Small Business Online Offline Marketing Advertising

How to optimize your website:

Before you register a fancy web address, you must first figure out what your prospects are searching for. In other words, if someone was to go looking for your product or service, what keywords would they enter into Google to find you?

You can use your name as your website URL, and use your specific keywords as content pages. Each page you create should be focused on a specific keyword that you want to rank high for in the search engines.

Try and niche your keywords so that they’re very well defined. You don’t want a broad keyword. You want a keyword that people are searching for, but not so broad that you cannot compete for that keyword. A broad keyword for me would be “Marketing.” It would be very difficult to optimized your website for that broad keyword.

Your web address can be your name or what your site concept is about. I have two blogs. One is GlenAndrews1.com. The other is a specific niche called AndrewsSalonMarketing.com

I also have a key word website Small-Business-Advertising-Strategies.com.

My branding site is GlenAndrews1.com and it’s about marketing and personal development. AndrewsSalonMarketing.com is about helping salon owners with their marketing. Salon Marketing is one of my specific keywords so I made sure it was used in my sites URL. Small-Business-Advertising-Strategies.com is all about marketing your small business. Small Business Advertising is my keyword.

I’m going to show you how to  optimized your website with a system that does it for you. So don’t get discouraged, keep reading.

After you have chosen several keywords that best describes your product or service, you need to write separate articles for each of your keywords. One of my website optimization keywords is “writing e-zines.”  I would need to use that keyword in my headline, my very first paragraph, and throughout the body copy. If your article is one thousand words, then your keyword should appear approximately seven to ten times throughout the article. Your keyword will appear less for short articles, and more for long articles.

Search engine spiders will crawl your website to determine how relevant your article is to your specific keyword. That’s why you must seed your articles with specific keywords that you would like to rank high for at the search engines. This is how to optimize your website using keywords.

After you have accomplished your articles seeded with your keywords, you need to get back-links to your web site. You can do this several ways. One is to submit articles with your web site link in the author’s resource box. You can get back-links from social networks like Face-Book, You-Tube, and Craigs list. The key is not how many back-links you have, but how many quality back-links you have. Your back-links should be from other websites or directories that rank high in the search engines, and if possible, relevant to your site concept. My keyword for this page is “how to optimize your website.”

You also need to submit your website to the search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask.) When I started my first website I made the mistake of thinking that when my website was complete it would automatically be picked up by the search engines. WRONG!

I have built several websites. All of which failed until I understood what the search engines were looking for. If you want to get your website optimized using specific keywords that target your perfect prospects let me know. I can help you for a fraction of what you’ll pay an seo company.

Please comment on this article below and tell me if you thought it was helpful or not.

To your marketing success,

Glen Andrews

http://www.GlenAndrews1.com

I want to share with you the pros and cons of small business target marketing verses mass marketing, and then you can decide which is best for you.

Mass Marketing (Radio, Television or Large Circulation Newspapers which cover a wide area.)

Pros…
•    You get your business in front of a lot of different people
•    It’s easy to implement
•    You get to see and hear your name on the TV and radio
•    Done often enough gives you name recognition
•    You can attract a wide variety of clients
Cons…
•    Hard to track results
•    Reaches a large audience that doesn’t need or want your services
•    Very Expensive
•    Not a good return on investment (marketing dollars)
•    Reaching prospects that are to far away to justify the commute
•    The producers control what you can, or cannot do in your marketing

Target Marketing (Postcards, Sales Letters, Fliers, and small targeted newspapers.)

Pros…
•    Spend less to get your message in front of a specific prospect
•    You can track results and make adjustments quickly and easily
•    You get to decide exactly who receives your message
•    Better return on investment
•    Quicker return on investment
•    Targeted to your specific community
•    Name recognition within your community
•    You can target specific carrier routes, zip codes or demographics with ease giving you a higher response ratio
•    You get to place your promotion directly into your prospects hands via United States Postal Service
•    You get to farm a small area which keeps your business in front of your clients and prospects
•    You can set up a marketing calendar month’s in advance because you’ll know exactly where your best clients are coming from, and what your exact return on investment will be.
•    Easily implemented with the help of a mail house
•    You get to be creative and have fun with your promotions keeping it fresh and new.

Cons…
•    You have to understand simple “direct response advertising strategies.”
•    You have to send your marketing piece to the mail house for distribution
•    You have to come up with a promotion
•    You have to know “who” to target

I was asked this question many years ago by one of the best marketing minds in the world… “If you had to attract 20 new clients every week for the next 30 days, and your marketing had to pay for itself (return on investment) or you’d go bankrupt, which strategy would you employ to save your business”?

To your marketing success,

Glen Andrews

http://www.GlenAndrews1.com

P.S. Leave me your comments below. I’m always working to give you the best content so your feed back is appreciated and welcome.

I’d like to welcome anyone interested in promoting themselves to share with us your passions and tell us a little about yourself or business. This is a great way to see what other like minded individuals are doing to promote their businesses successfully. Don’t be shy…promote yourself!

Whether you’re marketing your products or services online, or offline, you must have good headlines.

When you read your local newspaper do you read every article? No, neither does anyone else. We all scan looking for good headlines to determine whether or not we’ll read the entire article. Why is it that so many people buy magazines when checking out at their local grocery stores? It’s because of the “captivating headlines.” When done properly good headlines grab our attention and makes us wanna know more. We’re all curious by nature.

It’s no accident the National Enquirer out performs all other newspapers and magazines. The Enquirer understands that they have less than 6 seconds to grab the attention of their prospects. They also understand that they need to hook the customer into buying the magazine based on good headlines.

When I started my first business several years back, I lacked the understanding of how powerful good headlines could be. I made the mistake of using my company name along with my services as a headline. It looked like an over-sized business card. Once I understood the psychology of good headlines and how powerful it could be to capture the attention of my perfect prospect, my business literally changed in weeks, NOT months or years.

If you’re using your business name as your headline try something different.

Good headlines provoke curiosity… “How To Attract 25 New Clients A Week Without Working Harder” or “The Simple Truth About Running A Small Business That Keeps You From Making The Money You Deserve” or “WARNING: Don’t Hire Another Employee Until You Read This”

Can you see the difference? A Good headline should state the benefits to your potential prospect. The headlines sole purpose is to capture the attention of your perfect prospect, and make them want to know more. The purpose of the headline is NOT to attract everyone. The purpose of your headline is to attract only those prospects willing to exchange capital for your services. Your headlines must speak to a specific prospect and lure them into your sales message.

Next time you’re reading through your local newspaper or magazine, keep track of the headlines that capture your attention and see if you can use them in your business.

Take for example the first headline above…”How To Attract 25 New Clients A Week Without Working Harder.” You could change that to fit ANY business. “How To Lose 25 Pounds Without Working Out.” Or “How To Attract 25 Of The Hottest Women Without Batting An Eye.” Can you see how these headlines would attract completely different prospects? A good headline is benefit driven and offers a solution to their specific situation.

Once you understand how to write good headlines you’ll never worry about competition again. This one marketing strategy will also separate you from your competitors and give you a competitive advantage in your market. Give it a try and see for yourself.

To your marketing success,

Glen Andrews

http://www.GlenAndrews1.com

P.S. Did you find this article helpful? Leave me your comments and then pass this article on to a friend or colleague.

Direct mail marketing done properly is the most effective way to market any small business. You get to send a specific message to a specific audience with a specific offer.

Unlike institutional advertising direct mail marketing is measurable and cost effective. You get to choose who receives your message and how they respond. Unlike radio and television, direct mail enables you to test a small targeted list before you roll out a large campaign. There’s no better way to market your small business cost effectively than using direct mail marketing strategies.

I’ve personally sent out as few as 500 letters to a “targeted” list and received over ten thousand dollars in return. Not a bad ROI (Return on Investment)! Here are your best ways to attract new, and stay in front of existing customers or clients, using direct mail marketing.

1. Marketing With Postcards: This is the absolute cheapest way to get your sales message into the hands of your prospects or customers. Postcards can be small, medium, large, or over-sized so you can get your entire sales message out. Don’t make the mistake of leaving out a captivating headline, personalization, a deadline, a call to action, and testimonials.

2. Tear Sheet Mailings: Also known as an “Advertorial.” What is an advertorial? It’s an ad that you write about your products or services and it appears as though an editor wrote a story about you. It looks as though it was torn from a newspaper. It is then mailed to your potential prospects who might benefit from your product or service with a post it note attached saying…”Thought this might help, J.”

I’ve had clients receive a twenty three percent response from doing a tear sheet mailing. You can have this done through almost any mail-house/printer. If you need help locating a vendor that does tear sheet mailers, e-mail me at Glen@glenandrews1.com or leave me a message below.

3. Val-Pak: Using Val-Pak is an inexpensive way to send your coupon message to a mass audience. More and more people are clipping coupons and searching through Val-Pak looking for great deals. It doesn’t matter if you’re a lawyer or a carpet cleaner, Val-Pak works as long as you have an irresistible offer and a deadline.

4. Tri-fold Mailer: It’s a basic 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper, which is folded, tabbed and mailed. As long as you’re NOT selling a high-ticket item, this is cheap and effective. They also do multiple sheet mailers, like a newsletter if you care to spend more.

5. Sales letter: The more you can make your sales letter sound and look personal the better your response. Try using a hand written font on yellow lined note book paper for the best results. And try to personalize the letter with the first name of your recipient.

6. The key that pulls your direct mail marketing together is your ability to write a good direct response advertisement. If you don’t understand how to put words on paper that sell, hire someone who does or learn it yourself. I have spent over $100,000 on my marketing education. Don’t WORRY! You only need to know the simple ingredients that make up a good sales letter. See my post on the “11 key ingredients to an effective sales letter.”

Marketing Tip #1: No matter how good you are at what you do if you don’t know how to attract customers/clients cost effectively, you’ll soon be out of business. Direct mail marketing is only one way to attract new clients. Make sure you have several marketing funnels running simultaneously so that the well never runs dry.

Marketing Tip #2: When sending letters through the mail the first and only thing that matters is getting your mail opened. It should look as though it came from a friend. Your envelope should be in a handwritten font so that it looks personal. (People don’t throw away personal-looking mail.) Never use sticky labels. Your return address should only have your return address, no post office box or company name. This will give you the best chance of getting your mail opened and read. In today’s economy you must have several marketing funnels running simultaneously. Direct mail marketing is just one effective way to obtain new and keep existing customers/clients.

If you liked this article pass it on.

Please comment on this article below and tell me if you thought it was helpful or not.

To your marketing success,

Glen Andrews

http://www.GlenAndrews1.com

Throughout our great nation the words of great leaders have captivated, persuaded, inspired, comforted, and motivated those among us regardless of their race or religion.

These great leaders who left us with so many eloquent words were all visionaries who led by example and whose actions transformed ideas into reality. Reading a good quote can make you think, laugh, and cry.

Every time I go on my twitter page there are an amazing amount of people sharing some of the best quotes I’ve ever heard. Share with me some of the quotes that have touched and inspired you.

Here are some of my favorite quotes…

Tell me yours!  Speak up and share your favorite quote for the benefit of us all! Leave a comment down below with a few of your favorites… And let’s see who can come up with the best ones!

Carrier route marketing is one of the best ways to get your message into the hands of your specific prospects cost effectively. You can mail to a specific area in a specific ZIP code by using a carrier route map, which you can get at www.usps.com. Then choose six to twelve carrier routes where your best prospects live or work. Each carrier route holds approximately 300 to 800 addresses depending upon where you live.

This is a very powerful tool because it allows you to pick and choose exactly which areas will receive your marketing message. Unlike mailing to a complete ZIP code carrier route marketing lets you be very targeted and it save you money.

After choosing your best carrier routes write down each carrier route number and send it to your list broker. Be sure to personalize the salutation wherever possible for a better response.  Tell your list broker that you need the first and last names separated in a spreadsheet file. This allows your mail house to personalize your message.

Let’s say you own a chiropractic office. You want to target upscale neighborhoods. Once you have a carrier route map you can determine “exactly” which neighborhoods are affluent, and which ones are middle class. Carrier route maps cut down on wasteful spending which saves you from marketing to prospects who really don’t need your product or service.

The key to carrier route marketing is to choose six to twelve carrier routes. Send your marketing message to “one” carrier route every month for twelve months. If you choose six carrier routes you should mail to your prospects twice a year. This will give you a steady flow of new customers cost effectively AND you’ll build name recognition within your community.

Be sure you “test” your marketing message on small carrier routes to ensure that you receive a good response prior to rolling out a large campaign.

Remember that carrier route marketing is just one way to market your business and you must incorporate several different cost effective marketing strategies in today’s economy. Read through the rest of this site for other successful small-business advertising strategies.

If you like this pass it on!

Please comment on this article below and tell me if you thought it was helpful or not.

To your marketing success,

Glen Andrews

http://www.GlenAndrews1.com

ZIP code marketing is a fantastic way to get your marketing message into the hands of your perfect prospects cost effectively. You can use sales letters, postcards, or fliers. Make sure you browse the rest of this site for crafting the “perfect” message.

You can receive a list of prospects from any list broker by designating your specific ZIP codes. This is a great way to target a particular market. ZIP code marketing allows you to get your marketing message into the hands of as many prospects as possible who need your particular products or services.

When choosing your ZIP codes, make sure you know the neighborhoods you’ll be mailing to. Ask yourself what types of neighborhoods will attract my perfect prospect (affluent,  middle class, or lower income neighborhoods.) Knowing your perfect prospect will help you determine the proper ZIP code. I wasted thousands of dollars sending letters to a specific zip code only to find out later that the zip code was completely wrong for my services. You may want to drive your zip codes prior to mailing if you’re unsure of the area.

ZIP code marketing is more of a shotgun marketing approach, depending upon your business.

When mailing to your chosen ZIP code, make sure you test a small area before rolling out your entire campaign. If you don’t receive a good response on a small mailing it’s unlikely you’ll receive a good response on a larger one. In today’s economy this is critical to your success. A good test is usually 300 to 500 “direct response mailings.”

Depending upon your business and where you live pick the ZIP codes closest to your business. If you own a home-based business you can choose your prospects by demographics. If you’re NOT receiving a good response don’t assume it’s because of your chosen ZIP code. Make sure you have an “irresistible” offer, a “deadline” and a “call to action.” in all your ZIP code marketing material. If you want to boost response even more try personalizing the salutation. Dear Mary, NOT Dear Homeowner.

When ordering your list from a list broker, determine who will receive your message. Should you mail to businesses or just homeowners? You can also add or exclude apartment buildings. You can save yourself a lot of marketing dollars just by targeting your best prospects and omitting the rest.

Please comment on this article below and tell me if you thought it was helpful or not.

To your marketing success,

Glen Andrews

http://www.GlenAndrews1.com

When using the newspaper to market your business you have two basic choices. You can do a one-step or a two-step marketing campaign. A one-step marketing campaign gives the reader your entire sales message. A two-step marketing campaign entices the reader to go to a website or recorded message line for the complete sales message. You have to decide which one will work best for you. If you’re on a tight budget I suggest testing small classified ads that direct your prospects to a web site or free recorded message line for more information. If you’re NOT on a tight budget test an advertorial.

An Advertorial Will Out Pull A Display Ad 10 to 1.

If you haven’t tried an advertorial I suggest testing it in your market. An advertorial looks very similar to an editorial, but it’s an advertisement about your business. People read advertorials more often than regular display ads because they appear to be news stories. This will give you a better response. I love advertorials because they look more like an interview done by the editor. It lends credibility to your business even though it’s an ad you published yourself. An advertorial jumps off the page and stands out because an advertorial looks completely different from all other ads. People will read news worthy stories (advertorials) before they read advertisements. In today’s economy… little hinges swing big doors, and creating an effective advertorial will certainly increase your sales and response.

The single biggest key to getting your ad read is your HEADLINE. Whether you’re running a classified ad, display ad, or advertorial, we all browse the newspaper by headlines and we only take time to read the ones that peak our curiosity. So make sure that your headline grabs the attention of your perfect prospect and makes them want to know more.

When using newspaper marketing be sure to run your ads in your local area newspapers. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you need to run your ad in a large city newspaper. You can have a better ROI (Return on Investment) by using a smaller targeted paper. Your local paper is cheaper allowing you to run a bigger ad more often. This keeps your name in front of your prospects consistently AND cost effectively.

When you’re testing your ads in your local newspaper be sure to allow enough time to test results. Leave your ad running for three months before you pull it. You cannot run an ad one week and pull it the next because you didn’t see significant results.

Let me clarify. I’m telling you to let your ads run only if you’re running small display ads or small two-step classified marketing campaigns. If you’re running full page advertisements and you’re NOT receiving a good response, then you need to “Fix It” or remove it immediately. You must run direct response advertisement strategies for the best response (strong headline, irresistible offer, call to action, and a deadline.)

Read through the rest of this site for more information on direct response advertising.

Nothing can be more detrimental to the success of your business than to copy your competitors’ marketing strategies. When setting up your newspaper marketing campaigns, look to see what your competitors are doing, and then do the opposite. Make yourself STAND OUT!

The key to your success is how well you differentiate your business from your competitors. This can be achieved by your creative offers, your creative marketing, or your services. Give your customers or clients an experience that they cannot get anywhere else.

Remember… newspaper marketing is only one way to market your business. Read through the rest of this site for more strategies, tips and secrets.

Please comment on this article below and tell me if you thought it was helpful or not.

To your marketing success,

Glen Andrews

http://www.GlenAndrews1.com

Here’s how to write a sales letter. There are 9 key ingredients that must be considered. But first you must determine “who” will receive your sales message. This is critical to the success of your sales letter. The “who” is the most important ingredient in your marketing campaign. You can send an average sales letter to a great list and have a decent response. On the other hand, you cannot send a great sales letter to a bad list and expect any response. You must match the “right” message to the “right” audience with the “right” media.

You must know whom you’re talking to in your sales letter. Are they men or women? Are they older or younger? Are they affluent or middle class? Do they own a home or rent? What are the demographics of your perfect client or customer? Understanding this will give you the best opportunity for success when writing a sales letter that sells.

Here are the “Key” ingredients to writing a sales letter that gets results!

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 1: The Headline must grab the reader’s attention and make them want to know more. The headline is the most important ingredient when writing your sales letter. If you mess this up, it’s GAME OVER. Your headline must provoke curiosity or state benefits to the reader. Example . . . Let’s say you’re selling a product to expecting women. Here’s a headline that would grab their attention. “7 Secrets Expecting Moms Need To Know About Their Pregnancy That Their Doctors Aren’t Telling Them. Most expecting mom’s would stop what they were doing and want to know more.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 2: When writing your sales letter make sure you personalize the salutation. This will give you higher readership. People love to hear and see their name. It’s been tested and proven to increase response by 11%-33%. Example . . . Dear Mary, NOT Dear Customer. Use their first name and you’ll increase your readership AND response.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 3: You can add a picture of you or your product in the upper left hand corner of your sales letter. Or a picture that ties into your sales message. We did a sales letter for salon owners where we had a picture of several people combing through the woods looking for lost customers. The headline said . . . “Janet, Have You Been Taken Hostage? We Haven’t Seen You In Our Salon In Months, So We Sent Out A Search Party To Find You.” This sales letter received a twenty-three percent response from their old customer list.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 4: Your “body copy” should state your customers “problem.” What are their fears? What keeps them awake at night? Next, you need to agitate the problem your customer is having. And last, you need to show your customer or client how your product or service can solve their situation. Make sure you tell them about the benefits your product or service provides. Your customers or clients only care about what’s in it for them. Benefits, Benefits, Benefits!

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 5: You must have an irresistible offer. Give your reader a reason to buy what you’re offering. Make your offer so irresistible that they’d swing from a rotten vine across a snake filled pit of venomous vipers to obtain your product or service.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 6: Make sure you have a deadline in your sales letter to get your customers/clients to respond immediately. Example . . . I only have 120 seats available, and this letter went out to 1200 others, so you must hurry and reserve your seat now before they’re all gone.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 7: Call To Action: Tell your customers exactly what you want them to do (call this number, go to this web site, fax back this form, etc.)

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 8: Always have a “P. S.” at the end of your sales letters. When people receive letters in the mail, their first instinct is to find out who sent it. So they look at the end of the sales letter, and 93% of the time they read the P. S. first. Your P. S. can restate the offer, the deadline, or both.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 9: Add testimonials to all your sales letters for credibility. This will increase sales and response.

Finally, when writing your sales letter, make sure you’re talking to one person. Your sales letter should sound personal, as though it came from a friend.

ATTENTION: If you just cannot fathom writing your own sales letter click on the link below

How To Create Powerful, Money-Making Sales Letters For Your Business in Just 2 ½ Minutes…Without Writing!

Please comment on this article below and tell me if you thought it was helpful or not.

To your marketing success,

Glen Andrews

http://www.GlenAndrews1.com