That’s why I put together some time-tested and proven tips and strategies designed to give you a big boost in growing your business.  I think you’ll find a lot of value from the quick-read ideas presented in “Profit-Rich Marketing: Proven Strategies to Help You Grow Your Business,” which are designed for easy implementation.

The practical marketing approach and proven strategies will help you to:

• Create the Marketing Mindset
• Create Explosive Growth in Your Business
• Utilize Marketing Secrets of the Masters
• Measure Marketing Success
• Design Profit-Rich Marketing Materials
• Write Copy Like the Pros
• Build Your Online Money Machine
• Drive Targeted Traffic
• Use Blog Marketing to Build Your Business
• Monetize Your Social Media Marketing Efforts

Get more details on my “Profit-Rich Marketing: Proven Strategies to Help You Grow Your Business” and leave us a comment to let us know some of the ways you’d like to improve your business.

When you have a complicated product or service, usually the best direction to take with the message and design of your website is clear, simple and modern.

That was our advice to one of our recent web development clients, Agadia.

Agadia is a company that offers Prior Authorization and ePrescribing solutions to healthcare management.  We’ll admit– this was a newer area for us, but the problem with their old website is that it didn’t give us a clear idea of all the great solutions Agadia offers.  Which meant that prospective clients weren’t getting a clear idea either.

As you can tell from their dynamic new website, www.Agadia.com, they put their full trust in our Prime Concepts Group team and the end result speaks for itself!  Check out their new site and tell us what you think before you view the rest of our website design portfolio and learn more about our website development solutions.

Well, Jon Petz’s new book website is anything but boring; in fact, it might just be one of the coolest book websites we’ve ever developed!

But don’t take our word for it– check out www.BoringMeetingsSuck.com and learn more about Jon’s new book, “Boring Meetings Suck” because let’s face it– most meetings suck about as much as most book sites.

And remember, we offer customized website development solutions for everything from simple micro-websites, mobile websites, sales letter (micro) websites and WordPress blog-type websites to fully functional, secure membership websites, social media websites, large scale database websites and eCommerce websites… just to name a few.

The key is to remember that it’s not about making a creative or even a “pretty” website… it’s about communication. Communication of value that builds buyer confidence, improves conversions and results.

So check out our website design portfolio and website development solutions after you leave a comment and tell us how awesome Jon’s site is.

Remember, grammar and punctuation has the power to showcase the professionalism of your organization.  A lack of proper grammar and punctuation (yes, even in a quickly typed email or buried within copy on your website) can do the opposite—diminish the perceived professionalism of your organization.

I plan on doing a few “refreshers” with our team.  I suggest you and anyone else from your organization who writes at all (nearly everyone!) review this first installment of reminders.

Semicolons

Semicolons usually separate two main clauses that could stand on their own if you wanted them to.  The catch is that they must be closely related main clauses.

For example:

“I need the report by the end of the day.”

“I will expect it from you by 5:00.”

Becomes…

“I need the report by the end of the day; I will expect it from you by 5:00.”

So why use semicolons?  The main reason to use a semicolon is to add some variety to your sentence structure.  This is a nice option if you have a large amount of content.

Colons

Colons are used after complete sentences to signal that what comes after the colon is directly related to the previous statement.  Colons should never be used after sentence fragments.  Instead, a colon should be used to expand or clarify on the complete sentence before it.

For example:

“Our company specializes in three areas.  They are internet marketing, marketing and website design.”

Becomes…

“Our company specializes in three areas: internet marketing, marketing and website design.”

So why use colons?  The main reason to use a colon, again, is to add some variety to your sentence structure.  Additionally, it helps your reader remember the points you included.

That’s enough for today, but why don’t you make a goal of using a semicolon and a colon properly at least once this week?  It doesn’t have to be for anything fancy—these can be used quickly and easily in a memo, email, report, etc.  Then let us know what you think!  Did using a semicolon or colon add variety and sense of professionalism to your writing?  Do you think you’ll start incorporating them on a regular basis?

Secret # 7. Your web designer shouldn’t be in control of the marketing process

• Identify your specific outcome for each area and page of your website. What do you want the visitor to do?  Fill out a form, subscribe, call, click a specific link, download something, or make a purchase?
  

• Remember that you’re the marketer, regardless of your formal title.  You need to control the sales processes.  Don’t lose navigation ease for special effects. Please avoid a circus look with too many fonts, sizes and colors. Remember to construct the site with clear and redundant navigation. That means adding the main navigation choices to the top and relevant navigation at the bottom of the page.

• Add a site map for the search engines and visitors.  A site map is a directory listing of your pages listed on a pages for easy access.  Make sure your web designer checks the visual layout and menus on a PC / MAC with different browsers.

• Check your site on Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Google’s new browser Chrome.  Also, some new java-type menu programs work great on one type of browser and are all messed up on a different type of browsers.
  

• Before you hire any web design firm, or other vendor for that matter do you do diligence and check out their references.  Review samples of their work too! If you don’t see clear marketing messages and actions steps find someone else.  You can check out my client testimonials here.
  

Secret # 8: Use your Stats!  Set up your analytic tracking methods and calculate your visitor value?

This is also know as Value-Per-Visitor (VPV) Take your sales Sales $ dollars for a given period, usually a month and then divide by the number of visitors to your site = VPV (Example: $1000 / 5000 = .20)

How much is each one of your site visitors worth? This will also help you determine how much you can spend in PPC too.  Not to oversimplify, but if your visitor value is only .30 cents, then you wouldn’t want to bid higher than that or you’d be losing money.

For most of you watching this short clip, the point is for you to identify and calculate your sites performance benchmarks.

Do you know how many people visit your site?

What is your average conversion rate? Are people joining or unsubscribing from your lists.  How long are they staying on your site? You can learn a great deal from your site because it tracks everything. Check your site statistics Ask your webmaster. This helps you identify areas for improvement on your site so you can turn more clicks into customers.

We use Google Analytics. Its free and quite powerful. It tells you everything you want to know about how your visitors found you and how they interact with your site. Google Analytics makes it easy to improve your results online too.

When you pay attention to your stats and track your results you can then Write better pay-per-click ads (AdWords campaigns), strengthen your marketing initiatives, and create higher-converting websites. And the best part is that its free!

Lets Review the concepts from this 4-part video series:
(Blog Readers… subscribe to my Youtube Channel at www.Youtube.com/primeconcepts to watch short videos on Internet Marketing.)

1. Get clear on your outcome and purpose for your site (Add value, make a profit)

2. Get more domain names.

3. Design with marketing in mind

4. Create your top 50 Keywords

5. Help the Search Engines find you. SEM / SEO

6. Build your Database

7. Keep the Graphic Designer in check

8. Use your Stats and calculate your value-per-visitor VPV

I hope you’re excited about all the ways you now have to increase your websites performance. Each ONE of the ideas I’ve shared with you today can make you a lot of money if you take the time to implement them.

Remember, whether you’re the an Entrepreneur, CEO, Marketing Director, or Staff Member everyone on the team plays an important role in being sure all of your marketing efforts Add Value and Make a Profit.  Connect with me, Ford Saeks on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Prime_Concepts

The Three things that can get in your way and block your creativity are:

• Your Perceptions
• Your Emotions
• Your Culture & Environment

Perceptions. – What things MEAN to you?

Like…. Stereotypes. Or having a Limited Vision Or being set in your ways with Habits that might keep you stuck in old patterns. What about your perception of Tradition VS. Change? Are traditions keeping you stuck?

Or your Emotions - How do you FEEL?

Does it bother you to look like a fool? Do you fear taking risks? Are you afraid make a mistake or fail? Real problem solving and idea creation is messy.

When you change your thoughts and change your actions and you’ll get better results.

Cultural & Environmental Blocks might be…. Other People’s Opinions… Lack of cooperation and trust among colleagues or co-workers. And then there’s Distractions – phone calls, and easy intrusions. All of these things can block your creativity…

Have you ever had a big idea that you didn’t take action on… Maybe it was your Perceptions or emotions that got in your way… Well, it almost happened to me…

In 1986, I invented a product line that was used to store bicycles inside your home or apartment… Maybe you’ve seen them in the Sky Mall Magazines on airplanes, in Sharper Image, sporting goods stores or other specialty catalogs…. The main line was hand-crafted from solid Oak and was a tension-mount system that went from Floor-to-Ceiling, to hold 2 bikes in a limited space, protecting your bikes and your home.

In the beginning, I tried several different ways to get the product to market. It was a tough first year and I thought about quitting many times. I can assure you that my own perceptions, emotions and my environment got in the way more than just a few times… but through creativity and innovation, and using the mindset tools we’re going to be exploring today, I was able to sell over 28 million dollars worth of product in just a few short years…

I’ve used these same tools, again and again to help clients differentiate themselves in a competitive market; to launch innovative publicity campaigns; to build websites and online marketing strategies that created virtual money-machines; to design new advertising concepts, and improve many other areas of their businesses, even beyond the marketing department. These are proven tools that YOU can start to apply immediately…

Think about your business… Products… or Services… Are you truly doing everything you can to find, attract and keep your customers?

Are you allowing self-imposed limitations to hold you back? It’s time to breakthrough those limitations, use your resources, and expand your creativity. You deserve it!

Wow, Might seem like a lot to think about, but actually, it’s all about your B.S…

Your Belief System can either get your way or launch you to success.

I’ve used the tools I’m about to share with you to help organizations in many different industries around the globe achieve amazing improvements in their marketing results and you can use them too.

You may be familiar with some of these techniques, but I’m sure you’ll have a new appreciation for them as they apply to your marketing strategies!

Have you ever heard of Idea-mapping or Mind-Mapping? It’s one of my favorite creativity tools! Idea Mapping is a simple technique you can use to capture and organize your thoughts and Ideas visually on one page.

Idea Maps are especially helpful for Brainstorming to help you think up new and creative ideas more quickly and easily. Here’s how you get started…

Take out a blank piece of paper with out lines. You want it without the lines because the lines can restrict the natural flow of your thoughts. Turn the paper landscape… with the long side of the paper at the top.

Next, in the center of the page, draw an image or print the words that represent your main theme, concept or topic that you want to brainstorm. For example, you might start with “ideas for New products” or “How to sell product X”…

State it in the form of a question… who, how, what, why?… you decide. Allow plenty of white space for the rest of the map. I like to have a few colored pens available too because color stimulates the brain and helps captures attention.

At first, your Idea maps might be pretty simple branches with lines and a few words and that’s okay… As you practice, you’ll become more creative and you’ll find this to be a fast way to capture and generate new ideas. This will also help you create new connections between ideas and concepts.

A picture really is worth a 1000 words! It stimulates the brain to think up new associations, it focuses the thoughts and it results in much better recall of the content at a later date. So draw pictures to represent your ideas. They can be simple stick figures, sketches, symbols…what ever makes sense to you. The brain works by association so by connecting the main branches to the central topic, the brain links those elements together.

The main branch words and images stimulate other thoughts and associations. They allow the random flow of your thoughts as you add other levels of thought. So make the central lines from the center thicker, curved and organic (like the branch of a tree attached to the trunk) to help organize your sub-themes.

Start to add a second level of thought. These words and/or images are linked to the main branch that triggered them. Add more branches and levels of thought as ideas come to you. Feel free to jump from branch to branch as the mood strikes you.

Remember, You can use:

• Pictures
• Line drawings
• Patterns
• Symbols
• Shapes, boxes, circles
• Colors, etc…

I encourage you to use this new tool. Use it in meetings, sales presentations, and of course when you are planning your marketing strategies. While I started out drawing most of my idea-maps, now I also us mind-mapping software called “MindManager from www.mindjet.com. There are several others too, but don’t think that you need to get software… Start right away using paper and pen to open your mind and expand your creativity. I’m sure that you’ll quickly see how using idea mapping can help you and your team!

I’ve explained how Idea mapping can work for brainstorming… and I’m sure that most of you are already familiar with the concept of brainstorming…but just to make sure, here is a quick review of the rules for GROUP BRAINSTORMING:

• Set a time frame… generally the shorter the better… like 15 to 30 minutes max!
• The Goal is to collect as many ideas as possible from all participants with no criticisms or judgments made while ideas are being generated.
• All ideas are welcome no matter how silly or far out they seem. Be creative. The more ideas the better because at this point you don’t know what might work.
• Absolutely no discussions during the brainstorming session. Talking about the ideas will take place after brainstorming session is complete.
• Do not criticize or judge the other people’s ideas. Seriously….Don’t even groan, frown, or laugh. If you do… you’ll hamper the creative process.
• Write all ideas on a flipchart or white board so the whole group can easily see them.

Here’s a great tip! If you’re in an organization that’s had trouble with brainstorming, either because of certain people, egos or office politics, or have trouble in getting a large list of ideas, then I suggest you send out a memo before the meeting with the main brainstorming topic or question?

Ask them to print their ideas on paper as a requirement to the meeting, or you can use post-it notes during the session, so people can participate anonymously.

Let’s talk about making your final selections.

• When all the ideas have been recorded–combine ideas as much as possible,
• Next, Vote to select the best 3 to 5 ideas.

Let’s review what we’ve covered so far…

That it’s your mindset that determines the actions you’ll take.

Without action… you can’t improve your results. Why improving your creativity helps your mindset as well as your business. We discussed removing the mental blocks that get in your way… like certain perceptions, emotions and your environment. And then how to use “idea-mapping” and brainstorming basics to stimulate your mind!

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Think about your role in the marketing process?

Are you an Executive, Marketing Director, Entrepreneur, business owner, or sales person? … Regardless, “The Profit Rich Marketing Show” will help you increase your sales and profits!

Here are some Keys get you on track.

Check your (BS). Belief System. Is your BS supporting you or getting in your way?

What about your Self-Talk… That constant voice in your head… Is it mostly optimistic or pessimistic?

You’ll also want to Overcome F.U.D.(Fear, uncertainty and doubt-that can keep you stuck-in-a-rut of inaction or analysis paralysis.

My mindset as a marketer started at age 15 when I started my first business. It was a painting company and you can imagine the challenges I faced, especially since I was earning minimum wage, living on my own in the “projects-paying $17 a month for government housing.

I still remember my first customer lead. A prospect called asking for a quote to paint the interior of their home…I was so excited… whoo hoo!

One little problem. I didn’t even own a paint brush!

So I went to the local paint store and asked for help from the manager. I said “if you help me, I’ll buy all my paint and supplies from you forever.” At first, he was reluctant and didn’t take me seriously. I suppose I wasn’t the model businessman. Age 15… long hair… army jacket. He went over to the shelf and opened a can of paint, dipped a new brush and then started spackling me with paint.. He said, “If you want to be a painter-you’ll have to look like one!” He gave me a clipboard, calculator and instructions. I was set…or at least I thought I was…

I drove to the prospect’s house, walked up to the door and was about to knock… when that little voice in my head said, “Hey, what are you doing? You don’t have the skills, experience… You aren’t old enough, Smart enough…”

That self-talk wasn’t helping much. Then my other voice kicked in! “What have you got to lose? Go for it !” So I knocked on the door.

A man answered and we went through his house room by room, with him telling me what he wanted. “Oil based here. Semi-gloss there, Fix the cracks in the ceilings, Glaze the windows…”

My mind was racing… “Oh my god, What am I doing now”-but I just wrote it all down. I told the man I’d have to go back to my office to prepare the quote and that I’d be back in 30 minutes. My Office… Right.. J

I returned to the paint store and the manager helped me prepare the quote. Back to the prospects house I went. Walked up to the door again and just as I was ready to knock… that little voice said, “just go home… forget about it…” F. U. D!

Something possessed my hand, and I knocked! The door opened and this time the man’s wife was home too. Great!

She took one look at me and stepped behind right her husband.

I handed him the quote and said…, “The total for the painting job is $1,025. I need 50% up front… and 50% on completion”

There was the longest pause in my life. He took a look at me, took a look at the quote, and said, “Do you have any experience?” Being a street-smart kid, I replied “Here’s how we work… if you’re not 100% satisfied with the work we perform, then you don’t have pay!”

The wife said, “Honey… Write the boy the check!… And he did!”

I got to my car and sat there staring at this check for $525. That was more than I earned in a month… and I’d done it in about an hour. I thought, This is so cool! I’ve got to learn more about marketing and making money! By the end of the first year, I was making $35,000 with three crews with an average age 40 years old. This was 1976 – That was a lot of money for a teenager!

The main point is that it’s not your circumstances, experience, marketplace, competition, or products that determine you’re overall marketing success…. It’s your mindset!

This brings us to the next point…

There’s really no such thing as Money Problems… only a lack of ideas. If you want to increase your profits, then increase your creativity to generate more money-making ideas. Subscribe to the RSS feed to be automatically notified for Part 2.

I was at my desk when my new assistant brought me a stack of the day’s mail. She said, Don’t you want me sort this out for you so you don’t have to waste your time with the junk mail? I said, no thanks… I’ll like to look through it all. Why you may wonder? Because I know that new marketing ideas are found everywhere… especially in direct mail pieces. Sure, I sort my mail over the waste basket like everyone else. One stack for keepers and one for the trash, except my sorting process is a bit different. I keep the regular business correspondence & interesting mail pieces. I pay attention to the design and marketing messages of the mail pieces that catch my eye.

To me it’s not Junk Mail… It’s Idea Mail.

I like to study them for ideas. Ideas I can model to find new concepts that can be adapted to projects I might be working on. Key word– adapted–not copied. I look for interesting headlines, teaser copy, and creative designs. Companies spend millions on direct mail because it works… While a vast majority of it may end up in the trash, it’s your job to make sure that if you’re going to use direct mail, you do it effectively… otherwise you’re just killing trees and filling up landfills… and worse…wasting a lot of money.

I’ve worked with several clients and students of my marketing boot-camps that say direct mail doesn’t work. It certainly does work, but you need to follow the rules that we’re going to explore today. I use direct mail in conjunction with a multitude of other marketing methods to generate leads and sales. Recent statistics show that even with increases in postage and paper costs, marketers are continuing to spend over 70 billion, that’s billion with a B, on direct mail.

This blog posting is about making your direct mail efforts profitable.

First, a few clarifications are in order. The terms, direct marketing, direct-response and direct mail are easily confused by many people… even experienced marketers. So, to clarify, direct marketing typically refers to marketing efforts directed at the end-user when a retailer or distributor is in the middle. Direct-response advertising is any advertising method (print, broadcast or direct mail packages) that invites the recipient to contact you directly. with a specific call-to-action. Direct mail uses the mail service to deliver your sales piece directly to the mailbox of your prospect. I specialize in direct-response marketing because it allows me to solicit direct responses, hence the name, which is specific and measurable. By measuring the results, I can tweak the process until it’s profitable… thus creating a virtual lead-generating cash machine.

By the end of this show, you’ll never look at direct mail quite the same way again. You’ll be armed with the secrets of successful mailings that you can use to grow your profits. My goal is to help you increase your response rates, lower your cost per qualified lead and make you more money. If you’re using direct mail, do you know your response rates? Do you know how much you’re spending to generate a lead from the number of pieces that you’re mailing? Without measuring the costs, responses and profitability of the mailings you cannot insure your success.

Oh, one more quick clarification. Direct Mail is really categorized in two types. Internet-direct Mail (sent via EMAIL) and Traditional Direct Mail sent through the post office or shipping company.

Today, our focus is on traditional direct mail, but many of the strategies apply to both methods. Direct mail offers unique advantages over other media. You can selectively target a list of customers within your market. It can be personalized to your prospects allowing you to provide detailed information required to motivate them to take action. It can help you build a database with valuable information to help your sales efforts. It’s flexible because you can send small or large amount of marketing messages in a variety of printed formats, including letters, postcards and brochures. And as I’ve mentioned it’s measurable allowing you to quantify the results.

Think about your goals for direct mail… You may want to drive traffic into a retail store… Or generate traffic to a web site. Maybe you want to build your database, improve customer service or build relationships through special offers? Certainly you have products or services that can benefit from power of direct mail.

Subscribe to the RSS feed to be automatically notified for Part 2 on Free Publiciy.

Oh, and follow me on twitter.com at www.Twitter.com/Prime_Concepts

On our Internet Marketing blog posting we were talking about getting into the mind of your prospects… and the Four-stages of the buying process.

Here’s the first stage:*  Your prospects need to recognize they have a “Problem“ - to become aware of need or desire! Sometimes, as marketers, we need to help them see the problem… we need to give them the headache…and then sell them the pain-reliever.

* Next is the “Information research & comparison shopping phase” -  You can help guide your prospects through this phase by using free articles, specials landing pages, and content devoted to help them along.

* And the third stage is the actual Purchase -

-Are they Satisfied or dissatisfied with the purchase?  Prospects ask themselves “have I made the right decision?”   You can reduce their concerns by offering: guarantees, warranties, and testimonials, along with after sales communications.

So Let’s say I am in the market for new energy efficient car… how about a hybrid car… But I don’t want a little whimpy car… I want an SUV…and a Luxury SUV….

Think about the types of keywords that I might type in the search-engine?

“Hybrid car” …, “Luxury Hybrid SUV”…  “How Hybrids Work?”… “Hybrid SUV Performance Ratings” and so on…  If you’re selling these models you’ll want to have content and keywords on your site that matches my search engine inquiries.

Keep in mind that your customers could visit you at several different stages of the buying process or just jump to the sale.  Use caution on your assumptions.  Let the market tell you what’s working… If what you’re doing now isn’t working-that’s a clear sign you need to CHANGE.

As an action step, think about the problems that your products and services solve.  Are you making the fatal mistake that your prospects will just figure out the benefits you offer.  Are you making too many assumptions about your prospects decision making process?  Remember, stage one is your prospects need to know they have a problem that you can solve… and that problem may be positioned as a desire too, but it should be clear to your prospects that they’ve reached the best source for their wants and desires when they reach your website.

I’d like you to map out on paper the content you feel that YOUR prospects would need in the “research & comparison” phase.  If you have several products, then you’ll need to repeat it for each one.  What questions do they have about your products or services and make sure you provide the answers or a way to get those answers on your site.   You may want them to fill out an online assessment form, download a special report….  Or create a comparison of features or products chart… or maybe have them fill-out a request form.

Next, go through your Purchase process, step by step and see if you can improve or simplify it.  This episode is about driving traffic…and if you’re site’s easy to purchase from, it will enhance the customers buying experience and make it more likely that they’ll spend money with you and tell their friends and associates.

To help you increase your rankings in the search engines and for future Pay-per-Click advertising planning, make a list of the keywords you think your prospects would type into their favorite search engine at each phase of the buying process..  from research through to the purchase.  Use a spreadsheet to help you organize and sort them for future use.

Before you invest in Pay-per-click and other efforts to drive traffic to your site, you must make sure your site is designed properly.  You certainly don’t want to waste your efforts driving traffic to a website that sucks!   Please don’t confuse Sucks… with ugly.   Sometimes websites that you think would never sell anything, like one long scrolling page selling only one product…with three different color fonts and a big “buy now” at the bottom outsell the fancy sites with all of the bells and whistles.  Your website is only effective if it quickly moves the visitor from the inquiry stage to becoming a qualified lead or by making a purchase.

My measurement of a website is by the profit it generates and that’s how you should evaluate your site too.

Look at your site through the eyes of a marketer and the mind of the prospect.

Now let’s explore how to use that information to get more traffic.

The question I get asked the most when talking about increasing site traffic is
“How do we get higher rankings in the search engines?” – for free, not using Pay-per-Click to help position rankings.

Higher rankings means more traffic because your prospects can find you easier.   While we could go on for days about how to get higher “organic or natural” ranking placements, let’s look at the key factors that you can benefit from right away…

First, you need to understand that the search-engines responsibility is to provide the searcher the best “user-experience” by providing them with the most relevant search results. related to the users SEARCH TERMS. Your job is to help the search engines catalog your site content so your site listing is displayed high in the rankings for those keyword searches.   Each major search engine uses complicated algorithms and techniques to create their listings and its changing all of the time, but let’s look at the main things that you can do to that seem to be constant in the ranking process.

Having a large amount of relevant CONTENT about your products, services and solutions.  The more content, and fresh content you have related to the main search terms and stages of the buying processes you’ve identified, the more likely the search engines are to raise your rankings.

For example, if you’ve identified the top ten keywords that you think your prospects would use to find you–you then will want to create at least one web page dedicated to that keyword term.  On one of my sites I sell a program for information marketers, (experts who speak, train and consult)… the program is called The Internet Profit Kit, and I have special landing pages with article content related to the keywords that I know my prospects will be searching for… and then at the bottom of the page is the promotion for the product.  It’s a win-win for everyone.

With many search engines, the information displayed on search results page comes from two places: the HTML <title tag> and the <meta-description tag> if you have one, or it selects text from the landing page for the description.  What Is a Title Tag? This is the list of words that show at the top bar of your web browser.   The title tag has been–and probably will always be–one of the most important factors in achieving high search engine rankings.   In fact, fixing just the title tags of your pages can often generate quick and appreciable differences to your search rankings.  And because the words in the title tag are what appear in the clickable link on the search engine results page… changing them usually results in more clickthroughs to your site.

Title tags are definitely one of the most important factors as far as the algorithmic weight given to them by search engines; they are equally as important as your visible text on the page and the hyperlinks pointing to your pages – perhaps even more so.

Each page should have a unique page title and description meta-tag.   A common question is “Do Company Names Belong in the Title Tag?”…  I’d say YES! Of course, but this doesn’t mean that you should put “just” your company name in the title tag.   You also want to add a good descriptive keyword phrase too… something that will help compel the prospect to click on your listing.   You’d be surprised how many sites just use “HOME PAGE” as the title, or worse they don’t use anything and it shows untitled page… or they use the exact same words on each page of their site.  When you do that, you make it hard for the search engines to know what each page is about that lowers your rankings for sure!

Your Title Tags Should Contain Specific Keyword Phrases that match the content on the particular page.

For example, if your company is **ACME Incorporated** a Specialty Glassware company in California, you shouldn’t place ONLY the words **ACME Incorporated.** in your title tag, but instead use something like… ** ACME Incorporated Specialty Glassware – Bar Glassware, California **  Be sure to do your keyword research to find the best phrases!  You would need to be even more specific if you prefer to work with people only in the Los Angeles area.  In that case, use keywords such as **Los Angeles Specialty Glassware** in your title tag or maybe **Specialty Glassware – Bar Glassware – Los Angeles**

How your listing appears on the SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS PAGE (SERP) is a critical aspect of you improving traffic.  After all, if you have high search engine rankings but your targeted buyers aren’t clicking through, it won’t do you much good.  Write compelling titles tags and description tags so that your prospects select you over the competition.   Just Search your top keywords and see what the competition is using for page titles and descriptions.   If you’re not the person who actually works on the site, you still need to communicate exactly what you want and make sure that your web designer understands these critical elements.

Oh, yeah… How many words should you use in the title tag?  Google will display up to 66 characters of a title tag, cropping it to complete words.   Yahoo! has an absolute cutoff in presenting titles of exactly 120 characters, which is substantially longer and gives you much more room to present longer titles.  The best strategy for creating a long title is to make sure that the title works for both Google and Yahoo.

The Description tag is very important too.  When your page listing comes up in the search results, the contents of your META description tag are displayed right below the title of your page.  If no description tag is found, the search engine attempts to create a description for you and often fails to describe your page properly.  Make your description meta tags short but informative.   If you can trim them to less than 14 words that give enough information to compel the user visit your site.

Don’t make yourself crazy trying to create the perfect title and description tag, as there’s just no such thing.  The best thing to do would be to test different ones and see which rank higher and which convert better.

That’s all I have time for today… subscribe to the Blog RSS feed and enter your comments below.

It was 8:00 o’clock on a Thursday morning. I arrived at my office to find my email in-box filled with orders worth over $70,000 dollars…  It was a great way to start my day!

Earlier that week, I’d launched my Marketing Mentorship program by sending out a 3-part email series to my customer list.   The first email mentioned that something big was coming soon-that was the teaser…  The second email sent one day after that…  was the reminder message…, and the third email, was the actual sales letter with links to the special landing page.

Now, I’d experienced this type of success and even better ones many times before… for generating sales leads;  growing ezine subscriber lists;  and selling a wide variety of products and services, with prices ranging from 9.00 to $90,000 dollars. “Make money while you sleep”….they said… “Grow your business exponentially by leveraging the power the Internet… they said… And I listened!”

Now-there were many voices-some good-and some full of hot air… but through testing and tracking… and testing again, I was able to formulate and perfect many methods to get more visitors to our sites.

I’ve been marketing on the internet now for over a decade… My company, Prime Concepts Group owns and operates over 100 websites for our products & services, and many more for our clients around the globe… and if there’s one thing I’ve learned… be careful of anyone who claims to know everything about the internet, or internet marketing, pay-per-click, search engine optimization, or any subject for that matter…  The culture and behavior of internet users, along with the search engines are constantly in flux and you’ll want to adapt or you’ll get left behind.

Even experienced Internet Marketers-like me-are quick to tell you to test everything in the sales process; track the responses you get: and measure the conversions and everything you do to make sure it’s effective!  Even in this fast changing environment, there are proven Internet marketing strategies that have worked repeatedly to produce profitable results… and that’s what today’s show is all about!

Oh… and just in case your curious… this isn’t a blog posting about technology… it’s about communication and adding value…

The ideas and concepts I’ll be sharing can be used by the novice, the techie, and the corporate executive.   They apply to entrepreneurs, small businesses and corporations and for not-for-profit organizations… A couple things for sure, you don’t have to be a techno-geek to understand everything… but you will want to take good notes!

The next suggestion is to split your notes into two categories… one half for “Aah-Haa moments” and the other half for “Action Steps“.  That way, when you review them you’ll have a clear plan of action!  Are you ready?  Let’s go!

Think about your last big purchase…  Did you use the internet-either for research or to buy something?  What was the last thing you purchased from a website?   What are your favorite sites–and why?  Make a list of the top five that you visit and after watching the video above, go visit them through the mind of an “Internet Marketer”   I’ll let you know what to look for…

The next important concept is to “get inside the mind of your prospects.” Get to know their behavior and habits.  How do they buy?    What factors influence their buying decision?  Over the years, I’ve worked with entrepreneurs, small businesses and major corporations to improve their sales and profits.  Through that experience, it was common for some of them to under utilize the main stages of the buying process.   Keep in mind that the actual purchase is just ONE stage.

Sure… this concept of *stages* applies to all types of selling, but especially for the web–where you’ll most likely need CONTENT to address each stage in the buying process.  This not only helps your site visitor have an improved experience, but it also helps the search engines catalog you as a good reference.

Subscribe to the Blog RSS Feed and check out www.InternetProfitKit.com for more resources on using Internet Marketing to Grow Your Business.

Post your questions about growing your business or improving your marketing performance below. Thanks!

Regardless of YOUR particular type of business or industry there are informational products that you could create and either sell or give away that positions YOU and YOUR business as the expert resource.  The key is to identify the type of information that your target prospects and customers want to know more about and then create a product that answers those questions.  If you think about it, you probably could come up with many different titles and types of products, but if you’re starting out with information products then pay close attention to these basic tips:

1.  Select the best information product type for how YOUR prospects want to consume the information.  For example, as an Internet Marketer I create video and interactive information products with active links.  For a health club, you might want to create a booklet or special report that showcases certain exercises and also promotes your business.  There are hundreds of combinations and types of information products that you can select.  The two main information marketing product categories are physicalproducts, like books, cds, DVDs and Digitalproducts, like MP3 downloads, Audio podcasts, video-casts, and formatted .PDF documents.   You can easily turn any newsletter, special report, tip sheet, top 10 list or white paper into a .PDF informational product.  Digital products are easy to create, cost you virtually nothing to distribute, and are highly effective and profitable.

2. Create a compelling headline, subhead and benefit product description.  You can checkout our titles in the product store on this site, but the key for you is to select a title and description that is benefit oriented. Remember, benefits attract attention and features support the benefits. You need both, but benefits come first.

3. Price it according to the perceived value.  Information products should not be priced as “cost plus” or “competitive pricing”… they should be “priced for perceived value” that you create in the mind of the prospect. They are buying the solutions to their questions or problems, not the paper, plastic, CD or digital file.  The real issue is what your information is worth to the customer?  A book filled with rah-rah clichés is overpriced at $10.  A CD album that shows someone how to make an extra $200,000 a year in their business is a bargain at $500. 

4. Promote them in all of your sales and marketing efforts.  Again, they are NOT designed to replace your core products and services. They are used to position you and your business as the expert resource and preferred vendor of choice.  People want to do business with companies that they know and trust.  Offering informational products goes a long way to improving that trust because you are helping them solve their questions and concerns.  Add them to your website as bonuses. Give them away at trade shows. Use them on sales calls. Include them in your other advertising.  Just think of the many ways you can use information products to increase your sales and build a better connection and relationship with your target market.  Be creative and take action.

As you develop your information products, keep all of this in mind.  Make sure you offer real-world value that people can use immediately.  They will come back to you again and again. 

Check back again soon for more Information Marketing Product Development Tips. 

Do you have a question or comment?  Take a second and post it below and I’ll be sure to address it on this blog.

We’ve may have never met, but I bet a major portion of your business comes from referrals. It comes from satisfied customers who talk about your work with their friends, colleagues, and people on the street.

Why not take the power of those satisfied customers and use it to help new prospects decide to spend their money with you?

There’s no better way than to showcase your work and build your credibility than through testimonials, case studies, and endorsements. These can be displayed in your offices, included in your marketing materials, used on your website, and featured in your advertising.

Building trust and credibility are major factors in the buying process. Although the use of customer testimonials may seem ridiculously low-tech in today’s world of big-budget marketing campaigns, it is a proven and successful method that really works for companies of all sizes. If you’re not including customer testimonials in every aspect of your marketing, you’re more likely to lose sales unnecessarily.

Imagine how easy it would be to differentiate yourself from the competition if a prospect saw your “Wall of Fame” in your office. The “Wall of Fame” approach is simply a prominent wall or display space dedicated to framed letters, photos and testimonials. I know one company that took a photo of every satisfied customer before they left the premises. They attributed an increase in sales of at least 30 percent to their efforts.

Think about how powerful your website would be if you included testimonials on your homepage, “About Us” page, and product detail pages. You can also add a testimonial submission form on your website where customers can go and send you their feedback.

Don’t forget testimonials in your traditional marketing either. If you’re sending out a direct-mail post card for an upcoming promotion or special event, include a couple of powerful testimonials. Don’t try to cram in too many, just one or two well-written, specific endorsements of your products and services will suffice in most cases. The more expensive the product or service, the more testimonials you’ll want to use.

Testimonials can really punch up your print, TV and radio advertising too. Look around and see how often TV and radio commercials feature testimonials, or how often you read them in print ads. They are everywhere in successful marketing because they work.

In essence, your customers are helping you make sales through third-party endorsements.

Testimonial Tips

A testimonial is a brief statement of satisfaction from someone who has done business with you (usually satisfied customers or vendors). Customer testimonials can take many forms. The best is a video testimonial—perfect for creating a demo video to loop on a TV in your shop or for your website.

The next best would be an audio testimonial, great for websites or your music-on-hold systems. Another great format would be a photo testimonial with a written endorsement. And finally there’s the simple written testimonial that can be used as part of your sales brochures or advertising.

Testimonials don’t need to be long, but they do need to communicate value. For maximum effect, they should describe a specific and measurable benefit. It’s best if you can include the person’s and/or the firm’s name, but this may not be practical, depending upon your business. You can always say “a leading supplier” or just use their initials or first name.

Avoid non-specific testimonials because they don’t create as much credibility. They may be sincere, but generic “you’re terrific!” notes don’t express specific benefits.

How Do You Get Testimonials?

This is the hard part… you just ask! It really is that simple. When you’ve completed a new or especially noteworthy transaction, ask that customer to fill out a feedback form.

Or you can mail a form along with a thank you letter, but it’s usually easier to get their input while they are in your store. Remember, you can use a video camera, digital camera or voice recorder to capture the gems. There are no excuses; you can pick up a video camera for a couple hundred bucks or even use your cell phone camera, making the cost negligible.

Soliciting and using customer testimonials increases credibility, builds buyer confidence and helps you grow your business. Start today and make it your mission to compile your arsenal of testimonials.

Ford Saeks, Internet Marketing Speaker Answers In:

You’ll get the highest click through rate on the first page which as of now shows the first eight Google® adwords ads. I don’t always aim for the top listing even though it gets higher traffic. My tests have found that sometimes being the second or third listing on the first page actually gets a better quality lead to my site.

Google® changed the way keyword bid prices and listing work as of August 16, 2005. The minimum click-through rate is not the main factor in determining where your ads show, but now the amount you bid on the keyword (or keyword phrase) is a major factor with where your ad displays.

It’s only a waste of money if you are tracking the number of visitors and measuring your success of the campaign based on your “visitor value” and that value is less than it’s costing you to buy the traffic on Google. The visitor value is the number of visitors received divided by the revenues generated from them in a specific period of time.

You must split test your Google® ads, split test your landing pages and keep tweaking the process until it’s profitable. It’s profitable when you can attract a paying customer for less than its costing you to buy the traffic from Google. Keep in mind that you might be losing money on the first sale and that’s fine, as long as you have backend follow-up products that make up for it in the long-term.

A competitive keyword group doesn’t mean you cannot make money – it just means you have to be savvier with your ads, landing pages, auto-responder series, and lead generation mechanisms. There are several strategies specific of using Pay-per-Click methods to get traffic – and they can be the best source for cleaning up your sales processes quickly to increase your profits.

How to actually design the landing pages, create the ads and effectively use Google and other Pay-per-click strategies is covered in Ford’s New Internet Profit Kit for Information Marketers

Get more bang for your marketing buck when you align your sales message to your target market, using the most effective marketing method.

Here’s a quick story that uncovered my multi-million dollar strategy that has help me and my many clients improve their sales and profits.

Fall 1987. I was living in a cramped, one-bedroom apartment in Wichita, Kansas. My roommates: two Italian racing bikes that always seemed to be underfoot.

One day, as I untangled myself from the spokes of my Medici Criterion Bicycle, it came to me: a design for a product that stored bicycles in an apartment or house without taking up too much space or damaging the walls or ceiling. After some development, I decided to call this floor-to-ceiling oak bicycle rack PedaStyle®.

Now came the easy part: selling my product. Or so I thought.

I didn’t have much money, but I did have enthusiasm. I read over 30 books by famous marketing gurus. I took careful notes. I wrote a detailed marketing plan.

My first tactic: sending a sales letter and brochure to 10,000 bicycle club members.

Now, this was a bit of a stretch for me. Renting the lists, printing the brochures and paying for the postage cost $6500 – a small fortune for a guy who was overextended with monthly bills, big car payment and on a fixed salary. But that didn’t bother me. I knew I had a great product, a marketplace brimming with potential buyers and a proven marketing strategy. My only concern was whether my tiny mailbox could hold all the orders the mailman would soon be stuffing inside it.

After four days, I checked my mailbox. I figured a couple of people would have sent their checks in by now.

Nothing.

Three… four… five weeks went by.

Not a single order.

Direct mail, I concluded, doesn’t work.

Has this ever happened to you?

You read the tips, studied the strategies, implemented the techniques to a “T,” and… nothing?

Let’s face it: Most marketing books are filled with hundreds - even thousands – of strategies that promise better results and higher profits with a few simple steps.

So why do so many people fail to get the results they want? Is it because those strategies don’t work?

Rest assured, the strategies do work. (I know. I found out the hard way.)

But it takes a special system to make the strategies produce the results they promise. The system is simple and easy to use. It can generate impressive results with very little wasted money or effort. And in a minute, I’m going to share it with you.

But first, let me take you back to 1987.

Despite my direct mail disaster, I was still convinced that PedaStyle was the storage solution thousands of bikers had been looking for… and that I would get rich delivering it to them.

If direct mail wasn’t the answer to my marketing dreams, I figured, maybe advertising would do the trick. So I placed ads in five major cycling magazines, set up an 800 number and offered a special low price.

The ad space cost me $7580, and the 800 number added $50 to my tab. (I knew Aunt Belle, rest her soul, would have been pleased to know that the small inheritance she left me paid my bill at “Bicycling Magazine.”)

This time, I was convinced I had it made. My ads would reach over 350,000 bicycle enthusiasts. Even if only 2 percent of them responded, I’d soon be trading in my one-bedroom apartment for a down payment on a country club estate overlooking a golf course.

The issue with my ad in it came out… Only a handful of checks trickled in.

So I took the show on the road to cycling events… I barely broke even on gas.

I experimented with telemarketing… Another bomb.

I tried advertising in trade publications, direct mail, and in-person sales calls. Sales were pathetic.

I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I had the right product: The 27 people who did buy the PedaStyle raved about it. I had the right approach: I thought I followed the marketing strategies to the letter. I knew there was a market: Every article I read said that more and more Americans were buying (and presumably storing) bikes.

But, despite my commitment to PedaStyle, my opportunity to market it was drawing to an end. I’d stripped my tiny savings accounts to pay for my campaigns. I’d sold one of my bikes to cover my living expenses. I had become so reliant on credit cards that I gave new meaning to the question “paper or plastic?” at the checkout line. I knew I’d hit bottom when I called my landlord to ask if he took MasterCard. Next, I’d be trading in my one-bedroom apartment for a pup tent.

In a last-ditch effort to save my faltering business venture, I registered to exhibit in the fall 1987 Bicycle Dealer Showcase in Long Beach, California - the premier trade event for the bicycle industry.

I was just going through the motions as I packed my old van with supplies and product samples. I wasn’t sure how this attempt would succeed after all the others had failed. My friend Steve Sims agreed to come along to help. (You know you’re pathetic when your friends feel so sorry for you that they’ll take a week of vacation to sit behind a booth in a trade show.)

Off we headed for California.

On the first day of the show, we handed out more than a thousand brochures. That was the good news. The bad news: People loved PedaStyle, they said… they just wanted to look around before they placed an order.

Right.

Three days later, with the trade show’s close just hours away, we’d had only $700 in sales.

“Well,” I said, “we’ve given it a our best shot. I guess PedaStyle just isn’t going to make it.”

Steve and I decided to pack up early so we could get a head start on the long drive back to Kansas.

I was stacking brochures in boxes when a man walked up to the booth.

“Wait a minute… are you leaving?” he asked. “I’m the senior buyer for Performance Bicycle Catalog, and we’re interested in your product.”

Six minutes later, he’d placed an order for $7,500.

The next person to stop by ordered $1,600 worth of products.

We got orders for three units… 30 units… 300 units. By the end of the show, we’d sold more than $20,000 in confirmed orders. And we had projected re-orders worth more than $75,000 for the first six months.

What I had accomplished - well, let’s face it… what I had accidentally stumbled upon - was getting the right message in front of the right market using the right marketing methods.

Over the next 12 years, using that same foundational elements, I sold millions of dollars worth of bicycle storage solutions around the world. Since then, I’ve used the right mix of these three key elements - message, market and method - to duplicate that success in dozens of other distribution channels and with hundreds of other products.

I’ve refined that system - matching message to market with method - into the Mix Marketing System(tm).

To learn how to use it, read on…

More than just the four P’s…

Almost every marketing book I’ve read, or marketing seminar that I’ve attended isn’t complete without mentioning the four P’s. They were introduced over 40 years ago by Neil Borden and then modified later by many others, including me. That was the mix of trying to get the balance right between product, price, promotion and place.

Product: Defining the characteristics of your product or service to meet the customers’ needs.

Price: Deciding on a pricing strategy.

Promotion: This includes advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, etc.

Place: Looking at location and where a service is delivered.

While there are similarities, I’ve found the Mix Marketing System(TM) takes a unique approach by showing you how to determine each element and their interrelationship, then transforms them into a system to get the best results. With both systems it is easy to assume that one part of the mix is wrong, when in fact it is another. For example, if response to a direct mail piece is poor, it could be that the answer is to change the offer, or to send it to another market, or improve the quality of the promotional piece, instead of cutting the price. We’ll look at how to test the elements in a few moments…

Elements of the Mix Marketing System(tm)
–> Your Unique Benefit Message (the WHY…Arrow)
–> Your Specific Target Market (the WHO… Target)
–> Your Mastery of Marketing Methods (the HOW…Bow)

First, we’ll take a closer look at each concept. Second we’ll explore how to define each concept for your product or service, and third we’ll explore how you can achieve powerful marketing results by mastering the combination of these three concepts.

Element #1:

Your Unique Benefit Message (Graphic: Arrow)

A common mistake in marketing is sending the wrong benefit message or no benefit message and expecting the buyer to figure it out. With the bicycle racks I had a different benefit message for marketing to bicycle dealers than to exporters. Bicycle dealers wanted accessories where they could make at least a 50% profit margin because they barely made any profit from the sale of bicycles.

Exporters wanted secure territories and multiple year deals so they could build their markets and benefit from the natural growth curve that it took to increase a new products market share. The main benefit to consumers was saving space, but the benefit to the catalog companies was a product that created exceptional profits from the percentage of space on the page.

I worked with a company called Floating Swimwear® to define its messages. Floating Swimwear manufactures a one-piece swimsuit for children with a flotation device sewn inside. It helped protect children in and around water while giving adults peace of mind.

That message - the kids won’t drown - appealed to parents and grandparents. But the benefit to pool and spa dealers was different. They were attracted to the company’s easy payment terms (convenience), a starter kit at a special introductory price (higher margins), great premium for pool owners and excellent impulse item for their customers year round (increased sales).

It applies equally to service businesses also. Quantum
Expositions International, Inc., produces national career & job fairs and has a different benefit message to attract attendees, a different benefit message to attract event sponsorships, and another to attract exhibitors to their expos.

The large size of their events and targeted sponsorship advertising attracted large attendance giving the exhibitors a better chance of finding quality applicants, which saves them time and money. The attendees get the opportunity to preview and interview with perspective employees face-to-face and be recognized, instead of just sending in resumes to personnel departments, which gave them an increased advantage of securing a new job. The event sponsors, usually newspapers, radio and television stations benefited by receiving a percentage of the exhibitors’ payments from booth spaces.

With my consulting & training business, the unique benefit message I promote is that I help businesses make the most of every marketing dollar through a system that gives them a competitive edge and increased profits – guaranteed! How can I afford to offer a money-back guarantee? Because most businesses are only using one or two marketing strategies and get the majority of their sales from only one target market.

Therefore, using the Mix Marketing System(tm) we are able to evaluate their current results, find new combinations based on their resources and compliment what they are already doing to add more value to more people, thus increasing sales and profits. The results come from new channels of distribution, increased effectiveness of their marketing efforts, higher repeat sales, and higher profit per order. You too can achieve even greater success by mastering these three key concepts and designing the combinations for your particular business.

The problem is, most companies focus on the features… and forget the benefits. That’s because companies are so close to their products and services that they take the benefits for granted and focus on promoting their features.

You can’t leave out the benefit and expect the buyer to figure it out.

This is important, because benefits are the only reason people pay attention to what you’re selling. People want what’s in it for them and what your solution will do for them.

Features are important… they add credibility, but are only valid once the buyer is aware of the benefits to them.

Creating your Unique Benefit Message

Why should I do business with you instead of someone else? What benefits do you offer that make you unique to your target market?

The answer to those questions is your message. You might also have heard your message referred to as your “unique selling proposition” (USP), a term coined by Rosser Rieves in the 1950s.

To create your message:
———————–

–> Identify your features and benefits.

Gather your company’s promotional materials, ads, website pages and Yellow Pages listings. Next, take a note pad and draw a line down the middle of the page. Label one column FEATURES and the other column BENEFITS. Now search each item for the features and benefits offered and record them in the appropriate column.

Be careful not to confuse features for benefits. If you can put the words “you get…” (as in the buyer gets) in front of it, then it’s most likely a benefit.

If it’s about you, your product, your service, or your company then it’s a feature.

For example:
* “Open 24 hours” is a feature; the benefit is convenience.

* “Low Price” is a feature; the benefit is saving money.

* “In business since 1985″ is a feature; the benefit is the feeling of confidence it provides the buyer.

* “Quick delivery” is a feature; the benefit is saving time.

* “Handcrafted from solid Appalachian Oak” is a feature; the benefit is that it’s attractive.

* Offering a “100% money-back guarantee” is a feature; the benefit is that there is no risk.

* “Available in five colors” is a feature; the benefit is variety.

* “Radio dispatched” is a feature; fast response is the benefit.

* “Pentium IV” is a feature; higher performance and speed is the benefit.

* “Windows XP” is a feature; the benefit? _________ (Okay, I couldn’t resist.) The benefit is a visually driven operating system that’s easy to learn.

Repeat the process for each product or service group on a separate piece of paper. By now, you should have a long list of benefits and features. Don’t be concerned at this point if some of your benefits don’t appeal to all of your audiences. What’s important at this stage is that you have a list of why people should buy your products and services.

What are the top five benefits from your products or services?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Are those benefits clearly stated on your promotional materials in the way of headlines, subheads and body copy? Are they aimed at your target markets? If not, how are your customers supposed to figure out why they should do business with you? The key is to craft a message that communicates the benefit of each product and service you sell to each segment of your buying audience.

Now that you’re armed with your unique benefit messages you have to focus them at the best targets and send them using the most effective methods.

Element # 2: Your Specific Target Markets (Graphic: Target)

In today’s highly competitive, high tech marketplace knowing as much as possible about your specific buyers and their habits is critical to achieving maximum results. Results can be measured many ways… as in total responses or total percentage of profit. I’m always aiming at adding the most value that maximizes the return on investment. Therefore I want to sell to target markets that have the largest volume potential and still make a profit.

When I was selling PedaStyle, for example, my most profitable sale was direct to the consumer, although 90% of the revenues came from the specialty mail-order catalog companies, like The Sharper Image®, Frontgate®, Herrington®, and William Sonoma’s Hold-Everything® catalogs. That meant we had to carefully craft specific benefit messages for each target market while making sure we didn’t create conflict between the different distribution channels.

For example, the bicycle shops didn’t want us to sell to the catalog companies because customers could use their store to view the product, and then order from the catalog company to save money. Likewise, the catalog companies didn’t want us selling to the mass merchants because of the reduced retail price points. Understanding, this issue goes way beyond the normal issues of just demographics and into the psychology of the target market. What’s issues are important to them and then matching that with the benefits of your products and services.

Who you think your market is, may not necessarily be the most profitable market or the only market you should pursue. For instance, I knew the many benefits of my bicycle racks, and thought that one large target market was bicycle racers. They fit my preconceived idea of a target market. Most bicycle racers owned more than one bike, each bike was valued at over $500 each, so they should want the benefit of saving space, and protecting their investment in bicycles… right? But even though they seemed like a target market, they were more interested in spending their money on new components and traveling to bicycle races, than on storing their bicycles.

When I first met with the owner of Floating Swimwear, they were operating out of their basement and selling their product at consumer boat shows. Makes sense doesn’t it? People that own boats, probably have children and are definitely around water. They were in their 8th year of business with annual revenues that hadn’t exceeded $30,000. This was an absolute shame, because the product had so much more unused potential. While that was a market that wanted their product, it was only after applying the Mix Marketing System(tm) that a much larger target market was developed. Changing their target market from consumer direct to selling wholesale to pool & spa dealers, Floating Swimwear transformed itself into a market leader with sales over 750,000 in just a few years.

Quantum Expositions International started by producing their career fairs in the mid-west, with their only source of income from selling exhibit space at their expos. After looking closely at their target markets, they decided to market to major television and newspapers for sponsorships. This single move in target marketing tripped their revenues from the following two events.

Celebrity speaker and national best-selling author, Les Brown gives motivational talks to corporations, associations and conventions with annual revenues measured in millions. While he receives several talks from corporate audiences each year, the bulk of speaking and product sales come from events filled with entrepreneurs and network marketers. It fits since his theme is “Live Your Dreams” and “It’s Possible.” By focusing marketing efforts on that target market, and developing new products designed for them, we were able to dramatically increase his income and he continues to be in high demand.

The point is to evaluate who you are actually targeting with your marketing & promotional efforts. What evidence have you gathered, from what tests that prove that you should continue to pursue or go after a specific target market?

How to Define Your Target Markets.

Ask yourself these questions.
——————————
1. What are the top three largest markets of people can benefit most from the value of my products or services?

2. What criteria am I using to categorize the different target markets?

3. Do they have the means and authority to make purchases?

4. What is the growth potential of the top three? Are they growing or shrinking in size of market?

5. Who are we aiming our benefit message towards right now?

6. What characteristics are being used to distinguish our target markets?

7. What markets are my competitors aiming at?

8. What are we using to track customer data?

9. Do we have a database of prospects and customers?

10. How often do we send a benefit message to them?

11. What demographic data have we collected?

12. What do we know about their reasons for buying from us?

The answers to those questions will help you recognize your specific target markets. Each product and service is unique and it’s critical for you to gather and track information about your customers and the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Did you notice any new target markets in your list? What can you do to improve the gathering of data about your customers?

By now you should have your list of unique benefit messages and know who you want to reach with them. The next key concept explores the different options available send your message to the target to score a winning combination.

Element # 3 Your Mastery of Marketing Methods

This is the element that most people are familiar with in terms of understanding what the methods are but not necessarily how to use them to their best advantage. The purpose of this section is to make you aware of the major categories of marketing methods, not to teach you every option available. It’s also to help you recognize that the methods do not stand alone, but must be combined properly with the other two elements of your unique benefit message and target market.

The marketing methods are divided into two sub-categories:
“CASH” methods that you have to pay for like advertising.
“NO-CASH” methods that you get for free or almost free like publicity.

Methods that cost you money.

This consists mainly of advertising and selling mediums were you pay to have your benefit message sent to a particular audience. For example, either through print, radio, television, Internet, tradeshows, telemarketing, or in-person sales calls and varies greatly depending upon your business.

Avoid image advertising and stick with direct response methods.

Image Advertising should be avoided. Often, businesses fall prey to the media advertising salesperson who talks in terms of image advertising. Where there is no way to accurately measure whether or not the advertising was successful. If sales go up, then they want to take the credit, if sales don’t then they explain that it must be due to the lack of repetition and suggest running the campaign again.

Now, I’m not against advertising… I just want people to use it effectively it help their business. When I ask clients if their prior image advertising is working they say, “we’re not sure but we are getting our name out and getting exposure.” Do you know what you get from exposure… a cold! So if you are going to spend your resources on advertising then make sure you lead with benefits, substantiate your claim with features, have a specific offer and an action step that tells the prospect what to do… call, write, etc. Support it with a system for tracking the responses.

Direct response advertising methods are measurable, and therefore easy to know immediately if they are working. An example of direct response advertising for the bicycle racks was an advertisement in bicycle magazines offering buy two and get one free with no shipping expenses through the end of the month by calling 800-946-7804 x 230. Even though we didn’t have an extension 230, we knew which advertisement the lead came from.

Floating Swimwear advertised a “new dealer starter kit” for $548 in their industry trade magazines using a special toll-free number. They also exhibited at the National Pool & Spa shows across the country and generated more orders in each three-day show, then in the entire previous year.

One of Floating Swimwear’s distributors decided to run display advertisements in the Wall Street Journal. They were convinced that running only a couple of advertisements would yield hundreds of orders because of the shear numbers of circulation. That’s a dangerous assumption. They spent $18,000 in advertising and only sold 36 swimsuits. The benefit message was right, but the target market and use of the marketing method not effective and they lost all of their money.

In an attempt to sell a large number of floating swimsuits in a short period of time, another dealer decided to create a television commercial. His deciding factor was that he was getting such a great deal on the airtime he couldn’t pass it up. They did their initial research and selected markets that had large numbers of homes with pools… hardly a proper marketing test. They invested over $50,000 and sold less than 75 orders. The commercial was fine, the problem was that not many parents with small children are up watching television at 3:00 am. Again, it was not the method that failed, but the combination and implementation of the method.

For my consulting and speaking services I send direct response sales letters to targeted lists offering solutions to increase sales, productivity and profits, supported by free “added-value” special reports and audio cassettes filled with marketing techniques that they can implement immediately to achieve better results. For each specific market, I craft a new unique benefit message and track the results in my database. I start with smaller mailings as tests, and test different offers, pricing, and lists. Once I find a combination with a good response I increase mailing on a larger scale.

For the bicycle racks we testing many different paid methods of marketing. Each target market and channel of distribution had it’s own combination of these concepts that made it successful. We attracted most of our dealers, catalogs and exporters from industry trade shows, but the awareness of our products came from the thousands of dollars worth of free publicity we received year after year.

List the paid forms of marketing methods that you are currently using on a piece of paper. Are you tracking the response and their effectiveness?

Why spend money when you can get it for free?

When was the last time you send a media release about your products or services? Free publicity is often overlooked and under utilized. It’s amazing that people don’t take advantage of this category of marketing methods more often.

With the line of bicycle racks I sent out hundreds of media releases each quarter. When the editors had the room in the magazines, they would run my release. It created credibility through third-party validation. Each year, we would hear “we see your ads everywhere, how can you afford to run so much advertising?” We couldn’t, it was mostly the free media releases. Sending media & press releases continues to be one of our best methods of marketing for our clients.

Mastering the Marketing Methods
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There are several great resources that go into step-by-step detail of how to use different marketing methods, many of them can be found throughout this site http://www.primeconcepts.com. Think of the marketing methods as the devices used to send your unique benefit messages to your specific target markets. Each concept by itself is important, but only when they are used in the right combinations do they become powerful. Your results increase exponentially when you combine publicity and multiple marketing methods tailored to each target market.

Putting it all together…

In one word “testing.”

I’ve sat in on several focus groups and meetings where people sit around and try to speculate which market would be better than that market, which method should they use.

I recently worked with a company to write a direct marketing sales letter. They were clear on their market and the benefits, but not sure about the method. I wrote two different headlines and split the initial test mailing in half. Each half received a different headline with a unique extension after the phone extension so we could track the responses. One headline out pulled the other by 2 to 1. Imagine if we wouldn’t have tested.

Of course you should gather market research and plan a marketing strategy, but you’ll never really know without testing. Testing, testing and then, that’s right… testing again.

Test by sending your unique benefit messages to different specific target markets and tracking the responses from each marketing method. Start small and repeat the tests until you get the response rate that is acceptable to you.

Marketing is a science and not an art. Test everything, your headlines, the copy, the colors, the markets, your benefit messages, price points and keep track of the results. Once you find a winning combination, repeat it and expand it.

MIX Marketing System™ “Keepers”

–> Even if you have the best product idea in the world you still have to get it in front of the right decision-makers.

–> It’s not the marketing strategy that works or not, but your application of the strategy that counts.

–> You must clearly understand who your buyer is and know as much about them as possible.

–> Who you think your market is, may not actually be the people you are selling to.

–> Selecting the right benefits and target them for each buying market.

–> Start with a small test. Test, and then test again. Then increase your efforts.

Action Steps: 6 Steps to your Success with the Mix Marketing System(tm)

1.Complete the features and benefits exercise and design your unique benefit messages for each valuable solution that you offer.

2.Select the top three or four markets that you feel have the most potential and gather as much information about them as possible.

3. Study the different marketing methods (CASH) and list the ones that you feel would be the most effective to send your message to the target market.

4. Send out press-releases (NO CASH) with benefits to each specific audience.

5. Apply the Mix Marketing System™ elements and implement a test.

6. Evaluate your results, make a modification to only one element at a time and test again until you find the best combinations.

Best of Success,
Ford Saeks,
Internet Marketing Speaker, Business Consultant