It’s a Wednesday night, you’ve got a glass of wine in your hand and there’s nothing to do. Nothing that appealing is on TV and you’re too tired to try to work on that project you brought home with you. You break out the laptop and decide that maybe you’ll just check up on what your friends are doing on Facebook and check your email and call it a night.
Internet Marketing Tips: Keep Your Eye on the Blogging Finish Line
posted in Internet marketing, Blogging
When you run a race your goal is to cross the finish line. Then what? It’s time to set another goal. If you just started training, your goal might be a 5K. If you ran a half marathon you might be ready to conquer a marathon. Wherever you are in the process of training you track your progress and set attainable goals along the way. You won’t be able to run those 26.2 miles by sprinting each days You must build your endurance. Blogging is kind of like that. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Here are some internet marketing tips to keep your blogging eye on the finish line.
Landing pages and wine? Yep, I went there. Maybe because I’m writing this on a Friday and I’m dreaming of that glass of wine I’ll be sipping on around 5 p.m. Anyways, enough about me daydreaming about wine and let me actually tell you how the best landing pages and wine relate.
Whatever your business, industry or value proposition is, there is no business without customers and there are no customers without leads.
If you are using email marketing to reach out to leads and gain customers, we have a few ideas on how to grow your email marketing lists so that you can reach more and more leads with your services and products.
First of all: NEVER BUY A LIST!
Have you ever opened a website that was just lame? These websites normally have messages that are jumbled, poor website navigation, or content that isn’t appropriate for the audience in which they are trying to help. What makes a good website? Searching the web is like speed dating now-a-days. We have so many options to choose from and so little time that we turn to others to narrow the search down for us. Speed dating is popular because the dating pool is narrowed down for us and we are only given a set amount of time with each person on the “date.”
I got up at 5 a.m. this morning and went to the gym. Crazy to some, but I know that is the optimal time for ME to exercise. If I plan to go after work, I either end up not going because I’m too tired or had a better offer; or I go and dread being there the entire time and don’t get a good workout in. Some people would rather eat brussel sprouts than get up at 5 a.m. to exercise – and that’s okay – but for me it’s part of what makes my day feel balanced. I have more energy, I tend to eat healthier, and it does my body good.
Increase Website Conversion With These 5 Design Tricks
posted in Website Development, Lead Conversion
Are people visiting your website? If you answered yes, good! Onto the next question. Are they staying on your website and engaging with it, and becoming a lead, prospect or customer? No? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! While there is a long list of different things you could do to increase website conversion, we will focus on a few design elements that are easy fixes and just may be the trick!
Ready for New Lead Generation Techniques-Inbound Style [Infographic]
posted in Lead Generation, Inbound Marketing
We have all been on the ‘hook’ end of the ol' lead generation techniques. Even in the last week I have experienced a number of these ol' tactics. Last night I had two gentlemen knock on my door asking if they could clean my carpet. I received direct mail about hearing aids (and I am not even 40 yet) and even at work my inbox is filled each morning with emails from companies selling products and services that I have no interest in at all.
As a business owner you are always thinking about how to be popular with your customers but also have authority in your industry, right? Well it kind of works the same way in the internet world. Which one is better though? Authority or popularity? Which ones does Google consider to be more important? Keep reading to find out!
Business on the Decline? Understand Why is Social Media Important for Success
posted in Social Media
We get it, you think that social media is just for the teenager next door and you may wonder “Why is social media important to my business?” But let me tell you, social media isn’t just for adolescents. According to the Pew Research Center, 73% of adults using the web are now using some sort of social networking sites; and 42% of those adults use multiple social media sites. This means that your business could be missing out on free internet marketing and advertising if you aren’t using social media as a part of your internet marketing strategy.
Internet Marketing Tips for Blog Creation: Flex Your Writing Muscles
posted in Internet marketing, Blogging
It’s your first day at the gym. You look around trying to decide where to get your burn on. You’re having second thoughts about getting in shape. The Planet Fitness commercial flashes through your mind:
Do you remember the days when blogs were those things that either teeny bopper girls used as their online diaries or they were what someone [usually in their 20s] began before they embarked on a backpacking trip in Europe. Are you still stuck in that moment of time thinking that’s what blogging is all about? Are you still asking “why blog?"
Real Content Creation is The Key to Internet Marketing
posted in Internet marketing, Content Marketing
In today’s competitive world as business owners and professionals in our industry we are always looking for how to get ahead and beat out our competitors, right? Sometimes it completely takes us over and we forget about what’s most important in the internet marketing world: real content.
Has your business implemented Heartbleed fixes? If not, then you are already late to the party, and are risking more than you might know. If you are a bank, online merchant, or software provider and you haven’t taken steps to protect your customers then you are risking their passwords, IDs, and all their private information.
3 Steps to Protect Your Information from Heartbleed Leak [for Users]
posted in Internet marketing, News
Businesses have been made well aware of The Heartbleed Bug, and they should have taken measures to protect you by now. If not then your privacy door is open and your information could be harvested. How can you tell if your favorite site, merchant, or software is protecting you? Most have notified their users and asked them to change their passwords, however some big names are still slacking on protection. If you have not been notified then it is possible the site has not made changes to their SSL, so it is very important that you follow these three steps.
I love super hero movies. My husband grew up on comic books. So, the current movie craze with super hero stories (especially Marvel) keeps us going back to theatres. My confession is that I have a heart for the super villains, especially those who were good and turned bad and still struggle with that pull on their conscience. (My current favorite is Loki, but that is a subject for another blog).
Enjoy my favorite scene between Thor and his brother, Loki:
A blog is a core piece of your internet marketing strategy, which works together with other online marketing tools (website, social media, calls-to-action, SEO, etc.) as part of an overall method called inbound marketing. Think of it this way: inbound marketing is the type of workout you’re doing, let’s say it’s CrossFit, and internet marketing is the fitness tools you use - weights, kettle bells, bands, bars, ropes – to work different muscle groups. A blog is one of these components working a large muscle group, let’s say your core, because you need a strong core to support the rest of your fitness efforts and you need a strong blog to support your internet marketing strategy.
Some days you just need a kick in the pants to remind you to keep pressing on with things that are hard to do but matter. Even a slight bit of light hearted shaming can be useful now and again. This morning I read a blog from our friends over at Copyblogger called Eulogy for a Blog. If you are struggling with writing your blog on a regular basis this is a humorous, yet poignant read. It struck me, of course, because I struggle with being disciplined in writing so it hurt a bit.
So, you have a website but nobody can find it unless they type the exact URL in the search bar. Does this sound familiar? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re way ahead of most of the other website owners because you're at least asking the question of how to add keywords to a website.
With the strict policies that surround link building services in the internet marketing industry now, as a business you need to be extra careful with how you build links. This also applies to your local reviews on different sites such as Yelp and Google.
After recent changes to Gmail, you wouldn't think Google would be toying around with much more. We know Google too well, it is always looking to improve so it's not a shock that they are testing out a brand new view to your promotions in the Gmail navigation.
Landing pages are typically not a general informational page on your website. The best lanidng pages are those pages on your website with a single focus and a single objective for the visitor.
You’ve made the decision to add a blog to your internet marketing toolkit. Well done! You think you understand the importance of a blog from all the reading you’ve been doing online. You believe that having a blog will:
Internet Marketing Tips: Don’t Fool Yourself Into Thinking Your Blog is in Shape
posted in Internet marketing, Blogging
Blogging is dead. Really. You can even read the eulogy here.
Yeah, okay, I’ve never been good at April Fools. (But seriously, check out the blog eulogy – it’s brilliantly written by Copyblogger).
Blogging is in fact very much alive. So alive, that it’s the heartbeat of your internet marketing strategy. If your heart stopped beating you would die. If you stop blogging you will surely kill your opportunity of being found online.
