is to answer the following question: What do you want social media to do for you and your company, product, brand, or service? Will you use social media to field new ideas for product development? Will you use the media as another customer service channel to decrease your call center costs? Will you use social media to help define and preserve your brand identity? Then, decide how you are going to measure the success of your strategy. For example, if you decide to use social media to augment your customer service channel, will you measure success by a decrease in the number of calls that your off-shore call center fields?
From there, determine which social media tool sets will help you best achieve this objective. Twitter? Facebook? YouTube? It’s free and easy to set up your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Tell all of your friends, and ask them to tap into their networks on your behalf. Here’s where the “social” part of social media comes in…telling your friends and asking them to tell their friends is just like having a fun conversation. Make yourself interesting. Would you want to have a conversation with your online identity? People will spread the word if you are engaging and “unfriend” or “unfollow” you if you’re boring. Rude? Sure, but it’s how the social media game is played.
If you ask people to “follow” you or “be your “friend” in most cases they will. People aren’t as evil as I normally rant about. But, turnabout is fair play. Then, return the favor when your friends ask you the same favor. It’s all about being social! You never know who you will meet across these extended networks; your next great lead might just come from a friend of a friend of a friend. Then, spread the word as far and as wide as possible. Put your social media address on your website making it easy for everyone to be a “friend” or “follower.” Stamp it on all of your print marketing material. I even include our Dashal Twitter account on my work email signature. Use social media as a powerful tool that can enhance your brand significantly because of the power of your extended network. Be prepared for the number of people who will see your logo and your company on a daily/weekly basis to grow exponentially. You and your brand will become a household name within this extended network – even if you are not in real life.
Results as you know can vary, but let’s take a look at the @dashahlgroup Twitter account as an example. Right now we have about 2,100 followers which is not bad for a very new account. If we post a URL on one of our blog posts we average about 2 to 4% conversion of people who actually go to our website to read it. So if I post that same URL on Twitter 6 to 8 times in a single day, an additional 100 to 200 people will read that blog from the Twitter post alone. Our Facebook page averages about a 20% lift. Keep in mind that once your accounts are established and you have a solid network, it is free to post your articles, your blogs, your products – whatever. Also if people like what you have Tweeted or posted on Facebook, they are likely to spread the word, RT (Retweeting, to those of you still learning) or repost it on Facebook – an almost daily occurrence on our posts.
For agencies with limited social media knowledge and its affective usage, we suggest that you work with an experienced firm like Dashal. And, trust me, we’re always more than happy to help. I have never subscribed to the theory that I know everything. And, well, most of the time, I don’t. If your agency cannot best help you in this particular area, just find someone who can.
Dashal does social media for several agencies and public relation firms on a third-party contract basis. They simply outsource the work to us and bill the client themselves.
On the surface, the power of social media is the ability to post freely (and frequently!) without having to purchase advertising space, every single time you want to say something. However, the true power of social media lies in the extended personal networks into which your friends, fans, and followers will distribute your message. Spreading your message has never been easier.
There are also several other techniques out there including my favorite, Internet Public Relations. That article will be coming very soon to the Dashal blog. In the mean time, please post any additional questions that you would like us to answer.
By: Nick Harrison – Creative Director http://www.dashal.com
Ride the Social Media Bandwagon or Lose Your Clients
Ride the Social Media Bandwagon or Lose Your Clients
Recently, Dashal received a fantastic question on our blog. Cindy Kim, a Corporate Communications Executive from Scottsdale, Arizona asked us this question:
“What is your recommendation for agencies that have yet to launch their SM strategy or have no presence at all? I know of several and it’s baffling to me that they are in this wait and see mode. Their media buying is the traditional approach. So I would like to get some recommendations on why it’s critical for agencies to get started and how this impacts results and branding?”
Well according to the classic adage, there are no stupid questions, and this is absolutely not one of them. The question is so critical and timely that Dashal had to respond immediately on our blog.
We’re just happy to be able to answer this brilliant question in response to Dashal’s recent interview about advertising agencies and social media:
http://www.dashal.com/comments/dashal_interviewed_about_social_media_and_advertising/
Any agency that is not engaged with social media is just like any public relations firm that is not blasting RSS feeds from their own corporate website. Both types of firms are social-media-phobic and are doing a huge disservice to their cliental. In today’s market, your clients deserve an agency that is both technically savvy and fully vested in social media tools and practices. And, if you don’t step up to the plate, your clients will turn elsewhere.
Let’s take a look at some current social media usage statistics. Facebook reports that they currently have over 122 million total users and Twitter posts about 22 million average monthly visitors. The difference between social media and traditional advertising is simple. When your company has a “friend,” a “follower,” or a “fan” you have the ability to talk with them again and again and again without having to purchase advertising space to distribute the message each time. Not only can you reach your friends, fans, and followers, but you have the potential to reach deep into their extended circles of personal friends and contacts. Then, if your friends and fans each tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on. You get the picture; the reach of your message expands exponentially – all without the additional hard cost of purchased ad space.
Social media is also extremely powerful in regards to the feedback loop – both for customer service and new product development. In the world of social media, active participants do not hesitate to tell you what’s on their mind – for good and for bad. You are able to get instant feedback from your customers about your product or service. In the best case scenario, your customers rave about your fantastic product or service or give you ideas for new product development. In the worst case scenario, you can also receive negative feedback. But, this too, turns into a positive in short order. Previously, you could not have imagined real-time feedback from customers. Now, if you receive a negative review or comment, you can address the situation immediately and in real time. That’s never been possible before.
Here’s the best advice that I can offer for an agency that is on the sidelines of social media: start today (as in right this minute) or direct your clients to another agency – an agency with bona fide experience in the field. If the agency (or its principals) lack a Facebook page and/or a Twitter account, you shouldn’t take social media advice from them.
If you are starting on your own in the social media world and you are trying to build a presence, the most important thing you need to do is “start.”
The first thing that your company needs to do is to answer the following question: What do you want social media to do for you and your company, product, brand, or service? Will you use social media to field new ideas for product development? Will you use the media as another customer service channel to decrease your call center costs? Will you use social media to help define and preserve your brand identity? Then, decide how you are going to measure the success of your strategy. For example, if you decide to use social media to augment your customer service channel, will you measure success by a decrease in the number of calls that your off-shore call center fields?
From there, determine which social media tool sets will help you best achieve this objective. Twitter? Facebook? YouTube? It’s free and easy to set up your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Tell all of your friends, and ask them to tap into their networks on your behalf. Here’s where the “social” part of social media comes in…telling your friends and asking them to tell their friends is just like having a fun conversation. Make yourself interesting. Would you want to have a conversation with your online identity? People will spread the word if you are engaging and “unfriend” or “unfollow” you if you’re boring. Rude? Sure, but it’s how the social media game is played.
If you ask people to “follow” you or “be your “friend” in most cases they will. People aren’t as evil as I normally rant about. But, turnabout is fair play. Then, return the favor when your friends ask you the same favor. It’s all about being social! You never know who you will meet across these extended networks; your next great lead might just come from a friend of a friend of a friend. Then, spread the word as far and as wide as possible. Put your social media address on your website making it easy for everyone to be a “friend” or “follower.” Stamp it on all of your print marketing material. I even include our Dashal Twitter account on my work email signature. Use social media as a powerful tool that can enhance your brand significantly because of the power of your extended network. Be prepared for the number of people who will see your logo and your company on a daily/weekly basis to grow exponentially. You and your brand will become a household name within this extended network – even if you are not in real life.
Results as you know can vary, but let’s take a look at the @dashahlgroup Twitter account as an example. Right now we have about 2,100 followers which is not bad for a very new account. If we post a URL on one of our blog posts we average about 2 to 4% conversion of people who actually go to our website to read it. So if I post that same URL on Twitter 6 to 8 times in a single day, an additional 100 to 200 people will read that blog from the Twitter post alone. Our Facebook page averages about a 20% lift. Keep in mind that once your accounts are established and you have a solid network, it is free to post your articles, your blogs, your products – whatever. Also if people like what you have Tweeted or posted on Facebook, they are likely to spread the word, RT (Retweeting, to those of you still learning) or repost it on Facebook – an almost daily occurrence on our posts.
For agencies with limited social media knowledge and its affective usage, we suggest that you work with an experienced firm like Dashal. And, trust me, we’re always more than happy to help. I have never subscribed to the theory that I know everything. And, well, most of the time, I don’t. If your agency cannot best help you in this particular area, just find someone who can.
Dashal does social media for several agencies and public relation firms on a third-party contract basis. They simply outsource the work to us and bill the client themselves.
On the surface, the power of social media is the ability to post freely (and frequently!) without having to purchase advertising space, every single time you want to say something. However, the true power of social media lies in the extended personal networks into which your friends, fans, and followers will distribute your message. Spreading your message has never been easier.
There are also several other techniques out there including my favorite, Internet Public Relations. That article will be coming very soon to the Dashal blog. In the mean time, please post any additional questions that you would like us to answer.
By: Nick Harrison – Creative Director http://www.dashal.com
Ride the Social Media Bandwagon or Lose Your Clients
Ride the Social Media Bandwagon or Lose Your Clients
Recently, Dashal received a fantastic question on our blog. Cindy Kim, a Corporate Communications Executive from Scottsdale, Arizona asked us this question:
“What is your recommendation for agencies that have yet to launch their SM strategy or have no presence at all? I know of several and it’s baffling to me that they are in this wait and see mode. Their media buying is the traditional approach. So I would like to get some recommendations on why it’s critical for agencies to get started and how this impacts results and branding?”
Well according to the classic adage, there are no stupid questions, and this is absolutely not one of them. The question is so critical and timely that Dashal had to respond immediately on our blog.
We’re just happy to be able to answer this brilliant question in response to Dashal’s recent interview about advertising agencies and social media:
http://www.dashal.com/comments/dashal_interviewed_about_social_media_and_advertising/
Any agency that is not engaged with social media is just like any public relations firm that is not blasting RSS feeds from their own corporate website. Both types of firms are social-media-phobic and are doing a huge disservice to their cliental. In today’s market, your clients deserve an agency that is both technically savvy and fully vested in social media tools and practices. And, if you don’t step up to the plate, your clients will turn elsewhere.
Let’s take a look at some current social media usage statistics. Facebook reports that they currently have over 122 million total users and Twitter posts about 22 million average monthly visitors. The difference between social media and traditional advertising is simple. When your company has a “friend,” a “follower,” or a “fan” you have the ability to talk with them again and again and again without having to purchase advertising space to distribute the message each time. Not only can you reach your friends, fans, and followers, but you have the potential to reach deep into their extended circles of personal friends and contacts. Then, if your friends and fans each tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on. You get the picture; the reach of your message expands exponentially – all without the additional hard cost of purchased ad space.
Social media is also extremely powerful in regards to the feedback loop – both for customer service and new product development. In the world of social media, active participants do not hesitate to tell you what’s on their mind – for good and for bad. You are able to get instant feedback from your customers about your product or service. In the best case scenario, your customers rave about your fantastic product or service or give you ideas for new product development. In the worst case scenario, you can also receive negative feedback. But, this too, turns into a positive in short order. Previously, you could not have imagined real-time feedback from customers. Now, if you receive a negative review or comment, you can address the situation immediately and in real time. That’s never been possible before.
Here’s the best advice that I can offer for an agency that is on the sidelines of social media: start today (as in right this minute) or direct your clients to another agency – an agency with bona fide experience in the field. If the agency (or its principals) lack a Facebook page and/or a Twitter account, you shouldn’t take social media advice from them.
If you are starting on your own in the social media world and you are trying to build a presence, the most important thing you need to do is “start.”
The first thing that your company needs to do is to answer the following question: What do you want social media to do for you and your company, product, brand, or service? Will you use social media to field new ideas for product development? Will you use the media as another customer service channel to decrease your call center costs? Will you use social media to help define and preserve your brand identity? Then, decide how you are going to measure the success of your strategy. For example, if you decide to use social media to augment your customer service channel, will you measure success by a decrease in the number of calls that your off-shore call center fields?
From there, determine which social media tool sets will help you best achieve this objective. Twitter? Facebook? YouTube? It’s free and easy to set up your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Tell all of your friends, and ask them to tap into their networks on your behalf. Here’s where the “social” part of social media comes in…telling your friends and asking them to tell their friends is just like having a fun conversation. Make yourself interesting. Would you want to have a conversation with your online identity? People will spread the word if you are engaging and “unfriend” or “unfollow” you if you’re boring. Rude? Sure, but it’s how the social media game is played.
If you ask people to “follow” you or “be your “friend” in most cases they will. People aren’t as evil as I normally rant about. But, turnabout is fair play. Then, return the favor when your friends ask you the same favor. It’s all about being social! You never know who you will meet across these extended networks; your next great lead might just come from a friend of a friend of a friend. Then, spread the word as far and as wide as possible. Put your social media address on your website making it easy for everyone to be a “friend” or “follower.” Stamp it on all of your print marketing material. I even include our Dashal Twitter account on my work email signature. Use social media as a powerful tool that can enhance your brand significantly because of the power of your extended network. Be prepared for the number of people who will see your logo and your company on a daily/weekly basis to grow exponentially. You and your brand will become a household name within this extended network – even if you are not in real life.
Results as you know can vary, but let’s take a look at the @dashahlgroup Twitter account as an example. Right now we have about 2,100 followers which is not bad for a very new account. If we post a URL on one of our blog posts we average about 2 to 4% conversion of people who actually go to our website to read it. So if I post that same URL on Twitter 6 to 8 times in a single day, an additional 100 to 200 people will read that blog from the Twitter post alone. Our Facebook page averages about a 20% lift. Keep in mind that once your accounts are established and you have a solid network, it is free to post your articles, your blogs, your products – whatever. Also if people like what you have Tweeted or posted on Facebook, they are likely to spread the word, RT (Retweeting, to those of you still learning) or repost it on Facebook – an almost daily occurrence on our posts.
For agencies with limited social media knowledge and its affective usage, we suggest that you work with an experienced firm like Dashal. And, trust me, we’re always more than happy to help. I have never subscribed to the theory that I know everything. And, well, most of the time, I don’t. If your agency cannot best help you in this particular area, just find someone who can.
Dashal does social media for several agencies and public relation firms on a third-party contract basis. They simply outsource the work to us and bill the client themselves.
On the surface, the power of social media is the ability to post freely (and frequently!) without having to purchase advertising space, every single time you want to say something. However, the true power of social media lies in the extended personal networks into which your friends, fans, and followers will distribute your message. Spreading your message has never been easier.
There are also several other techniques out there including my favorite, Internet Public Relations. That article will be coming very soon to the Dashal blog. In the mean time, please post any additional questions that you would like us to answer.
By: Nick Harrison – Creative Director http://www.dashal.com
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The World’s Most Powerful Marketing Model for Freelance Copywriters And Their Clients!
The World’s Most Powerful Marketing Model for Freelance Copywriters And Their Clients!
As a copywriter and copywriter’s coach, it’s my responsibility to offer powerful, on-target advice to my “mentees.” For them as well as myself…and for you…I keep a keen watch on the world of freelance copywriting to pick up on changes and trends.I spent last month musing over numerous clues, statements, conversations, experiences, and purchased research pertaining to the business side of copywriting.
My conclusion? The world of copywriter marketing is changing rapidly …thanks to the Web.
I built my site in 1998. Back then there were few copywriters on the Internet. For a long time, when you keyed “copywriter” into Yahoo, my site would come in at the top along with Bob Bly’s and Ivan Levison’s. I’m sure there were others, but these are the sites I remember.
With so few copywriters on the Web, I enjoyed a virtual cornucopia of new clients for about four years, until copywriter newcomers started pushing my site down and down and down…until even I didn’t look for my site any more.
Like everyone else, I had to start driving business to my site, and as time wore on, it proved a marketing model that worked very well.
But I believe a radical shift is now taking place…
…one that implores you to forget thinking about your WEB SITE as the centerpoint of your marketing and make your FREE EZINE the centerpoint instead!
Why is this?
Because the ezine is emerging as one of marketing’s most powerful…and inexpensive…and superfast… marketing tools ever.
Note that free ezines have been around for a long time. Note also that there are hundreds of thousands of them! And note that YOU are subscribed to at least one
In the early days of the Internet virtually everyone looked upon this new medium…the Web…as one would look upon an extra-terrestrial. It LOOKS powerful, but where does that power come from?
Companies started pasting their employees’ bios on the Web until pirating ran rampant. Then they moved toward wimpy “online brochures.” Now enough testing has taken place and enough time has passed to offer clear direction on what works, what doesn’t, and what wins.
And guess what wins?
You guessed it…the ezine!
Knowing this, I’ve gone from suggesting that my coaching students create a highly-targeted, content-rich ezine (or blog), to requiring it.
My own experience with an ezine (thanks to my Freelancer’s Business Bulletin subscribers), proves the power of keeping in touch with a group of like-minded people. Because I work hard to bring useful content to my readers, my list grows steadily and my unsubscribe rate is low.
That said, here’s what you must know about marketing your freelance business in 2006 and beyond:
Today’s business-building writer should select one primary marketing method and strengthen it with other marketing methods that suit their temperament, location, goals, and target market.
I used to believe that one should pick two or three favorite marketing methods and do them exceedingly well.
Now I believe that new copywriters who are entering the business at ground zero, with no name recognition in their marketplace, should
use as many marketing tools as they can.
I still recommend direct mail as an essential marketing method because it’s the only way to handpick your target audience…to know that the people you’re reaching are of sufficient quality to deserve your time.
Your direct mailings and everything else you do…
participation in discussion boards, article publication, face-to-face networking, cold calls, public speaking, and so on…should drive sign-ups to your ezine.
And it’s from your EZINE that you do your most effective…and least expensive…selling. Over time, as your ezine readership grows, you can abandon your time-consuming direct mailings altogether.
More evidence that the ezine is becoming the world’s most powerful marketing tool…
While on vacation in Oregon I brought along some overdue reading. One piece was Part 2 of Clayton Makepeace’s interview with the legendary Gary Bencivenga. They’re discussing mailing formats, particularly that of the magalog.
Clayton says, “Everyone’s looking for the next big format breakthrough…”
And Gary replies, “I really think it’s here already. I think it’s an e-zine. I’m finding that with the clients I’m a partner with, I almost don’t want to do direct mail anymore.
“It’s too tough to send a 24-page magalog to a prospect who doesn’t know you. I don’t think that direct mail will ever be dead, but rising paper costs, rising printing, and rising skepticism argue against people responding to cold mailings that are trying to sell them something right on the spot.
“I think these factors argue instead for an elongated courtship of an e-zine that is of great value, where the selling process starts more subtly, a lot more softly. Perhaps in the future, the most profitable use of much direct mail will be to drive people into an e-zine relationship.”
Gary Bencivenga’s take on the ezine only strengthens my long-held position that a free ezine should be an essential part of any copywriter’s marketing toolkit.
Gary supports the age-old premise and marketing tactic that in lead-gen, you must lead your prospect down the path with high quality information that is valuable.
Here’s another prediction:
The Internet will create more competition for the freelance copywriter.
This sounds scary but it’s not. Direct marketers such as AWAI are reaching a vast market of people who want to transition from what they’re doing now to a career with greater flexibility, freedom, and financial promise.
On the surface, it may look like lots of new copywriters are flooding the market…and they are!
But most target the obvious markets…the ones we can readily see…such as alternative health and publishing.
And yes, you will see increased competition in the obvious markets as AWAI and other programs create more and more entry-level copywriters.
But this is a perfect example of tunnel vision. You see what’s before you…not what actually exists.
And that’s one of the things I do for my coachingstudents…I show them how to find lucrative hidden “pockets” in traditional copywriting niches.
But it doesn’t stop there.
I also show my copywriters how to discover exciting markets that other copywriters are unaware of…and under certain conditions, I can even show them how to CREATE their own niche markets!
So while it may seem that the market is flooding with new copywriters, the truth is that the new copywriters will flood only the obvious markets. The world of business is full of markets…hidden and not.
The Internet Has Made Marketing Faster, Easier, and Cheaper for Service Providers Such as Copywriters.
I have long marveled over the low cost of maintaining a Web site. Creating a presence in other Web venues (such as discussion groups and blog postings) is virtually free. You can write articles for free and distribute them online for free or at low cost. My own positive experience is proof that the effort to “show up” all over the Web is worth it.
And in a recent conversation with a successful nonprofit copywriter, I learned that email marketing can work well IF you have a reliable source for names and their email addresses.
To avoid spamming, you’ll need to find lists where prospects in a target market have “put their names and emails out there,” and would not be surprised by a cold contact coming in this way. If you’re in a niche market that has associations, this is the most likely place to find such a list.
Local Clients Can be a Good Source of Income for the Beginning Copywriter.
I used to advise against targeting local clients because they usually want you to come to the office for meetings and to “pick up the check.” It’s a bad use of your time, that’s true, but if you have a connection with someone local who you think would hire you, it’s money in the door, experience, and a sample for your portfolio.
And no, they don’t have to be in your niche market. You do want a “connection,” however weak. I once did fun work for Oregon specialty cataloger Norm Thompson. While they usually don’t hire freelance, they used me because I lived in Lake Oswego, which was a stone’s throw to their Wilsonville location.
If You Have the Stomach, Talent, and Opportunity for Public Speaking, Do It!
It’s one of the most effective marketing tools you can use. And because relatively few copywriters like public speaking (including me), there’s plenty of opportunity to get before groups that are eager to hear what you have to say.
Board members are always looking for their next speaker. Believe me, you will be welcomed! Just be sure to avoid groups that have little to offer, such as groups of other solopreneurs.
In My Opinion, Networking is Equal in Power to Doing Steady Direct Mail Mailings to Your Target Market.
And that means both online and off. This is where you definitely do want to stick to your target market, especially in any offline efforts. It’s simply too time-consuming to hob-nob with groups that you don’t have a strong connection with.
It bears repeating…
Make sure ALL your marketing activities send people to your free ezine.
This is the model everyone is using…first it was the small guys, then the mid-size companies caught on, then
I saw Agora’s Internet marketing model…now even the big guys are putting the ezine at the center of their marketing!
Just be aware that it takes “multiple touches” before you can expect to see your relationships turn into business. Some say to plan a minimum of nine touches, and for some copywriting markets, you may find that it takes up to two years of continued contact to gain the trust of your prospect.
THIS is why I now advocate using as many marketing tools as you reasonably can when first starting out…touch as many people as possible, always driving to your list…then touch your own list with frequent mailings (at least once a month), while staying in front of your audience in as many ways as possible.
When I say “use as many marketing tools as you reasonably can,” I don’t mean use everything at your disposal. We’re all human and we have time limits.
If you try to use every marketing tool at your disposal you’ll dilute your efforts. Best to pick those that are right for you from your burgeoning “package” of possibilities.
This is one place a good coach can help you accelerate your success…by showing you how to create a customized marketing plan. Copywriters are akin to marketers…and smart marketers craft marketing plans that maximum their exposure both online and off.
How Social Media Can Enhance Mail Marketing
Social media have not yet completely replaced the traditional marketing methods. Many companies still make use of mail marketing today.
Read the original:
How Social Media Can Enhance Mail Marketing
Superpages feeds small business clients’ coupons to Twitter
Local search engine Superpages.com began feeding its clients’ coupons to city-specific Twitter accounts on March 18.
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