Getting Back to Basics

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the possibilities of internet marketing and PPC advertising keep in mind that a few key things done consistently can reap real rewards. A regular newsletter to clients that includes useful content, requests for referrals or partnerships, and special offers (which could simply be highlights of some of your services) will help create a solid foundation for you to grow your business.

From Group E-mail to Newsletter

If you have a mailing list that is larger than 50 people, it may be time to graduate to an e-newsletter. Many mail programs will block the receipt of mass e-mails from private accounts as spam. An e-newsletter can be text or HTML (words + pictures), the latter being more popular, and is e-mailed to your contact list. You don’t have to attach large graphics or PDF’s that may or may not be displayed as you would like or even opened, links and images are embedded in the body of your newsletter. An e-newsletter service provider also has its own tools so that your mailings are not marked as spam. Monitoring tools so you can track your e-mails to see how effective they are (opens, clicks, forwards, etc.) come with the service and you can manage multiple mailing lists if needed. You should expect to pay between $10 and $15/month for these services. A few that I have used and recommend are:

iContact, http://www.icontact.com/
Constant Contact, http://www.constantcontact.com/

There is a slight learning curve to using some of the online publishing tools – but once you compete your first newsletter you will have a template for successive mailings.

Staying In Touch

To make the prospect of newsletter writing less daunting, try writing down some ideas throughout the month. Commit to one morning a month to write it and send a test e-mail to yourself and a friend to check for errors. It won’t be the great American novel – just a few paragraphs to remind people that you are still out there providing useful services. Take advantage of events (cultural events, too), workshops, a seasonal change or holiday to send a note to your contact list. When your newsletters include useful content they will become welcome missives and  forwarded to friends.

E-newsletters should be tailored to the busy person’s in-box with one or two key items for their immediate attention. Craft an e-newsletter that speaks to the needs of your audience:

• Write your own content. There are some services that generate industry specific content but they also sound generic. You know your clients and you know your business, trust your own voice.
• Keep It Simple. Focus on one specific benefit or promotion.
• Include a call to action.
• Include a link to your website and your contact information.

Whether you want people to contact you, visit your website, or download a coupon, make it easy and obvious. Stick to the main points that you want to communicate and save the extra content for the next, regularly scheduled e-blast or blog post. Follow-up any event announcements with a phone call or postcard to let people and clients know that they are important to you.

Frequency

Once a week, once a month, quarterly – whatever works for you as long as you stick to the schedule. If you have a special event or workshop in between mailings, send out an invitation or reminder notice about one week in advance. I hear the best day to send a mailing out is Wednesday. Schedule for a mid-morning delivery – when the mind starts to wander.

Online Marketing from Novice to Advanced

There are so many publishing platforms on the web that it can become a job unto itself just to maintain and update your profiles on LinkedIn or Facebook. The majority of us are dependent on the connectivity of today’s world to conduct our daily business and we can’t disentangle our lives entirely from technology. But, we can (selectively and efficiently) target our efforts.

If you feel ready to start promoting yourself online to a broader audience, here are some web-based tools where you can quickly create profile pages for your business:

Squidoo is a web-based publishing platform that functions like a  click-able press release. You create a “lens” for your site (there is no limit on how many you can create), and include information and images about it. A relatively quick and easy way to highlight and promote your website to the squidoo community. Ranked as one of the 300 most popular websites in the US. http://www.squidoo.com/squidoo

According to Yelp, more than 22 million people visited Yelp this June. If you have a physical place of business, you should create a Yelp profile. It’s free and it allows you to connect directly with customers and judge by their reviews and experiences what aspects of your business work and what you want to finesse.

Take reviews with a grain of salt – but if you can amass some good reviews, more power to you. Again, popularity is self-replicating. the more people contribute the higher up you go. Yelp also sends out a newsletter highlighting local businesses. http://www.yelp.com/chicago

Twitter is still relatively new and  a good platform to establish yourself as an “expert” in your field. Posts are short “tweets”, or status updates, and they should be specifically related to the good or services that you want to promote. You gain credibility and “followers” by posting items of interest to your target audience. This all (potentially) resolves itself into a broader audience for your business. It seems especially useful for last-minute event notices or breaking news but the character limit and frequent bursts of activity don’t lend themselves to depth. When you do post, immediate followers tend to be e-marketers – at least for technology related posts. Seek out and follow people with good content and try to build some productive partnerships. http://twitter.com/

Facebook is a popular social networking tool that allows you to post status updates on a community wall and build your networks based on shared interests and friends. You can even create a separate page for your business (look for “pages and ads” icon in the lower right footer navigation) designed to attract fans and develop content just for them.

It’s easy to get sucked into Facebook, with its innocuously “friendly” rounded edges, easy to maneuver navigation, and pop-culture quizzes. Try to keep your posts professional and consider making a page for your business. Word-of-mouth marketing can’t be bought and the more people sharing your page with extended networks, the better. High-quality content and occasional free goodies will form the basis of many lasting relationships.

E-mail Etiquette Reminder: Don’t snag e-mail addresses without permission. Keep friends and fans current with status updates. Attach links to updates for more impact.

In the Works: New Websites

Mind Body Connections, screenshot

Currently, I am working with Stacey Hurst of Mind Body Connections to re-vision her website. A dance/movement therapist, the feeling of movement and fluidity is essential to the look and feel of her site.

I first spent some time with the existing brochures and print collateral that Stacey had provided me to understand the design elements that were most important to her and significant to her business. The bold, primary colors welcome the user to explore the site and a gradient background adds to a sense of movement or visual transition. The menu has a toggle feature that allows for sub-menu’s to gently slide open. A flash animation that will highlight the statements used to describe Stacey’s practice will show in the header area of the home page.

Stay tuned!

Marketing on a Shoestring Budget

Join Yelp! or other consumer driven referral site, create a listing and ask your customers to review your business.

Create a Facebook “page” for your business and don’t forget to add your website to your profile.

Make sure your full “http://” web address is included in your e-mail signature.

Join your local Chamber of Commerce or local/national professional trade organization.

Exchange links with similar organizations and affiliates. Ask local businesses to join you in cooperative ad campaigns to help defer costs.

Sing your own praises: write a press-release and submit it to your local news outlets.

Visit the Community Media Workshop for more information on writing and submitting publicity.

Getting Your Internet Presence Together

The following questions are a good place to start when developing content and style for your website:

1) What is your product or content?
2) What makes your product or service unique?
3) Who is your audience?
4) What is the purpose of your website?
5) What results do you want to achieve?

A website should provide the visitor with a concise and informative synopsis of who you are and what your business is all about. Websites are flexible and dynamic, a limited budget does not limit your design options.

Remember: Quality of content and consistent communication are your most powerful resources.

When developing web content, keep in mind that the average web-surfer may spend less than a minute on a page before they click another link or leave your site entirely. Taking the time to create concise, informative and relevant content will translate into a strong search ranking, a positive user experience and help to establish credibility.

Getting people to your website and encouraging them to act on all the great content you’ve developed is the next step.

Newsletters and E-Marketing

There are lots of great tools for web-marketing which are either free or inexpensive. Constant Contact, iContact and MailChimp are a few web-based e-newsletter providers. These services are minimally priced (around $10/month) and allow you to edit existing templates, design from scratch and upload images plus create and manage multiple contact lists.

When designing your e-postcard or newsletter, less is more. Keep it simple and focus on a specific aspect of your business that you would like to promote. Don’t forget to ask your readers to to act.

E-marketing is an excellent way to stay in touch with existing/potential partners and clients. It costs only your time (and that low, monthly fee) and is well worth the effort. Stay in touch!

Got Google?

Google has many FREE tools for businesses such as adding your business to Google maps, Google Checkout, and of course, Google Analytics. Google Analytics tracks your web traffic offering all kinds of fascinating details such as keywords used to find your site, referring sites, and allows you to see how effective an ad campaign is.

Guess what? All Eat Paint Studio websites are installed with Google Analytics!

Just like a physical business, your website needs to be actively and consistently promoted in order to be successful.

To Blog or Not to Blog…

Anyone can start a blog. The question is, should you? As with other web presences (Facebook, MySpace); you need to maintain your professional image. Keep it simple and keep content reflective of what you do. With these cautions in mind, a blog is a versatile, free tool that can keep your web presence current, broaden your audience, and drive traffic to your website. Following and posting on related, high-quality blogs is another good way to network with peers and develop credibility.

Things to look for: banner-ad free blogging platforms like Blogger and WordPress. You don’t want another, unrelated business advertisement to clash with your message and distract your audience. With WordPress you can also create surveys – fun and potentially useful.

If there is a question or concern that you don’t see here, feel free to contact me at eatpaint.chic@gmail.com.

My art blog has moved!

My labors have been divided – the art related blog now resides at http://emilyrapport.wordpress.com. Here, I will start writing about design and technology. Thanks!