Let's take a look at how visitors are finding websites....

You can see how visitors are being referred to websites. There is a notable difference between the shares of search engines for the given period. At the same time paid advertising has become much less popular than a year before. Looks like hard times have forced the site owners to save money on paid advertising and shift their focus on organic traffic.

Frogtown can help you with your search engine strategy.  Contact us to learn more.

One such way to reach these goals is by offering perks to new fans, friends and followers. Eli's Cheesecake, a Chicago legacy, has a long history but is clearly wise to the times.  Whenever someone joins their network, they send a thank you along with a coupon redeemable at their online store.

The offer works on several levels:

• It's targeted - sent as a direct message to someone with a clear interest in their product.
• It's defined. The offer's terms are clearly stated.
• The call-to-action is focused. The coupon is intended for use on elischeesecake.com - driving traffic to the website and opening up a channel for conversions.
• It's limited. The coupon is only good for a set amount of time, so the user is urged to take immediate action.
• It's trackable. The coupon code (hidden) means that Eli's can track every conversion from this coupon to optimize future campaigns.

Twitter and Facebook are great ways to extend your business presence online and drive some traffic to your website. But as Eli's shows here, it can also be a powerful way to encourage brand loyalty and generate revenue.

Social media profiles, like those on Facebook or LinkedIn are great candidates for just such a practice. Google, however, has started playing around with a new tool called profiles  and this last week made it very public. Anyone who can create an account on Google and verify their real name through a screening routine can now have a personal profile page on Google.

The page editor allows you to upload images, link to multiple websites, and create a rich text bio. There’s even a way for people to click on a link to contact you directly. Not really sure how Google treats those links, but seems like a nice place to have linking to your site. Here’s the link to my profile as an example

But, here’s the real kicker. Once you’ve been verified your profile it may begin to show up at the bottom of page one, complete with image, when someone Google’s you. (See image below) With this prime location, I’m thinking now is the time to get that profile completed and full of great information. Click here to Google me, scroll to the bottom of the page and see for yourself.

Some argue that linkbaiting is an unnecessary term which just means 'great content'. Nevertheless, it is a neat term that prompts marketers to focus their minds on what makes for genuinely useful or engaging content. 

Let's take a look at 10 strategies for linkbaiting...

Whether publishing microsites are in violation of the search engine webmaster guidelines depends on the details of the implementation and the reasons for doing it. Let’s look at a few of the reasons why people do it, and map out the likely search engine viewpoint on them...

You never know when you are going to meet a potential client or customer. Someone you ran into months ago at a convention or yesterday at a luncheon may one day need you. Have you given them a good reason to remember who you are?

Here’s the catch.
You have mere seconds to get someone’s attention. How are you going to do it? While you’re thinking about you answer, keep in mind that humans are sight-driven and filter the world through our eyes. We remember colors and shapes first and foremost, words last. Graphic and straightforward will always create an impression.

Don’t be afraid to be bold.
Do not confuse being bold with being loud. Throwing colors, fonts and pictures all over your card with no regard for how they work together and what they are saying will just produce an incoherent mess. Instead, be bold by presenting a strong expression of who you are.

Always remember you are not limited to standard business card sizes and materials. Anything that fits within a 3.5”x2” rectangle is fair game. For example, a fashion designer could give out a card shaped like a garment tag. Or a photographer could print their card on a translucent material reminiscent of a slide or negative. Speaker Jeffrey Gitomer, for example, uses a coin with his head on it and the words “In Sales We Trust” as a card. You only need to see that one time to remember him. There are many, many materials available that are not your standard 80 lb. card stock.

If you go to our site at FrogtownMedia.com, you'll see our favorite frog as the favicon.  It's small, but every opportunity to build your brand is time well spent.

In fact, Google has been running limited tests to display each website's favicons in search results. Imagine how important that little image will be soon!

Including a favicon is just another extra touch Frogtown puts into each website. Is yours missing?  Let us know!

Take a look and let us know how it works for you!

A few days ago, Robert Kiyosaki spoke at a luncheon with approximately 500 local business leaders.  Here's his story:  I began with these words: "I have good news and bad news. The good news is you will have fewer competitors next year because many of your competitors will be out of business. The bad news is you might be one of those out of business."

I then showed them my local newspaper, pointing to the headline "Businesses Are Struggling." I opened the newspaper and said, "I can tell you who will be in business." I pointed to a full-page ad for a local appliance store. "I'll bet money that this business will be here next year. Why? Because this business is advertising more aggressively than its competition."

In previous issues of Entrepreneur, I've written about the importance of advertising and promotion. I've shared my rich dad's lesson that when business drops off, many entrepreneurs listen to their accountant's advice and cut back on advertising and promotion. That's the worst thing you can do. When times get tough, your job is to promote more, not less.

Promotion is a six-week cycle. That means if I promote today, business increases six weeks later. Many businesses violate the six-week cycle. They promote for, say, four weeks, and because nothing happens, they stop. Two weeks later, there's a sudden increase in business. For four weeks, business remains strong. Then, just as suddenly, business drops off, because six weeks earlier, the entrepreneur had stopped promoting.

My rich dad's lesson was to never stop promoting: Promote whether the economy is strong or weak; promote even when you may not have the money. If you have no money, stand on a street corner at lunchtime with a sign hanging around your neck promoting your product or service. Not only will you meet new customers, but you might also save money on lunch, lose some weight and get a suntan.

Obviously, it takes more than just promotion to do well. To be successful, a business also requires strong fundamentals and a desirable product or service. During tough economic times, though, even some good businesses fail; some businesses shrink and others grow. When a business closes, its customers migrate to the business that fights hard and stays open. Businesses that promote while others cut their ad budgets have a better chance of getting bigger . . . even if the economy is shrinking.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad series of books, is an investor, entrepreneur and educator whose perspectives have changed the way people think about money and investing.

In a rather unscientific manner, we've gathered more than a dozen of these iconic campaigns and consulted a variety of experts to explain why they were so great. Here's a recap along with the lessons that can benefit you and your business.

Best making the best of a bad image:

Las Vegas' "What Happens Here, Stays Here" campaign

After a failed attempt to promote itself as a family destination, Las Vegas finally embraced its Sin City image with its "What happens here, stays here" advertising campaign, launched in 2003. It's still going strong: 2007 marked the city's fourth consecutive year of busting tourism records. "It resonated because it's what people already believe," says Laura Ries, president of marketing strategy firm Ries & Ries.
Lesson: Try to turn negatives into positives.

Best product placement:

Reese's Pieces in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Some marketing missteps make you kick yourself. Take Mars Inc.'s failure to take the opportunity to include M&Ms in E.T. After Mars passed, director Steven Spielberg went to Hershey's, which took the offer. It paid off. Time magazine reported in 1982 that Reese's Pieces sales rose 65 percent in the months after the movie's release. Even though the movie never mentioned the name of the product, showing the distinctive orange package was enough, and the placement enjoyed heavy promotional support from the manufacturer.
Lesson: Placing your product in the right media vehicle can boost sales.

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Best video ad:

Get a Mac

Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign, which launched in 2006, puts the hip, easygoing Mac against the hapless, problem-prone PC. "The message of these ads is clear," says communications professor Stephen Marshall, author of Television Advertising That Works. "Every one of them says, ‘Don't be this guy.' You don't want to be the PC." The TV ads also appeared online, and the company released a series of web-only ads to capitalize on consumer interest in the characters. People got the message--Mac's market share grew by 42 percent.
Lesson: Create engaging characters in your online video to help grow an audience that's receptive to your brand.

Best contest:

Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest

Launched in 1916, this homage to gluttony plasters the Nathan's name across international media each year. Brothers George and Richard Shea launched the International Federation of Competitive Eating in 1997. The IFOCE organizes and runs more than 80 eating contests throughout the U.S. and abroad, spurring a subculture of competitive eating celebrities who receive international media attention.
Lesson: Don't be afraid to be outrageous if it suits your brand.

Best use of YouTube:

Blendtec's "Will It Blend?"

Blendtec, a maker of high-end blenders, created a series of online videos that depict founder Tom Dickson using his durable machine to smash everything from small electronics to sneakers to credit cards. The videos are on Blendtec's site as well as YouTube, where, through viral marketing, some have been viewed more than 5.5 million times. It shows people are interested--and it saves money, since Blendtec didn't pay for all that band-width. Says Ann Handley, chief content officer of marketing information resource MarketingProfs.com, "They created a campaign that really builds brand awareness."
Lesson: Use various tools to spread the word about how your brand is different.

Best slogan:

"got Milk?"

What better success benchmark than having your slogan work its way into the national lexicon? It's even better when it includes your product name, says Mitzi Crall, author of 100 Smartest Marketing Ideas Ever. The simplicity of the slogan lends itself to a wide variety of advertising interpretations, ranging from humorous

TV ads to the celebrity-driven milk mustache print series. "The images of glamour and fame contrasted with the hominess of a milk mustache make the versatile tagline a hit," says Crall. A year after the campaign launched in California, the state saw an increase in milk sales for the first time in more than 10 years.
Lesson: Look for slogans that have the potential for longevity.

Best jingle:

NBC jingle

If you can name that brand in three notes, it must be the NBC jingle. Of course, repetition over the years has reinforced the brand, but there's more to it. "It's called mnemonics, or sonic branding," says Marshall. "By adding sound to its brand identity, it adds another way for customers to experience the brand. It especially makes sense because it's a broadcast medium."
Lesson: Look for ways to add additional sensory branding elements when relevant.

Best use of truth in a crisis:

Tylenol

When cyanide-laced capsules of Extra Strength Tylenol were linked to seven deaths in the Chicago area in 1982, parent company Johnson & Johnson faced a full-blown crisis. While other companies might have lied or evaded the situation, then-CEO James E. Burke issued a full recall of the product and engaged in regular media updates that were shockingly honest for the time. All consumers with bottles of Tylenol capsules could swap them for Tylenol tablets at Johnson & Johnson's cost. "Telling the truth is always a good long-term strategy," says Scott Armstrong, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. "When that's violated, it leads to a fall."
Lesson: Be truthful with your customers and you'll keep their trust.

Best use of social networking to target tweens and teens:

High School Musical

After the success of the made-for-TV movies High School Musical and High School Musical 2, Disney teamed up with MySpace in what TV Guide called the social network's largest campaign. The promotion included a contest where fans showed school spirit by completing tasks such as uploading videos, changing profile skins and texting votes for their school.
Lesson: Find the media your audience uses and go there.

Best celebrity spokesman:

William Shatner as The Priceline Negotiator

When William Shatner first started touting Priceline.com's cut-rate service in 1997, no one thought the relationship--or the company, for that matter--would last more than a decade. But through a savvy reinvention of itself, Priceline thrived with the campy James Bond-gone-wrong Shatner as its public persona. That long-term element is part of the relationship's success, says Ries. "You get the feeling that he's very much in tune with the brand and the company. That kind of longevity and dedication can be [very] effective."
Lesson: A little fun can go a long way.

Best logo:

Nike Swoosh

There are a number of rumors about exactly how much Nike paid Portland State University graphic design student Carolyn Davidson for the Swoosh in the early '70s (actually $35), but it's been the brand's mark since it was introduced on Nike footwear at the 1972 U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials. The reason it works? It's an "empty vessel," says Ries. "It's so simple and visible at a distance. Another logo might have been well-known but wouldn't have done the brand as much good if it had been more complicated." Because the Swoosh has no innate meaning attached to it, Nike can use it to build any image it desires.
Lesson: Sometimes too many bells and whistles can make your logo less effective.

Best use of outdoor advertising:

The Goodyear Blimp

Is there anyone who doesn't recognize the blimp when it passes by? "The Goodyear Blimp is its own kind of magic," says Crall. "If we see it float by when we're going about our daily lives, we run to get our spouses and children to ‘come see.' We're receptive to the brand message."
Lesson: Be unexpected in how and where you communicate with your customers.

Best use of promotional items:

Livestrong wristbands

After the news broke in 1996 that champion bicyclist Lance Armstrong had cancer, he founded his Lance Armstrong Foundation the following year. Working with Nike, the foundation developed a yellow silicon wristband stamped with the Livestrong mantra to sell as a fundraiser. According to lancewins.com, more than 45 million have been sold so far. The bracelets became an immediately identifiable symbol of Armstrong, who often wore the yellow leaders jersey while cycling to seven Tour de France victories.
Lesson: Have a signature look, whether it's a giveaway or simply in how you present your brand, so people recognize you immediately.

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Gwen Moran is co-author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Business Plans.

You might be using these for the networking opportunities. And, you may use the connections and dialogue in work applications.

For those of you whose responsibilities -- either directly or indirectly -- involve organic Web site optimization, let's look at how you can get SEO benefits out of social networking.

When it comes to social media and social media marketing, it's important that you reserve your brand's name (or your company name or personal name) on the more popular social networking Web sites. These include sites like Twitter, StumbleUpon, Mixx, Digg, reddit, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others like MySpace and YouTube. You don't necessarily have to be active on the Web sites; however, it's important to reserve your name and fill out your profile on those Web sites.

Typically, many of those sites allow you to put your site's URL on your profile page. Some sites, like LinkedIn, allow you to add more than one link, so take advantage of those links. Also, look at User Name Check to see where your brand is and isn't registered, and claim the ones you can. If you're overly enthusiastic, take a look at Wikipedia's social media list.

Linking over to a few of your more important profiles is fine. Telling your Web site visitors to "follow you" on a certain social networking Web site is OK, too. After all, Matt Cutts of Google recommends that you follow him on Twitter and FriendFeed.

However, keep in mind that real people will follow those links (this isn't just for SEO purposes), so link to a social media profile that you update regularly, not once every six months.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the social networking tool for business. Each of your company's employees can create an individual profile and network with others.

Once you register and log in, click on the "Account and Settings" link at the top of the page. Click on "My Profile." On that page, you'll see a section called "Websites." Click on the "edit" link and you will come to another page that allows you to edit your Web sites.

Select the "Other" option and then use a descriptive phrase to describe the Web site that you're linking to (good "SEO friendly" anchor text). You can also link to an internal page on your Web site. Need ideas for what link text to use? Look at your home page's title tag and use one of the keywords your Web site is targeting.

Facebook

While Facebook is popular, I haven't found a way to link from your Facebook profile page to your Web site that "counts" as a good link. While you certainly can add a link to your Web site in your Facebook profile, these links include a nofollow tag, so they won't provide much value if they appear in your public profile (the version that's seen by the search engines).

Digg

A link from your profile at Digg provides some SEO value. After you log in, go to your profile page (www.digg.com/users/username) and click on the "Add a Bio & Links" link in the "About" section.

You can also go directly to the settings page and scroll down to the "Links and Contact Info" section to add the links. Use a description that makes sense for each link you add. Include your main keyword phrase if possible.

If you don't have more than one Web site to list, add a link to your Web site's home page and an interior page. If a few employee of your company have Digg profiles set up, try to coordinate the links so you get more links to multiple interior pages.

Mixx

A link from your Mixx profile link includes a nofollow tag, so the links don't count. However, links that are submitted to Mixx are "dofollow" or "regular" links, so obviously this helps with SEO efforts.

Regular users will see people checking out your profile and visiting your Web site. Submitting links and participating on a regular basis is even more helpful, especially if the links you submit make it to the "popular" section.

StumbleUpon

There isn't a place on StumbleUpon's social network to add a link to your Web site, and any links you share with other users have the nofollow tag on them. However, the RSS feeds of your submissions and your blog items on StumbleUpon don't have the nofollow tag on them. Adding those RSS feeds to other sites that accept RSS feeds, such as FriendFeed.com, may be helpful for SEO purposes.

MySpace

On MySpace, there are no places where your link "counts" for SEO purposes. However, if your MySpace account has traffic and visitors, it still may help drive some traffic to your Web site.

BusinessWeek Business Exchange

Businessweek's social bookmarking community, Business Exchange, is helpful for SEO purposes. If you have a LinkedIn profile set up, you can integrate your LinkedIn profile with your Business Exchange profile and add up to three links in your Business Exchange profile. These also include your preferred descriptive text or anchor text.

Once you register and log into your Business Exchange profile, navigate to your profile and click on the "edit your profile" link. Scroll down to the bottom "Links" section and select the "other" option. Enter the title and URL. Enter links to the home page of your site using your preferred keyword phrase as well as links to some other important pages on your Web site.

While many social networking opportunities allow you to enter a link back to your Web site in your profile on their site, the opportunities to gain SEO benefits from these links vary from site to site.

LinkedIn, Digg, and BusinessWeek's Business Exchange offer good SEO opportunities. It's important to participate in these communities on a regular basis; the more you participate the more "popular" your profile will become, which will only help your SEO efforts.

###

Mark Jackson, Search Engine Watch

1. Review your company information

If you have a staff listing or directory, is it up-to-date with correct names, titles, and other contact information? If you have an "About Us" page or something similar that discusses company history, make sure it's updated—especially references such as "We've been in business for eight years."

2. Review your contact information

Are the phone and fax numbers, mailing and email addresses listed on your site all current? You're obviously losing customers if the phone number has changed.

3. Review your email routing

If you list help@yourdomain.com as the main contact address on your site, is it being routed to the correct person? If your shopping cart sends order information to orders@yourdomain.com, is that going where it needs to go? Make sure your email routing reflects any organizational changes you've had.

4. Review and test your contact forms

If you have contact forms on your site, review them to make sure they work, they're easy to use, and to see if they need to be updated. You might want to start asking people how they found your site or something else that your contact form doesn't ask now. Also, be sure to "break" the form—submit it without the required information and see how understandable the resulting error message is.

5. Review your automated outgoing messages

Do you send an automated confirmation message or receipt after someone orders a product or uses your contact form? If so, review that outgoing automated message to make sure it says what you want it to say, and that it has the right contact information, etc.

6. Update your copyright and/or privacy policy statements

If you have a copyright notice on your site, make sure it's not outdated. If you have a privacy policy, review it to make sure it accurately describes your current policy toward handling your customers' personal information.

7. Test all outgoing links on your web site

Outdated or broken links make your site look stale. It's also a source of frustration for your customers who click on links that don't work. Check all links on your site to make they're accurate and up-to-date.

8. Review the hidden sections of your web site

If you have any password-protected areas, do the passwords need to be changed? If you had staff changes during the year, this might be a good idea. It might be a good idea even if you didn't!

9. Review your domain record

Make sure your domain registrar has current contact information for you. If they don't, you might miss renewal notices and other important announcements about your domain. 

10. Do an overall review of your web site

This is something you should really be thinking about on a regular basis, but web sites often get ignored in the daily grind of running a small business. Ask yourself: How fresh is the content on my site? Do any pages need to be updated? How does my site look? Is it time for a more professional or modern design? Does my site offer the kind of features or tools that let my customers get what they want when they visit?

Like many non-profits, 2008 has been a very difficult year and giving is down by almost 50%.  The ability for Whispering Hope to keep the doors opens past January 31st next year depends greatly on the generosity of our supporters over the holidays.

Please join us in giving back generously by donating today!

###

Whispering Hope is dedicated to providing support and giving hope to women facing an unexpected pregnancy.  As members of the faith community, we have the opportunity and privilege to share God’s truth with women who find themselves in this situation

Whispering Hope offers free and confidential services for:
Medical Testing – pregnancy tests, STD testing and Ultrasound.
Counseling – Individual counseling, Abstinence Education, Mentoring
Education – Parenting Classes, Job & Life Skills Training, GED Referral
Resources – Food Pantry, Diapers, Infant & Toddler Clothes Closet, Baby Beds and related supplies

Do you know that right here in Forsyth and surrounding counties there are hundreds of young women who need your help? This year alone Whispering Hope has ministered to over 700 women. They provide these services only through the help and support of individuals, churches and businesses in our community who are willing to partner with them in prayer, volunteer support and monetary and in kind donations. Together we can make a difference in our community. Together we can save the life of an unborn child. Together we can give hope to young women facing an unexpected pregnancy. Will you join us?

Please prayerfully consider how God is inviting you to join Him where He is already at work. Please send monetary donations to Whispering Hope online at www.whisperinghope.org or mail to 133 Samaritan Drive Suite 402 Cumming, GA 30040. Contact the center at 770-889-9070 to volunteer today.

Thank you in advance for your support of Whispering Hope.

###

1. Choose a font style and stick with it.

An attractive campaign is one that's easy on the eyes. After all, if the eyes are comfortable and enjoying themselves, they're more likely to hang out and keep reading. Remember that too many fonts and colors, or too many 18-point over-the-top exclamations, can overwhelm those poor eyes and send them running for the hills. Start by choosing your font style. Are you a smooth Verdana person, or a straight-laced Arial type? Perhaps you're more of an old-school Times traditionalist, or maybe your sophisticated palate lends itself more to Trebuchet. Whatever your font, using it consistently - and choosing your bolds and colors wisely - will make eyeballs everywhere happy.

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2. Use images to enhance your content.

A recent study by MarketingSherpa found that recipients read more of an email's text if it contains graphics near the top. (Incidentally, if you don't know the 'Sherpa, it's a fabulous resource, and we highly recommend subscribing to the EmailSherpa newsletter.) If you're using custom brand stationery and a stylish brand masthead in EmailNow, you've already got a leg up in this category. When adding other graphics, remember that bigger isn't always better. Instead, use images that work proportionally with your overall layout and enhance your content instead of creating visual clutter.

3. Use simple, bold headlines to make your point.

An appealing campaign also makes its appeal to readers early. Too many otherwise nice-looking campaigns bury the lead, to borrow a bit of newspaper terminology. Stylish, bold headlines can grab your readers' attention, help make your point, and add separation and structure to text-heavy campaigns like, er, this one. What can we say, dear people - we love words like we love a good bread pudding or red velvet cake

4. Keep your content from being a chore.

How much content you include in a campaign depends in large part on what you have to say and how much your audience needs to see. But in general, remember that you have just a few seconds to convince a reader to, well, read. By presenting them with a newsletter that goes on for days, you're risking coming out on the wrong side of readers' mental math when they calculate how long it will take to get through it. Rather than getting them now, you may be relegated to the dreaded "Library" or "Read Later" folders.

5. Make sure your subject line is beautiful, too.

Don't forget that the most important part of your email may just be the five to ten words that introduce it. After all, the relative appeal of your subject line can mean the difference between someone moving on or stopping to look, read, and respond. Experiment with different phrasing to see what works best for your audience.

1. Using a generic subject line. You know that your latest email campaign is the October Newsletter. And you know that it's great. But it's up to you to tell your customers just why October is so darn special. Consider using your subject line to tease your favorite article or whatever *you* decide is the most enticing part of your newsletter.
   
   Also, try including your brand in the subject line. It'll let people instantly recognize *your* email at a glance and can help with inbox sorting down the road. Here are a few examples to get you started...
   
   Average: October Newsletter
   Much better: Paws for the Cause News: New Litter of Daschunds!
   
   Average: Upcoming events this month
   Much better: Can't-miss events at Main Street Theatre: A VIP-only concert and much more...
   
   
2. Getting freaky with Comic Sans. Fonts and colors and formatting, oh my. Keep your campaigns easy on the eyes with simple, intentional style choices. Avoid switching fonts every few lines, and choose your colors with an eye for readability. After all, a well-formatted campaign will catch your readers' attention and make it easy to keep reading. And isn't that the whole idea?
   
   

3. Trusted Email Marketing and Online Surveys Frogtown is a Certified Business Partner Take a FREE 60-Day Trial

   Sending email to people who didn't ask for it.  While it's important to make sure your email looks great, a successful campaign really starts with a solid, permission-based list. Only email people who have asked to receive your updates or are directly affiliated with your organization. If it's a rented list, a purchased list or a list of people who've never heard of you, avoid it.
   
   
4. Using an invalid reply-to address. Since permission-based email marketing is all about staying in touch with your members and customers, giving your recipients a way to continue the conversation is a must. Otherwise, you'll miss the follow-up questions from your subscribers, not to mention those rare (but important!) unsubscribe requests from people who choose to reply to you instead of using a built-in opt-out link.
   
   If the From Address you're currently using doesn't exist, consider asking your email administrator to create it, or change it to an address that does exist and is monitored by someone who can manage the replies.
   
   
5. Ignoring those results. After all the work of the big send-off, don't forget the fun of watching the results roll in. They'll tell you a lot about what your audience is interested in. Have an overwhelming click-through response last month when you linked to your blog? Consider adding more links like that in this issue. Did 62 people click to learn more about your newest program? Sounds like follow-up phone calls might be in order. Make sure you learn from the way people respond, and apply those lessons toward even greater success next time.
   
   
6. Sending one big image. We know it's tempting to take that gorgeous flier your designer created for print, save it as a jpg and plug it into your email campaign. But sending one big image is risky. Servers are more likely to filter emails with large images, and recipients may move on to other things before your image fully loads. And some email programs, like Gmail and Outlook, block images by default, meaning that a percentage of your recipients might see the original email you designed as a big, broken image. Yikes.
   
   One option to repurpose a print piece in email would be to ask an HTML designer to take the single large image and recode it into smaller, sliced images.
   
   
7. Forgetting to test. By taking a few minutes to send a test to yourself and a few colleagues, you can have peace of mind that your links work, your copy is typo-free and everything looks just the way you thought it would - all before you hit send to the big list.
   
   
8. Writing - and sending - a novel. By novel, of course, we mean a really flipping long email. When you send a campaign that goes on and on (and on), a typical subscriber - with a typically short attention span - probably won't sift through lots of text to find the content that interests them. Instead, your recipients may delete your email at a glance.
   
   Consider teasing your news articles with a quick text blurb in your email newsletter, then use landing pages to link your subscribers to additional content hosted on your website. In addition to shortening the length of your campaign, you also get the benefit of seeing which articles people click through to read - and you'll end up learning more about what your readers are interested in.
   
   
9. Sending too often (or not enough). Finding your ideal frequency depends on a few factors, like what your organization does and who you send to. Just keep in mind that sending too frequently may annoy your readers and increase your opt-out rate, but long lapses of silence may cause some readers to just plain forget about you. Aim for regular contact that keeps your brand in front of your readers, and make sure each send-off has a purpose. And in general, we recommend staying in front of your audience at least once a month but not more than a couple times a week.
   
   
10. Neglecting to personalize. Sometimes being one in a million isn't such a good thing, and you certainly don't want your readers to feel like they're just one email address in a one giant list. Use your email campaign to connect personally with your readers, but don't just stop with a personal first name greeting (although that's a great place to start). Look for other ways to extend a personal touch, whether it's through sending targeted messages based on your readers' zip codes or interests or keeping a friendly, personal tone as you write your content.

It's funny because when I was doing advertising research, I often worked closely with copywriters. I would interview customers to learn how they responded to different messages and report back to the creative team. Sometimes the copywriter or art director would have questions they wanted me to ask my focus groups. So I got to know the writers and their work pretty well.

Yet, when they went back to their desk to actually create the message, I had no idea how they came up with the words that moved customers to action.

Customer-Focused Story to the Rescue!

Turns out like any professional, copywriters have systems. One such system that has made my writing life infinitely easier is the Customer Focused Story: A six step process that helps you develop a message that inspires action on the part of your readers.

The power behind the Customer Focus Story is this: before people are ready to take action, it is absolutely critical that they feel safe to do so. By "safe" I mean your copy addresses two, usually unarticulated questions:

(1.) Do they feel that the business making the offer understands the problem they're struggling with?

(2.) Can the business help THEM?

If your copy helps them answer "yes" to those two questions, chances are very good your customers will take the next step.

Applying the Customer Focus Story: A Real Example

My client, Judy Rotunda of Pilates for Life, specializes in helping women who want to get fít but whose physical limitations make it difficult to use standard options such as fitness centers, aerobics classes, etc. Judy offers private and semi-private classes that enable clients to safely progress at their own pace. In this way clients get stronger and fitter without risking further injury.

Here is how we developed the Customer Focused Story for Pilates for Life:

STEP 1. Name the Who and the Problem with which They're Struggling.

The first thing you want to tell readers is "this is who I help and what I help them with." The point is to elicit a strong "Yes, that's me," in your ideal prospect so they will want to keep reading.

In the case of Pilates for Life, the who and what are:

"Women who are suffering from chronic back pain. Oftentimes, the pain is so bad it makes it hard for them to do things most of us take for granted."

STEP 2. Specify the Solutions They've Tried which Didn't Work

I know when I first began using the Customer Focused Story, I resisted this step. Why wouldn't I immediately launch into my wonderful solution?

Here's why. Two little words: "Yeah, but." No doubt you've experienced this when you've talked to prospects. You tell them about your product or service and they respond to every claim you make with "Yeah, we tried that but it didn't work." This is normal. They don't want to buy something they already know doesn't work.

The best way to deal with "yeah buts" is to simply acknowledge the solutions they've probably already tried--the ones that didn't work.

For example:

"They've tried the usual fitness options: low impact aerobics, yoga, and weight training but often those options just make things worse."

STEP 3. Explain Why Those Solutions Don't Work

When you not only acknowledge what your prospects probably tried but go on to say in effect, "Hey, what you did was perfectly understandable. That's what most people would have tried. I tried those things and my customers have tried those things." You're demonstrating empathy.

You are also letting them know they don't have to feel embarrassed or ashamed for trying and failing. That they are not the only ones who have struggled to find a solution to their problem.

Pilates for Life example:

"The problem with most mainstream exercise programs is the instructor's lack of experience working with back injuries and chronic pain. An instructor who is unfamiliar with these conditions may push for progress too quickly. Or they may assume persons with chronic back pain can do each movement in the same way as everyone else. Often times, this can strain the back muscles even more, cause more injury, and make the pain even more severe."

STEP 4. Talk About What They Need to Do to Solve the Problem

Your reader is probably thinking, "Okay, I understand why what I tried didn't work. So what DOES?" Here's where you get to address their question.

Pilates for Life example:

"A successful fitness program for persons with chronic back pain requires three things:

(1.) a fitness trainer familiar with the physiology of back injuries;

(2.) private or semi-private classes so the instructor can make sure the participant is doing the movements properly; and

(3.) a significantly slower pace to allow the muscles to adjust to new movements."

STEP 5. Tell Them Why You're Qualified to Deliver the Solution That Works

Finally, you get to talk about your solution! Specifically, you are going to write about how you are qualified to deliver a solution that works (which you just wrote about in Step 4).

Qualifications you want to refer to can include your personal experience, formal training and education, success stories about how you've helped your customers, and testimonials.

Pilates for Life example:

"For over twenty years, Pilates for Life owner, Judy Rotunda, suffered from chronic pain due to a childhood back injury. She looked everywhere to find an exercise program that would improve her strength and flexibility and, she hoped, provide some relief from the constant pain. When a fríend suggested she try Pilates, she was skeptical but after just two sessions, she was a fan. In fact, she was so convinced that Pilates was the answer for persons suffering from back injuries and chronic pain that she decided to become a certified Pilates instructor. Today Judy owns her own fitness service, Pilates for Life, which offers private, closely supervised exercise sessions for persons for whom standard exercise programs just don't work."

STEP 6. Tell the reader Exactly What the Next Step Is and How to Take It

At this point, a reader who is an ideal customer for you, is probably feeling hopeful and excited about learning more about what you do. So you are going to tell them exactly what the next steps are.

Pilates for Life example:

The ideal customer for Pilates for Life is a woman who is in chronic pain due to a back injury. Because they are in so much pain so much of the time, they are highly motivated to find solutions. There are two actions they could take:

"(1.) Go to the Pilates for Life Web site and complete a short assessment to help them determine whether Pilates is right for them.

(2.) Call Judy to talk about how Pilates might help them."

Putting It All Together

Once you complete Steps 1 through 6, you have all the pieces of your marketing message. The very last thing to do is to write it using "you" instead of "the customer" so it speaks to your customer in a personal way.

You may also want to do some light editing to make sure the separate elements flow well as a single written piece.

Bottom Line

I see so many small business owners struggle with creating a strong, to the point marketing message that inspires customers to take action. The Customer Focused story, in my experience, is a common sense, straight forward solution to this problem.

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Judy Murdoch, JudyMurdoch.com

The question used to be, Do you have a website? Now, the more relevant question is, How do you market your website? It truly isn't a "Build it and they will come" scenario.

If people don't know about your website, they can't visit--and learn about what you have to offer. That's why marketing your website online and offline is just as important as marketing your product or service.

Promoting your site can be simpler than you think. Here are some suggestions:

• All marketing communication materials should emphasize your URL and entice readers to visit your site. This includes business cards, letterhead, envelopes, brochures, flyers, folders and newsletters.
   
  
• Print your web address boldly on the front side of direct mail postcards. Sometimes simply printing your URL in a large, attention-getting style will cause the recipient to turn the postcard over and read the other information you want to share with them.
   
  
• You can issue a press release announcing anything new or newsworthy on your site. Maybe you're offering a free report, a free e-course or a unique approach to the marketplace that the media will be interested in.
   
  
• On-hold messages are now very popular for directing people to a website, especially with phone systems that use automatic attendants. But live attendants can direct people to your website, too. Make sure they know what information is available and relevant for the caller.
   
  
• If you ever get the opportunity to be interviewed on the radio, make sure you find ways to drop your URL. You can say things like, "On my website, www.market-for-profits.com, I offer free marketing articles and products for sale to help grow businesses." Don't just say, "On my website ..." without mentioning the URL. This applies to any interviews you might do with a reporter, editor or producer.
   
  
• Some publications will ask you to write a guest column or a feature article related to your expertise. At the end of the column or article they'll usually let you include a few sentences related to your experience and ways to contact you. Obviously mention your website and e-mail there.
   
  
• Advertising specialties are great ways to distribute your web address. They include key chains, coffee mugs, mouse pads, pens and pencils, as
  well as any apparel that might carry your logo or identity.
   
  
• You can also promote your URL offline with the following: fax cover sheets, vehicles, billboards, license plate frames, Yellow Page ads, other printed ads, T-shirts, and golf balls and bags.

 
Online Marketing
Online marketing should be done in conjunction with the offline marketing mentioned above. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Even though people are at your site, mention it often within the text of your web copy. This will reinforce it in the readers' minds and help with search engine optimization.
   
  
• Mention your website or include it in your signature for all news group, discussion group or forum postings.
   
  
• Ask your fusion marketing partners, board members, advisors or other business partners to mention your website on their sites.
   
  
• Use online press releases and articles just like the offline method mentioned above.
   
  
• Pay-per-click marketing
   
  
• Banner advertising on your site, as well as other related sites that your target market visits
   
  
• Online directories
   
  
• E-mail signatures
  
  

Be creative with both your offline and online marketing. Sometimes the best marketing comes from the wild, crazy, extreme or unique ideas that your competition hasn't thought of. Remember the guy who auctioned off his forehead as advertising space for a URL, or the pregnant lady who offered her pronounced stomach for URL placement for a Super Bowl ad website? Now that's guerrilla marketing.

Al Lautenslager, Entrepreneur.com

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6. E-mail about it
Once you've gathered information about your customers to look for purchase patterns, seasonal needs, product preferences and the like within your internal database, put it to good use, suggests marketing consultant Scott Cooper. From this information, you can create targeted e-mail, direct mail and in-store promotions that will have a higher likelihood of success because they're based on historical data, says Cooper, co-author of Tips and Traps for Marketing Your Business. The Maupins, for example, review their online customers' ordering patterns and tailor their e-mail marketing to customers' preferences.

7. Make employees a sales tool
Green Tango employees wear T-shirts, hats, aprons and buttons with different branding messages on them. "When we're offering a new product, we use the employee uniforms to promote it," says Billy Maupin. To beef up sales, employees are trained to promote certain menu items.

8. Start Surveying
Create news hooks for publicity by conducting your own surveys. Dorman likes SurveyMonkey.com, which has a free version and a more expansive version for $19.95 per month. Poll your audience on issues important to them and release the results as a timely news story that relates to what you do.

9. Reward referrals
When customers send business to Choice Translating Inc., a $2 million translation firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, they get a gift: either a high-quality gyroscope (pictured on the company's logo) or a piece of handmade art from the company's new office in Lima, Peru. Customers get excited about the gift, says Michelle Menard, 37, who co-owns the company with her husband, Vernon, 43. Each gift costs no more than $5, but "people go really crazy over them," she says, adding that the goodwill encourages people to keep her company in mind for referrals.

10. Get a group going
Beyond posting a profile about your business on social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace, you also have the option to start your own group, says Dorman. It's free, and it allows you to communicate offers and messages to an online fan base. Plus, each time someone joins, your group's name will be displayed on the individual's profile page or via update streams to other members. "Twittering and sending out bulletins through social media groups is a great way to disseminate your message," says Dorman. If you'd rather go it alone, sites like Ning.com make it easy to start your own social network.

11. Become a specialist
The Maupins designed the Green Tango menu to be salad-specific because "as the old saying goes, 'Pick one thing and do it well,'" says Billy. "We wanted to be known for being the best in a particular area." And you can, too. Kobler says that business owners can look into earning a certification in a particular area from a college or university's noncredit program or from a trade organization to improve their specialist credentials.

12. Use what you've got
Use your regular correspondence as a marketing opportunity, says Kobler. Make letters, invoice mailings and other correspondence more marketable by including product or promotion offers in them. Stamps.com's customized PhotoStamps lets you put your logo on the outside of an envelope or postcard. Make sure your e-mail signature lines include your logo, contact information and possibly even links to website landing pages with special offers or information.

13. Do the Q4 boogie
In the last months of the year, gather and review the 2009 editorial calendars of your target media. "They are normally easily found on the websites of every magazine, either in the 'Media Kit' or 'Advertise With Us' sections," Dorman says. "Look at the topics each plans to cover, then create an Excel spreadsheet of deadlines to pitch your company for relevant stories."

14. Compete, then repeat
When Green Tango was a finalist for a local newspaper's "Best Salad" designation, the Maupins didn't waste any time spreading the word: They immediately sent out an e-mail blast to their customers. Dorman says it's a good idea to enter contests sponsored by media, industry associations, and other organizations. A win gives you something to publicize to the community or industry and something new to communicate to your customer base.

15. Write an op-ed or letter to the editor
If a story that relates to your business breaks and you're not part of it, you can always comment on it in the form of an editorial, says Dorman. Your commentary may be picked up by the outlet that originally ran the story, and such submissions put you on the editor or producer's radar as a future source.

16. Post a video
A simple digital video recorder or webcam is all you need to create information-packed videos, which can be uploaded for free to YouTube, Google Video and other video sites, says Hager. Cynergy Systems shot a simple video in-house to promote its Cynergy Labs program, which gives funding and support for employees to develop their ideas on the company's behalf. When Cynergy posted the video, one of its employees e-mailed the video to a friend. Within 10 minutes, it had been downloaded hundreds of times--214,000 times to date.

17. Exploit the web
Dorman advises clients to get their companies on free sites like del.icio.us.com, Digg.com, Squidoo.com, and Yelp.com, "and, more important, have the fans of your product or service touting you on there as well." In addition, local newspapers and websites like Craigslist.org and Metromix.com often have free online calendars where you can list upcoming seminars, celebrations and so on.

18. Hit the streets
Face time with customers, especially in the B2B world, can make or break relationships. When Michelle Menard wanted to drum up more business, she and her employees made customer visits around Valentine's Day, delivering chocolates and building goodwill. Accompanied by a fun, holiday-related card requesting referrals and later supplemented by a mailing to customers who the company couldn't reach face to face, the effort bumped up revenue by $22,000 within a month.

19. Use your space
If you've got a high-profile location, use signage or banners on your property to promote your business (after you check the municipality's signage rules, of course). Billy Maupin uses small foam-core signs on mounts that can be stuck into the ground. Available for $20 to $30 each from his local print shop, they highlight seasonal promotions and point people toward his restaurants.

20. Create a customer advisory Board
Cooper suggests inviting customers to be part of a panel that can give you feedback on everything from your store design to your latest ad campaign. They can also help brainstorm new ways to reach new and existing customers. Reward such valuable insight with a small gift or a special discount.

21. Team up
Most businesses can find a way to team up with another noncompeting company that targets similar customers. Restaurateur Billy Maupin teamed up with a local personal training facility to promote his green fare to the trainers' health-conscious clientele. People arriving for personal training sessions place and pay for an order at the beginning of the session. The training facility passes the orders to Green Tango's staff members, who deliver the salad so that it's waiting for the client at the end of the session.

Aside from the amount of time they take to coordinate, these tactics range in cost from a few pennies to the cost of a few discounts. However, those small investments can pay off in a big way through increased awareness and outreach to prospective customers.

Gwen Moran, Entrepreneur Magazine - October 2008

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'Tis the Season to Connect with Your Members and Tap Their Spirit of Giving and Giving Back

by Alec Stern

Fall is not too early for nonprofits to start planning their holiday email marketing campaigns.

With Thanksgiving and the December holidays around the corner -- and time ticking for charitable givers to make tax-deductible donations before the New Year -- now is the time to plan how to thank your supporters, highlight your year's accomplishments, suggest other ways they can support your organization and tap into their holiday spirit of giving.

Here are eight ways to use email marketing to stay top of mind with your subscribers this holiday season:

1. Say Thank You. Email a holiday card thanking subscribers for their support. List a few accomplishments that their support has made possible. Consider segmenting your list and sending a more personalized note to each of your target groups: donors, volunteers, board members, etc. If you request a donation, make it subtle and secondary. Thank you is the primary message.

2. Share Your Accomplishments in an Email Newsletter. This takes the thank you note one step further by creating a more extensive piece showcasing your organization's good work over the year. Tell stories, using faces and pictures to illustrate your successes. Bring your work alive in ways that show donors how far their dollars and other types of donations go. Include a "make-a-donation" link at the end.

3. Invite Members to Holiday Events. Some nonprofits host local holiday parties, open houses, fundraisers, and member appreciation events. Email provides a fast and easy way for you to send out an invitation with a link to a simple email RSVP or an event registration page. Don't forget to follow-up with an invite reminder closer to your event.

4. Call for Volunteers and Other Types of Donations. Cross-promote among your constituents to expand their relationships with your organization. Tell volunteers about how they can donate dollars or goods. Promote volunteering opportunities to your donors. Tell people who have donated goods (clothing, books, food, etc.) how they can make a cash donation or give the gift of their time and energy. Doing so will help further cement the relationship you have with your supporters and donors.

5. Ask for Donations to Support Your Cause. If your organization has a capital campaign underway, the holidays are a good time to ask for a donation that supports this campaign or a specific cause or program. Give as much detail as you can about this program in need of funds and what the member's donation will help make possible. One way to soft-sell your request might be, "During this gift-giving season, consider supporting our organization's vital work..." Remind donors that their charitable contribution is tax-deductible.

Timing Tip: Ask Early, Remind Often
If your holiday email has a call to action such as asking for capital campaign donations, send it earlier in the season, closer to Thanksgiving, with follow-up reminders as the season draws to a close. If you're promoting your merchandise, time your emails to catch members at different points in the buying cycle (suggest "gifts for that hard-to-buy-for person" or "gifts for a cause" when holiday shopping first ramps up and "last-minute gifts" later in December). Create your holiday emails in advance so you can send them out on a schedule.

6. Leverage Your Partnerships to Reach More Like-Minded People. Ask board members, supporters and volunteers if their businesses and organizations would be willing to include a note about your charity in their holiday marketing campaigns. A mention of your work could appear in their email or print marketing pieces, or on their company or organization website. Would they be willing to let their customers and employees know about your organization?...to provide matching funds? Forge partnerships with other complementary organizations to promote your organization to their supporters and promote their organization to yours.

7. Offer Gift Ideas. If your organization sells merchandise or has a webstore, now is the time to remind subscribers about it! Wouldn't a mug (or hat, or tote bag, or T-shirt) with your brand make a great gift for that hard-to-buy-for person on your member's list? If a portion of merchandise proceeds goes to support your organization, remind them of that too. Tip: For better conversion results, your email should link back to a landing page on your website showcasing those gift items (rather than linking to your homepage).

8. Ring in the New Year with a "What's Coming Up" Email: This is similar to the end-of-year-accomplishments newsletter, only now you're showcasing the projects and initiatives for the coming year. Again, tell stories, show a need for your important work and how your organization -- and your members' donations -- support those important causes. Again, ask them to consider supporting your efforts. Add a link to "click here to volunteer or give."

Formatting Tip: A Picture Still Says a Thousand Words
Whether your email marketing communication is a simple "Thanks and Happy Holidays," a request for donations or volunteers, or a newsletter showcasing your accomplishments - don't forget to include photos. A picture that illustrates how your members' donations are put to work is more compelling than statistics and words alone. Show them how their giving makes an impact in the lives of others.

During challenging economic times, consumers whose budgets are stretched thin will benefit from regular email reminders of why they supported your organization in the first place. Email marketing gives nonprofits a cost-effective way to tell donors, members, volunteers, and subscribers how much their generosity is appreciated all year 'round. Year-end holiday communications are a great way to stay top of mind and in front of your supporters -- and make sure they stay engaged in your mission and energized for the New Year.

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If you are looking for improved search engine rank for any page on your website, you have to learn how to write articles in order to make use of one of the major and most useful resources online: article directories.

Just as website directories can be used to promote your website online, article directories can be used to publish your articles. These articles can in turn be used to promote a specific page on your website, and in this respect are more useful than a website directory listing that promotes only your home page.

You have few opportunities to direct search engine spiders directly to a page of your choice, and when one arises it should be made good use of. In fact, other than article directories and links on your website, you are unlikely to find such an opportunity, and it should be seized whenever it arises. However, very few people actually know how to make best use of such an opportunity and to use their articles intelligently to drive masses of traffic to their site.

You can use your Author's Resource to achieve that, but in order to get the Resource read, you have to get the article read. For that to happen, you have to write a good article and then make people read it. To do that your title must be good enough to persuade people to read it. To achieve that you must be able to write a good title. So how do you achieve all of these things? That is the purpose of this article: to teach you how to craft a title that will get you article read, and then to craft a resource that will compel the reader to visit your website - or the web page that you want them to see.

So, first the title: Before you can craft your title you will need a good topic or subject to write about. There are several ways to decide what that should be, but that is another article. Let's assume that you have decided to write about how to cure a slice in golf. The obvious title would be: "How to Cure Your Golf Slice".

Would that really be a good idea? How many web pages are there online with that title? A few thousand? A few hundred thousand? In fact if you use the term as a Google search you will find it is 387,000. You have 387,000 other websites competing for these keywords. Now, let's change it to "How to Cure a Golf Slice". You get 71,500 competing sites. Just one small word change: 'your' to 'a' reduces the competition by almost 82%.

What that means is that with fewer competing sites you have a lot better chance of having your website listed close to the top of the listings for the keyword. However, you also have to take the demand into consideration: if nobody is using these keywords in their search you won't benefit by using them. Using Wordtracker I get three times as many people, searching for 'cure A golf slice' than 'cure YOUR golf slice'. So based upon keyword research the title will be: How to Cure A Golf Slice

This has three times the demand and over a fifth of the supply of the alternative with 'YOUR' in the keyword. That's the difference that one simple word can make to the success or failure of a keyword or keyphrase.

In practice it will make little difference, unless the prospect uses the exact phrase, in which case 'how to cure a golf slice' is the more likely of the two terms for somebody to use. Were the term 'cure my golf slice' used, both would have the same number of results.

You then write the article, making it as interesting and as useful to the reader as possible, and try to persuade them that they have to find out more by visiting your website. However, the purpose of this article is not to show you how to write articles, but how to use them. You do that using your Resource Box. This is a section that some directories provide in which you have to persuade the reader to visit your site. The directory won't describe it as such, but that is basically what it is. In fact not all directories provide a separate data box for this, so you have to add it to the end of your article, but either way you design it the same way.

Keep in mind that the resource box should not be used as a bio. Even though the directory might ask you to provide info about yourself, you should use it to promote your website. Here are some ideas for your resource box.

1. Provide more information and a free gift "For more information on this topic and a free gift check out Pete's website at xxxxxx" .
   
   
2. The Second Part Offer "You will find Part 2 of this article at xxxxxx.com, in which you will learn how to put this information to practical use."
   
   
3. The Final Offer "If this article interests you, you will find a limited period free offer on xxxxx.com, that will help you to cure your golf slice."

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What is going on with e-commerce websites? It appears that online entrepreneurs spend so much time worrying about website traffic that they ignore the customers who actually want to buy something.

Recently, I tried to order a product we spotted at a trade show. It was perfect for our application so we did a Google search to find the manufacturer and a líst of dealers who sold the item.

Almost all the websites that distributed the product had proper contact information and invited people to call, which we did. After six frustrating phone calls to dealers we still hadn't found anyone willing to answer the telephone. Since we had to leave a message almost everywhere we called, we decided to try California even though we are located in the east, and it was far too early for any reasonable person to be at work.

We finally got in touch with a friendly salesperson in Boston, who was very helpful but unfortunately the company was out of stock. Despite not being able to fill the order, we kept their information on file because they were friendly, accommodating, and dealt with all our questions. They tried their best to meet our needs but if we would have ordered using their online system and found out later that the product was back-ordered we would have been very upset since we had a deadline to meet.

Next we reached the manufacturer who told us he was too busy to check if he had any stock, and maybe he could get back to us by four o'clock. Just as we were ready to give up, the phone rang; it was the owner of the California dealer, who had the product in stock, took the order, and shipped it out the same day.

Businesses, especially website businesses cannot run on autopilot; customers are people and they expect to be treated like human beings. Now it is not always possible to answer every phone call the minute someone calls, or to have every product in stock when people need it, but the more human interaction you can build into your website the better your sales will be. To paraphrase that old saying about horses, "you can lead search traffic to your website, but you can't make them order."

Why Should Anybody Buy From You?

Ask yourself this simple question: why should anybody buy anything from you? You probably aren't the only company that sells your product or service, and even if you are, there are most likely substitutes available from competitors.

When potential customers find you on Google they are also finding all your competitors. So unless you sell a totally unique, non-fungible (non substitutable) product, service or brand that is also the lowest priced on the market, then you best give people some compelling reason to buy from you.

The product we were looking for was available from a dozen different website businesses, spread all over the United States and they all sold the same product at the same price. In the final analysis we purchased from the supplier that was the furthest distance away in a time zone three hours earlier than us; but we purchased from that supplier because we were able to talk to a someone who answered all our questions in a friendly, intelligent, and engaging manner.

It's what used to be called customer service before businesses were turned over to database programmers, number crunchers, and search savants who think of human interaction as something to be avoided.

The Human Touch Creates Confidence and Sales

Websites are a very efficient method of lead generation and potential sales as long as you engage your audience with a presentation delivered by a real person who explains as much as possible about the things you sell, and how you sell them. And that includes things like delivery, which is one of the major complaints and points-of-contention that online customers have. Nobody likes surprises, especially when they cost time and money.

Web sales success has little to do with features, benefits, or technical advancements, in fact a barrage of features and specifications is just as likely to confuse visitors, and paralyze their purchase decision. The one tactic that overcomes this problem, that inspires confidence in your advice, trust in your ability to deliver, and convinces people to purchase, is information presented by a real human being.

You Can't Always Handle Things Personally

Understanding you cannot always be available, the next best thing is Web video. A video provides a complete, consistent, error-free, professional presentation of the information you want customers to receive. Hiring, training, and managing staff is expensive, and their handling of customers is often unreliable, resulting in a negative impression of your company.

Lest We Forget Tricky Dick

And that brings me to the Web entrepreneur who thinks that they are so charming and persuasive that they are going to be their own Web-video host.

Anybody who studies audience behavior is familiar with the classic case of the 1960 Presidential debate between Nixon and Kennedy. Most people who listened to the debate on the radio thought Nixon won, while the people who watched on television thought Kennedy won. This was a seminal example of how auditory and visual performance influences content, impression and response.

This lesson has been well learned by politicians but has somehow escaped the attention of business leaders and Web entrepreneurs.

Human Motivational Optimization

Web entrepreneurs' obsession with search optimization, and their fascination with technical solutions to human problems, has created an e-commerce environment that is decidedly remote and unfriendly. Sales are a motivational exercise in people-problem solving: people buy things that fulfill physical, emotional, and psychological needs. The answer is to adopt a Human Motivational Optimization approach to the presentation of your website material.

What is Human Motivational Optimization? It is a mindset used for designing Web experiences for human beings, not just search engine spiders.

Human Motivational Optimization For E-commerce

Let's say you have an online business that sells clothing. The best way to display clothing is on a model who twists and turns so the audience can see the item from all sides, as well as how it hangs or drapes on a real person. A garment displayed flat looks like a rag, and just doesn't do the product justice.

Even quality still photography doesn't show how a garment looks when someone moves; and high quality fashion photography is more expensive than short fifteen to twenty second Web videos.

You can also add some professional voice-over narration that explains all the fabric details, design features and options available. A Web video fashion catalog is the most effective way to sell clothes online.

Perhaps you sell cosmetics. Another product ideally suited for Web video. Teaching visitors what products look best together based on particular facial features and coloring as well as different makeup styles for work, play, and evening are ideal opportunities to up-sell and build confidence in you and your products. Customer education is one of the best Web marketing tactics you can employ in order to distinguish yourself from the competition.

Not Every Product Is Sexy

Clothing and cosmetics are both high profile products, but let's say you sell something that is not quite so sexy, something like sandpaper. Sandpaper is boring but, if you need an abrasive product, you better pick the right one or you'll make a mess of whatever you are trying to build.

Teaching customers what products to use turns one-time buyers into long-term customers. When customers buy the wrong thing, they invariably blame the supplier, while suppliers that provide valuable purchase advice create a significant barrier to competition.

Even major box store retailers have learned that they cannot afford to have a bunch of part-timers helping customers. Best Buy has their Geek Squad and Apple Stores have their Geniuses.

Returns on electronics and computer equipment are too costly, and that goes double for online businesses where shipping is a factor. And that doesn't take into account customer ill will created by the aggravation and frustration of being sold the wrong thing. Rather than being an expense, a professionally produced Web-video e-commerce catalog is actually a tactic that saves time and money, both in the sales process, and customer relations.

Web video engages audience attention; informs viewers of product advantages, details and options; and explains who should purchase, as well as who shouldn't. It educates people on how to get the most out of what you sell, and it does it in the most compelling and memorable manner. It establishes a trust-based relationship with clients and that is something competitors cannot overcome with high pressure, price-slashing tactics.

The Geeks are Killing Your Business

Today we have a generation of entrepreneurs trained in highly specialized technical areas like search engine optimization, database development, statistical analysis, and Web-based programming. All of these disciplines view business, even marketing, advertising and public relations as if they are somehow quantifiable, scientific disciplines that can be measured and managed without consideration of that messy notion called human nature.

The biggest problem in business is dealing with people, and just because your business is Web-based, doesn't mean people no longer count.

We know 'if you build it, they will come' is not a viable marketing strategy, and the idea 'if they find you, they will buy' is just as wrong. Start thinking in terms of Human Motivational Optimization: start designing websites for people, not search engines.

Jerry Bader, Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia

We've read a lot of slick ads and emails lately from firms saying they can 'optimize video' for search.  Ask them how and you'll get some fancy explanations with some geek speak. Remember that search engines can NOT view your video. 'Optimizing video' uses the same key concepts of optimizing any other content on your website. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
 

• Search Engine spiders read text - Be sure to include keyword rich titles and links to your video.  The video page should also include keyword rich titles, content and meta tags.
  
  
• Related Videos - If you show your users 'related' videos on the video player or page, you're more likely to get additional views.
  
  
• Embedded Players - Use an embedded video player since people will be less likely to click a link that takes the user away from your site.
  
  
• YouTube is King - YouTube represents over 90% of videos viewed through a Google search of videos.  There are some downsides to using YouTube, for free video hosting and an embedded player, it's easy to over look those.
  
  
• Text of Scripts - You can provide a link to the text of the video script to increase your keyword coverage.  This is what let's search engines 'read' your video.
  
  
• Google Video Sitemap - Build a separate page for each video, with keyword rich content, and submit the video sitemap to Google. Yahoo and others will be follow Google's lead and provide their own video sitemaps soon.
   
• Remember your Call to Action - Slick video players and effects can be pretty cool, but remember your call to action. It doesn't do any good to have the best video around if no one is buying your product or service.  Also, avoid overly slick video tricks that may look neat at first, but quickly become annoying.

Video search engine optimization is an important part of any video marketing strategy. If you're planning to market your business or organization using video, surrounding it with the right keywords and other information can help it be noticed

It's like having an office assistant for your email.

• Automatically connect with new contacts the moment they show interest in you.
• Remind them that they opted in to hear from you – and reduce mistaken spam reports.
• Nurture the relationship with targeted messages that inspire action and their continued attention.
• Reuse previous content with new subscribers.
• Show them you're a great business to work with. 
   
  

 
When someone joins your list through the Site Visitor Signup Box, your can automatically strike while the iron is hot and send them up to five follow-up emails, instead of waiting until the next campaign to make their first contact.

Best of all, you can get a 60 day trial at NO CHARGE! Give it a shot and let us know what you think.

Autoresponder

When someone is added to your contact list through the JMML (Join My Mailing List) tag, they can now automatically receive a series of up to 5 emails following their signup. This is a good way to make a strong first impression with new signups -- instead of waiting until the next campaign, the first automatic response email will be sent after one day.  That's a great way to make a connection while the 'iron is hot'.  Another idea is to offer a freebie for clients when they sign up.  The autoresponder can automatically give the new member instructions on how to download their free item, like a case study, white paper, etc.

View as a Web Page

The Constant Contact emails you send out will automatically include a link to a web version of the email at the top of each message. This ensures that the entire message will be read and images will be seen. Many email images are either blocked or don't render properly in HTML.  Providing this link allows readers to view the message in their web browser.

New Contact Capture Widget

The new Contact Capture Widget makes it even easier for you to build contact lists -- new contact names can be added without opening your Constant Contact account.  You can also upload contact details, including phone number, physical address and more.

These should be released over the next few weeks, so get started now!  Check out Constant Contact with a free 60 day trial

Paypal

Paypal has been around for quite some time now and they certainly make it easy to accept credit card payments.

1. Open a free business account
2. Build Payment or Donation buttons through their website
3. Put the button on your website

or, if you're using a shopping cart, you simply put your paypal userid in the shopping cart's configuration. Unlike in the past, your users do NOT need a Paypal account.  They can pay directly with a credit card.

Here's a diagram of how the process works

Paypal Fees (as of 8/21)

• No setup fees
• No monthly fees
• 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction

What's great about this is the setup time is very short.  You also don't have to worry about security since all the credit card information is stored on Paypal's secure servers.  The downside is the user leaves your site at that point and you lose control over the look and feel of the checkout process.  If a completely seamless checkout is important to you, you should consider seting up a Gateway and Merchant account.

Gateway and Merchant Accounts

If you want to handle the cards yourself and provide a seamless user-experience, then a Gateway and Merchant account is your next option. A Merchant account is simply a bank account designed especially for accepting credit card payments online.  They’re offered through banks or other financial institutions.  In order for your website to communicate with the Merchant account, you need a Gateway account.

Since you're now accepting cards directly on one of your web pages, that page needs to be secure.  To secure the page, you need to purchase a server certificate.  The certificate allows your web page to be "https".

Once you're setup, your Gateway provider will give you an authorization code to use in your shopping cart system.  Most Gateways also provide ways to let you create payment or donations buttons as well. 

Each Merchant and Gateway vendor sets their own fees.  As a 'Preferred Reseller', Frogtown recommends Authorize.net , so we'll use their rates as an example.

Merchant Account

Setup = $0

Monthly = $9.95

Transaction Fee = $0.25

Discount Rate = 2.19% 

Gateway Account

Setup = $99.00

Monthly = $17.95

Transaction Fee = $0.10 

Secure Certificate

Annual Fee = $50 to $200 depending on the vendor 

You're encouraged to shop around to find the best rates from online providers, as well as local banks.

Conclusion

Accepting cards directly on your site is more involved and has a fixed monthly fee regardless of your sales.  We recommend starting off with Paypal to get up and running quickly.  You can consider switching to a Merchant/Gateway account as you build your business and sales volume.

Give us a call or send a note if you have any questions about Paypal or Merchant/Gateway accounts.

Most of us are not professional photographers and I don't think I've ever used one of my own pictures.  Fortunately for the rest of us, there are several sites what provide free or low cost images.  Not only images, but abstract designs, vector images, flash and more.

My favorite is Stock.XCHNG - http://www.sxc.hu.  Here's how they describe themselves:

Welcome to Stock.XCHNG, the leading FREE stock photo site!
Whether you just want to browse our huge image gallery or want to share your own photos with others, this is the site for you!

Browse through the categories of our huge gallery containing over 350.000 quality stock photos by more than 30.000 photographers! Need a wallpaper for your desktop or illustration for your blog? Need a pic for your commercial website design? Looking for inspiration? Have a look around.

Another site is iStockphoto - http://www.istockphoto.com .  There you'll have to pay about $3 per image, but the quality and selection is outstanding.  Here's their bio:

iStockphoto is the internet’s original member-generated image and design community. Find your inspiration on the world's leading royalty-free stock destination. Search for over 3 million photographs, vector illustrations, video footage and Flash files. 

 Browse around and enjoy!

A good idea when discussing colors is to work off the same sheet of music...or color in this case.  A great place to start is Wikipedia's web color page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_colors.

Here's the list of "X11 colors" from the CSS3 specification. While you may notice a slight difference in color between some systems, these work great for most designs.

###

Email marketing is a fabulous way to market your products and services to your readers and make sales - *if* they bother to open your emails to read them! In the world of marketing communications, your first impression - your headline - can lead to either marketing success or failure. The only way headlines will work is if they appeal to your reader’s interests. The best headlines are designed to:

• Grab your readers’ attention
• Get your readers to read the rest of your message
• Convey your main selling points 4. Lead your customers to want your solution so they *open your email* and *make a purchase*

Remember, when creating headlines - ”Start With The End In Mind”!

Many headline formulas work well. Here are my five favorites I use repeatedly, that have resulted in an average 67% open rate for my ezine and sales promotions:

1. The Question

“Do You Hate Your Job? Discover Seven Secrets For Escaping Corporate Slavery!” A question headline automatically gets your readers involved in your message, because they begin to answer the question in their minds. It also generates curiosity, because people want to seek the answer to the question, and not feel that they are “missing” out on some important information.

The question headline entices people to read further into your letter, ad, website copy, or open your eZine to find out the answer or solution you can provide to the question.

Trusted Email Marketing and Online Surveys Frogtown is a Certified Business Partner Take a FREE 60-Day Trial

2. The How-To

“How to Lose 20 Pounds in 30 Days”.

“How-to” headlines work very because people love information, steps, and checklists that show them how to do something. Think of the benefits your products and /services offer, and then try creating some “how to” headlines.

It’s also a great idea to include numbers in your headlines, because numbers make the message more tangible, and measurable.

One More Simple Tip: Using the words “easy” or “simple” in your headlines gives people the sense that what ever you are teaching them “how-to do” is not going to be a lot of work, and therefore they’ll read further (easy and simple wins over complicated and time-consuming every time).

3. Headline “Power Words” & “Phrases”

Weave these small, but mighty words and phrases into your headlines for added Oomph!

• The Truth About…
• Discover…
• Do You…
• How To…
• How Much…
• How Would…
• Secrets Of…
• Yes
• At Last!
• Imagine…
• Protect
• New
• Facts
• You

4. The Testimonial

“Bonita Richter’s Coaching Is Pure Magic—My Sales Have Increased 50% in 3 Months!”

Why not get social proof working for you, and let your clients do the selling? Other peoples’ recommendations can go a long way in convincing others to use your services.

Social proof means that we tend to view the behavior of others as an indicator of what we should do in a particular situation. If someone else says, something must be good or noteworthy, than it must be so.

If other people have received great results by working with you, or using your products/services, then other people will tend to want to share in the success, too.

Tip: To appear credible, always include your clients’ full names and the cities they live in.

5. The Command

“Boost Your Business Today!”

Turn your most important benefit into a commanding headline, such as “Look 10 Years Younger Instantly!” and “Get 10 New Clients This Month”.

By the way, throwing a number into your headline is another good tactic. Readers are attracted to odd numbers (especially 5, 7, and 9), as opposed to even numbers.

Once your readers know you have something they’re interested in, they’ll take the time to read your entire article, brochure, letter, ad, eZine, or Web page.

By putting some TLC into creating your email headlines, you’ll *boost* your email open rates, opt-ins, and make more sales!

I'll admit there's a lot of non-sense on these sites, but you can effectively use them to sell the 'personality' of your business.

###

How to Market on Social Networks 

Online social networks, like the World Wide Web itself, are a microcosm of a vibrant human community. If you participate on services like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace for some time, you'll notice the same types of people as you might on a trip to the shopping mall or a weekend at the beach.

There is but one difference. While 'offline' you see people, on the Web you see their personality.

Understanding this is core to your effective use of social networks for marketing.

While others will rush into these digital fora blatantly spewing advertising messages willy-nilly, you'll be able to tap into their minds more intelligently. Because by following some simple principles, you'll create an online persona that people WANT to engage with and listen to.

Over 2 years of intensely being involved in various social media marketing channels, I have learned some lessons you may find useful too.

Less Is More

When you're getting started, it is natural to explore many different services. This 'flit and fleet, dip and dabble' approach is often necessary, because each of them vary in significant ways from the other.

But once you find the right one(s) with the ideal mix of audience, features and convenience to suit your personality, stick with it instead of trying desperately to sample all the available alternatives (there are over 1,000 of them as we go to press, so that's practically impossible).

By honing in on your preferred social networks, you can better carry out the important other steps of engaging your audience and participating actively in your online community.

Engage Your Audience

Be yourself. Let your personality shine through. It is your unique advantage over everyone else in the online social media marketing space.

Carried away by the potential to drive more traffic or make more sales, eager marketers often explode on the social networking scene like a bombshell. They launch into what is the online equivalent of a full-throated sales pitch right in the middle of a Sunday morning sermon in church!

Won't that shock the others? Of course. And then, they'll ignore you.

Engagement is not instant, automatic or easy. It is however powerfully effective. Over 9 months, I have 1,000 'followers' on Twitter. We share a relationship - even if it is at arm's length.

Build Your Following

The conventional approach of herding audiences into closed spaces so that you can market to them are long gone. Social media marketing is not as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. These fish are swimming in a vast ocean. You need to reel them in - by using powerful bait... intelligently!

The formula that works consistently is simple. Be interesting. If what you share on social networks is useful, valuable, funny, entertaining, new, insightful or soul-stirring, people will find you - and stay with you.

And because control is in their hands, you have little choice in the matter anyway. Social networks are all about 'attraction marketing'. You attract them into your circle - and keep them there.

Be Real

That does not mean you need to reveal every intimate detail of your life, like what you ate for breakfast or what you watched on TV this morning. Or even where you live, work or play.

It does mean that you should have a persona - and be true to it. All the time.

I'm a heart surgeon. I also have a little daughter, love reading, travel to interesting places and blog actively. All of these aspects of my life make their way into my posts on social networks.

Almost incidentally, I also slip in the stuff that makes my social networking effective - like my Internet infopreneur business and my non-profit Foundation that raises funds to help children from poor families receive expensive, life-saving heart surgery.

Give To Get

Many people are selfish and self-centered. And these people are on social networks online. While you may hope and wish it were different, in reality, they do it for what's in it for them!

To smartly leverage social media marketing, you must take advantage of this knowledge - and give enough value to satisfy your audience, and turn them into raving, loyal fans.

Only then do you ask for something in exchange - a visit, a click, a sale.

When you do this consistently, you'll notice a reciprocal benefit that grows and swells until you are swamped by a return far in excess of anything you ever gave.

Now, It's Up To You

Will you make your social networking and marketing effective using these simple insights?

They are deceptively simple. But when you try following these principles, you'll discover how effective and powerful they really are.

Another test of their impact is to try and ignore them. You'll see how badly social networks can burn you. But then, you're not going to try, are you? No way... You're smart!

About The Author
Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian is a social infopreneur and uses his Internet marketing to fund heart surgery for under-privileged children in India. He blogs at Money.Power.Wisdom - and is on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace too.

All you need is the RSS URL from the source website.  For example, CNN offers a headline news feed using http://www.cnn.com/services/rss/?iref=rssmorenews.  Once you've got the URL, simple include that URL in a Module and you're done!

All Frogtown Media Web Design websites include support for RSS.  To learn more, call us at 678-947-6188 or contact us . 

Your website is built and sitting pretty. So where are all the people you hoped would come over to play? You need traffic for your site to be effective and to start generating leads. Now that you know that just having a website won't necessarily drive business to you, you should consider the most important thing most people miss in this effort.

Here are the 3 factors that need to be in place for a successful website and successful business:

1. Search Engine Optimization. This refers to the things many consider the most important. There are the basic A-B-C's of getting things set up with keywords and phrases so that you will rank well against your competition in Google, Yahoo and the like. This involves a lot of elements that you, as the end user, may not realize or see. Having the proper titles for each page, putting in the right key words and header tags. There are solid things that should be done and average web designers rarely take it beyond this point. Being ranked well by search engines starts here but the best realize this is only the start.
    
2. Content That Is Effective. Visitors are useless unless they buy something or make contact with you. We call this "Conversion Ratio". What percentage of your website visitors convert into buyers and users of your services? This can and should be measured. The important things here are the attractiveness and professional appearance of the site with content that is compelling. Having the right mix of words, graphics and informational content can take conversion rates from being non-existent to well over 10%.
    
3. Off Site Factors Are Most The Important Factors in Driving Traffic! What are 'off site factors'? The most important key for ranking well with Google are the links that come to you from other sites that Google considers to be important sites. Here is the problem. How can you control whether or not other sites talk about you and link to you? I don't mean calling other site owners and saying something like, "Hey, I'll link to you if you link to me" stuff. Mutual links are not important anymore. One way links are. So how can you get those rolling? Well, this takes work. The nice part is that it is work that will have a direct effect on your bottom line. You have enough "busy work" as a business owner. This isn't busy work; it's vital. 
   
   Social-Business Networking Sites - Use Them
   This is where sites like LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com and even MySpace.com come into play. I recommend using LinkedIn.com for business development. From there you can refer to your website and create interest in your site in others. Posting your information and inviting contacts to link in with you can be huge. It's like having a second or third website with positive recommendations about you and your business.
   
   

Frogtown Media Web Design uses industry recognized best practices when designing search engine friendly websites. Frogtown also offers search engine optimization services to help you identify the keyword phrases for your market, implement those phrases and track performance.  If you'd like more information on how to increase search engine ranking, give us a call at 678-947-6188 or contact us today!

1. Requesting Links: The oldest method of gaining inbound links is to request them. This requires that you study your market to find out who the players involved in the market are. Then, you contact each one of the sites and ask them to link to your site. In most cases, the person you contact receives your request, but providing links to other sites is the least of their worries, so you may never hear from them. If you do, it can sometimes be months later. So, you put a lot of time into requesting links from other sites for a relatively small return on your efforts.
    
2. Writing Articles: One of the most effective methods of gaining inbound links is to provide an article for other companies to use as long as they include a paragraph at the bottom that includes credits for you as well as a link back to your site. This method of gaining inbound links works well, because web sites are always looking for good content to include on their pages. The catch here is that the article you write should be well written, accurate, and useful to other sites in your industry. Once you've produced an article that meets these requirements, you can begin to let others know you have content available for them to use for free; you can do this by having a 'free articles' page on your site or submit the content to article directories.
    
3. Blogs: Another way to get links back to your site is from bloggers. What started as a strange phenomenon that was mostly personal has now become a powerful business tool; many businesses rely on links back to their sites from the various industry bloggers out there. In most cases, though, bloggers aren't just going to stumble onto your web site. It's far better for you to contact the blogger with information about your organization, some product that you provide, or with news that would interest them. This information then gives the blogger something to use in his or her regular posts. Keep in mind, however, that you can't control what a blogger might say, so it's possible that the review you get won't be favorable.
    
4. Press Releases: Press releases are one of the mainstays of any marketing program. It can be so effective that many organizations hire companies to do nothing but distribute their press releases. What's so powerful about a press release? It's just the facts, including benefits, sent out to publications and organizations that might publish all or part of the press release. Use press release marketing to send out new items of all types, and send them as widely as you can. New organizations, publications, newsletters, even some forums will post press releases. When you write it, make sure a link back to your site is included.  You can do free press releases at http://www.i-newswire.com
    
5. PPC and Paid Links: Pay-per-click advertisements are an acceptable business practice. There is no problem with using PPC advertisements to achieve inbound links to your site.
    
6. Link to Yourself: Linking to yourself is a technique that sits right on the line between ethical and unethical. Linking to yourself from other sites that you might own is an acceptable practice. But if you set up other sites simply to be able to link back to your own site and create the illusion of popularity, you're going to do more damage than it's probably worth to you. If you are linking to yourself and you suspect that you might be doing something that would adversely affect your search engine ranking, then you shouldn't do it. There are plenty of links to be had without linking back to your web sites; you just have to work a little harder for the higher quality links.
   

Well now it is!  Frog Town Media web design is happy to announce our web hosting partner is now carbon-neutral.  Politics aside, doing a little extra to help the environment can't be a bad thing.  Our partner now offers these icons to let your customers know you've got a green website from Frog Town Media.

You can learn more about certified renewable energy credits at Green-e

Brandon Cornett 

1. Review your company information

If you have a staff listing or directory, is it up-to-date with correct names, titles, and other contact information? If you have an "About Us" page or something similar that discusses company history, make sure it's updated—especially references such as "We've been in business for eight years."

2. Review your contact information

Are the phone and fax numbers, mailing and email addresses listed on your site all current? You're obviously losing customers if the phone number has changed.

3. Review your email routing

If you list help@yourdomain.com as the main contact address on your site, is it being routed to the correct person? If your shopping cart sends order information to orders@yourdomain.com, is that going where it needs to go? Make sure your email routing reflects any organizational changes you've had.

4. Review and test your contact forms

If you have contact forms on your site, review them to make sure they work, they're easy to use, and to see if they need to be updated. You might want to start asking people how they found your site or something else that your contact form doesn't ask now. Also, be sure to "break" the form—submit it without the required information and see how understandable the resulting error message is.

5. Review your automated outgoing messages

Do you send an automated confirmation message or receipt after someone orders a product or uses your contact form? If so, review that outgoing automated message to make sure it says what you want it to say, and that it has the right contact information, etc.

6. Update your copyright and/or privacy policy statements

If you have a copyright notice on your site, make sure it's not outdated. If you have a privacy policy, review it to make sure it accurately describes your current policy toward handling your customers' personal information.

7. Test all outgoing links on your web site

Outdated or broken links make your site look stale. It's also a source of frustration for your customers who click on links that don't work. Check all links on your site to make they're accurate and up-to-date.

8. Review the hidden sections of your web site

If you have any password-protected areas, do the passwords need to be changed? If you had staff changes during the year, this might be a good idea. It might be a good idea even if you didn't!

9. Review your domain record

Make sure your domain registrar has current contact information for you. If they don't, you might miss renewal notices and other important announcements about your domain. 

10. Do an overall review of your web site

This is something you should really be thinking about on a regular basis, but web sites often get ignored in the daily grind of running a small business. Ask yourself: How fresh is the content on my site? Do any pages need to be updated? How does my site look? Is it time for a more professional or modern design? Does my site offer the kind of features or tools that let my customers get what they want when they visit?

Frog Town Media can help layout a game plan for achieving your goals.

Contact us or call today: 678-947-6188 

5) Worrying about shifting rankings or temporary losses

4) Outperforming Wikipedia

3) Fretting about DMOZ listings

2) Fussing over Alexa or Compete.com rankings

1) Obsessing over your meta keywords

But a lot of small business owners, who only know what they read five years ago, still think that the keyword meta tag is a big deal. Sorry folks, it's not. Commas or spaces? Doesn't matter. Properly spelled words, or misspellings? Doesn't matter. Keywords or related words?

Doesn't matter.

Ok, so maybe, maybe, maybe it matters a tiny smidgen on Microsoft Live search and Yahoo. There is really nothing you can do with the keyword tag that's going to give you any kind of relevance or ranking boost with the top search engines. Do some engines read it? Yes. Do they apply it to their algorithm? Even if they do, it simply doesn't carry enough weight to make a difference.

So, what should you do? I say, put some relevant words into your keyword meta tag and then don't ever worry about it again. Ever.

The key is to make you websit's CONTENT rich in keywords and don't spend alot of time worrying about the META Keywords tag.

The number one most important thing you should worry about...

Conversions!

SEO isn't about PageRank, links, or who says what is or isn't important. Pure and simple, it's about getting conversions, whatever that is for you. 

Here is the thing that you need to ask yourself before worrying about any one thing or another... Does this affect my ability to get conversions?

I'm not talking traffic here, I'm talking conversions. People actually buying your product or service, signing up for information, filling out a contact form, or emailing or calling you on the phone. Focusing on the conversions is where the money's at. In fact, the better your conversion rate, the less traffic you have to rely on. And relying on less is always a good thing in an online world when things can change overnight.


Stoney deGeyter, Pole Position Marketing

10) Focusing on number one rankings

9) Obsessing over PageRank

8) Worrying about who is linking to you

7) Worrying about what anybody else says (including me)

6) Obsessing over Microsoft/Yahoo/Ask rankings

Each engine has different algorithms and therefore each will rank a page differently for the same keywords. Is it smart to work on getting your site ranked on MSN, Yahoo, and Ask? Sure, absolutely. But never at the expense of your Google rankings. Never. While different algorithms are employed, they all tend to run off the same basic premise: a good site will rank well, regardless of the algorithm used to evaluate it.

Don't think that you need to optimize a page for each search engine. It doesn't work that way. Just do good optimization and all engines will rate you accordingly. Now, you should be concerned about making sure each engine finds your web site and that it is relevant for your key search phrases. But don't make drastic changes to your pages because Ask or Microsoft has you at page 2 while Google has you at the top of page 1. Not unless you absolutely know those changes won't cause a drop in your Google rankings. If you're uncertain, or if you make those changes and see Ask move up and Google move down, by all means change it back. It's just not worth it.

Next time we'll finish up with the top 5 useless seo worries.

Stoney deGeyter, Pole Position Marketing 

Focus

This first website objective is FOCUS. Your site needs to have a narrow and specific focus. Why is this? Because there are literally millíons of websites out there and the visitors you're lucky enough to attract will only take a few seconds to decide whether they'll stick around or whether they'll simply click the back button and continue browsing elsewhere. Within those few seconds, your site needs to communicate exactly what it's designed to do so the visitor can decide if it meets his or her needs or not.

One of the best exercises to enhance the focus of your site is to establish a 15 to 25-word positioning statement that guides all your development activity going forward. Think about it like a mission statement. It should articulate exactly what your website does in just 15 to 25 words.

Another way to look at it is to do a Google search for a keyword in your field and see what comes up in the results page. Under each listing, there's a short description of what that site is all about. As it turns out, the search engines get that description from the meta tags on those websites but it's exactly the same thing. What do you want YOUR description to say?

Once you've established a positioning statement, you should display it prominently on your homepage. It should be one of the first things visitors see when they land on your website. And as I mentioned above, the same statement should be included in your meta tags as your site description. That way, the search engines know exactly what your site is about at the same time. And if your site shows up in a search results page, that description will show up as part of your listing.

Depth

The second objective is DEPTH. Again, this objective serves your visitors as well as the search engines. Build a massive amount of content all about your narrow business focus. That way, if a visitor lands on your website and decides in the first few seconds that they need what you're providing, they'll go on to find a ton of resources all about that topic, satisfying their need and establishing trust along the way.

Depth of content helps your website with the search engines as well. Google uses complicated algorithms to assess value to different websites and one of the biggest things they look for is content. If your website has a narrow focus and lots of content about that focus, it will get ranked higher within your area of expertise. Google will consider your site a good resource for people searching for your narrow focus.

Sticky

The third objective is to make your site STICKY. This is a relatively new term that describes a website's ability to keep a visitor on the site. A lot of sites do a fairly good job of attracting visitors but many of those visitors take one look at the site and leave within a second or two. As I mentioned earlier, the positioning statement can do a lot to help someone understand what your site is designed to do. But you need more than that to keep them browsing.

The visitor needs to see immediate value when they visit your site. They need to see something that will benefit them right away. They need to see something they can use to make their own lives better. This is the foundation behind today's value-first marketing moniker. People have been over-marketed and have become skeptical in clever marketing slogans. They want to see the value. They want proof that you can deliver. They want to sample your product or service before they buy anything.

You should spend some time and think about what you can provide your website visitors as soon as they land on your site. It could be information. It could be a tool or calculator of some kind. It could be a free subscription. It could be an entertaining video or an interactive game they can play. Whatever it is, you need to capture your visitor within seconds and guide them to something that will benefit them.

Once they've received one piece of value, give them a second and then a third. Guide them through a maze of value, encouraging them to continue browsing and discovering even more. This is the key to a sticky website and you can get a good idea of your progress by measuring your average time on the site through your analytics platform.

There are a million different websites out there and they're all designed to achieve different objectives. But each one of those websites can be a bit better by incorporating more focus, depth and stickiness. All three improve your website's effectiveness and all three provide benefits with the search engines as well.

Patrick Schwerdtfeger, Tactical Execution

How to Write a Press Release

The Beginning

The first and most important thing is to have something interesting to say. Consider your USP – just like in sales. It's your unique selling proposition. After all publicity is "selling". You are selling a story idea to the media. I like to call it the unique shining point. It really needs to stand out, shine, be compelling – not an advertisement, not a boring product plug.

Another element that will really hook the journalist in is to consider the ESP the emotional selling point. Often it is the human element in the story that will capture the reader's attention therefore the attention of the media. Think about what your story is. What is your background? Have you overcome any obstacles to get where you are today? Any achievements or milestones? Where is the human interest?

What's more compelling? An announcement about a wedding limousine service, or the 30th anniversary both in marriage and business of the couple who run the service? This is a story I helped someone uncover in a seminar I conducted. The couple later went on to get a full page colour photo and editorial story in a wedding supplement in their local paper – for free, just by working out the human element of interest to readers.

WIFM

What's in it for me? Or what is in it for them. How does your product or service help others? Your media release needs to state that key element. How will the reader benefit?

It's uninteresting to just say, "Jones & Smith Accountants today announced the launch of their revolutionary new accountancy software package... Better to state – small businesses now have a better way to measure, monitor and manage the costs involved in running their business, thanks to Jones & Smith's new online measurement & analysis accounting system.

The Heading

Write a catchy headline with a short, punchy phrase. Observe how headings are written in newspapers and magazines. You need to grab the reader's attention. Of course that is if you are planning to post your media release snail mail with your product sample or full media kit. But most releases these days are emailed. However, the same principles apply. Use a compelling subject heading or the journalist will simply hit delete. Make it provocative.

The Content

Have a bright opening; start with your strongest point first. Instead of the conventional "today announced that" lead, you should make your release stand out from the crowd with a strong, compelling lead paragraph. Since editors and journalists get so many releases every day, you only have seconds to grab their attention. The first paragraph is where your important information goes, but it needs to be written in an exciting, creative, interesting way.

Consider the 5 W's – Who, What, When, Where, Why; This is an easy formula to remember when writing your release but it is still not enough without some "zing" or compelling elements to "hook" the reader in.

Again - how does it help? Remember the benefit to the reader and perhaps include some "how to" tips on whatever your product or service is.

Use memorable quotes; either of you or someone well-known who can endorse your product. Quotes are often used by the media as they make the story more "real" or personal. A good quote can include why you've started this business or developed your product or how it helps your target audience.

The Format

Title it "Media Release" and always include the date. Include your contact details of telephone, mobile, email and website address. Use letterhead and keep the content to one page – any more and you will löse the journalists' attention. When using email, cut and paste into the body of the email – don't send an attachment.

The Contact

Send your release to the appropriate person – be sure to do your research. Chëck that the "food editor" is still just that and not now the "finance editor". Find out the name of the person and their direct email.

Always follow up with a telephone call or email and keep your media liaison consistent. If you provide good information you are not a nuisance, you are providing a service. Journalists and editors need our information to fill their newspapers, magazines and radio shows.

Supply a creative photo or suggest a photo opportuníty that will add to the impact of having your information publicised.

Gaining publicity in the media will help you become known as an expert in your business field; it will enhance your image and reputation and help you to grow your business.

Visit VistaPrint for details.

Got a favorite you'd like to share?  Send us a note and we'll include it in the next edition.

Cute PDF Writer

CutePDF Writer (formerly CutePDF Printer) is the free version of commercial PDF creation software. CutePDF Writer installs itself as a printer subsystem. This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents with just a push of a button.

Free Fonts

Dafont.com is a great site to add some excitement to your fonts. Categories make it easy to find that favorite font.

Stock.xchng

Free stock photography, royalty free.  With a free registration, you can download user submitted photographs for your website, newsletter and more.

AVG Anti-Virus

AVG Free Edition is the well-known antivirus protection tool. AVG Free is available free of charge to home users for the life of the product.

Ad-Aware 2007

With the ability to scan your RAM, Registry, hard drives, and external storage devices for known data-mining, advertising, and tracking components, Ad-Aware 2007 easily can clean your system, allowing you to maintain a higher degree of privacy while you surf the Web.

Firefox announced it has reached 400 million downloads, PC Pro reported. The browser's popularity has reached 28% market share in Europe and 15% globally, PC Pro noted.

For those unfamiliar with Firefox, here's what Firefox says about itself:

Mozilla Firefox is a fast, full-featured Web browser that makes browsing more efficient than ever before. Firefox includes pop-up blocking; a tab-browsing; integrated Google searching; simplified privacy controls that let you cover your tracks more effectively; a streamlined browser window that shows you more of the page than any other browser; and a number of additional features that work with you to help you get the most out of your time online.

Web Design firms should always stay on top of developing trends in browser popularity and conduct testing to ensure cross-browser compatibility. 

Give Firefox a try.  It's simple to install.

Inside SEO:  How search engines see your site is crucial.  Engines use spiders/robots/bots to crawl through your site, but a poorly designed site can cause them trouble, leaving your site in the wilderness. Good web designers know the importance of SEO and build sites with that in mind.  Here are a few areas that should be addressed:

• Meta Tags - An oldie and still a goodie.  Your site should take advantage of Meta tags 'Keywords' and 'Description' for each page. 
• ALT Text - Spiders can't read pictures, so always include an ALT tag to describe the picture and it's relevance to the page
• Title Tags - Each link and image should also include a Title tag to describe the content
• Keywords - Wow, keywords are a topic in itself, but for now just think of what someone would type in to find your website and make sure that phrase(s) is found throughout your site's content
• Images - Images and flash look cool, but remember that spiders can't read them.  Use them as needed, but be sure to provide text (content and links) as much as possible.

One final note.  You created your website for your audience, not for the search engines.  Good quality content and simple navigation will always win in the long run.  It doesn't do you any good to have a high search engine ranking if your site doesn't serve the needs of your audience.

If you have any questions about this article, drop us a note . 

Next time, we'll talk about Outside SEO. 

• Choose from over 160 easily customized email templates, or create your own from scratch
• Create highly visual, graphically compelling email newsletters and promotions in just minutes with the step-by-step Email Wizard
• Drive more traffic to your website with focused, targeted email communications
• Build and manage your email list, import existing customer lists, add names individually, or capture contact information from website visitors
• Measure your email campaign results instantly, check click-through rates, review new subscribers, and see who opened and clicked on each link

• From your Admin page, select Components, Polls
• Click New
• Fill out the Question and the Options.

• While still in the Admin page, select Modules
• Select the Poll Module
• Set the desired page position (Left or Right)
  
• Mark the Poll as published

When you cut and paste content from another website or a Word document, your website also pulls in formatting from the source.  Here are some ideas to keep your format clean:

• Paste the content into Windows Notepad to remove ALL formatting.  Now you can copy the content from Notepad into your website...nice and clean
• Don't forget the format eraser.  In the editor window, select all your text and click the format eraser button in the edit window tool bar