The Best Advertising is Press

A common concern amongst busy entrepreneurs is how to effectively market their business.  Let’s face it; if you’re not seen, you can’t make money.  Advertising can get expensive and there are no guarantees that any paid advertising will increase web traffic to your site anyway.  And yet most professionals overlook the power of a good press release!  This is understandable, as the preconceived notion may be that press releases come from news.  And if your company is not making news, then it doesn’t deserve press.

Not so.  When you have spent as much time as you have in finding a product or service to offer, priority must be given to marketing.  Since we live in a technologically advanced society, Social Media Marketing is where it’s at.  Advertising your business through press releases on the web through sites such as Google News can create a huge buzz that can lead you down the path of success.

An effective press release is good for building backlinks, credibility, and visibility in Google News for keywords.  Press releases also often receive good placement in search results for long tail keywords.  However, writing a press release yourself can be a daunting task that quickly begins to eat up the valuable time in your day.  Time is a CEOs most valuable asset, and should be spent wisely.  This is why outsourcing to a press release distribution service like Start Ranking Now is worth the small investment you would make.

For one, an effective press release can significantly improve your overall search engine rankings.  Key word being “effective”.   Every day, thousands of press releases are being distributed.  How to make sure yours is not overlooked amid the sea of news?  Know how to write!  If you don’t, that’s ok.  The professional team at Start Ranking Now know exactly what to do and how to do it.  Writing a press release is like breathing for these people!

The benefits of writing a press release are worth it.  The thing about this sort of advertising over others is that there is more credibility in it.  Press releases are give the perception of a third-party endorsement.  And since word of mouth marketing is the best way in increase web traffic to your site, a press release can act as the “mouth” that spreads the word!

No matter what the size of your budget, social media marketing is a tool that you can begin using today to grow your business. For a miniscule investment, you can have your very own press release, with added backlinks, distributed across the internet. Working with a professional team like Start Ranking Now eases your burden of trying to accomplish all the marketing yourself and leaves you with the time you need to effectively run your booming business.  There is so much to gain by taking advantage of a well written press release.  Credibility.  A reputation.  Visibility.  These things add up to an increase in web traffic, which equals more success for your site, which equals dreams coming true.

Hubpages Equal Success

In the lush forest that is ecommerce, internet marketing is like the roots of a tree.  Without nutrients (web traffic) flowing through the roots (internet marketing), the tree (your website) doesn’t grow.  You want your tree to grow.  Therefore, you need to make sure you nurture deep roots from the very onset of planting. Building an ecommerce site is an exhilarating experience full of adventure.  That’s the positive way of saying there are tons of changes to keep up with.  Technology constantly changes; and new ways of getting the word out about your business are emerging with each setting of the sun.  While there are benefits to these changes in internet marketing and social media marketing, there is one major drawback.  You have much more important things to do than follow emerging trends in marketing. You have a business to run. Taking on the task of learning SEO, writing articles to submit to online directories, writing scripts and producing videos is not necessarily the best thing you can spend your time doing.  Creating Hubpages and other social media marketing strategies is something many ecommerce business owners are choosing to hire a professional for.  Now that is the way to increase web traffic!

Hubpages are a marketing tool we hear much about.  These are like mini-sites that can be created on any topic of interest.  Hubpages, like everything else having to do with building a successful website, should be optimized and full of keywords.  They are similar to a Squidoo lens, except for a key point that Hubpages should not and cannot contain outright marketing for your own ecommerce site.  There is incessant gardening going on in these pages and too many links to your own site will get your growing tree pruned very quickly.  Tricky little bugs!

Because the name of the game with Hubpages is originality teamed up with length (the longer the better), stellar writing skills are involved.  Busy CEOs do not have the time to hone their writing chops while also preparing their sites shopping cart, communicating with vendors and dealing with employees.  This is enough to drive you mad before you take your first order! With all that there is to learn about Social Media Marketing and Hubpages, a business owners best bet is to get on board quickly by outsourcing the processing of these pages to a professional, like the team at Start Ranking Now.  Outsourcing not only saves you a great deal of time and frustration, but it also guarantees the success of the writing and submission process. Don’t fret.  Hubpages and Social Media Marketing work wonders to feed the growth of a website.  This internet marketing strategy is great for getting information out to prospective clients.  And with the proper content, you’ll be able to tell right away if you’re headed towards success because these pages are usually indexed by Google in a very short time. Get some help.  Get in the game.  Get your money tree to grow!

People do business with People they Know

A good friend of mine had a wonderful way of describing his understanding of building a successful website; and to me, it all revolved around the aforementioned statement.  He said that he viewed his website as a storefront; which in today’s technologically advanced society, it very much is.  He asked, “If you were to walk into a store which you have never been in before, wouldn’t it be nice to have someone show you around?  Isn’t that great hospitality in general?”  Of course, he had an interesting point.  Having my full attention, he went on, “Well we need to do the same thing with our stores!” 

He was absolutely correct.  See, the downside to internet stores has been that customers, for the most part, can’t tell one site from another.   In the eyes of the customer, most sites are generally the same:  some text here, a banner over there, pictures here and there.  You’ve seen it.  So, to capture the attention of customers, one must find a way to stand apart from the average Joe. 

Enter video marketing.  This application, which works alongside Web 2.0 marketing strategies, gives site building a whole new dimension.   For years, what has been lacking in internet marketing is the face to face interaction that really gives customers and clients a feeling of familiarity with you.  Video marketing is a way to get your message out there, yes, but with your own personality interwoven throughout your site.  And as the quote says, “People do Business with People they Know.”  Want to capture more business?  Make every visitor to your site feel like they know you.  Take them “by the hand” and show them around your well stocked store, and you’ll be pleased with the amount of click-throughs you’ll see!

Video marketing can be used in a number of ways.  It can demonstrate a product, or welcome visitors to your home page.  Most importantly, video puts a face to the site, which enhances the viewers experience on your site.  Enhancing their experience can trigger an emotional response that will increase your chances of making a sale.  It is a well known fact that consumers make emotional purchases.  And video has a much better chance of evoking emotion than simple text.    Additionally, you may have the opportunity to reach more people than you would otherwise, as today’s consumer is busy busy busy!  There aren’t many of us who have time to sit and read all the benefits of a product.  Besides, that can just get boring anyway.  Video – a good video – will tell me everything I need to know quickly and effectively. 

The team at Start Ranking Now has mega experience with creating videos for your own website, or videos to be posted to other sites.  If you want to try your hand at making your own video but feel uncertain about the script, you can turn to them for a script that will get attention.  All that’s left for you to do is film and post!

When you’ve spent countless hours performing research to create a stellar website, chances are you are of the mindset that you want this site to be successful.  Ok, it’s 100% certain that you want your website to stand out and be noticed!  Putting video marketing to work for you may just be the difference maker.

Dan Kennedy’s NO BS Books

If you have any desire to be a success in marketing, then Dan Kennedy’s NO BS Books need to put at the top of your Must Read Books for 2009 list.  One of the key things I took away from reading his books was that absolutely no marketing material should ever leave your office without a specific call to action.  He had an example of what he called "yellow pages marketing".  Basically the concept is that your ad in the Yellow Pages should have an offer with a call to action.  The call to action should be compelling and move Mr. Couch Potatoe to get up and visit that website, call that phone number, and best case, make that purchase!

We put our heads together and a few days after reading the books the Yellow Pages representative called us up about renewing our ad for 2009.  We quickly redid our bland bullet point ad and put in an offer for a free gift if they visit a specific url on our church website.  We did not put what the offer was as we need to have the ability to change the offer depending on the response rate.  By telling people to visit our website, it gives us another opportunity to present our offer and also gives us an opportunity to try to get their email and even possibly their address so we can follow up with a real live visit.  What is better than letting your leads come to you?

Insert Success Story Here Later

As the Stompernet Live 7 conference is coming up, it is time to make some more business cards before the trip.  Following the idea that every piece of marketing material should have an offer.. we got really creative here!  Don’t want to spoil the surprise so check back after the first weekend in March to see what we did!

Say what you mean and mean what you say

Seriously trying to not complain here but dealing with the US embassy can sometimes be frustrating!  Expecting problems and trying to be as time efficient as possible I always try to send all the needed info as well as answer any questions I think will be asked ahead of time.  Of course that would have to assume that someone would actually read the emails and that the person reading the emails would just not just assume that the sender is not following directions!

In anticipation for the 7th Stompernet Live conference, we need to get the passport for our new baby Ashley.  We were able to get her certificate of birth abroad a few weeks ago in Nuevo Laredo on our car trip to the states.  We did not have time to process the passport however as they don’t send it in the mail but rather require you to come back to pick it up later.  Now back in Puebla, it is time to try to hurry to get the passport from the embassy in Mexico City.  (New laws state we can enter into the US with a brith certificate only if by car but need a passport to enter by plane.)  Unlike all of the consulates, to make an appointment, you must first fill out the application online and then EMAIL it to the embassy.  After a real live person reviews it and approves you, only then are you allowed access to the online appointment setting system.  Therein lies the problem.

Email 1

We have the certificate of birth abroad.  It was given to us in Nuevo Laredo a few weeks ago.  Here is the attached application.

Response 1

You need to get a certificate of birth abroad.  Go fill out the application and then send another email.

Email 2

We already have the certificate of birth abroad.

Response 2

Go fill out the application and then attach it to this email.

Email 3

Here is the attached file. (Strongly resisted the urge to say something sarcastic like…. AGAIN!)

Response 3

Access to online appointment setting system.

The whole process was faster than expected and happily we were able to schedule in just three days.  Could have been taken care of in ONE email if the person had actually read the first email though!