Small Business Smart Marketing

Nothing Beats Low-Cost Email Marketing for Boosting Sales

2011-11-15T07:24:00.000-08:00

If email newsletters are not central to your real estate marketing strategy, you are missing the boat. Email marketing gives more "bang for the buck" than any other form of promotion:

Advertising Medium	Cost/Piece	% Viewers
Email	$.015	15%-70%
Direct Mail	$.50-$1.00	50%-100%
Flyer	$.10-$.75	50%-75%
Newspaper Ad	$25.00-$600.00	10%-50%
Pay-Per-Click	$0.45-$10.00	0.5%-10%

Email marketing offers real estate professionals significant advantages:

1. As seen above, the return-on-investment can be astronomical!

2. Whereas other forms of advertising are shot-gun approaches, email marketing can be very targeted by using segmented email lists.

3. By building opt-in email lists, recipients have already agreed to receive emails about certain topics, and email delivery percentages dramatically increase rather than winding up in a spam folder.

4. Opt-in email lists available from third parties can also be utilized to target specific demographics or geographical locations.

5. Email marketing also promotes relationship building for future real estate business and client retention..

6. Email marketing often enjoys viral benefits, wherein your emails are forwarded to friends, family and colleagues.

7. Email marketing can be used for a variety of purposes, such as promotions, newsletters, event management and online surveys.

8. Autoresponders allow automated email responses and follow-ups to be preprogrammed, enhancing sales productivity.

9. Email results can be tracked - the number of opens, the number of clicks, etc. Moreover, you can actually determine who clicked on what link in a newsletter, for example, and then further segment your email list according to interest. Eventually, one can derive highly-targeted email lists consisting of pre-qualified recipients.

In short, email marketing is the least expensive, most productive means of reaching clients, nurturing prospects and pushing your message to the marketplace.. If your company is not doing email marketing, you are foregoing a huge opportunity to boost sales!

Plan Now for 2011

2010-12-28T08:48:00.000-08:00

The week between Christmas and New Years is the perfect window for small and home-based businesses to reflect and plan for the coming year:

* What is working and what is not?
* Look at Google Analytics for your Website to identify areas for improvement.
* What industry and economic trends are likely to affect your business next year?
* Are there any opportunities which you can take advantage of?
* Set goals and develop a business plan for 2011.

Taking a day or two to perform this useful exercise can have immense payoffs for your business in 2011.

Online Email Newsletter Preparation Service - Constant Contact Product Review

2010-08-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Constant Contact is a popular entry-level Web-based service for the creation, distribution and management of email newsletters. It is optimized for non-techies who want a fast, easy answer for low-to-moderate volume email promotions. Over 200,000 small businesses, associations, non-profit organizations and Realtors are said to be utilizing their online service.

While not "hiccup" free, the service fills a market need. I found Constant Contact to be an affordable answer for small organizations that lack inhouse technical resources, but wish to leverage low-cost email marketing to promote their products or services.

Constant Contact provides easy-to-use tools for developing attractive email newsletters, managing email lists, and handling distribution issues (compliance with spam laws, bounces, unsubscribes and filters). It also provides tracking tools and reports for evaluating results. Moreover, they have added the ability to set up autoresponder message for newsletter sign-ups. And of course, you can also schedule a series of emails to a segment of your contact base in an autoresponder-like fashion.

Recently, Constant Contact added two optional upgrades - the abilities to conduct online surveys (with results analysis) and manage events. So, if you are looking for feedback from your customers and prospects, now you can conduct a survey as part of your monthly email newsletter. Want to hold a product or service seminar? Now everything - broadcasting the event, sign-ups, emails to participants, etc. - can be accomplished with Constant Contact. If you have ever created and managed an event, you'll realize how powerful this canned capability is.

If you are familiar with the features and functionality of any word-processing program, then you can easily use Constant Contact for your email campaigns. They have a plethora of templates, tutorials, guides and "step-by-step" screens which ensure that anyone can create email masterpieces. Email pieces can contain one or more links to landing pages on your Website or even PayPal buttons for direct purchases.

Constant Contact makes it easy to sign up for their service. They offer a sixty-day free trial without a credit card requirement (for up to one hundred email contacts), pricing is attractive (starting at just $15 monthly for up to 500 email contacts, but no limit on the number of emails that can be sent each month), there is no software to purchase or install, and no long-term contract is required.

As with any Web-based interactive service, however, Constant Contact is recommended only for those who have a DSL or cable Internet connection. Otherwise, you may be in for a frustrating experience -- it can take a while for your newsletter editing inputs to show up on the browser screen.

The newsletter creation process itself is simple. It involves modifying your choice of several newsletter templates with your own content and images. Constant Contact has worked hard to make this an easy process. In addition to modifying overall appearance (background color, font, etc.), you can customize the content and look of each template section employing tools familiar to any Microsoft Word user.

A word of caution here. There are some quirks. Sometimes, what you want to happen doesn't happen. For example, I found that font and spacing actions sometimes produced unsought results. Despite an "undo" button, you might just have to close the newsletter editing function, then re-open it to eliminate unintended results. It thus pays to "save' your work frequently as you go along. But, if you know a little HTML, you can open a "code" window and usually resolve these mishaps in quick fashion.

Here is a hint -- copy any text prepared in a word-processing application or copied from a Website to the Microsoft Notepad before inserting it into the Constant Content newsletter template. This will remove any underlying formatting code that could affect your newsletter display.

I particularly like their list import capabilities. Constant Contact offers a downloadable tool for easily importing selected contacts from Microsoft Outlook. Other lists can be imported in.csv,.txt and.xml formats. And your lists can be segmented for targeted email campaigns.

A newsletter sign-up form or button is automatically generated for you. All you have to do is copy its underlying HTML into one or more pages on your Website to promote your newsletter to site visitors. Obviously, you will get more subscribers if you also offer an incentive, such as a free report or discount, to sign-up for your free newsletter.

But Constant Contact is about more than just sending out newsletters. It also allows you to set up email promotional campaigns. For instance, you can modify their templates to promote events, seasonal specials, or product announcements. These can then be sent to targeted segments of your email list(s) along with embedded coupons or links to special offers.

In summary, Constant Contact gets "two thumbs up" for being an affordable, hassle-free solution for low volume emailings (up to a thousand or so contacts). Its ease-of-use, extensive functionality, variety of templates and helpful learning resources make Constant Contact an excellent answer for small businesses and real estate professionals. With Constant Contact, you can quickly launch and easily manage professional-looking newsletters and other email promotions without a steep learning curve or breaking your wallet.

If you need help setting up a Constant Contact account, template or managing your newsletter, please contact us at (866) 284-4955 or by email at info@SmallBizSMartMarketing.com.

Advice for Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs

2010-06-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

Either through retirement or because their job evaporated, Baby Boomers are becoming entrepreneurs and their medium of choice is the Internet. Why? Because less resources are necessary to get started and a worldwide audience awaits. But don't be fooled - it still takes a lot of planning, hard work and expertise to be successful.

Starting an Internet-based operation offers Boomers the chance to take their "great idea" and turn it into a profitable business. But don't expect overnight success. It takes as much time and as much work to create a successful Internet business as it does to launch a "brick and mortar" equivalent. Plus, one additional piece of expertise is required - an understanding of how Internet marketing works and what it takes to gain online visibility among a target audience.

I would say that 95 percent of all newly launched online businesses are doomed to failure. People put up a canned Website and wait for the business orders to show up in their email. Months go by and nothing happens. They can't understand it and are at a loss about what to do next.

Here is some advice for new Baby Boomer entrepreneurs:

Before Baby Boomers spend any money, I urge them to do their homework first and give your "great idea" a sanity check by subjecting it to the rigors of a business plan. For those who do not understand how a business plan screens ideas for feasibility, click here for a free guide.
If you have not mastered the technical aspects of gaining Internet visibility, hire an expert to help you. Otherwise, your Website will not show up within the first three pages of Google, Yahoo or MSN Bing when someone searches for your product or service. For all practical purposes, the only people who will even know your site exists are those to whom you directly communicate your site address. Otherwise, your business will remain invisible on the Internet.
Being successful with an Internet business requires continuous work. Your site must be frequently updated and constantly promoted via a variety of online avenues. This requires money, time and effort. Again, if you are not an Internet guru, hire one to relieve yourself of this burden so that you can focus on running your business.

A word of caution. There are countless schemes appearing that offer Boomers turnkey solutions to running their own Internet business. They contain gushing endorsements from other Boomers who have enjoyed overnight success and become wealthy while working part-time. Do yourself a favor and thoroughly check these out before giving money to anyone. Many of them are multi-level marketing schemes. Others fail to disclose that you will be entering a saturated market or that members actually compete against one another on the Internet. Usually, just googling the outfit will turn up any negative feedback from dissatisfied customers. Checking them out with the Better Business Bureau is also a good idea. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

The key to Internet business success is to leverage the wisdom and experience you gained during your own career. Don't rush into something. Take your time and thoroughly evaluate opportunities. And be committed once you make the decision to proceed. Expect it to take time and hard work. Set out benchmarks to gauge your progress. Celebrate your successes and adapt accordingly when you discover that something isn't working. If your "great idea" is solid, eventually you will enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Managing your own Internet-based business your home office is an exciting way for Baby Boomer entrepreneurs to supplement their income and remain engaged in the business world. It can be a part-time or full-time endeavor - you set your own pace. Ultimately, you may even create an online enterprise that can be profitably sold when you feel ready to fully retire or explore other opportunities.

The Zen of Running your Own Business

2009-01-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

When it comes to satisfaction, nothing compares to owning and operating your own business. Everyday is exciting. You wake up energized, full of ideas and objectives to be accomplished. When you launch a business that is something you really want to do, your chances of success are high and (as the psychologists say) you become "self-actualized."

I spent over twenty-five years in entrepreneurial and corporate environments. Sometimes it was fun. Sometimes it was drudge work. And then there was the corporate politics, artificial deadlines, and incompetent bosses to deal with, not to mention driving at two hours daily through exhausting traffic. I don't miss it.

Now, I work out of my home office and have a virtual company made up of knowledgeable executives who like myself leverage our vast experience to mentor start-ups and small businesses. We hold meetings (when necessary) at Starbucks overlooking the Pacific Ocean surf.

It is amazing how much you can accomplish in a day when you're not bothered by the minutia and frustrations that are the price of working for someone else in exchange for getting a steady paycheck. Your workday becomes very targeted. And if it's a nice day, there's always time to "smell the roses," go for a bike ride along the beach, or just take a break to reflect on life.

Don't get me wrong. Starting a business takes a lot of work. You will work harder and longer during the first couple of years than you ever did when employed by someone else. There will be victories and defeats. Some days you will wonder how you are going to pay the bills this month. You will learn and overcome adversities. You will grow. You will grow a lot!

But mostly it doesn't seem like work, because you are making your own decisions and building a future for yourself. You are your own boss. You get to be creative and test new ideas. And when you succeed, it brings a special sense of joy and satisfaction.

I look back over the past five years since launching my own consulting business and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. With the ugly economy and layoffs, maybe it's time for you too to take an entrpreneurial leap. One door closes and another opens. If you do your homework upfront and are prepared to dedicate yourself for a few years, you may find the rewards in both your business and personal life to be overwhelming.

Five Low-Cost Marketing Activities for Small Businesses during a Recession

2008-12-30T15:13:00.000-08:00

With the recession gathering steam, 2009 looks to be a tough year for small businesses. Belt-tightening on marketing budgets is a natural reflex to diminished sales. However, it would be a huge mistake for a small business to shut down marketing in a recession because marketing is essential to surviving a downturn. And fortunately, there are effective marketing activities that can be conducted for little or no cost to help keep your sales alive.

Marketing promotion doesn’t have to cost a bundle to yield results. Some of the most effective marketing activities are inexpensive and require little more than investing your time to make them work for your business.

Here are five inexpensive marketing activities a small business can do to keep existing customers coming back while creating new ones:

Fine-tune your Website. Go over your site from the perspective of a first-time visitor. Are visitors able to discern what your site is about and why they should do business with your company within the ten seconds that you have to capture their interest? Is the site easy to navigate – can visitors readily find what they are looking for? If your business is selling online, is the purchase process simple to use and fool-proof? Do you offer complementary items for sale during the checkout stage? And finally, have you at least performed basic search engine optimization by including meta, alt and header tags, as well as populating your page titles and textual content with keywords relevant to each page? If that sounds like gibberish to you, check out sites like www.WilsonWeb.com to get helpful non-techie site tuning tips. Take an hour or so to perform an audit of your Website – it will ultimately yield big returns for your business!
Nurture your customers and prospects with a monthly email newsletter. Use “push” marketing through an email newsletter to stay in touch with your customers and prospects. Gain their ineterst by providing valuable information. This allows you to promote your products or services directly to potential buyers. Include incentives and create a sense of urgency. Insert click-through links to special pages on your Website that are germane to any offers or subjects promoted in the newsletter. Use low-cost ($30-$50 monthly online services like www.ConstantContact.com which offer professional newsletter templates and email list management. Just remember to “drip, drip, drip” on your clientele to remind them of the value your business provides.
Include your Website address on all correspondence, especially business cards and emails. Add a tagline to emails under the signature block that promotes your business. For example, “World’s Largest and Most Affordable Supply of Custom Widgets.”
Do press releases. These can be simple one-page releases announcing new products or services offered by your business, your latest achievements, new employees, management changes, new markets, discount programs, etc. – basically anything of public interest. Press releases are free advertising! Distribute them online to targeted geographical locations or audiences by using inexpensive services like www.PRWeb.com ($80). Don’t worry - these services show you how to set up the release. Make sure to include a link back to your site to provide interested readers with more information or drive traffic to an online sales funnel. And since online press releases get picked up by other Websites, newsletters and blogs as “filler content,” they help to create one-way links to your Website from a variety of complementary sites, thereby enhancing your search engine ranking. Don’t forget to mail your press release to local hard-print publications as well!
Advertise weekly or monthly promotions on your Website and in your newsletter to generate new sales and keep your customers coming back. If appropriate, you can even get a unique Website address (e.g., BigSale-TailorMadeSuits.com) for about $10 that points to a page in your Website where the promotion is presented in detail along with possible online purchase options. You can also add this unique online address to flyers or small ads in your local paper or industry periodicals.

With a little effort, your small business can have an effective marketing program for minimal expense. And now is the time to try new things and learn new marketing skills while you may have some slack. If you master the above activities, they will continue to provide a foundation for inexpensive marketing once the economy recovers. So make an investment in your future by starting with just one of these proven marketing techniques. Then tackle the others. You will be surprised and pleased with the results!

Small Business Marketing During a Troubled Economy

2008-11-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

Is there any doubt in your mind that we are entering a deep recession, perhaps the worse one since the Great Depression? How will your business survive this downturn? Bet that question has been keeping you up at night!

When the economy tightens, there is often a natural inclination among small businesses to cut costs across the board. This can be a healthy move. Certainly, there are business expenses you are now incurring that could be curtailed or eliminated. However, drastic cuts in marketing is not one of them.

In an economic downturn, continued marketing is key to survival. It's simple - without sales, you go belly up, and effective marketing generates sales even in a recession. The key to survival is to step back and re-orient your marketing dollars to activities which contribute to cost savings while still effectively maintaining visibility among targeted audiences.

For example, if you run ads in a trade periodical, just start running smaller ads if this medium is critical for your business. If you do television or radio ads, cut back to just those time slots that generate the most sales.

And most importantly, invest your valuable marketing dollars where you get "the most bang for the bucks." In good or bad times, this means placing an emphasis on Internet marketing. Why? Just consider:

Internet marketing reaches a worldwide audience on a 24x7 basis. And over 70 percent of people now surf the Internet when looking to buy a product or service. A Website and domain name costs about $60 annually. Figure another $1,000 to $6,000 (depending on complexity) to have an experienced pro develop a site for your business and optimize it for Internet search engines so it eventually bubbles up on the first or second page of Google for your keywords. This is a pretty cheap price to gain a worldwide sales vehicle that works around the clock for your business.
Flyers, direct mailings and hard-print advertising in newspapers and magazines are expensive...very expensive. On the other hand, online pay-per-click (PPC) advertising (when done right) delivers high-quality sales leads for pennies or a just a few dollars each. A typical medium-size newspaper ad might cost $600 or more for a short run. For the same amount, you could run PPC advertising for one or two months. Hard-print advertising is a shotgun approach whereas PPC advertising targets potential customers at the exact moment when they are looking for a product or service just like the one you offer. And, you are only charged when a prospect actually clicks on your PPC ad. Otherwise, it's free advertising! Plus your business gains immediate Internet visibility while your Website gains search engine ranking.

So don't cut your own throat by discontinuing marketing during this economic downturn. Rather, make your scarce dollars go further by shifting promotional activities to Internet marketing. But employ a professional to help your business. As many before you have discovered, you'll get results sooner, avoid costly pitfalls and save money overall.

Time to Start a Home Business?

2008-10-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

Maybe you are wondering if it's the best time to start a home business, what with the ailing economy and all. The answer is that it is always a good time to start a home business IF you have done your homework first.

Here are some tips:

Don't just jump in - take time to do your homework. Research your target market. Scope out the competition. Determine how you will differentiate yourself. Identify the risks and how you will deal with them. Develop a launch plan - what do you have to accomplish and in what order? Develop some financial projections - what can you realistically expect in terms of costs, revenues and profits? Fortunately, the Internet is a wealth of information. The more time you spend on this step, the more pitfalls you will avoid and the less costly your start-up phase will be.
Plan on developing a Website. You need a Website today to be credible. Ideally, your Website should be an online marketing platform for generating business. But it's not enough today to just put up a Website and sit back. Unless it is optimized for search engines, your Website will remain invisible on the Internet. Also, make sure to add Google Analytics to the Website so that you can analyze visitor behavior and make tweaks accordingly. Go to www.smallbizsmartmarketing.com if you need help. We'll give you a free consultation.
Market your business. Take advantage of the free online listings offered by Google, Yahoo, Kudzu and SuperPages. Look for inexpensive advertising opportunities in your local press. Do an online press release with an embedded link back to your Website. Distributed free articles about your business subject online (again with an embedded link back to your Website). Send flyers or postcards to your local target market. And add a free online newsletter subscription box to your Website - email newsletters (in which you can promote your business) cost less then a penny each to distribute.
Lastly, monitor your progress, and make changes as necessary based on the feedback you receive. Be sure to compare your actual financials to your projected financials. Are you on plan, or do you need to make changes? Are your expectations proving true?

Running a home-based business during retirement is a great way to generate supplemental income! But don't be fooled. The planning and start-up phases take a lot of work if you are going to be successful. Don't be in a rush to launch your "great idea." The more time you spend upfront in the planning phase, the better your odds of success.

Do the Business Plan First!

2008-09-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

I'm constantly amazed by how many entrepreneurs just jump in and start spending money on websites, marketing, etc., without having first accomplished their homework. Then after several months and maxed-out credit cards, they turn to someone like myself to help them understand why they are not getting any leads or generating any business. In almost every case, these fledgling millionaires failed to complete a business plan before leaping into the unforgiving world of commerce.

A business plan forces one to apply logic and rationale to "bright ideas." Done right, it highlights the risks, tests assumptions, helps to identify winning strategies (if there is one), and presents the expected return on investment in cold hard numbers for different scenarios.

Completing a business plan before launching a business will not guarantee success, but it will give you a much better chance of succeeding. Rushing to market without a business plan almost always results in expensive surprises and ultimate failure.

Having a business plan provides a targeted roadmap and benchmarks against which progress can be measured. It also alerts you to "bailout" opportunities if things are not going as expected. And it will help you to avoid costly pitfalls. In short, preparing a rigorous business plan upfront will more than pay for itself.

Launching a Home Business Offer Many Benefits

2008-08-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

In today's economy, many people start a home-based business or work part-time to make ends meet. Regarding the former, having a home business offers many benefits besides additional income.

First, it is exciting to start your own business, to pit your experience and wits against the world and become successful. It keeps you engaged with the outside world and the business community. You learn new things; you meet interesting people, and you continue to grow.

And there are considerable tax benefits too. Did you know that health insurance costs are deductible? This is a great way to take the sting out of the high cost of health insurance for Baby Boomer retirees who are not yet 65 years old. And your home computer equipment, automobiles, supplies and even home office space are fully or partially deductible too! Of course, you should check with your accountant or use a package like Intuit's Turbo Tax for Home and Business to confirm the exact deductions to which you are entitled.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of launching a home business is the gratification one receives from being the captain of your own ship. You control your time. You get to plan your own strategy and make all the decisions. It is invigorating and yes, even fun. When you're doing something you enjoy, it's not work.

Need help with mastering online marketing? Take a look at wwww.smallbizsmartmarketing.com. We can help. Baby Boomers who are thinking of starting a home business should look at www.babyboomerlifeboat.com to get an idea of the how to approach it and the challenges they can expect.

Baby Boomer Lifeboat

2008-07-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

Several "Baby Boomer" members of our organization (Pacifica Endeavors LLC) have expressed concern about the impact of the economy on their ability to retire. On June 24th, their fears were confirmed:

The decline in home values has reduced the prospect of comfortable retirements for the majority of near retirees, according to a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) .“This extraordinary destruction of wealth will have tremendous implications for millions of families as they enter retirement,” wrote report co-author Dean Baker. “Coupled with a very low personal savings rate, this means that many people will only have Social Security and Medicare to rely on in their retirement."

As many as two-thirds of Baby Boomers in their 50's and 60's are believed to fit the above profile. Sure, most have some savings, but for the majority their retirement plan was anchored by presumed home equity.

So, after much hand-wringing and a few drinks, the question among my colleagues quickly became, "Is it possible for Baby Boomers to comfortably retire if they do not have a large 401K, a big pension, an inheritance, or an executive golden parachute to sustain them?"

Being Internet Marketing professionals, we decided to do what we do best - research the subject....and the answer is "Yes." BUT, Baby Boomers with financial shortfalls have to be willing to make changes in their life styles to do so.

We discovered a wealth of information and Websites that can help Baby Boomers on their journey to retirement. So much information in fact that we decided to consolidate it in a new Website: http://www.babyboomerlifeboat.com/.

Pacifica Endeavors will maintain this site as a public service for fellow Baby Boomers. God knows, it looks like the majority of us will need it!

A CRM Solution for Small Businesses

2008-05-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

Managing customers, conducting marketing campaigns and achieving timely follow-up on sales leads is a vital process that can overwhelm a small business. Keeping promises, storing correspondence, managing sales and being able to quickly determine the status of accounts is crucial to success. Having a single, integrated solution to accomplish all this makes the lives of small business people so much easier and more productive.

Internet-based customer relationship management (CRM) and contact management solutions offer significant advantages. Typically, they are more affordable for small businesses because there is no software to buy or maintain. Equally important, online CRM solutions are accessible from any Internet connection by authorized personnel, providing a good centralized answer for both far-flung sales forces and company management. Too, online CRM solutions circumvent the danger of viruses accessing or destroying vital company data. And most solutions do not require a long-term contract, so it’s easy to get started and companies are not locked into a solution that may not be right for them.

I recently helped a client modify his Website to communicate with AppShore’s online CRM and contact management solution. I was impressed by what I saw.

Why? First, AppShore is designed for small businesses, a market that my own consulting service targets. Having tried other online CRM solutions myself, I am familiar with their functionality. What struck me right away about AppShore is how simple it is to use. Things that seem complex in competitive Internet-based solutions like Salesforce.com or desktop packages such as Goldmine are straightforward and fairly easy to understand in AppShore. I believe this reflects the background of the AppShore team, which consists of seasoned software professionals experienced in start-ups and small businesses.

Speaking as a small business person myself, here are some things that I particularly like about AppShore:

It has an intuitive design and offers functionality that is a good fit for small businesses rather than enterprise-level companies. I didn’t have to spend hours studying a manual to understand the function of each tab or how to use it.
It employs “mouse over” technology to give you a quick overview of accounts and leads, as well as the ability to edit them.
Accounts and leads can be imported using csv files. This means your Outlook Contacts and ACT! files, for example, can be easily imported to AppShore.
Relevant documents, such as proposals, agreements and RFQ’s can be uploaded and stored for fast access and management.
AppShore even offers a means to seamlessly transfer captured data from Website forms into the AppShore “new leads” database and then automatically notify you via email. This is a terrific time saver that ensures that Web-generated sales leads never fall through the crack!
The ability to prioritize tasks by customer or prospect helps you to focus on activities that generate business.
Opportunities are easy to track and (by assigning a probability and dollar amount to each) provide a basis for forecasting sales. Setting up a sales funnel with different stages is straightforward and beneficial.
Versatile reporting capabilities facilitate management of marketing and sales functions, as well as providing fast looks at expected revenue.
AppShore includes a convenient outbound Webmail function that allows you to send email using your domain name. Emails can be linked to customer and prospect accounts for easy retrieval and reference.
The ability to set up and use templates with multiple “insert” fields for outbound email marketing campaigns and customer/lead follow-up is available with the premium plan. This is both convenient and effective, allowing small businesses to be responsive and conduct inexpensive marketing campaigns. Just be sure that emails are sent only to valid contacts to avoid violating CAN-SPAM laws and provide an “unsubscribe” capability if you use this feature to send email newsletters or promotions.
A “dashboard” tab allows you to quickly review upcoming activities, your latest leads and top opportunities.
Password-based access and a separate Administrator function provide adequate security. AppShore databases are also backed up on a regular basis. Having vital customer and sales information located offsite also facilitates disaster recovery.

Overall, AppShore is an excellent solution for a small business. It’s not too much, nor too little. Like any CRM package, however, set-up and terminology may be a little confusing for small businesses that have never used a CRM package before.

What would I like to see more of? The AppShore solution is surprisingly lacking in online tutorials and a Help tab to provide quick answers for “how to” questions. This oversight is balanced by AppShore’s free personalized training, set-up assistance, and excellent telephone support (I know because I tried it!). And, AppShore will release a new version in June 2008 that includes a searchable FAQ (answering “how to” questions), user manual downloads and online problem ticket submission.

Best of all, AppShore is affordable for small businesses, with prices starting at just $11 monthly per user after a thirty-day free trial. Moreover, there are no long-term contracts, so companies can export their data and discontinue AppShore at any time if they are dissatisfied. But from what I’ve seen, small businesses will be pleasantly surprised by the positive impact on their bottom line once they start using AppShore CRM.

Having a Pricing Strategy is Key to Success

2008-04-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

Many businesses give little thought to their pricing strategy. Most do a cost mark-up, and then make adjustments when the competition pushes back. Many have little or no idea if their pricing generates sufficient margin to have a profitable, growing business.

Pricing should be an intricate part of your business strategy. Are you pioneering a new market and want to lock up market share before competitors enter your niche? Do you have a product with an edge that supports premium pricing? Are you trying to penetrate an established market? Will you be selling products internationally? Each of these situations requires a different pricing strategy.

It is important to understand your target market(s). What is the buying power of your prospects? Is financing required? Who are your competitors and what do they charge for similar products or services? What differentiates your offering from the competition, and does this support premium pricing or require you to compete with lower pricing?

The good news is that if you can answer these questions and have thought your pricing strategy through, your business has a much better chance of success. Why? Because you understand your market and have a business plan. And this is the basis for creating a good pricing strategy.

PPC Advertising Is Not For Novices

2008-03-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a challenging, dynamic endeavor. You can't just set it up and walk away from it. PPC advertising requires constant monitoring and tweaking to be effective.

Those who first launch a PPC advertising campaign are usually disappointed by the results. Expectations are high; results are low. That's because the initial launch parameters are just a starting point (i.e., your best guess based on keyword research, etc.). From that point on, be prepared to make adjustments to inch towards desired results.

The tools to refinement are provided by the PPC vendor. Google, for example, has excellent tools...if you know how to use them. For example, what ads and what keywords are giving you the best results? Narrow down your market attack to get more bang for your advertising dollar.

Here are some other parameters to employ in optimizing your advertising campaign:

Set up your ads to run during daylight hours (why spread your budget over ad impressions in the middle of the night?).
Focus your ads geographically (city (also by zip or radius from a zip), region, country, language, etc.)
Unless you are selling consumer products or really know what you are doing, avoid settings that display your ads on other Websites, but do take advantage of having your ads appear on major auxiliary search engines (e.g., AOL).
Target your keyword bids to get your ads to appear in positions 3 to 5 - your money will go further and you will still get good results.

Of course, the purpose of PPC advertising is to sell something or capture a sales lead. Hence, your real measurement of success is not how many ad clicks you get, but how many of those click-throughs turn into useful conversions that lead to more business.

Most PPC advertisers take the clickers to the home page (or an internal page) of their Website. What happens thereafter, nobody knows because there is no easy way to track clicker behavior. Most wander around and leave the site because material germane to the reason they clicked on the ad is not readily apparent. And there is no way of knowing how many ad click-throughs turn into customers or at least prospects. So, these advertisers spend a lot of money without any means of determining whether their advertising bucks are worth the effort.

That's why it is critically important that you have special landing pages where ad clickers find content relevant to the ad AND the ability to make a purchase or fill out a form to acquire an incentive. Completing this desired process is the goal of your campaign, and by arriving at a "thank you" page afterwards, you can measure how many ad click-throughs actually result in achieving this goal. Inserting special code into a "thank you" page allows the PPC vendor to report how many conversions your campaign is achieving and the cost for each. This is the real cost for your PPC advertising.

By tracking your PPC advertising results through the entire sales process, you can measure your return on investment. For example, if you sell Widgets at $10 each and the PPC advertising cost to achieve a sale is $1, then it's working for you. If PCC advertising costs $10 per resultant sale, then you probably want to re-think your marketing strategy.

PPC advertising is not for the novice. You can burn through a lot of money very quickly with little or no results. In the long run, small businesses are much better off by employing a professional, such as Pacifica Endeavors, who understand the pitfalls and can fast-track PPC advertising while saving them money. The result can be a dramatic growth in sales within one-to-two months, which more than compensates for the advertising expense.

Get More Mileage with Internet Marketing Compared to Traditional Marketing!

2008-03-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

I'm often surprised by how many small companies haven't yet grasped that Internet marketing is far more economical and yields much better results than traditional hard-print marketing. Compared to the latter, online marketing yields a significantly higher ROI.

Having a good Website that is optimized for search engines is a first step. Once accomplished, ongoing expense is minimal. Email newsletters cost less than a penny apiece compared to about $.50 each (minimum) for direct mail pieces. And online press releases reach a larger audience than hard-print coverage. Moreover, pay-per-click advertising costs only a fraction of - and is much, much more effective than - newspaper or magazine advertising.

In short, Internet marketing is the perfect answer for small businesses on a budget. Done right, it can dramatically increase sales while saving a bundle over traditional marketing. Contact Small Business Smart Marketing for a free consultation.

Close Sales with Testimonials and Reference Letters

2008-01-26T12:14:00.000-08:00

Never underestimate the value of a customer testimonial or reference letter. Whether you sell a product or service on the Internet or by direct sales force (or both), these are gold!

Prospective customers feel more comfortable making a "buy" decision if your business has glowing endorsements from existing customers. In their eyes, this reduces the risk of selecting your company as their vendor. So, always ask for a reference letter or testimonial upon completing projects or transactions.

If your business has performed as agreed, there will be no problem getting this endorsement. You can actually ensure this by writing it yourself and then emailing the "draft" to the customer to get their blessing, asking them "if they want to make any changes."

Place one-to-two paragraph testimonials in conspicuous places on your Website. If you have a direct sales force, make sure customer reference letters are printed on the customer's letterhead and signed. Often, a prospect will even forego calling references if your sales people give them high-caliber endorsement letters at an appropriate stage in the sales cycle. These are great closing tools!

What You Need to Know About Google PPC Advertising

2008-01-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

Google pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a great way for small businesses and start-ups to acquire sales. After all, Google owns 70 percent of the search engine market, and your prospective customers are likely to us it to hunt for a product or service just like yours. While PPC advertising can help your company, there are also major pitfalls to avoid.

Let's start with the major advantages:

You can gain instant Internet visibility while your Website bubbles up in organic search engine rankings.
Your ads appear right at the moment someone is searching for your product or service!
You are only charged when someone actually clicks on your ad…otherwise, it’s free!

But to take advantage of PPC advertising, you have to really understand how it works. In short, Google PPC advertising is not for novices. Trust me, if you just follow Google directions and recommendations, you can blow through a lot of money really fast with minimal results.

The major mistakes small businesses and start-ups make when using PPC advertising are:

Not setting objectives, a strategy or computing break-even economics.
Failure to perform keyword research; bidding primarily on popular (costly) keywords.
Not using negative keywords to optimize your budget.
Poorly written or misleading ads which result in ineffective clicks.
Failure to incorporate keywords in your ads
Clicking on an ad takes the user to your Website Home page where they get lost and quickly move on. Either take the clicker to a specific page in your site or (preferred) a landing page related to the ad content.
No lead capture or purchase mechanism.
Failure to actively manage campaigns.
Unable to measure return on investment.

And you can't master Google PPC advertising without devoting considerable time and, yes, money in the process. The industry is full of horror stories about first-timers who tried it and were shocked at the bill they received on their credit cards. Hiring a knowledgeable, experienced person to launch and manage your PPC campaigns is worth every penny. In the long run, you'll save money while profitably grow your sales.

If you wish to proceed on your own despite this advice, for God's sake set a minimal budget so you can play with the PPC variables and learn the Google ropes without breaking your bank. If you want affordable professional assistance, give us (http://www.smallbizsmartmarketing.com/) or a knowledgeable consultant a call. You won't regret it.

Your Website IS your Business Credibility!

2007-12-31T16:44:00.000-08:00

Today, a business Website can either enhance the credibility of a company or damage it. We live in an online world now, and the first thing sales prospects do is to check out your Website. If it's good, easy to navigate and quickly conveys the nature of your business and differentiating strengths, the site helps sales. If it is obviously home-grown and amateurish, with dead-end pages, the site will destroy your credibility and cost your company sales.

The shame of it is that it doesn't cost that much these days to have someone create a professional Website for your business. No matter what size your organization is, the Internet creates a level playing field. A well-designed site that presents your company in a credible fashion and captures sales leads is worth every penny. And in the process, the new or enhanced site can be optimized for search engine spiders so that your organic ranking improves and brings in even more clients.

The ROI for creating a new site or improving your existing site is extremely high. It is the best, long-lasting investment any business can make in 2008. So, as you draw up your buisness resolutions today, put this at the top of your list!

What is the Purpose of your Website?

2007-11-27T16:08:00.000-08:00

There are millions and millions of business Websites on the Internet, and I'm continually surprised by how many were apparently put up without any thought about what was trying to be achieved.

I say this because many are obviously nothing more than online brochures for the business products or services. These treat the Internet the same way as hard-print advertising or collateral materials.

Other business sites are designed for the Internet but are not optimized for search engines. Many also lack a means of capturing sales leads and hard to navigate. Kinda makes me wonder what they were hoping to achieve...

The first and most important step in launching any Website is to define its purpose and goals. Is it to be a reference site? A customer support site? Or, do you want an online marketing machine? The answer determines the resultant site design and content. Conversely, failure to address this subject before building a site will inevitably lead to frustration and expensive site revamping.

So, what do you want your site to do? Is it accomplishing this? Need help?

Market your Website with Free Articles

2007-11-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

One of the most inexpensive means of promoting your Website is to create and distribute free articles on the Internet. There are a half-dozen major sites that are dedicated to this purpose and the best part is that is FREE!

And the articles do not have to be long - three or four paragraphs will do. Write about something you know. Keep it narrowly focused and related to the service or product you offer on your Website. Include an author box with an embedded link back to your site. That way, interested readers can go directly to your site to learn more. Articles are a great sales lead generator!

Moreover, free articles get widespread distribution on the Internet. They are picked up by other blogs, Websites and newsletters for content. So, your free article (with its embedded link back to your site) results in an explosion of one-way links back to your site and considerable traffic boost.

There's nothing not to like about using free article distribution as a means to improve your Website traffic and search engine ranking. Contact us if you need help getting this going.

The Importance of Disaster Recovery

2007-10-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

The San Diego firestorm (and yes, I live in a threaten area near Fallbrook in north San Diego county) reminds us just how important it is to be prepared for a disaster. For a business, this means having one or backup copies of critical records. Studies have demonstrated time and again that businesses which are unable to recover critical information typically fail after a disaster.

And it's not enough to just have a backup copy of important information. You need to have backups that are stored off-site or are at least portable. For those of you who operate home businesses, backup your data daily to removeable disks (e.g., a zip drive or memory stick) or to a portable external drive that can be quickly disconnected and thrown into a travel bag. Some home businesses even use different memory sticks for specific files. Store at least one copy off-site (someone else's home, a safe deposit box, etc.). Have a dedicated fire-proof and water-proof safe box to preserve data stored on removeable storage devices.

Ideally, critical data should be backed up to a remote site that can be readily accessed from any location for fast recovery. Inexpensive online services, like Carbonite, that provide continuous, secure background backup over the Internet are a good, easy solution.

Don't feel snug if you have important information in an online Website database and not at your your business or home office location. After all, what happens if the Website location suffers a fire, flood, tornado or terrorist event? Always download and backup your Website on a periodic basis. Likewise, maintain duplicate backup files of really critical information, rather than entirely trusting your livelihood to a remote backup site.

Finally, make sure your backup solution allows you to quickly access or repopulate data. It does no good to protect critical information if you run into problems when you try to restore it.

You won't realize how very important your business records are until you actually face a disaster...and by then it's too late if you haven't taken prior precautions.

Creating Market Awareness for your Products or Services

2007-10-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

Public relations ("PR") is not a black art. It is as essential for small businesses as it is for large corporations. Let's face it - it's hard to sell your product or service if the market you are targeting has never heard of you.

Of course, you can blanket your target market with expensive advertising in magazines, the radio, television or newspapers. But did you know you can accomplish much the same thing through effective PR programs? In many ways, PR is "free" advertising and often much more effective than expensive alternatives.

Public relations takes many forms. It can be a press release that takes on a life of its own on the Internet, placing an article about your company in a widely read publication, having a published interview, winning an industry award, or briefing industry analysts. These activities spread your message in an effective, credible fashion.

Online press releases and articles contain embedded links back to your Website. Since these get picked up by other Websites, newsletters and blogs, interested readers often follow the embedded links to your Website. This increases your Website traffic. Also, having incoming links from other Internet entities drives up your organic search engine ranking. It's a win-win situation!

Use Google PPC Conversion Tracking to Determine Advertising ROI

2007-09-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Google PPC advertising (Adwords) is effective, but can be a very scary proposition. if you don't know what you're doing, you can burn through a lot of money very quickly with little or no results. In short, it really, really pays to employ a knowledgeable person to set up your Google PPC advertising.

Google Adwords has a neat feature that allows you to track the business results from your online advertising. Essentially, it works like this:

Set up your Google ad campaign
Each Google ad should go to a separate "landing page" where you present your sales argument and have a lead capture form or "buy" button.
When a prospect clicks on the "Submit" or "Buy" button on the landing page, you should have a "Thank You" page to which they are automatically transferred. The only way anyone can get to the "Thank You" page is by clicking on a button on the ad landing page.
Google Adwords provides a conversion tracking feature that generates specific code which can be inserted on the Thank You" page for each landing page. This code notifies Google when someone arrives on the "Thank You" page.

Thus, Google will record all arrivals at each "Thank You" page as a lead or sales conversion for the landing page tied to a specific ad. This data is displayed in your campaign summary by Google Adwords. In effect, this tells you how well an ad and its associated landing page is performing in converting ad click-throughs into either revenue or sales leads. This is your "return on investment (ROI)" for Google advertising.

Knowing your ROI for Google advertising is essential. Without it, you have no way of measuring how much a lead or purchase is costing you in terms of advertising dollars. If it's too high, PPC advertising may not be the answer for you. A high ROI figure can also alert you to the need to improve your conversion rate by tweaking your ads and./or landing pages.

Need help with Google PPC advertising? Contact a professional at Small Business Smart Marketing: (866) 284-4955 or via email at info@smallbizsmartmarketing.com.

The Fastest Way for a New Company to get Sales

2007-08-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

When you finally launch that new business, you probably start your marketing campaign with a Website. But it takes a long, long time for your Website to bubble up in organic search engine ranking. So until it does, you're still invisible on the Internet. Meanwhile, you need sales and money to pay bills. Right?

Want to know how you can quickly begin to generate sales leads from the Internet? It's simple - implement a local pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign. That way, your PPC ad will be visible to Internet searchers at the exact moment they are looking for what you're selling. This overcomes the weaknesses of your Website being nowhere in sight in organic search returns. And you are only charged when someone actually clicks on your ad. Otherwise, it's highly-visible free advertising.

Done right, local PPC advertising can be VERY effective...and very economical. But setting up PPC advertising is not for amateurs. Believe me, you can run through a lot of money real fast with little or no results. Google and Yahoo have their own algorithms for managing PPC advertising and they are not obvious, nor do they necessarily work to your favor.

It pays to engage an experienced PPC advertising manager to set-up, optimize and manage your online advertising campaign. Someone who knows how to create winning landing pages that capture leads or gain online sales after a rpospective customer clicks on your ad. You will save money and start generating sales sooner by turning to someone who knows what they are doing. Just ask anyone who rushed into PPC advertising - I'm sure they'll echo these sentiments.

Need help launching your PPC advertising? Contact us at info@smallbizsmartmarketing.com or at (866) 284-4955. ;~)

All You Need is a Website to Get Internet Business. Right?

2007-08-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

The days when you could just put up a Website for your business and wait for sales leads to come rolling in are long gone. It's amazing how many small business Websites are actually "invisible" on the Internet.

Today, your Website must be optimized for those little critters known as "search engine spiders" that continuously crawl the Internet, indexing and updating a humongous database of Websites. Next, you need a sustained program to acquire cross-links with complementary sites, something that all search engines place a high value on in determining your site ranking. And you need a form or two on your site to collect sales leads. Finally, you need meaningful content on your site, and the more often you update your content, the better Google and other search engines like your site.

Don't kid yourself - all this takes work...lots of work. But the results can be phenomenal. I've seen small businesses go from zero Internet business to being bombarded with leads in just a matter of a few weeks. Done right, Internet marketing does work!

An easy way to find out what you can do to boost Internet lead generation is to take advantage of our Online Marketing Appraisal. We will examine your site and prepare a custom report with specific recommendations for turning it into a powerful Internet marketing machine.

Organizing Your Customer and Prospect Marketing

2007-07-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

As your small business grows and you pick up clients and solicit prospects, it becomes very important to organize your customers and manage them properly. That's where customer relationship management (CRM) software earns its money.

With a CRM solution, you can easily keep track of your customer and prospect contacts, their status in the sales funnel and even create a unique marketing program for each. The latter is especially important. If you lay out a series of steps in your marketing program (e.g., send customized greeting, sign up for email newsletter, send autoresponder set of special offers, etc.), then you can rest assured that you will not neglect to nurture your customers or pursue possible new clients.

Remember, it costs a lot more to capture a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. Also, it is easier to sell more products or services to an existing customer than a new one. And finally, nurturing prospective customers through ongoing marketing messages helps to close sales.

For small businesses, an easy CRM answer can be found online at www.zohoCRM.com. This Web-based service is free for up to three users in your company. I use it and recommend that you take a look at it.

Is Your Website Search Engine Friendly?

2007-06-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

The days when you could just put up a Website for your business and wait for sales leads to come rolling in are long gone. It's amazing how many small business Websites are actually "invisible" on the Internet.

Today, your Website must be optimized for those little critters known as "search engine spiders" that continuously crawl the Internet, indexing and updating a humongous database of Websites. If these spiders can't easily traverse your site, you are in trouble. If they can't readily identify your line of business through indicated keywords, you've got problems. If your site is in a heavily competitive marketplace and it's not optimized for a specific market niche, it could take a long, long time before you see it showing up in the first three pages of search results. And if you don't show up in the first three pages, chances are that the only way your marketplace will ever know you exist is if you point them to your Website address.

Of course, it takes more than just search engine optimization to turn your Website into a high-power lead generator. Most search engines also place a heavy factor on the number and quality of incoming links as a measure of your site's popularity. And that takes a lot of work to achieve.

An easy way to determine if your site is search engine friendly is to take advantage of our Online Marketing Appraisal. Our experts will examine your site and issue a custom report with specific recommendations about what you can do to turn your site into an Internet marketing machine.

Memorial Day Thoughts

2007-05-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

Unless you have actually been in a war, it is hard to understand why veterans hate war and will do anything to prevent it. War is barbarism. War is seeing your friends die...everyday. War is giving up hope of ever returning home again to your loved ones. War is despair.

There is no such thing as a "smart bomb." Once the "dogs of war" are let loose, there is no controlling them. Death sweeps the land and feeds on itself. War quickly becomes senseless killing.

I cringe when I hear politicians who went out of their way to avoid the draft and Vietnam talk about "sacrifice" and "supporting the troops." Yet, they are so willing to send our sons and daughters off to the black hole of Iraq to die for their discredited beliefs.

If there could be just one change to the Constitution, I would like it to be that politicians could not vote for - or simply launch - war unless they committed to have their own children, brothers, sisters and other relatives between the ages of 18 and 45 actively participate in a combat zone. Do you think that would have changed the Iraq vote?

Have a Great Idea? Sell It on a Single-Page Website!

2007-05-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Do you have a great idea? Did you come up with a better "widget" that you know will knock the world dead? Well, now you can begin marketing your widget worldwide within just a few days.

A great way to give your idea life is to launch a single-page Website as a 24x7 marketing machine that has but one purpose - to generate widget sales or capture leads. And you can accomplish this for under $4 monthly!

If your widget really is a great idea, you will be surprised how effective a single-page Website is. It is easier to optimize for the search engines too. For example, if you get a pertinent domain name, such as http://www.widget.com/, implementing the right meta tags and keyword densities is much simpler than a normal business Website. And you can have this for under $4 monthly in hosting fees!

The good news is that you don't have to understand how to put up a Website, how to write persuasive site content, how to create and insert order forms or set up online payment. We can do all that for you. Moreover, your "great idea" can be transformed into a dynamite Internet marketing machine within just a few days. Throw in some targeted pay per click advertising and watch your sales grow.

Contact us to learn just how affordable it is to launch your better widget.

The Evolution of Online Advertising

2007-04-29T15:51:00.000-07:00

There are changes occurring in online advertising. Google is experimenting with pay-per-conversion advertising, wherein advertisers will only be charged when a prospect actually takes a desired landing page action (e.g., filling out the lead capture form) and winds up on the site's thank-you (i.e., "conversion") page. This will take of click fraud. It is also a more meaningful way of charging for online advertising. Expect Yahoo and others to follow Google's lead on this.

Another innovative approach is "pay per call" advertising introduced by Ingenio. It works in much the same fashion as current PPC advertising. You create an ad, set your bid price for calls, and then your ad appears across the Ingenio Advertising Network which includes AOL Search and other sites. However, you are only charged when an interested prospect actually calls you!

Search engine advertising, which is the fuel driving Internet marketing, is evolving. Just look at recent innovations in local PPC advertising. What's exciting is that this change is being driven by both technology and customer demands. I think this is a good thing. It will benefit all small businesses by letting us get more "bang for the buck."

Business Plan Sanity Check

2007-04-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

For a small business or start-up, getting a "sanity check" for your business plan from an experienced consultant can mean the difference between success and failure. The small expense of having an experienced person review your business plan (or simply your strategy, whether it's written down or not) is more than recovered by the insights gained and the avoidance of costly pitfalls.

And for those of you who do not have a written plan that has been scrutinized by someone who is "business knowledgeable," recognize that you are winging it! Are your goals realistic? Are they achievable? Are they even the right goals for your business? And do you have realistic action plans to achieve your goals? Are you leveraging your strengths while minimizing your weaknesses? If you don't know the answers to questions like these, you may already be headed for serious trouble.

Too often, start-ups and small businesses don't even see trouble coming until it is too late to do something about it. That's the purpose of a well-thought-out business plan - to look ahead and increase your odds of success by avoiding likely speed bumps. The failure rate of businesses who don't take the time to think through their objectives and strategies is dramatically higher than those who accomplish this upfront and perform at least annual reviews.

Without a roadmap for your business, how will you know if you're going in the right direction? If you don't have the experience, aptitude or skills to prepare a business plan, then employ a knowledgeable consultant to help you put one together. It will be the best money you ever spend.

Are You Invisible on the Internet?

2007-03-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a good exercise. Create a matrix with five columns and five rows. Blank out the upper left cell, but label the other four top horizontal cells, "Google," "Yahoo," "MSN," and "Ask." Then place your Website's top four keyword phrases in the left column. Now, do a search under each search engine and list your position among the returns in the appropriate cell. For example, if one of my key phrases is "curved widgets," and my site came up on page 2 in the number five position when I enter that phrase into the Google search box, I would enter "page 2 - 5" under the Google column for that phrase.

If you do this for your top four keyword phrases, you will get a real good idea of how well your site is optimized for the four search engines that account for at least 98 percent of all Internet searches.

If your Website isn't showing up within the first three pages of search engine returns (for your strategic keywords or phrase), then you are invisible on the Internet! If your site shows up on page 1 for all search engines for all keyword phrases, you walk on water. If it's somewhere in between, you have some work to do.

For anything but the "walk on water" results, there are two things you can do to drive more traffic to your Website. First (obviously) is to improve your search engine optimization as necessary. This is a long-term solution that takes time to implement and show results. Secondarily, you can utilize targeted, local pay-per-click advertising to get economical leads while your organic search-engine ranking climbs a competitive ladder to success.

Go ahead - grab a pencil and perform this exercise. The results may surprise you. Need help?

Every Small Business Needs An Internet Marketing Strategy

2007-03-13T16:41:00.000-07:00

It is almost impossible for a small business to survive today without a Website. If you don't have one, you are just not credible. Moreover, since most Americans go online to find goods and services, you will miss out by not being included in the world's largest virtual directory. Of course, this means that a small business must also have its site optimized for its keywords, or it will still be invisible on the Internet. And, as long as your business is online, why not leverage it to capture sales leads or boost your revenues by letting customer buy online?

Plus, it is easy and economical to employ local online advertising to boost awareness of your business. Free local listings are available from Google and others. Moreover, local pay-per-click advertising is very cost-effective. This is where your ad only appears to those in your local marketing area and you are only charged a small fee if and when they click on it.

So, if your business doesn't have a Website, get one! And if your Website is doing nothing for you, fix it. Contact me, and I'll give you a quick evaluation of your online situation and how you can turn it into a money machine.

Always, Always Back Up Your Data!

2007-02-27T13:28:00.000-08:00

For those in business (and really anyone), nothing is more important than backing up your critical information on a regular basis. If you have ever had the horrifying experience of a disk crash or a paralyzing virus attack (and I have), then you know what I'm saying. Your business can quickly grind to a halt if, for example, you lose customer contact and purchase records, critical projects or WIP, photos, accounting records...use your imagination. Put simply, it can be catastrophic and hard to recover.

At minimum, get a Zip or external backup drive. They are cheap today. I just saw an ad for an external disk drive that offers over 300GB of storage for $139!! Whatever you do, be sure to backup critical data immediately after you create or update it. Better safe than sorry, so make this a standard practice.

A "hands free - worry free" solution is to subscribe to a Web-based automatic backup solution. these work in the background, always backing up new files over the Internet while you continue your work. Obviously, you want to make sure that transmissions are secure and that the repository is itself backed-up on a regular basis.

These online solutions used to be costly, but now they are quite affordable. I use Carbonite myself, which cost just pennies a day. It's a small price to pay for peace of mind. If I ever do suffer a disaster, I'm confident I'll be able to recover and stay in business. ;~)

Constant Contact Email Newsletter Online Service - Product Review

2007-02-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

Constant Contact is one of the premier online services for creating, managing and distributing an email newsletter.

I am a Constant Contact affiliate and offer it to my clients when appropriate. On my Real Estate Internet Marketing Website, I even provide a service to get Realtors off to a fast start by setting up their Constant Contact account, newsletter parameters, and importing their images and email lists. Most start out taking advantage of the Constant Contact 60-day free trial, then transition to a monthly subscription ($15 monthly for up to 500 email contacts). Those with 50 email contacts or less can use the Constant Contact service for free!

Being very familiar with Constant Contact, I have prepared a product review for visitors to my Small Business Smart Marketing website. This is an objective analysis, pointing out some "gotchas," and pinpointing Constant Contact's best market fit. If you are thinking about using an online service to generate, distribute and manage a newsletter or other type of email campaign (electronic postcards, promotions, events, etc.), then do yourself a favor and read this Constant Contact product review first.

Drive Qualified Traffic to your Website with Press Releases

2007-01-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

Press releases are an excellent means of capturing qualified traffic. After all, if someone is interested enough to read your online press release, then click on your embedded link, you have a qualified prospect who is motivated!

And never underestimate the wide circulation that press releases achieve! Using a service like PRWeb for online distribution allows you to assign keywords and tags for RSS feeds and blogs. You will be surprised at how much traffic a single press release can send to your site. Your press release shows up in other Websites, newsletters, blogs, forums and then gets archived there.

Think about what it does for your search engine ranking to quickly gain a large number of one-way links from highly-ranked sites!

And online press releases live on forever. I'm still getting traffic from a press release I did two years ago!

Small business people and entrepreneurs can utilize our economical PR service at http://www.smallbizsmartmarketing.com/ to create and distribute press releases. Realtors should check out out unique low-cost PR service at http://www.renewsletter.com/.

Looking Towards 2007

2006-12-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

I'm one of those people who makes resolutions each year. I also make predictions of things that might happen during the coming year. At the end of each year, I compare my resolutions and predictions to actual results to gauge my achievements and (often with fun) my ability to foresee the future. To me, 2006 has been an interesting year with some wins and some setbacks....like everyone else, I imagine.

As I look towards 2007, I pray that someone with common sense takes the reins in Washington. The endless war in Iraq goes on and on with no realistic plans and no possibility of a good outcome. As a Vietnam vet, I feel for the people on the ground. To me, they are being sacrificed in a fruitless attempt to salvage Bush's legacy (is that an oxymoron?). In Vietnam, we lost 1000's of young men while first Johnson and then Nixon sought "peace with honor." We all saw the final, inevitable outcome of that conflict. I wonder how the parents, wives and children of the dead feel about their needless sacrifice... Sorry, but as you get older, you tend to see things in a different perspective.

I also hope that we as a people find a way to feel good about our lives. We need to have national goals and programs that unite rather than divide us. We need leaders that focus on hope and what we can accomplish rather than name-callers and those vested solely in their own concerns. We need demonstrated competency, not more Katrina's.

And believe it or not, I'm neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I'm a registered Independent who remembers when the Constitution was respected and out country was admired around the world.

I urge you to take time out, clear your head, and jot down some personal and professional goals for next year. Then put them where you can't help but stumble across them every so often. Just having a visible reminder is an indicator of what we could be, of what each of us could achieve if only we applied our willpower and creativity. Think about it...and I promise to focus again on business in these communiques starting in January.

To each of you, I wish a very happy and prosperous 2007.

It Doesn't Cost a Lot to Promote your Business Online!

2006-11-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

Most small business operators have the misconception that they cannot afford to promote their business online. In fact, just the opposite is true - they cannot afford to not promote their business online!

Small businesses can have a Website for under $100 annually. Local and nationwide pay-per-click advertising, when prepared and managed by a knowledgeable person, is affordable and can yield a very high ROI. Simple things like distributing a monthly e-mail newsletter will significantly boost sales while incurring minimal cost. Low-cost link exchanges with complementary Websites will drive qualified traffic to a small business. Doing online press releases and distributing free articles will add hundreds (if not thousands) of interested monthly Website visitors.

Want to learn more? Click here.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. In today's troubled world, I hope you take time out to count your blessings and let your cared ones know how much you love them. ;~)

Pacing Yourself

2006-10-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

In order to succeed at anything you do, you have to learn to pace yourself. There must be a balance to your life or you will burn out.

This is a problem that all entrepreneurs face. We work too hard. There are too many projects to complete. But in doing so, there is the danger of losing creativity and your perspective. Teach yourself to take time out to smell the roses. Spend time with your family. Relax. Take a bike ride, go to the beach, have coffee with a friend, but do something to break up the intense pressure and wind down. Breathe, and rejuvenate yourself.

A lesson we all have to learn....again and again.

Landing Page Essentials

2006-10-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

Whether performing PPC advertising, running a special or doing a seminar, it is critical to have a landing page where interested parties go when they click on the action button. This is the page where your sales argument is presented. Everything on this page should be designed to entice the visitor to take a specific action, such as providing their vital statistics in exchange for a free widget. Typically, the purpose of a landing page is to capture a sales lead or to sell something via a credit card transaction.

The essentials of a landing page are to have a Header and Sub-Header that reinforce the benefits presented in the ad or webpage that led the visitor to the page. The textual content is a persuasive dialogue, sprinkled with testimonials, that leads the visitor to conclude that this is a good deal...something he/she can't live without.

Credibility is critical. Hence the testimonials. If others have been successful with the offering, it alleviates the fear of proceeding. No one likes to be a pioneer. Offering a "satisfaction guaranteed" policy with a full refund within (say) 30 days usually overcomes any lingering doubts.

Boosting the transaction with freebies to raise the ante is a powerful enticement. Putting a time limit on the offer creates a sense of urgency and spurs the visitor to action.

And the "action" must work flawlessly. Be sure to test-drive your transaction process to ensure everything works as it should. A significant percentage of potential buyers drop out at the purchase stage when it takes too long, has errors or is just plain confusing.

So, careful design of your landing page is essential to achieving a high conversion rate. Always remember that it's like a funnel which guides users to the decision you want them to make.

I'm Back!!

2006-09-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

The curse of independent consulting is the business cycle. When it's dry, it's really dry. BUT when it rains, it pours. Kinda hard to predict cashflows, but always welcomed.

In case you've noticed my absence during the past few weeks, it's because I have been caught up in a typhoon. Interesting work - putting up a Website for a public access cable company, for example - but time consuming. I now have several Internet marketing consulting clients, and I enjoy the variety of assignments and creativity they demand. Sometimes, however, they all enter a hot phase at the same time, and I hang up my life for a few weeks. Well, not entirely. There's still time for the occasional golf game or bike ride along the beach. After, why work for yourself if you don't take time to smell the roses?

No matter whether you work for yourself or for an employer, it's still the same. You gotta take time to smell the roses, to take your sweety to dinner, play with the kids and just unwind. In today's fast-paced society where it's hard to escape the phones, email and IM's, that's easier said than done. You can tell the ones who are successful - they are calmer and often wear smiles.

Just a thought ;~)

Use Negative Keywords to Fine-Tune PPC Advertising

2006-08-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

When employing pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, don't forget to make use of features which allow you to specify "negative keywords." These are keywords that you do not want to cause your ad to appear. Proper use of this feature will help you to target your ads towards real prospects and can dramatically reduce erroneous click-throughs, thereby making your monthly PPC budget go further.

Successful PPC advertising is all in the tuning...

Don't be Afraid to try Something New!

2006-07-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

If your site statistics indicate that you are receiving a good traffic volume, but most visitors leave within 30 seconds, it's time to try something new.

The key is to experiment...and keep experimenting until you see a favorable shift in your site's "stickiness." This can be measured by sales conversion or simply a positive change in the duration that typical visitors spend on your site. Look at return visitors too - the more the better.

But the bottom line is that a Website is dynamic. You always have to be adding new content and adjusting your offerings, layout, navigation, incentives and attractiveness until you find a formula that works. That's why it is so important to carefully review your site statistics on at least a weekly basis.

Hint: Make small changes and give it a few days to see if the change is having a positive effect. If not, try something else. Keep experimenting and sooner or later, you'll find the right mixture that puts money in your pocket!

Valuable Content is Key to Website Marketing

2006-07-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

Many small businesses treat their Websites as nothing more than an online brochure. This is OK if all you want is a place for sales and support people to point customers and prospects. But it foregoes the opportunity to tap into a worldwide, 24x7 market.

The best and simplest way to turn your small business Website into a marketing machine is to add valuable content that is periodically refreshed. This can be free useful tools, authoritative whitepapers, articles or eBooks, a directory to useful sources, etc. These build credibility, a preprequisite to collecting names, phone numbers and email addresses. And if you are selling online, achieving credibility among site visitors is an absolute prerequisite for success.

Add valuable content means that your site is more likely to be bookmarked as well, leading to return visitors. If your content captures attention, it is more likely to get passed on to colleagues and business associates too. This is called "viral marketing," a phenomenon that can significantly increase your business.

Happy 4th of July!

2006-07-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

How do you know when you are a workaholic? I think I answered my own question. Here I sit during the morning of what is suppose to be a relaxing holiday, banging away to complete client assignments. Even worse, it doesn't feel like work to me. I enjoy what I do...maybe a little too much.

Time to stop and take the dog for a walk before the Pacific sun burns away the June gloom.

Happy 4th, everybody.

New Service - Affordable Online Marketing Appraisal

2006-07-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

A lot of small businesses put up a Website and promote it as best they can. Yet, they seem to hit a wall. Their site never appears within the first three pages of search engine returns for their keywords. In effect they are invisible on the Internet. Or despite a healthy flow of traffic to their site, sales never seem to increase. Where to go from here?

If you find yourself in this position, you might feel a sense of hopelessness. Maybe you've tried several things but nothing seems to work. It's like an invisible barrier keeps your online marketing efforts from succeeding. You would give anything for a knowledgeable Internet marketing expert to look at your site, but have neither the time or money to spend on a consultant.

Now there is a way to get the answers you need to revitalize your online marketing, to point it in the direction of success. A simple course correction can often make all the difference in the world. We know that online marketing works. Now let's make it work for you!

Pacifica Endeavors is proud to introduce our exclusive Online Marketing Appraisalsm service. Our new Online Marketing Appraisal service provides everything you have been seeking. A Pacifica Endeavors online marketing expert will personally review your Website and its underlying code. Assessments and recommendations will then be presented for:

How you can improve your search engine ranking
What you can do to improve sales conversions among site visitors
Inexpensive online marketing methods for your consideration that will dramatically increase Website traffic

You will receive this insightful feedback in the form of a documented PDF report within a few days of applying for the Online Marketing Appraisal service. And every part of the appraisal report will be "meat;" there is no fluff in the Online Marketing Appraisal package. You will get a penetrating report with solid recommendations guaranteed to increase your online business.

Learn more...

Be Proactive!

2006-06-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

Lots of people complain but fail to do anything to turn their Websites into proactive marketing machines. And there are a number of actions that can be taken, each of which can boost the traffic flow and (if applicable) sales. If your Website is not living up to its expectations, find out why and do something about it.

Sometimes, just the simplest action can make all the difference. Don't be afraid to experiment. Read and learn; educate yourself...or hire someone knowledgeable to audit your site and make suggestions. But whatever you do, don't just sit there and let it go on. Every Website has the potential to become a mean, lean money-making machine...yours included!

Analyzing Your Website Traffic

2006-06-16T06:56:00.000-07:00

The key to improving your site is diligent review of the its statistics. Your hosting vendor typically provides a report capability as part of their service. Checking these on a regular basis offers valuable insights into visitor behavior and clues to how you can make your site more productive. For example:

On what page do most people enter your site?
How long do they stay?
Where do they exit your site?
Where are they coming from?
Where do referrals come from?
What external links are sending the most traffic to your site?
How often are search engine spiders crawling your site for updates?
What keyword searches are sending most people to your site?

Reviewing these stats and thinking about them is the quickest way to enhancing your site. For example, if most people enter your site on the home page, but leave with 10 seconds or so, then you know that your homepage needs a little work. Also, one linked site is sending you most of your referral traffic, perhaps a closer business relationship with that site is in order. If Google is not regularly crawling your site, maybe you should re-submit to them. Think about it...

The Joy of Being an Entrepreneur

2006-06-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when I get up at 3AM to finish a project, I question my sanity and contemplate getting a "real job" with scheduled hours and a steady paycheck.

Then later, after finishing and watching the sun come up, I take my dog for a walk along the rural backroads in northern San Diego county, and I know why I do this. It's the freedom to manage my own time that keeps me going. And I remember the 1 1/2 hour commute every morning, the endless stress and often having to work for "intellectually challenged" executives. Suddenly it all comes into perspective - Yes! This is why I do it....the freedom to control my own life, to manage my own destiny.

Your Website Selling Proposition

2006-06-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Every Website needs a "unique selling proposition" in its initial view (above the fold). This statement explains what differentiates you from the hordes of competitors and the benefits to the viewer. Remember, you have about ten seconds to capture the interest of a Website visitor, so make your selling proposition compelling!

Pace Yourself!

2006-05-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

It pays to "come up for air" every now and then. Having just completed a three-week, heads-down project with a firm deadline, I was feeling like a zombie. Taking time out to re-charge the batteries is important. From now on, I'm going to bring some balance into my consulting life, mixing bike riding and coffee with friends along with the work.

Guess it's never too late to learn...

New Sales Position in a Start-up?

2006-05-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

One of the best ways to quickly generate qualified sales leads is through pay-per-click (PPC)advertising with Google. To do this, you need:

1. A Website
2. A landing page that can only be reached through the PPC ad, where you essentially present your sales argument and somehow capture the visitor's vital statistics (name, email, etc.)
3. A motivating incentive (e.g., discount on services, free whitepaper or product, etc.), coupled along with a sense of urgency (Today only!).

The PPC ad must be carefully prepared to ensure you only receive click-throughs from qualified prospects. Otherwise, PPC advertising can cost you a bundle. ;~(

Make a Weekly Plan

2006-04-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

Most businesses can benefit by setting aside time to plan out their work week. The simple exercise of establishing goals to be accomplished each week can make a tremendous difference. Success comes from having a strategic plan that is broken down into weekly tactical plans. Think of it as a roadmap to get you where you want to go.

If you have employees, holding a Monday morning staff meeting is an excellent opportunity to review the past week’s events and progress while establishing objectives and deciding priorities for the current week.

I’ve always found that taking time at the end of each week to document accomplishments provides an opportunity to assess what works and what doesn’t. While things are still fresh in your mind, you can gain insights and brainstorm ideas and priorities. Then set it aside for the weekend (schedule permitting) and use this material for the Monday morning staff meeting. Often you will find that it percolates in your mind over the weekend and reflection brings refinement which helps you on the road to success.

Why Employ a Marketing Consultant?

2006-04-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

Most people are good at one or two things. Successful people learn to focus on areas where they can be most effective and to acquire talent to address their remaining needs. This is where a marketing consultant can help.

A good marketing consultant is someone who has been in the trenches him (or her) self. With his (her) experience and skills, they should be able to quickly identify what needs to be accomplished to satisfy your objectives. Moreover, he (she) should be able to prepare a comprehensive plan and implement it for you at a reasonable cost.

At Pacifica Endeavors, our clients can expect to receive a many-fold return on their investment in marketing. Our fees are recovered many times over through increased sales resulting from leads generated through innovative marketing programs.

You Gotta Love Press Releases!

2006-04-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

Press releases are a wonderful vehicle for getting your message to the marketplace. They create visibility, enhance credibility and, when placed online, live on forever.

Using inexpensive services like PRWeb to distribute a press release online is an excellent means of garnering widespread coverage of a product announcement, big sales win or an upcoming event. The beauty is that you can embed links so that your press release drives interested traffic back to your Website! And since online press releases float around the Internet forever and get picked up by press sites and newsletters, they provide a plethora of one-way links to your site, thus driving up your search engine ranking.

Don't just send out your press release online. Local newspapers and industry periodicals are always eager to get "filler' materials. If you mail or fax your press release to them with a cover letter, they will likely print it.

So, one simple document gets a lot of attention. Try accomplishing one press release monthly with embedded links. It's a cheap way to boost your Website traffic and capture more sales leads.

Credibility in Today's Business World

2006-04-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

I'm amazed whenever I come across a small business that still doesn't have a Website. Even in this day and age when Website hosting is dirt cheap, some businesses lag behind. It is essential to your credibility to have a Website...and not just any Website, but a good one that presents the image of your business that you want to communicate to your target market.

A well-planned Website ultimately translates to more customers and more money in your pocket. It doesn't have to be a huge Website, nor are e-commerce and other "bells and Whistles" required. It just has to be pleasing to the eye, easy to navigate and contain useful information for clients and prospective customers. Oh yes, be sure to let interested visitors know how to contact (or locate) you.

The final step is to at least complete the meta tags before submitting the site to search engines and relevant Internet directories. These include the Title, Description and Keyword tags. If you really want to get a lot of traffic from your Website, get a professional to optimize it for the search engines. And once your Website is active, promote the heck out of it!

It Pays to Have a Plan!

2006-03-27T07:25:00.000-08:00

There's an old saying, "How will you known when you get there if you don't know where you're going?" That's why having a well-conceived business or marketing plan is so important to the success of a small business.

Every hour spent in the planning process will save you hundreds of dollars down the line. Because it's time-consuming, sometimes difficult, and entrepreneurs are eager to jump in and get going, upfront research and planning are often neglected. Yet, it always comes back to bite you in the butt! The bottom line - you can discover pitfalls and miscalculations upfront or you can trip across them down the road after spending a lot of money.

That said, I'm off to enjoy a mental health day skiing the slopes of Snow Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California. We have it all - I can ride my bike 15 miles to the beach, or drive a couple of hours and be in beautiful mountains. No wonder the whole world wants to live in sunny San Diego.

Half of Marketing is Just Doing Something!

2006-03-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

Quite often, small business people are so tied up in running their business or servicing customers that they forget to carve out time for marketing. I know this is particularly true for those who sell a service (such as consulting). Then one day, you come up for air and discover that the sales pipeline is empty.

It take discipline to set aside time and funds for marketing. But without doing so, small business people fall into a vicious cycle of "feast or famine." The secret is to launch some ongoing marketing programs (such as pay-per-click advertising) that generate a steady flow of sales leads. You also have to schedule time weekly to devote to marketing activities, for without them your company will have to be pretty darn lucky to grow.

Just doing something - anything! - to create market awareness of your product or service is better than doing nothing. Try committing at least two hours weekly to marketing and you'll see a difference!

Put Your Business Online - Step One: Put Up A Website

2006-03-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone:

Most people just starting a business - and even those who have their business off the ground - realize that online marketing has huge benefits, but don't quite know how to go about it. There appear to be lots of confusing choices... and most look expensive.

But the potential rewards of Internet marketing are so huge that you can't ignore them. Right away, a Website gives you a worldwide 24 x 7 x 365 audience, putting you up there along side the big guys. In the virtual world, small businesses can have as much clout as big corporations.

So step one is to get a website if you don't already have one! The good news is that there are ways to have an effective online marketing platform for just pennies a day....IF you are willing to do a little work yourself. If not, hire someone affordable like me to do it for you. But whatever you do, GET A WEBSITE up and running that sells your products or services. And since it takes a while to get noticed by Google, Yahoo, MSN and other search engines, the sooner you get your Website up, the better.

For those of you who need a primer in setting up an online business, download "Put Your Business Online," which is written for non-techie novices. It explains everything you need to know to get started with creating your website and promoting it. You will be amazed how fast a business can grow through online marketing.

Marketing Consulting for Small Business People and Entrepreneurs

2006-03-20T14:55:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow small business persons and entrepreneurs!

Welcome to the Small Business Smart Marketing blog. My name is Al Kernek, and I'm one of the Principal Consultants for Pacifica Endeavors LLC, a marketing and sales consulting firm located in sunny San Diego whose customers are people just like yourself.

You can check out our Website at www.smallbizsmartmarketing.com, but why not hang around a bit and take a look at our blog too? Be sure to bookmark it because we give away lots of valuable free advice to those who are starting a business or who already have a small operation underway.

Feel free to contribute to the discussion by leaving a comment or asking a question. We update this blog nearly everyday. Enjoy!

Al