Have a Party on Your Website


Imagine you're planning a big party at your place... today. What will you do first: clean and cook, or invite people?

Spending time and money to promote your business online is a bit like sending invitations to a party on your website. You want your place to be ready when the doorbell rings.

Before you make the pretty pictures or the clever articles, make sure to vacuum under the couch. People will judge you.

photo by jackfrench / Flickr

Click to Tweet this Article

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Small Business Decision Making 101

Image
Simple is powerful... and a recent tough decision reminded me of that. I'd been sitting on the fence for about 2 weeks with a marketing project half completed. I couldn't decide whether to keep going or to stay with Plan A - and so, I wasn't accomplishing anything. I had an investment in time and money that was just sitting, doing nothing for me. Talking the problem through with someone seemed like the best idea and I finally pinned down the right opportunity with the right person. The night before we were to chat, I decided I'd better make some notes so I could present my problem in an organized way. I grabbed a sheet of paper, drew a line up the middle, and labelled the halves PROS and CONS. Within 5 minutes I had put my finger on my "sticking point" - the biggest CON. After a little research and math, I made my decision. No discussion needed. When I put my pen to paper, all the conflicting pieces of the problem suddenly became clear - instead of sw...
Keep reading »

How to Make Smart Marketing Decisions

Image
Small business owners can spend a lot of time and money on marketing initiatives. Sometimes we're successful and sometimes not so much. I think of marketing as an experiment because - really - there are no magic bullets. There are best practices, there is good and bad advice, there are lots of experts and gurus. But we, the business owners, have to make the final decisions and... live with the results. Marketing isn't cheap (even if it's our own time) and poor decision-making can hurt more than our wallets - our reputation may also be at risk. So, how do we make decisions about things we have little experience with? How can we possibly know what all of our options might be when it comes to getting a new website? Or knowing which social media platforms will work best? Or building a content strategy? We can't... unless we put some extra effort into it. Step #1: Clearly identify the decision that needs to be made. Sometimes it'll be staring you in the face ...
Keep reading »

23 Things to Put in Your Small Business Newsletter

Image
All the experts know that email is still king. If you're starting an enewsletter for your small business, figuring out what content you want to put in it might be one of your first challenges. Here's a quick rundown of a variety of different content sections you might include... but don't use them all at once! Articles by you, including blog posts Articles by others , or links to articles by others Quizzes, surveys How-to’s , tips and tricks, useful tools , resources FAQs - Did you know…? – fast facts, interesting tidbits Book reviews , other types of reviews Interviews Case studies, client showcase What’s new…? – of local/industry interest Testimonial(s) Product spotlights Staff/team spotlights Quotes Current and future promotions and sales Promotions for others (with caution) Events Content that might stay the same each issue (but don't ignore it): Website link Social media links Contact info and links Google map (link) Photo of you/staff/t...
Keep reading »

Basic Set-up for a Lead Magnet

Image
Recently several small business owners have asked me about how to set up a lead magnet to encourage more subscriptions to their newsletter . Here are instructions for you DIYers. First, prepare your lead magnet - the thing that you're giving away. It should be something of value to your target market. Next, you'll prepare two pages on your website: a landing page where people can sign up for your newsletter (this may or may not be on your website menu) a redirect page ("Thanks for signing up" page) where people will receive your lead magnet (this should not be on your menu and you'll want to discourage search engines from finding this page) Let's do your redirect page first. Create the page and name it something like 'thanks' or 'download' or... it doesn't really matter what you call it. If you're using WordPress, you can set it to discourage search engines. On this page, you'll place the item you're giving away. It might be...
Keep reading »

Guest Post: 10 Ways to Figure out What to Write on Your Blog When You Don’t Know What to Write on Your Blog

Image
Frances Leary When I saw this blog post by Frances Leary, I immediately asked her if I could share it with you. Frances is owner of Wired Flare , specializing in SEO, Internet Marketing & Social Media for franchises and organizations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. While she's blogging about blogging, all of these tips below work for newsletters as well... We've all been there. Complete brain freeze.  The only problem? You need, need, need to get this blog article out STAT. You've already pushed it to the last minute, and you’re down to the wire. It simply can’t wait.  So you’re in a predicament. What do you do?  Truth be told, we often find ourselves in this predicament, and when we’re in it, these are some of the things we do…hopefully they can be a starting place for you, too. Tell a success story – Think of moments big or small that have happened in your business recently that can be a celebration. Did a client give you a pat on the back? Can you gi...
Keep reading »

Being a Rebel (Book Review)

Image
Interesting and frustrating. Those are the two best words to describe my reaction to Rebel's Guide to Email Marketing by DJ Wadlow and Jason Falls. The book was interesting because it was well-researched and full of case studies and examples. It explains a lot of aspects of email marketing in great detail. In particular, the authors do a good job of describing how email and social media work so well together - calling them Batman (email) and Robin (social media). Their definitions of social connecting, social sharing, and other social terms cover the basics but they fall a bit short of offering unique ideas about combining the two. The book was frustrating because it was about email marketing in general and I specialize in enewsletters. I kept thinking, "But that's not true for newsletters" or "I wouldn't do that." Much of the information referred to promotional marketing rather than content marketing . While some things hold true for both, ther...
Keep reading »

Permission Marketing for Membership Lists

Image
photo by HowardLake Any of the reputable bulk email service providers (ESPs) will expect you to have received permission to email your subscribers. In many cases, this requirement can be satisfied by having a public sign-up form . Of course, this isn't an option for organizations sending private messages to a membership list. Just because someone has agreed to become a member, paying or free, doesn't mean you have permission to email them - unless you have asked for it during the membership process . Granted, this may seem like overkill. Generally, when someone becomes a member, they'll expect to receive some email communication. But the problem likely won't arise from your members. It'll come when you (wisely) decide to use a bulk ESP to communicate with them. That is when it will be important to be able to demonstrate that you have permission. While you might be asked to provide proof of permission for all subscribers, being able to show a process that ...
Keep reading »

Building Relationships versus Getting Shared

Image
You just shared a most awesome resource with your followers on Twitter. It’s not your own resource but rather one you found on someone else’s blog. Regardless of the author, you know your followers will find it useful. Earlier you were busy sending an email message to a colleague in response to their newsletter. The personal story they included was touching and inspired you to write back. But you didn't tweet that  article. Why not? There’s a difference between content intended to build relationships and content intended for sharing . Building relationships and getting shared are only two of several possible reasons for creating content via newsletter and blog. Which is best? That depends on your own goals... and why it’s so important to have well-defined goals . Likely you will use a combination of both types of content but in different situations. For example, I tend to include experiential stories in my own newsletter. But on my blog I include more of the type of info...
Keep reading »

Storage for Great Ideas - Back of Book (BOB)

Image
Do you often flip to the back page of your notebook to jot down content ideas ? If not, start! When I'm teaching small business classes about online marketing, I insist they start a page in the back of their notebooks for jotting down ideas for blog or social media posts. This page will extend beyond one, but it's the start of something great. BOB (for back of book) becomes a new friend... your idea catcher . When you are looking for something to write about or post, check your BOB for ideas. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Top 10 Strategic Benefits of an eNewsletter

Image
Is email marketing an untapped component of your marketing strategy? Here’s what an eNewsletter can do for you. It can... Enhance your reputation. Increase lead generation. Provide invaluable information about who is interested in what, so you can follow up with contacts in a more strategic way. Be a very cost-effective communication channel with your clients, customers, colleagues and prospects. Quickly identify obsolete contact information, so you know to re-connect to get an update. Leverage your other marketing efforts: website, social media, blog, etc. Provide immediate measurable results. Give your contacts the opportunity to easily and immediately interact with you. Provide a higher response rate because it is being sent to a receptive audience. Be more cost-efficient and environment-friendly than a printed newsletter - no printing or mailing costs.  Which of these benefits are important to you? Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »