JeanneMBrown

Video Worth Another Look

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:35:00 +0000

I created this video for the Moorpark College Foundation in 2008/2009 as a companion to a printed booklet called Bridge to the Future.
http://www.moorparkcollege.edu/college_information/virtual_tour/bridge.shtml

Gulf Fundraiser Oct. 15 brought to you by The Glass Elevator

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 20:24:00 +0000

"Step on Olympia’s Glass Elevator and you will be shot straight back into the depths of the musical revolution of the 1960s. The four-piece ensemble of Jabe Jabberwock on guitar, Mars Carlson on bass and keyboards, Paul Vandall on drums and Wylie VanWenger on guitar (all members are given vocal credits) create a nostalgic, yet fresh sound on this album that mirrors the musical greats of four decades ago on their 2010 album “Psychic Battleship.” “Psychic Battleship” covers a wide range of styles going from upbeat, catchy pop sounds to slowed-down, extended psychedelia... The music is all original, while obviously inspired by the music that the band’s parents probably listened to. Technically talented, Glass Elevator creates inspired, multi-faceted compositions and are able to create a variety of moods. Going from manic highs to spaced-out lows, “Psychic Battleship” could be a soundtrack for a short trip on hallucinogens. ..Glass Elevator proves themselves as bringers back of the past – recreating sounds of a past generation and keeping them relevant and accessible today. As a group of musicians, they work flawlessly in tandem creating strong music and moods for the listener to easily slip into." -- Clare Jensen (Tacoma Weekly)

Stay tuned for details on the Oct. 15 rock concert in Ventura to benefit the gulf fishermen.--jmbrownpr@gmail.com

A Primer on Geo-Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Geographic Marketing on the Internet through web searches, mobile searches and social media is getting huge.
While geo-marketing’s definition is the association of data and maps in the traditional sense, the recent upgrades to Google Places and the localization features of some social media like Twitter make this method of marketing more powerful than ever before.

This great info was sent to me through an email from Hubspot.com, the inbound marketing gurus. I'm republishing now for my readers.
The Internet runs on the World Wide Web, but for most of us,
the Internet is a window to our local community as well as the global marketplace.
A truly local organization that will benefit from geo-marketing is on that is dependent on the local population for its revenue.

An Internet user's IP address is tied to GPS data, like longitudes and latitudes, which are mapped with technology to geographies around the world down to the city and street level. So when an Internet user searches for something, the search engines will deliver results that are geographically appropriate. The trick to getting found by searchers in your geo area is to have your website properly localized.!

Melih Oztalay of SmartFindsMarketing.com explains the three main tools that searchers are using to find a business, nonprofit or service close their geography.

1.Web searches are the first and most obvious, however, these are web searches in which a map displays with targets of businesses that match the search criteria. Unlike the traditional yellow pages, these geo-listings (a.k.a. Local Business Listings) can be claimed and updated with your business marketing information in order to meet these search criteria.
While this may sound relatively easy, geo-listings also include consumer reviews that need to be managed, the clean-up of duplicate listings, coupons, offers, discounts, offers, video, photos, citations, QR bar codes and hyper local websites. Understanding what to start with and how to strategically use these components can be done by a professional marketing firm that specializes in this area.

2.Mobile Marketing is the next most significant geo-marketing tool in which SMS Texting, Mobile Applications, Mobile version of your website, and Mobile advertising are your key components. The starting point in this process will be with SMS Texting to get your alerts out to customers that subscribe to your short bursts of information. The reason why this is your starting point is that it will take time to build your list of subscribers.

3.Social Media Marketing continues to evolve and is, also, geographic in its targeting ability. Consumers are using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Wiki sites, Four Square, Instant Messaging and other social community tools on their mobile devices. While they use it mostly to find business, products and services, in the social communities they are seeking recommendations from their friends (near and far). They are, also, using these social communities to post their experiences with a business, nonprofit or service.

Melih ("may-lee") Oztalay, CEO
http://www.smartfindsmarketing.com/
http://www.smartfindslocallisting.com/

Good information about nonprofits geo-marketing with FourSquare is here.

•Google Places (Free)
Google requires you to register your business or nonprofit online, then verifies that you are the owner by either calling you or sending some snail mail to your address. Once you are registered, you benefit by having the opportunity to appear in Google's Local Business Results for a given search term. Your ranking inside the Local Listings is based on Google's ranking algorithm that awards well-optimized pages and inbound links to your website from other websites.

Philanthropy also talks about this.

Missing Mom's Cooking This Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:03:00 +0000

My mom (may she rest in peace) was a really good cook.

Not in the “can master any nouveau cuisine” kind of way, not in the “call it pasta instead of spaghetti” kind of way and certainly not in the “would ever use instant mashed potatoes,” kind of way.

Mom cooked meat and potatoes, even though she was full-blooded Sicilian.

Her husband, my dad, (may he rest in peace) was German and what mom liked to call, “a pill” about food. He wouldn’t eat spaghetti sauce; he’d eat his spaghetti plain!

And if the spaghetti came with meatballs, mom would have to put some of the meat mixture aside and fry it hamburger-patty style for him.

She told me once that this way of cooking the meat mixture was German. She called the flat meatballs “friggin’dellas” which I thought, when I learned the f-word, was her way of getting back at dad for his culinary rigidity.

Like “yeah Pete, I got your friggin’dellas right here!”

Fact is frikadellen, really are flat German meatballs. I ate them in Munich once.

Breakfast is what I miss most of my mom’s cooking. The sit-down-at-the-table breakfast doesn’t exist for most people anymore.

But when my brother Peter (may he rest in peace) and I were small, my mom had a hot breakfast cooking for us every day before school!

Soft-boiled eggs were cooked to perfection in exactly three minutes measured by mom’s egg timer. The timer probably came out of a board game. It was a small hourglass tube, –with a cap at the top and a cap at the bottom. It was pinched in the middle and filled with sand. Peter and I made sure that all the sand was at the bottom. When mom said the water in the saucepan was boiling, we turned the timer over onto the table with the sand on the top.

At that precise moment she lowered our eggs into the water.

We watched that sand flow from the top to the bottom and in exactly three minutes the sand was gone and our eggs were done!

Mom carried each of the eggs over to the table, balanced on a spoon like the relay race game you played as a kid at summer camp.

She’d placed the eggs into our egg cups, big side down.

Tap, tap, tap we’d hit the side of the egg with a butter knife and cut off the top. Inside was a thick yellow dome of hot egg yolk.

While the eggs were boiling, mom made us each a slice of Wonder Bread toast, slathered with Land o’ Lakes soft -whipped butter that came in a tub. She’d slice the toast into 5 sticks that we’d dip into the yolk. Once the toast was gone we might take a teaspoon to eat the inside of the egg, but not usually.

I suspect mom ate our leftovers after we went to school. That’s what moms did, back in the day.

Mom’s oatmeal was great too.

She cooked the hard Quaker Oat flakes that came in the can for 15 minutes. Then she’d plop a big dollop of super-hot oatmeal in our wide, shallow bowls.

We’d surround the oatmeal with milk till it looked like some newly emerged volcanic island still smoking in a bubbling sea.

But what Peter and I most looked forward to was mom’s pancakes. Dense, slightly salty, made from Bisquick mix pancakes, untainted by chocolate chips or sliced bananas.

When pancakes were on the menu, Pete and I would eagerly bump around the small Hicksville kitchen that only had room for three chairs.

That was ok because dad worked nights and didn’t have breakfast with us anyway.

To make the pancakes, first she’d pull out her square stove-top griddle; turn on the gas, then go over to the sink for a small cup of water.

We loved this part!

When she thought the griddle was hot enough, she’d let one of us dip our fingers into the cup and drip water onto the griddle. If the drops bounced right up and rolled sideways from the center heat --the griddle was hot enough!

Mom made our pancakes in big fluffy stacks. From the leftover batter she made small silver dollar pancakes for herself.

Peter and I used Log Cabin syrup and lots of butter. Mom only used butter except for her last little bite, which she always anointed with a drop of Log Cabin. “A little sweet, just for the finish,” she’d say.

Peter was always hounding mom to cook his pancakes longer. But mom wouldn’t budge, “I know when pancakes are done,” she said.

Finally Peter asked impatiently one morning, “Mom, can’t you burn pancakes?”

Mom turned in disbelief, “Son, you can’t burn pancakes!” she pronounced.

Peter protested by shaking his head sadly, and then offered hopefully, “But, Mrs. McCaughey can.”

Good old Mrs. McCaughey was mother to seven rowdy kids including Peter’s best friend Dan.

Her kids ranged in age from birth to 10. Two decades before disposable diapers, she ran her washing machine round the clock. It’s no wonder her unattended stove didn’t bring the house down. But her pancakes often burned.

So here I am writing this memory and pining for my mom’s cooking. But I know that she and dad and Peter are probably sitting down to a good old fashioned breakfast right now.

Use this Form to Plan a Marketing Campaign or Project

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Sat, 01 May 2010 14:19:00 +0000

Before you get started or meet with a writer or marketing consultant, try to fill out this Project Brief Form and answer these questions.....

Name of Your Product/Service:

Type of Advertising/Marketing/Publicity Project: (blog, brochure, print, TV, or radio ad, newsletter, billboard or banner ad, news release, feature article,etc.)

Purpose of Project: (Introduce New Product/Service, Increase Sales of Existing Product Service, Promote General Awareness or Increase Goodwill, etc.)

How do you want people to respond to Project? Contact via phone, email. Go to Website, Visit business or store.

Target audience(s):

Current perception of your product/service:

Product Service Features:

Product/Service Benefits (unique selling proposition; what "problem" it solves:

Keywords Used by Internet Searchers.

Does this Project Have News Value? * Something New *Significant Achievement *Tied to a Current Media event *

Is your Project Calendar-Significant? If it is you can market to that... (think.. Back-to School, 4th of July, New Year's Resolution, Mother's Day, etc.)

What single fact or idea should audience take away from the project?

Mandatory Information (The 5 Ws — Who, What, When, Where, Why):

I promise your project will go better and cost less to create if you know what you want. If you need good project consulting contact me jeanne@jeannembrown.com

Print May be Dead but Good Writing Lives Forever

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:21:00 +0000

By now you probably know that marketing your business with printed publications will have very poor results. Perhaps you are wondering about Internet marketing and Search Engine Optimization SEO strategies to promote your business.
Right on!
But even though print is a marketing dead-end these days, online publications and a content-rich website are of major importance to achieving success in Internet marketing.
First off, search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc., and searchers (your potential clients or customers) rely on accurate, comprehensive content that is properly identified by key-words.
Second, search engines and your potential clients and customers love fresh content writing. Posting regularly updated, relevant content to your Website is critical.

When a website is updated with new articles, news releases, testimonials, product information, blogs, or other good writing that is of interest to people looking for your product or service, the search engine robot knows to revisit the site sooner, than later. If you do not update your content regularly, the search engine robot relegates your site to the category of those that rarely need to be visited. This will most surely ensure that you never significantly improve your page rank or placement in search results.

Don't get me wrong...you can buy your way to more customers with a pay-per-click advertising campaign, but that is expensive.

So how do you find good writers?
Goodness knows there are many out there on the Internet. But you want someone who is a native speaker of the language your site is written in.

Experienced website content writers charge anywhere from $25-75 per hour or $75 to $200 per writing project. My rates are $50 per hour. A 300-word news release or feature article costs about $200 for me to research and write. Good content stays archived on your site and has long-term value, so it is not really expensive.

No matter what your business, you should have a news section, professionally written and maintained on your site. Your news section should contain news releases, testimonials, product information, company history, and other articles of interest to people looking for your product or service.

Typically the blog is published by a company official who writes in a more informal style about what is going in the company, in the industry as a whole, or in the world in general. When working with a busy CEO client, I post a Google alert to come into my email on his or her industry. I regularly review the results for industry-specific news than ask the CEO which of these he or she is interested in. I then provide research and an outline of the topic so the CEO can draft a blog.

Need good writing? Contact me jeanne@jeannembrown.com

You Should be Confused by SEO Guarantees

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:46:00 +0000

I was pitching a client the other day. He wanted to know just how many new hits my Internet marketing campaign would bring him. He was wanting a guarantee of thousands of new hits per month.

Have you been interested in hiring a Internet marketing or search engine optimization SEO firm but are confused by the guarantees some offer you that their services will bring a quantifiable amount of new traffic?
You are right to be confused.
The truth is there isn't an SEO company out there that can promise "x number of results" on any major engine.
Reputable SEO companies can offer you the following:
After reviewing  your current Website analytics, they will offer to tailor a campaign to improve your results.
They should be able to  "guarantee" that you will see an increase in targeted search engine traffic based on popular key word phrases relevant to your product or service.
If the firm offering this type of guaranteed SEO charges a monthly fee beyond the initial optimization, you should be guaranteed a monthly increase, however incremental, or the fee should not be charged.

While a search engine may alter its search algorithm that may skew results on occasion, that should not happen in all ALL the major search engines in the same month or something is wrong with your SEO.

I told this gentleman that upon reviewing his Website's baseline analytics I could come up with a plan.

I feel confident we could improve his ranking and his hits.

You should know that reputable Internet Marketing/SEO firms adapts to the changing nature of search engine algorithms.

If your prospective firm is guaranteeing a page one rank in a month or a number of hits per month without looking at your current analytics,  you should look elsewhere.

Jeanne M. Brown

Don't Risk Website Abandonment

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:40:00 +0000

Do you know the ugly truth about abandonment, website abandonment that is?

After you've invested in optimizing your Website with keywords used by searchers for your product or service, you are appearing near the top of organic/natural search results. Hooray they found you!
But wait....
When a customer clicks on your search result do they find what they were expecting or not?
The experts say you have 10 -15 seconds max before your potential customer will abandon your site if they don’t find what they want. Search engine optimization of your Website isn’t enough to covert the searcher, make a sale or gain a customer. Combining SEO with website development services avoids the risk of website abandonment.

Proper website development includes clear navigation and specific landing pages based on each of your specific keyword search terms. Whatever they searched to find you should be exactly where they end up on your Website. They should NOT be taken to your homepage. And there should be “no throwaway or back pages “on your website, either. Every page should work as a first page in order to eliminate the risk of website abandonment!

But the risk of abandonment doesn’t stop with proper Website development. After people navigate to that specific landing page of your Website, the content on that page must be relevant, engaging and well-written.

Some SEO firms do not employ professional writers and often outsource the content writing of Websites to cut costs. They may even offer the rationale that outsourcing the content writing saves their clients money.
Don't buy it!

Experts agree that relevant, well-organized content is of utmost importance to completing transactions on the Internet and writing should not be bought for the lowest price possible.

Experienced copy writers with industry-specific content writing and research skills provide the best results and fully close the door on the risk of website abandonment.

If you need well-written content to drive your Internet marketing, contact
jeanne@jeannembrown.com

So You Want a Better Website?

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:48:00 +0000

Congratulations! Wanting to improve your organization's web presence IS possible and the rewards are many. A good Website will:
• Effectively Market Your Products/Services
• Improve Your Reach into Key Targets
• Give You Geographic Exposure
• Increase Your Customer Base and Boost Your Bottom line!

First consider listing the following to get to know your business better, then contact a Website developer/designer.

1. Write a brief (couple of paragraphs) about your company and its service.

2. Who is your target audience for this website?

3. List at least 2 Websites that offer services /products similar to yours. These do not have to be your favorites in terms of design.

4. List at least 2 Websites that you like and state what you like about them.

Next explore the search terms people use when looking for your product/service. Your Website and ALL your Internet marketing must utilize these key search words.

A good Website will appear for the 3 major search engines via keyword focused content and proper web page(s) programming.
You cannot have a successful search engine marketing and optimization campaign without keyword research.
Keywords are search queries visitors use on search engines.
Utilizing Keyword phrases that are 3 to 6 words in length are best.

There are special keyword tools on the Internet that help businesses find keywords.
Try the Google Keyword Tool - https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Or check out Wordtracker – http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/

Wait! There is still more Information your consultant will need to know before building your Website:

1. What Website Navigation Links do you want? (e.g. Home, About Us, Projects, etc.)

2. Who will provide the Text Content for each web page?
3. Do you have Images/Graphics to be used?
4. What Contact details and policies (like privacy) should be included?
5. Do you want a shopping cart, reply or quote form? (We suggest YES in order to provide for the all-important conversion from searcher to customer.)
6. Number of email ids.
Please consider setting up the following Internet Marketing Tools as companions to your Website:

blog,
email marketing campaign
online newsroom.

Keywords will be incorporated in all these tools.

Ok, so you are now ready to get a NEW or Improved Website going. Contact your developer/designer/writer, today!

Evangelism in the WorkPlace. What it is. What it does.

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:04:00 +0000

In Christian religions, the term evangelist refers to John, Luke, Mark and Matthew, four followers of Jesus who wrote Gospel accounts in the Bible’s New Testament.

In recent religious memory, the term evangelist has been linked to scandals when outrageously-acting television preachers raised huge sums of money for their enterprises. Think of Jim and Tammy Bakker, Jim Swaggart, and Ted Haggard.

Just months before Haggard confessed to sexual wrongdoing and resigned as pastor from his mega-church, corporate America was embracing the term evangelist.

“Corporate evangelists recruit customers who love to create buzz about a product,” said US News and World Report writer James Pethokoukis in November, 2005. The story was picked up in the aptly-named churchofcustomer.com blog by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. They spoke to Sun Microsystems's chief evangelist at the time Simon Phipps on why he would fly from the Netherlands to Chicago to speak to a few dozen conference attendees about Sun's corporate philosophy: "These are people who work on software that powers huge websites that millions of people around the world depend on. There may not be many people in the room, but the effect they have on society is huge," Phipps said.

“Connecting with core customers, whether it's via a chief evangelist, product director or customer service manager, is a mission. Customer connection, coupled with a great product/service, is the silver bullet to generating word of mouth that sustains growth” McConnell and Huba wrote.

Wikipedia defines Technology Evangelist as a person who attempts to build a critical mass of support for a given technology.

A study of Technology Evangelists released in 2006 by GrowthResourcesinc.com said, “A technology evangelist is an ambassador interacting with prospects, partners, users, producers and other members of the organization. The position may carry a title such as Chief Technology Evangelist; however, many are not formally assigned the position, yet often clearly promote the organization and preach its products.”

The study puts forth the idea that evangelism is one way of leading an organization. “There are many ways of effectively leading an organization or community, and leaders are described in many different ways including democratic, participative, authoritative, transactional or transformational."

According to Guy Kawasaki in his book, Selling the Dream, "Evangelism is the process of convincing people in your product or idea as much as you do. It means selling your dream by using fervor, zeal, guts, dream, and cunning. . . . Evangelism is the process of selling a dream."

This concept is the same for donors and the world of philanthropy and fund-raising. Donors want to be engaged with organizations that are passionate about what they do, have excitement about their cause and use this energy to motivate not only those that they serve but also their donors and other stakeholders.

A nonprofit management consultant friend of mine, Carrie Roberts, evangelizes about the need for passionate leadership in nonprofits in her blog. “In a world filled with nonprofits competing for our attention, what draws us to certain people and their message? I think that people's passion, excitement and enthusiasm shines through and makes them want to follow, engage, and donate to them.”
http://robertsandassociates.blogspot.com/

More "Get Found Locally Advice" for Small Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:23:00 +0000

The Internet runs on the World Wide Web,
but for most online shoppers,
the Internet is their local marketplace.

This is especially true for searchers looking for services. They don’t want an car insurance agent in France or a plumber in Cleveland, unless of course they want to drive in France and have a clogged sink in Cleveland.

If you are like many small businesses, you depend on local customers and, you don't want to generate leads that you can't possibly follow up with. So, how do you get local? Check out this list of strategies provided by Hubspot.com:

1. Optimize your site for geographic-specific keywords.
Depending on the competitiveness of your geographic region and industry, this is a quick and easy way for you to start ranking for various keywords that local shoppers are using to search in Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Just make sure that the Page Title, URL, H1 tag and page content of your web pages include your geographic keyword phrase and that you are consistent across all elements. If you have multiple pages for each town/city you service, make sure they are different enough so the search engines don't tag them as duplicate content!

2. Blog!
Talk about your local services and commitment to your local market. Share success stories of work you've done. Use your blog as an opportunity to showcase satisfied customers and highlight your great work. Remember to use the geographic location in your blog title and URL and promote your blog to generate inbound links!

3. Engage with local bloggers and city-specific websites.
When you engage with local bloggers to share your knowledge and expertise, you begin to establish yourself as a resource and expert in your industry. You'll be getting your name and company in front of local readers and begin to develop relationships with influential bloggers who may be more likely to do feature stories about you in the future.

4. Sign up for accounts on ratings and review sites.
Consumers today are more and more likely to start their research process online for a local vendor, car mechanic, doctor or restaurant. Make sure your business is listed on the major websites that provide ratings and reviews for various services. Here are a few to check out:

•Google Places (Free)
Google requires you to register your business online, then verifies that you are the owner by either calling you or sending some snail mail to your address. Once you are registered, you benefit by having the opportunity to appear in Google's Local Business Results for a given search term. Your ranking inside the Local Listings is based on Google's ranking algorithm that awards well-optimized pages and inbound links to your website from other websites.

•Yelp (Free)
Yelp has been around for several years now and Hubspot.com says it is the gold standard for getting information on local restaurants, shopping locations and entertainment venues. However, now they're starting to see a wider variety of businesses listing their companies on their site, including those in real estate, event planning, financial services and medical service providers. This is a great place to encourage your happy customers to leave some feedback. If you receive negative feedback, it's a good chance to engage with that consumer and turn their experience around with a heartfelt note or follow up.

•Angie's List (Free for Companies)
Angie's List pulls in reviews of local businesses and contractors. Angie's List attempts to circumvent fake reviews by charging consumers a monthly fee in order to browse their listings and review businesses. Check it out and see if it's right for your business.

Read more: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5685/4-Ways-to-Get-Your-Business-Found-by-Local-Searchers.aspx#ixzz0lwrfdHNU

Google Places is a Good Place to Be for Small Businesses on the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:34:00 +0000

When marketing your small business it is wise to consider your Website URL as the primary marketing tool. Hopefully your URL was selected to reflect what key words customers use when searching online for your product or service.

Todd Tennant has an informative Website all about local search for small business that provides great practical advice. He gives permission to "post this on your blog or e-mail it to whomever you believe would benefit from reading it." Thanks, Todd.

So what is Local Search?
Any search trying to find something within a specific geographic area. Example:
"downtown Chicago car rental drop off" or "Simi Valley plumber."
The type of business and customers you have will determine how much effort you put into local search, Tennant says. For some "hyperlocal" businesses like manicurists, dry cleaners and sandwich shops, a local Internet listing is critical.

Google stats reveal that -- one of every five searches in Google are location-related.
Google announced this week that it is rebranding its Local Search tool as Google Places and is adding new features. Hubspot, Inc., and inbound marketing firm says, "The change will help business owners more seamlessly manage their presence on Google via their Place Pages and is a move toward Google's attempt to become "'more local.'"

The name change from Local Business Center to Google Places doesn't remove of any features, but does offer an additional set of features to users and simplifies business owners' connection with their Places Page.

Some of the new Google Places features:
1.Service Areas -this allows businesses to indicate which geographic areas they serve.
2.Simpler Advertising- even though Google Places is free business can "tag"their listing (for increased listing visibility) in select cities for $25/month.
3.Real-Time Updates can be added by businesses to their Place Pages, which can be used to announce promotions, events, etc.

Tennant has this advice for creating your Google Places listing:

Use a local phone number.
Choose relevant keywords in your business category. His example is to choose "pediatric orthodontist" or another dental speciality instead of just listing "dentist."
Also choose keywords that identify your type of company after its name. Example: put "ABC Industries- Denver's Housecleaning Service" instead of just ABC Industries.

Ready to get started? Go to GooglePlaces Now

Wanna Take a Stab at Writing Your Content for Your Website?

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 23:44:00 +0000

Here are Some of my Content Writing Guidelines

In order to optimizied content for main keyword(s) you should start with an aggregate of 250 words on the page.
The main Keyword should be placed within the first four words of the first sentence of the first paragraph.
The main Keyword should also be placed in the first sentence in the second paragraph.
The main Keyword should be placed in the first and last sentence of the last paragraph of the page.
Another 2-3 related keywords should be used in conjunction with the main Keywords in roughly 3 to 6 percent of the page. This equates to about 7-15 words on the 250 word page.

When writing content that it is attractive to the search engines robot it can be difficult to make that writing compelling and engaging to the reader. A good web content writer can accomplish this.

Write as if you are having a conversation with the reader. Write to engage and call to action. Content will sound stilted when optimization rules alone are applied without the balance of relevant content. It is also important to understand that keywords along with related keywords strengthen the page even further for ranking purposes.
Other Things to Consider:

• Incorporate your business name into the content applying the same insertion rations as listed above for keywords. This will link your business name and the common keywords used in your business or industry.

Wow Investors with your Fast Pitch

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:16:00 +0000

A well-written business plan will help you establish your small business marketing strategy and hopefully open the door to a banker or investor who agrees to a meeting to hear your pitch. Make it fast if you want to get to first base!

Ok, obviously that analogy doesn't work... the pitcher and the base runner are on opposing teams. I know. sigh!

Anyway, Guy Kawasaki, formerly of Apple Computers, is a venture capitalist who’s been on the receiving end of too many pitches. He has a simple framework for pitching fast without blowing it. I respectfully recap his plan here because he is so right on!

Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint Presentations.

Your PowerPoint presentation should only have 10 slides,

Which you are able to present in 20 minutes,

And each slide should contain no font smaller than 30 pt.

• Your 10 slides should be a recap of your Business Plan’s Executive Summary and be presented in this order.

1. The Problem that the market/customer faces

2. Your Solution to alleviate this problem through your product or service

3. Business model

4. Underlying magic/technology behind your product/service

5. Marketing and sales strategy

6. Competition you’ll face and how you’ll beat it.

7. Your Management Team

8. Projections and milestones for your new company

9. Timeline to achieve your projections

10. Summary and “the ask.”

• 20 minutes. “In a perfect world, you give your pitch in 20 minutes, and you have forty minutes left for discussion,” Kawasaki says.

• 30-pt font. When you cram as much text as possible onto your slide in 10-pt type, you tend to read it. “As soon as the audience figures out you’re reading, it reads ahead of you because it can read faster than you can speak. The result is that you and the audience are out of sync.”

Read more at: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html#ixzz0lScJuV18

Business Plan Pitfalls

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:35:00 +0000

A good small business plan will raise money, recruit partners, establish your marketing strategy and more.
Of course you should work with a business plan writer or you could write it yourself. Either way, Tim Weaver, an SBA lender with decades of experience in Southern California, says that plans created in BusinessPlanPro are typically pretty good.

No matter who writes your plan, be on the lookout for these common business plan pitfalls.

Trying to Please all Readers
You cannot expect a business plan to appeal to every possible audience. Focus one industry or one problem. An over-reaching business plan can spook investors.
Looking Boring
If the reader gets two pages into your plan and is bored, it's over. Spend some money on a good writer and graphic designer for your logo. And always write the Executive Summary last after you've really studied your plan. It is important to have the reader interested right from the the professionally designed cover and compelling Executive Summary.
Being Too Optimistic
Although it may seem impressive to project huge potential for your business, this doesn't impress banks or investors. Unbridled optimism make you appear unrealistic.
Ignoring Competition
Even a totally original product or service will face competition from different solutions to a problem, or different ways that customers might spend their money due to a poor economy.
Repeating Yourself
Keep your plan's message consistent, but avoid repeating ideas. Once again, a writer that can transform your plan with creative language and relevant imagery will be worth the extra expense over doing it yourself.
Using Jargon
Not everyone in business is familiar with your industry's jargon. This is especially true in IT, science and engineering. Rely on general terms that most everybody will understand.
Being Inconsistent
Make sure that information in your plan is consistent from section to section and that every fact you state is verifiable.
Not Proofing your plan
Presenting a business plan that has not been proofed, or vetted by a colleague who provided feedback,
can result in obvious and embarrassing errors. However....
Incorporating Too Much Feedback is not OK
While your colleague may have identified some probable investor concerns, but don't bend over backwards or be too cautious. Your business plan should be a persuasive pitch.
Following the Herd
Don't create a business plan that reads like every other plan that's out there. If you submit a plan that promotes your enthusiasm and your personality, you will be more confident when you get your 30 minutes to present it....and that's the topic of tomorrow's blog......Presenting your Business Plan in 30 minutes or less.
Need a Business Plan? jeanne@jeannembrown.com

Marketing Your Start Up in an Internet World

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:09:00 +0000

Marketing your start up business begins even before you have it set up. From the moment you get your “good idea,” you’re telling family and trusted friends about it, right? From then on your excitement propels you to converse about your business at every opportunity. These conversations require you clarify your business plan in response to questions, even challenges, from naysayers like my Uncle Tony!
(Hey every family has one.)

With a clearer idea of your business, your unique selling proposition…remember my blog on the best thing since sliced bread? ---you are moving ahead.

The checklist below covers many of the legal requirements of setting up a new business, but there are Critical Marketing Requirements you should adhere to if you want your business to succeed in today’s Internet-dominated business environment.

When developing your marketing plan for your new business consider your Website URL *as the Primary Marketing Tool. Toward that end, it’s important to:

Identify your customer and market for your new business.
Study the search behavior for customers of your type of business.
Use Google keywords to determine the keyword-phrases customers’ type when searching for businesses like yours. https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Daniel Gasteiger, a business and technical analyst, and self-described technology evangelist for rural Pennsylvania says “When starting a Website the single most important consideration is to find a key phrase for which a significant number of people are searching on Google.” www.twitter.com/dgasteiger

Los Angeles search engine optimization consultant Mike Ashe of http://www.ifindable.com/ agrees. He counsels his clients to make the key phase a part of the company’s Website address (URL.) “Develop your site around your selected keywords from the beginning, not after,” he says.

Develop Your Marketing Plan
Preparing a marketing plan requires that you think about your business goals and what your marketing strategy will be to achieve those goals. A marketing plan is a subset of your business plan. Every marketing plan should contain:

Introduction
• Describe your business and the products or services you offer.
• Provide your mission and company objectives
• Identify your management team.

The Playing Field
Provides information about your target market and competitive environment.

Marketing Objectives and Strategy
States your marketing objectives with time frame for achieving them, followed by a discussion of strategies you will employ to achieve those objectives.

• Product: details including product features and benefits.

• Price: pricing strategy and payment policies.

• Promotion: tools or tactics you will use to accomplish your marketing objectives.

• Place: how and where you will place your product so customers can buy it.

Calendar
What will be done, when it will begin, and who will do it

Budget
List the cost of the marketing activities you are describing in the marketing plan.

Process to Analyze and Measure
Describes actual goals of marketing plan, such “sell 1,000 home theatre systems by November 2011.”

New Business Checklist

Choose and Register a Business Name and Website URL* --remember the key word search advice in paragraph 4 above .
Decide on the Legal Form for the Business and Set it Up with an Attorney, if desired
Write a Business Plan-- hire a consultant or buy good software like BusinessPlanPro- that's what I use. The business plan will include the Marketing Plan (which appears in italics above.)
Determine the Financing You Will Need and* A compelling and succinct business plan will make all the difference in convincing a lender that you are worth the risk.
Based on the source of your funding, you will Choose a Bank to work with
Get Licenses and Permits
Set the Price for Your Product or Service- your business and marketing plans should help determine this.
Obtain Office Space, Equipment and Suppliers
Get Insurance, Set up a Financial Management System

Try This Product Launch Form

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 19:58:00 +0000

New product launches don’t often achieve the meteoric success of ShamWow!, the paper towel alternative sold on TV by a comedian turned infomercial salesman in 2007. Today pitchman Vince Offer has sold more than 50 million ShamWows! and has diversified into the SlapChop, a cook’s tool.

Why was the ShamWow! launch so successful?

First, Offer had seen the product sell repeatedly to customers of all ages at Flea Markets where he worked to make ends meet. Second, he struck a good deal with the manufacturer to market the product at a great price then put together a compelling sales offer…For just $19.95 you get a total of 8 ShamWows! As a free bonus get the ShamWow! Mop (just pay separate S&H.)

Offer starred in his ShamWow! infomercial. He was entertaining, if not a bit rude, and created a lot of buzz on the Internet where his product was also sold. http://www.shamwow.com/

In 2008, Seth Stevenson of Slate Magazine called Offer, “A jerk you’ll want to buy rags from.” http://www.slate.com/id/2190658. Stevenson went on to praise Offer for his"abrasive manner …which is a unique, new strategy in the annals of pitchdom."

Corporate launch master Rick Braddy of http://www.winnareware.com/ has a much more comprehensive strategy for launching new products or services but he does share some ideas with Offer. Braddy says a marketer must
• Create involvement, buzz, excitement and demand and
• Use buyer language that resonates – instead of product language

We already established that Offer created a buzz. But to his credit he also used buyer language,
“It works on any surface and lasts 10 years.” The clincher in his video comes in the form of snappy testimonials like “I don’t even buy paper towels anymore,” or “If you’re gonna wash your car, you’d be outta your mind not to own one,” and of course the two ladies who chorus in the closing frames of the video, “All we can say is ShamWow!”

Ok, so your product or service is more complicated to market than a paper towel alternative.
Take a moment to walk through the worksheet below. When you have collected all of this information you’ll be better prepared to seek marketing assistance to launch your new product or service.

Launch* Worksheet

• Name of product/service _______________________________________

• Description____________________________________________________

• Price_________________________________________________________

• Who are the target customers?_____________________________________

• Are to selling to Businesses B2B Consumers B2C Both

• Market and potential for this new product/service? ____________________

• Source of Market Information______________________________________

• Who is the Competition? __________________________________________

• URL to competing company’s Website_______________________________________________________

• Relevant Key Words for this product/service __________________________

• How will this product/ service be sold? (online, in-store, trade shows) ______________________________________________________________
• What are the unique benefits of the product/service you are selling? ____________________________________________________________
• When will the launch campaign begin/end?______________________________

• Are there specific goals for the launch # of leads, sales, etc.?______________

_______________________________________________________________

Marketing Tools to be used: Advertising-print, outdoor, radio, TV, Pay per click Direct Mail Blog Social Networks Email News Release In-person sales Presentation Brochures, Fliers Special Event Company Web Site Couponing/free offersOther__________________________

Launch Budget Amount: $_________________

*NOTE-This plan is ok if you are not seeking funding. A business plan should be created for any new product service/launch or start up when you are seeking funding.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about Marketing Start-ups.
Jeanne@jeannembrown.com

Why Small Businesses Need an Annual Marketing Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:44:00 +0000

Marketing planning, an important subset of business planning, should be done annually.

Most businesses have annual opportunities that can be incorporated in an annual marketing calendar:

for retailers, annual opportunities include holidays that center on gift-giving, parties etc.
for auto or home improvement services there’s are opportunities in “getting ready for the rough roads or inclement weather of winter.”

Of course there are predictable slow periods too,

like the months of January/February (after holiday rush.)
and the months of April and May (after tax time.)

By using a marketing calendar small business will be able to take advantage of seasonal opportunities and may be able to improve sales during the slow months by scheduling an extra promotion.

How to Create and Use a Marketing Calendar
Most small business planning calendars are monthly. If you have a really aggressive marketing program you could go to a weekly calendar. I’ve pasted a very simple marketing calendar below.

Since the purpose of a marketing calendar is to achieve a set of goals.....

all marketing calendars require you to first list the marketing goals,
then to outline the plan to achieve those goals.

The sample marketing calendar that I have pasted below is a month by month calendar that was based on the company's fiscal year.
Company/Product or Service: ________________________________________________________________

Goals: ________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Plan to achieve goals: __________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Calendar of planned events, promotions, campaigns

August

September

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

Budget: _______________________________________________________________

www.brandeo.com offers a free marketing calendar template that can help you plan an integrated marketing program on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis. Microsoft Office Online has many downloadable free calendars as well.

New products and services need a launch campaign in addition to a marketing calendar, but I’ll cover a launch tomorrow. jeanne@jeannembrown.com

Avoid These Common Marketing Mistakes

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 02:47:00 +0000

Over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of small business owners who focus their marketing on what they want to say, what they have to sell, in order to fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams.

In today’s tough economy with a plethora of products, however, a business owner will be more successful by focusing on the buyer, what they want to ask, what they need to buy, in order to fulfill their expectations.

So Let’s Get Started………..

1. Know who your customers are.
I ask my clients to create a profile for several of their customer types when thinking about marketing. For example, a hardware store might have these four types as regular customers—
• the retired engineer who loves handyman projects,
• the single mother who is struggling to "do it herself" because money is tight and
• the beleaguered husband with a honey-do list,
• chicks like me who just like hardware stores and shopping for power tools and other gadgets.
Think about how their shopping needs would differ…and what offers they’d respond to.

2. Know what your unique selling proposition is.
You need to position your product or service as the obvious solution
to whatever problem or need your prospective customer has.
In my youth, the phrase for a really great new product was, “the best thing since sliced bread.” Ok, ok I admit that I was child when Wonderbread was introduced and that spongy sliced bread was the best!

3. Don’t Use “One Size Fits all Customers” Marketing
We all want to tell our whole story in our marketing. If we talk about everything, then surely something will get their attention. This never works. People get confused , then turned off by marketers saying too much.
It is much better to segment the market.Go back to the advice under #1 and create an ad or a landing page for each of your customer profiles.

4. Don’t Proceed without a Strategy
Identify what you want to achieve with your business in the next year,
then set some goals and create a plan to achieve those goals.
Try answering these questions to focus your efforts…………..

What is your Product/Service: ______________________________________________________________________________

What is the customer profile? _______________________________________________________________

What is your unique selling proposition? ______________________________________________________________________________

What are your numerical sales goals? _____________________________________________________________________

Once you answer these questions you will be netter prepared when meeting with a marketing expert…like me!
jeanne@jeannembrown.com

Write a Media Release that Gets Results

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:22:00 +0000

The purpose of the media release is to disseminate your organization’s information to a variety of audiences through all kinds of media. A release can alert, clarify, explain, persuade, and promote.
The trick to getting your release picked up by a reporter and become a news story is to first
know WHAT news is. News is:

New Development or Trend
The Unusual, Dramatic
Conflict, Controversy, an Incident
National Stories with Local Angle
Anything of Real Interest to the Audience

Types of Media that Releases are Published to:

Self publishing Internet PR Services, Newspapers Radio, TV, Trade and Consumer Magazines

Business/Industry Publications, News Services- PR Newswire and Associated Press

Email is currently THE way to publish releases.

Some organizations use TWITTER to announce a release with a link to the release.

Adhere to media lead-times if you want your releases to be picked up.

Daily Newspapers 1-3 weeks

Trade Magazines 1-2 months

Consumer Magazines 5-6 months

Radio/TV Local News 2-5 days

Radio/TV National 2-3 weeks

Radio/TV Public Service Announcements 6-8 weeks

Internet Media have shorter/variable lead-times

If your release covers a Breaking or HARD News event, the lead times do not apply!

What Media Wants in Your Release

Accuracy, timeliness, relevancy

Quotable, succinct statements

Useful information that makes a difference

Associated Press Style

Electronic delivery

Important Considerations

Check Facts, Grammar Spelling

Ask Someone to Proofread

Provide Contact Info for those who are Quoted

Include Photos, Graphics as Thumbnails

Post Release to Your Website and also to a free online news release service.

Components of a Media Release

Your Contact Information Name, Phone, Email

• FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE These words should appear in the upper left-hand margin with all letters capitalized.

• Headline This should be a sentence that gives the essence of what the press release is about. Articles, prepositions, conjunctions of three letter words or fewer should be lower cased.

• Dateline This should be the city your press release is issued from and the date you are mailing your release.

• Lead Paragraph A strong introductory paragraph should grasp the reader's attention and should contain the information most relevant to your message such as the five W's (who, what, when, where, why). This paragraph should summarize the press release and include a hook to get your audience interested in reading more.

• Body The main body of your media release is where your message should fully develop. Many organizations choose to use a strategy called the inverted pyramid, which is written with the most important information and quotes first.

• Organization Boilerplate Your media release should end with a short paragraph that describes your company, products, service and a short company history. If you are filing a joint release include a boilerplate for both companies/organizations.

REMEMBER: Public relations is a core management function for every type of organization, public or private. PR covers a wide range of marketing disciplines including media relations, brand management, community affairs, issues/crisis management, investor/constituent/customer relations and government affairs.

I can help you with public relations, media relations and news release creation and dissemination. jeanne@jeannembrown.com

An Online News Room Means You’re Ready When the Reporter Calls

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:29:00 +0000

The rise of the Internet and the fall of print Media have sure changed the game for PR pros like me. I know I said the same thing yesterday, but here’s today’s twist… The Internet affords small business and nonprofits -- the ability to create an "online news room" fairly easily and for not a lot of money.

Having an online newsroom means you’ll be ready when that the reporter calls. And when you post your news to your newsroom you’re making it available to thousands of searchers who are on the Internet looking for your service or product each day.

Today, you can post these materials to your website, make updates as needed and simply point reporters to a web URL, where your, valuable information waits, ready to be used.

Creating a useful online news room is really pretty simple. Set it up with a link on the home page and every page thereafter.

Consider including the following categories

Category 1- Media Releases*

Media releases* cover news you’ve made as well as events or issues you’ve responded to. In tomorrow's blog I’ll cover how to write a media release.

Category 2- Fact Sheets

Who you are, who you serve, sell to

Statistics, Background

Recent outcomes, reports

Category 3- Experts, Products, Advice

List major products or services and what they do

List expert by responsibility or expertise.

Reporters want to speak with the highest and “most relevant information source.”

Consumers what to know “who the buck stops with” on a variety of issues.

If your organization’s protocol allows, give media direct access to the CFO when they have financial questions, for example.

If not, anticipate questions and develop “most relevant information source” list and be prepared to make them available to media.

Category 4- Visuals
Compelling photos and videos, logos and graphs or charts make it easy to create a news package
Whatever you post; do offer a variety of formats (pdf) (jpeg), and different file sizes (100 to 600 dpi),

Official logo& trademarks with link to usage guidelines.

Category 5- Information about Key Personnel
Executive bios that are more than vitas

Philosophy

Community Service

Quotes or link to blogs and/or social network profiles

Always have an updated Organizational chart

Category 6-Achievements

awards

goals met

milestones

recognitions

Category 7-Background Information

Organizational Timeline- chart version

History - story version

Mission- abridged and full version if more than 2 paragraphs

Highlights- from annual report or ED’s report to the board

Category 8- Current News clips from media outlets
Show your Newsworthiness-Build Credibility
(cut and paste articles, links don’t last)

Ok to archive the older clips if available space on web server.

Category 9-Contact Info and More Choices

Subscribe to Newsfeed RSS form

Email link to you and all those listed as contact

Media Relations Contacts National media can reach a member of the national media relations team listed below.

Category 10-Calendar of events

Remember….Having an online newsroom means you’ll be ready when that the reporter calls. And when you post your news to your newsroom you’re making it available to thousands of searchers who are on the Internet looking for your service or product each day.

If you want assistance setting up an online newsroom contact jeanne@jeanembrown.com

PR News Services Remove the Middleman from News

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:32:00 +0000

The rise of the Internet and the fall of print Media have sure changed the game for PR pros like me. Today we can launch news releases to an entire media contact list with a few clicks.

But even more exciting than mass emailing is the opportunity bypass traditional media, if we want to, and post to free online news release publishers and then, at the same time, publish to our Website.
Publishing news directly to Internet press release outlets has radically reduced our dependence on the traditional media. For the most part they are overworked and underpaid as newspapers and magazines cut their staff in response to declining ad revenge.

So, why is this good?

• You control the message without the tone or intent of your release being editorialized by the media.
• You can guarantee that all your important information is included and not cut out.
• You can publish and don’t have to rely on the media finding your news interesting to print it or post it.
• When someone (your donors or clients,) searches for an organization or program like yours, your release, (properly tagged with code, key words, links) helps guide them to your website.
Traditional Media Results Dwarfed by Citizen Journalism’s Huge Reach
• Sure we’d all like our company or non-profit profiled in the LA Times or CNN, however, remember that the chance of one big press mention is very small.
• You can publish a steady stream of news, your accomplishments, awards, honors, big sales or prestigious contracts.
• Get your press release out nationwide or internationally by using online press release distribution services like www.prnewswire.com, www.prweb.com, www.pr.com, www.clickpress.com or www.prlog.com

Tomorrow's blog topic is HOW TO SET UP AN ONLINE NEWSROOM
Please contact Jeanne if you'd like assistance with online PR or Marketing.
jeannembrown.com

13 Things to know about Small Business and the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:29:00 +0000

The Internet is a level playing field
Whether your company is big or small you have equal opportunity on the Internet.

Internet is not cumbersome or bureaucratic
Small businesses without many layers of management actually have an advantage over larger competition by nimbly reacting to changing market conditions via the Internet.

Internet is not expensive
Unlike traditional advertising that can require tens of thousands of dollars to make an impact, you merely invest in good website development and keep it current to make an impact on the Internet.

Prominence on the Internet is based on trust
How your website competes on the Internet (its page rank) is based on history (length of time on the WWW), how many visitors are attracted to your content and how many other “trusted or popular” sites yours is linked with.

The Internet is a democracy.
Visitors vote by clicking on your site. Other sites vote for you by linking to the relevant content you have on your site.

Internet rewards ethical practice
Search engines are on the lookout for spamming, over loading keywords without relevancy and other unscrupulous practices. Ethical practices are called White hat SEO. Unscrupulous practices are black hat SEO

Internet demands uniqueness
Take the time to develop relevant content. What is your unique selling proposition?

Internet is hyperactive
The more dynamic and hyper your site is the better. Do you offer links, more information, and ways for visitors to interact?

When Google crawls a website and sees relevant hyperlinks, it thinks “this site has it going on.” It’s like,” I know this guy, who knows this guy, who knows this guy…….”

Networking key to Internet
We all know that doing well in business is about expanding your circle of influence.
Many small businesses join service clubs......
To connect with others to do good works, to compound your reach and influence through shared goals. It’s no different on the Internet, where this inter-connectedness makes your website stronger!
Internet puts engagement to ultimate test
When a visitor clicks through to your website, will they be encouraged to engage or will they be disappointed and leave? You have just a few seconds to achieve engagement and convert a visitor to a customer.

Internet is Geo-centric

The Internet runs on the World Wide Web but for most people their Internet is their local village.
This is especially true for searchers looking for services. They don’t want an insurance agent in France or a chiropractor on the opposite Coast.

Internet searchers need you now!

What do you think is a reasonable response time to an Internet query?
An MIT survey on Internet based response time revealed that there was a rapidly diminishing closure rate for prospective customers when response time was more than 5 minutes. After 30 minutes, it was found that the prospective customer had gone cold.
In fact websites that responded after 1 day 24 hours actually did more harm than good to the customer relationship, according to MIT.
Internet is real life
Your website is your window to the world. To succeed in business , in your community, and on the Internet , you must be honest, up to date and responsive.

I’ve heard some people say that there customers don’t come from the Internet.
With that attitude they never will. Your competition is finding your customers on the Internet.
In 2009 there were 11 billion Internet searches every month.
Unless you’re properly utilizing the Internet, you are missing out on the majority of current and future business.

Questions? I can help.
jeannembrown.com

Given the Rise in Internet Marketing, Where Does Print Fit?

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:00:00 +0000

The Internet is now the first stop for consumers researching information about your product or service.

So do you still need to print sales sheets, catalogs and brochures?

Before you completely abandon traditional print for online publications, consider who you customer is and what age, and other demographics, influence the way they shop.

Seniors still prefer printed publications.

Baby boomers like print but for the most part are ok with online publications.

The younger generations do not want printed materials for the most part.

Donna L. Baker writes in Adobe Acrobat 8 How-Tos: 125 Essential Techniques Adobe 2007, www.adobe.com.
“The decision is not driven by cost alone; electronic publications are quicker and easier to produce, distribute, and update. They can also be easily customized to particular audiences or produced cost-effectively for small niche markets. However, there remains a human need to “touch and feel” printed material, so it is important to retain a balance.”

Regardless of where you publish your documents, print or online, the creation process is the same…research, writing, graphics and layout.
You can post documents on your Website as a printable document (Portable Document Format, PDF) or produce paper copies.

Baker says, “There is nothing to stop you operating a hybrid strategy, printing a number of paper copies for direct distribution to selected customers and placing the same publication on your Website.”

Reading a printed publication is different than reading online. Many older consumers choose to print out a document to read it if the content is really important to them. I know that I prefer to proof my documents in printed form versus online, but I did not grow up with computers!

Print On-Demand
Many companies are utilizing high quality in-house or desk-top printers to produce short-run paper copies. We call this print on demand. Gone are the days when a small business had to lock in document content for a year because they had to buy thousands of pieces to get an affordable printing price.

Adobe’s Baker notes that electronic documents (PDFs) offer many important benefits, including:
flexibility-once a document is in electronic form, it is easy to repurpose it for other formats such as Braille, print-on-demand, Web content;
archiving-legacy material such as out-of-print publications can be retained for archiving or cost-effective distribution to meet ad hoc requests;
updating-making small changes to content does not require an expensive reprint of an entire document;
enhancement-electronic documents have characteristics not available in print documents, such as animation and hyperlinking;
cost-full-color electronic documents cost less to produce than the equivalent print documents;
distribution-online electronic documents are downloaded on request, with no distribution costs.
increased readership PDFs can be forwarded at no costs, suggesting the possibility of increased readership.
Trackability -Sending a PDF as a link in an e-mail enables you to measure how many different addresses view the document. Posting the PDF on a Web Site for downloading also enables you to measure acceptance.

When you post publications online, don’t forget to include a sentence or two describing the content of the document. The title alone may not help the reader find the right document.

If you need help integrating your print and online documents strategies, I can help.

jeanne@jeannembrown.com

Internet Marketing is a Must for Small Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (jbrown@villanovaprepadmin.org) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 02:42:00 +0000

The Internet has changed the way consumers learn about and shop for products and services.

• Sixty percent of shoppers utilize Internet search engines first!
• Advertisements, direct mail and printed brochures are no longer enough.
• Your business needs to be found online by the consumers that are already searching for the products and services that you sell.

Here’s All You Need to Do to Succeed In Internet Marketing
1. Get Found by Searchers
2. Convert Searchers to Customers
3. Analyze and update your Internet marketing effort, monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually

1. Here is how to Get Your Website Found
• Find popular Search Keywords for your product/service.
• Place keywords in the page title, headings, and text.
• Place keywords in meta-keyword tags and alt-text on images.
• Build inbound links from other sites into yours.
• Submit your website to directories like Yahoo!
• Communicate your industry expertise through blogging and include your keywords, then list your URL for contact.
• Send news releases to sites like PRNewswire.com and include your keywords, then list your URL for contact.
• Use Twitter and Linkedin or Facebook and talk about your Internet marketing efforts. Include your keywords, then list your URL for contact.

2. How to Get Searchers Converted on Your Website
• Have a unique selling proposition
• Capture searchers info for follow up with email blasts
• Use other online forms/tools like calculators if appropriate
• Offer free reports, analysis, quotes

3. Analyze and Update Your Internet Marketing Efforts Regularly
• Use an analysis tool like Hubspot's which is free at websitegrader.com
• Track number of inbound links
• Update Keywords
• Review Email results
• Review Blog followers
• Measure real business results:
number of visitors, number of leads, number of appointments set, the amount of Sales

Many Internet Marketing Specialists offer packages for web hosting that include these tools and tactics for one monthly fee. I do. If you'd like assistance I can help.
http://www.jeannembrown.com/