WHY E-MAIL MARKETING?
These days, the correct (read: legally advised) way to build a list is through a double opt-in process. This mains that a person will sign up for an e-mail list via some kind of web form. Then, that person will receive an e-mail asking them to click on a link to confirm their desire to be added to that e-mail list. This is thanks to the CAN-SPAM Acts of 2004 and 2008, and they are the best thing to happen to small businesses. Why? Because now everyone who signs up for your list is double-sure they want to be communicated to from your company, and have confirmed the desire to receive your information. They literally asked for it. So, to not appreciate the importance of that kind of lead generation would be mind-boggling.

GET AN E-MAIL MARKETING ACCOUNT
The best way to do E-Mail Marketing blasts is through an E-Mail Marketing service. Try MailChimp, Constant Contact, AWeber, of whatever service you’re comfortable using. Once you get this account set up, you can create opt-in forms for your customers and visitor to fill out and sign up for your list!

GROW THE LIST
Place this form on your social media channels, especially using an App on Facebook. Place this form on any landing pages you direct traffic to. Last but not least, and actually most importantly, place this form on pretty much every page of your website and blog. I say “pretty much” because you wouldn’t want this on a shopping cart page because it might distract from the customer making a purchase. So, other than any page where a purchase can be made, place your e-mail form on there.

INCENTIVIZE THE SIGN-UP
Give people a reason to sign-up. Offer them a free e-book, or a massive discount, or special perks they can only receive by being a member of your e-mail list. Make it juicy and very valuable. The customer is allowing you to contact them, so give them something of equal or greater value. This is where you start to prove yourself and your company’s worth…so make it really really good!

FREQUENCY
Contact your list semi-monthly. Depending on your business, and how you set up your e-mail strategy will determine exacts, but generally speaking about twice a month is acceptable. Not enough contact and people will cool off and forget about you. Too much contact runs the risk of making people sick of you.

THE ACTUAL E-MAIL
Don’t clutter the e-mail with too much information. Just like any marketing you do, always have one major call-to-action and maybe about 2 or 3 minor ones just in case the main push doesn’t generate clicks. That is also the key here. Generate clicks. You want people to click on that e-mail and go where you direct them (most likely a particular page on your website). Your e-mail is for whetting the whistle and not giving the customer an entire novel to read. They’re not going to sit there and read a long e-mail anyway.

ANALYSIS
Of course, there are a few more topics to cover, and we will in later posts, but this should get you off to the races. Remember to analyze every single thing you do. Analyze open rates (they should be above 20%…don’t get upset if more people don’t open your e-mails than do open them…that’s pretty standard). Analyze click-through rates (these should be double-digits if you’re doing a great job, but again, don’t sweat it if you see “11%” because that is actually a good number). Analyze what links your recipients are clicking on. Are they clicking on the latest blog posts? Are they clicking on social media sharing icons? Are they clicking on your main offer all the time? Analyze every nook and cranny, so you know what your list wants, and give them more of that!

If you need some more advice for your particular business, then just contact us with any questions and we’d be more than happy to help you out! Happy list building!

1. WRITING FOR SEARCH ENGINE RANKINGS
Search Engines aren’t going to sign up for an e-mail list, and they aren’t going to buy your products and services. However, they can bring a great deal of traffic to your posts.

When someone writes for search engines, they predetermine their keywords, analyze their keyword density, and write out phrases exactly as they’d be searched for. These posts will have a great formula to rank well, but rarely will humans find them valuable enough to give backlinks or shares. They tend to be textbooky and (yawn) boorrrring.

2. WRITING FOR HUMAN CONVERSIONS
Knowing that humans will be reading these posts, some bloggers will structure their content around linking to services, encouraging e-mail list sign ups, and pushing their calls-to-action.

These come across very dry and informational. Kinda like sales letters. How many times do you jump for joy when reading a sales letter? That’s if you even stick around long enough to read the whole thing!

3. WRITING FOR HUMAN INTEREST
I see this one usually from the small business owner who writes well, but knows nothing about internet marketing. They’ll set up their posts with great care and structure their content like it’s going to be judged for a Pulitzer. However, if Search Engines don’t rank it well no one’s going to find it, and if you aren’t motivating your readers to action all you get out of it is maybe an appreciative reader.

Depending on your business and the kind of blogging you’re doing, especially copy writers and creatives, that may be acceptable and even viable, but for most businesses it’s mostly a waste of a good opportunity.

PUTTING TOGETHER THE PERFECT BLOG
Now that we know the Big Three, how can we pull them all together so they rank well, convert, and aren’t as boring as listening to your great uncle ramble on about the good ole days?

First, think what would your audience find interesting. Before what keywords you want to rank for, think about the human interest factor. What’s interesting to my readers? Now, think about how you can point that interest to how you stay in business (aka “sell stuff”). Finally, when you’re writing think about keywords, then go back and re-read the post and change a few words and phrases to contain the keywords and keyword phrases you want to rank for.

Thinking of human interest first and human conversions a close second, you’re taking a more effective (and opposite) approach than most do. You can always read through your post title and content and add in a search engine keyword phrase throughout your content (like I just did right there), but it won’t be as dry and boring as a grade school textbook.

So think about how to write great content with your own unique voice, but also how are you going to drive readers to contact you, and what keywords you will be targeting in your content. Happy Writing!

MISTAKE #1:
Forgetting The Number One Rule of Business: Business is All About Relationships.

Customers want to buy from companies and people they trust, and value the products from. Customers will refer their friends, family, and acquaintances to businesses and products they have good relationships with (product works great for them, company had great customer service, sales person was there for them every step of the way, etc). The web allows companies more opportunity than ever to develop, nurture, and expand upon relationships with their customers. Focus first on the customer, and you’ll find that you’ll have better customers, better conversions, and better evangelists of past customers who go out and spread the good word about you and your services which of course leads to new customers. Keep that Circle of Marketing going and going and going…

MISTAKE #2:
Losing The Money-Making Mindset Which Help Them Become Successful In The First Place.

Most businesses start out with the money-making mindset, where the small business owner will take out a loan, take calculated risks, and invest in the future of their business. The most successful small businesses also have great products and strategies.

When a business becomes successful, or at least stable, most owners unfortunately flick a mental switch and enter what we like to call “Reverse Thinking.” Instead of focusing on how to make money, and stick to the strategies and tactics which got them there, they get complacent and comfortable and afraid. Ever see a sports team “playing not to lose” instead of “playing to win?” This is what happens to businesses who eventually fail. They plateau, get comfortable, then stay there until the business eventually starts falling off because they’re not nurturing it and growing it. Your competition new and old is staying up with things and thinking of ways to beat you. Don’t let them. Keep moving and planning and stay successful by going back to the things which got you where you are (or keep doing things which are working and getting you on your way).

MISTAKE #3:
Choosing Vendors & Services Based Solely On Price, and Not ROI.

“How Much Will This Cost?” is the LAST question you should be asking, not the first. The first question you should always be thinking and asking is “How Much Money Will This Make Me?” This way, you will know what your Return On Investment is when you do get to the pricing question. Pricing on services is usually flexible depending on what your specific needs and strategies are. Find out the level of success you want to aim for, first, then find a price program which fits into that. When you’re about to buy a car, you don’t go looking for the cheapest car you can find, because “all cars are the same.” You know what you want in a car, then look for cars in a range you can afford, and find the best car for your needs and purposes. Same with services. You can always find “cheaper.” Most of the time, though, “Cheap” is still “cheap” in many ways other than cost.

If a vendor or service provider can’t give you numbers, expectations, and strategies on how their product or service can meet your business goals, then walk away. Actually, don’t walk away…RUN AWAY! Any company that can’t address your business goals with what they’re providing is just going to be a complete waste of your money. No matter how cheap the price is, if someone can’t give you expectations of results, then any money you spend is wasted money. We believe you should never waste money.

If I gave you the option to spend $500 on something that would never work, or spend $2,000 on something that would make you $10,000, and have a strategy to get you there….which would you choose? (Hint: If you chose $500, please read this article again.)

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So there you have it! Now you can promise yourself to never make any of these 3 mistakes and you’ll be well on your way to getting the kind of success you deserve and desire. You’ll know how to stay focused, stay strategic, and keep moving in an upward direction with your small business! If you need some assistance, call us and ask what we can do to help you, or check out our online Marketing Course for Small Businesses, which can help you learn at your own very affordable pace.

1. Understand How It All Works Together
I was going to make this one the last one and tie everything up nicely, but people are impatient nowadays, so let me give you the most important one first, then randomly spread the other ideas around.

You need to understand how all of the different elements of your business work together to create one finely-tuned machine. You have your branding and messaging, your sales staff, your website, your social media, and your advertising. You also have your products and your e-mail list and your employees. Let’s quickly work this out, and in a later blog post we can get more detail focused, or just contact an expert marketing strategist for some friendly advice.

Your branding and messaging must be clear and aspirational to your target marketing and customers. Those customers need to see that messaging in your advertisements, social media marketing, and read it on your website blog.

Your website must be able to capture customer information (i.e. sign them up to an email list), direct them to your social network pages, and provide them with a clear path to find the information and products they’re looking for on your site.

Your social media pages should have a very clear and easy way to send your traffic back to your lead-capturing website, and the source of all this great content: your blog.

Your advertising should speak with your brand voice, attract customers to a landing page on your website or social network page, and capture their information into the same list as your website’s standard lead generation strategy does.

Start with your website, because you own that and it’s not going away unless you go away. Your website should be the main hub of all information, and everything should be directing traffic, leads, and customers into your website.

2. Repeat Business…Keep Them Coming Back
Your customers are your best friends. They put the roof over your head, and keep the lights on. Why wouldn’t you want to see your best friends more often, right? Once you have a customer, do everything you can to get their information. You’re not going to spam them or annoy them (at least I hope not!). Rather, you’re going to occasionally keep in touch with them, check in on them, and remind them that you would love to see them again soon.

Let’s say you’re the owner of a restaurant, then you can offer them social media only specials of the day, or leave comment cards with the bill, or offer them a free desert on their birthday. Or, maybe you own (or work for) a car dealership. You can call on your customers to see how they’re loving the car you sold them and remind them about the great benefits of keeping the car maintained. Remind them how your staff knows that car inside and out and would love to help keep it on the road and never break down on them.

Whatever your business is, there are things you can do to reach out in a helpful and friendly way. Make sure you do this from a purely helpful frame of reference and not as an up-sell. The up-sell will take care of itself when your customers know for a fact you’re taking care of them and their needs.

3. Referrals, Referrals Referrals
Now we have our best friends, aka customers and clients, coming back more often. Let’s ask them to do some free advertising for us. Ask them to post on Facebook or tweet on Twitter about how much they enjoyed your business or service. Incentivize them if you like. Maybe offer whomever spreads the word a free desert, free standard oil change, whatever you can offer that would be cheaper than an ad and more effective.

Why is this more effective? Because people will believe other people’s word over any advertisement they hear or see. Social Proof is what it’s called, and it’s one of the most effective (and cheapest!) forms of marketing.

What if you’re a realtor? Then referrals are an absolute must in your field as you most likely already know. In real estate, 99% customers won’t buy more than once every 5-10 years, so your referrals are your life-line to a great percentage of your sales opportunities.

Also, on your blog, have social sharing buttons so those who found your blog post interesting can share it on their social networks and/or with their friends and colleague.

Hey, look at that, at the bottom of this blog right here are a few social sharing buttons! Maybe you should give it a shot, click a few, and kindly share this post with some of your friends and colleagues. We would really appreciate it, and it’ll make you look really smart for directing other business owners to the valuable information you’re getting right now.

4. Keep the Mindset Which Got You Here
When you first started your business, you knew the risks and the challenges. That didn’t deter you, though, did it? You forged forward against all odds, put in the extra work and did everything it took, and more, to get the job done and grow your company.

Then, you start getting busier in the day-to-day, and you start to get used to the sales and the money that you’re now counting on to maintain your standard of living. You now have a different mindset. While you would love to still keep growing, the fear of losing what you’ve built up forces you to reverse your thinking and you suddenly stop taking the risks and doing many of the things which worked for you in the beginning.

Then, your business starts to level off, plateau, and eventually (if it hasn’t already at this point) start to wane and slide. Why?

Because you stopped taking risks. You have the experience now of what worked and what didn’t work. You can’t afford to take risks, you say? Well, with competition and technology constantly improving, and customer desires constantly changing, you simply can’t afford not to take risks. Risks, well I should say calculated risks, are just a part of the nature of being in business. If you’re afraid of calculated risks and trying things out to keep the company growing and remain competitive, then close up shop and work for someone else.

Reverse that reversed thinking and start thinking of strategic ways to get your profits growing.

5. Create an Efficient Pay Per Click (PPC) Ad Campaign
So, let’s finish up with a calculated risk option that is far less risky than you might think. We are going to quickly go over creating an efficient Pay Per Click (PPC) Ad campaign. Circle Marketing has a blog on split-testing PPC Ads, so please see that as we won’t cover it here, due to space.

First thing to do is keyword research. Use Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool, and find the best combination of volume and relevancy to pick the best ones. This is more of an expert’s job, so just contact us, and we can help you get this optimized.

Next, create aspirational copy and an image for the ad (unless it’s a text-only ad) that is very targeted. Create a few different versions of the ads, and do the split-testing model for very little money up-front until you find the ad or ads which have a far superior click-through rate.

Next, create a couple different landing pages. A great landing page delivers on the promise the ad made, and gives more information, incentive to order right then and there (or at least the very least capture the potential customers’ information), and have a very clear and appealing call-to-action to encourage the conversion into either a lead or customer (depending on your offer).

Once you found the best ads with the best click-through rates, and used analytics to find out which landing page was converting the highest numbers, we now know what is working and what isn’t. Here’s where we spend our money knowing what our educated projected ROI will be.

Instead of spending hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on a campaign you hope will work, you now have spend a coupe hundred to test the PPC ad and now can spend the large balance of the Ad Campaign’s budget on what you know for a fact works.

Of course, all of these are very broad strokes kind of advice, and every business and strategy needs to be honed and developed with your specific business in mind for maximum effect and ROI. If you have any questions, please comment below and we’d love to answer every single one of them! Talk soon, and enjoy growing your business!