A Few Basic Marketing Thoughts

Today, I would like to discuss a few things about Marketing. The main thing that I would like to accomplish here is to get the spirit of marketing going. But when I say Marketing, I do not mean just any kind of marketing but I am considering really direct marketing, mixed with guerrilla marketing, mixed with bootstrapping.
I feel that this is the kind more suited to small independently owned businesses as opposed to very large corporations. I am sure that there are some who do not know what guerrilla marketing is so I would like to discuss that briefly. Guerrilla marketing is  marketing that is of a bootstrapping nature mixed with direct response marketing mixed with a certain mindset which I shall expound on later.

So now we have direct marketing, guerrilla marketing and bootstrapping. These are all very good activities for the small business owner. And these are skill areas of business that owners should definitely seek to master seeing they help to keep  cash flowing into the business.

First it is probably best to focus an eye to what direct response marketing is then add to that a word about bootstrapping and then finally add a brief comment about the guerrilla effect to all of that. These all work so wonderfully at promoting a business and of making successful marketing such a doable thing for the small enterprise.

Direct marketing is more accurately, direct response marketing. The main purpose of it is to get a response toward a sell from a prospect or a customer as opposed to say brand awareness or brand building. A large corporation might spend 3 million dollars for a commercial during the Super Bowl and during that spot not even present any special offer or seek to elicit a response to buy. It might  only present  a funny spot to get the company’s name out in front of the audience.

For example Pepsi Cola has spent millions over the years on brand building so that people will be aware that Pepsi is still alive and kicking. Large amounts of money is spent for it to continue to be a  “Brand Name product”.  Small operations should not use much of there resources focusing on building a brand at least not at first.
Only  three beautiful Terrier pups left, from great breed stock, offering them at a 25% discount, won’t last long, call me fast at 555-will-b-gone-soon”.

Now this is a great ad that seeks to elicit a response and this is how small businesses should advertise. This is one of the principles of direct marketing which will definitely put money in the bank. Now let’s look at what you see many times from small operations, which should really be avoided.

Tim’s Automotive Repair… we provide full car care services..we do brakes, oil changes, Tune-ups, diagnostics..We are located at the corners of “Anytime You Decide to and…” Take your Time To  Come On Down”

Now millions and millions of dollars of small  business money go to ads just like this one which makes no real offer and elicits no feelings of urgency to respond. Because no directive is given to respond, there is usually very little response. And lots of money is as a result left on the table…. Smaller operations can not afford to do this.

Now good direct response marketing strategies should definitely be incorporated with bootstrapping.  And bootstrapping , according to Guru Marketer Seth Godin, is really a mindset more so than a financial condition. It arises from the thought that the business should start out profiting almost immediately and that investments in the business should be basically financed  from the revenues from the business.  And that business owners should always first ask “how can I get that.. or how can I do this… without having to use money”.

So mixing bootstrapping with direct response marketing turns out to be a beautiful combination in small and even mid-size operations.

And lastly, adding the guerrilla marketing effect produces a three component powerhouse which provides a great foundation upon which to launch and run a business. I say guerrilla marketing Effect because this kind of marketing is really and foremost a certain kind of business ingenuity.

Ingenuity as in the word ingenious and in the word genius. Guerrilla marketing is to market with a real, down to earth.. common sense genius that is closely in touch with the common man. And so this wise common sense approach is able to produce decisions that  outwit big business bureaucracies and also other small operations who fail to use such an alert ingenuity. So here you have a few items that bode well for the small businesses who take advantage of them. And they all work really well in the area of customer procurement; which is Marketing.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Trading

Samsung has hit hard earlier this year with Galaxy S6 and S6 with its Galaxy Edge, Galaxy S6 active is now finally official. However, Samsung Galaxy S7 is still not official, but just rumours. Less elegant than the S6, reinforced this model offers the same features with a much more impressive battery. Samsung Galaxy S6 Active, Enhanced version of its flagship smartphone. The element-defying version of the Korean flagship was just unveiled as an AT&T exclusive in the US.
Aesthetically speaking, for sure, it does not look anything like its two older smart phones. It is much less pretty to look at, even, but this is not surprising because its hull was reinforced to withstand bumps and drops. In addition to the IP68 certification and mil-STD-810G (for resistance to water, shock and dust proof), The high-end equipment of the Active is confirmed. It has, like the S6.
If you need a phone resistant and able to assist you in all your adventures, then it may hold your attention. Especially it is accompanied by a new application – Activity Zone – who can give you valuable information about your environment.
Samsung has opted to keep the same specs. The Active Galaxy S6 is well equipped with a Super AMOLED 5.1 inch display capable of a type definition qHD (2560 × 1440), with Exynos 7420 Octa-core 64-bit processor. Supported by 3 GB of RAM. The storage space reaches 32 GB and it will unfortunately not be possible to extend it through a micro SD port.

For the photo sensor, and it will feature, we can count on a 16 mega pixel on back of a smartphone and a front camera of 5 megapixels. Double tapping the home button will bring up the camera, low light video, high clear zoom, virtual shot, slow motion, fast motion, pro mode, We discover, however, that the battery of the new Galaxy is much better capacity than the S6 with 3500 mAh against 2550 mAh only. It will thus need only half an hour to fill half. Video Definition recording (in pixels) 3840 x 2160, GPS Software Google Maps, Navigation, Wi-Fi support 802.11n / AC, With bonus, the wireless charging, the possibility of regaining 50% of battery life in 30 minutes and that, when the gauge displays only 10% make calls and send text messages for another 24 hours. Finally, it works with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop.

Make Your Business Visible On The Web With Online Business Directory

No matter how small or large an organization is, it always tries to gain exposure for its targeted clients. And with the advent of the internet, the World Wide Web has become one of the major platforms for such businesses to gain visibility. When a business wants to become visible on the web effectively, then one of the most tested ways is to get registered on an online business directory. All the major search engines give a lot of importance to these business directories and hence, posting your business in such directories will definitely attract more customers towards your products and services.
Features of an Online Business Directory
An online business directory is not the only place where people can locate your business, however, it is one of the most popular places for people to view different businesses. It actually has overshadowed the offline directories which were very common few years back. These online directories have a lot of features and let us now see what they are:
Customer Friendly: These online directories are user-friendly than the offline ones. Any person can easily go through it online and with the help of its self-help guide, finding out the desired information is not at all a tough job.Huge Date Classification: The offline directories have the limitations of the number of pages, however, there is nothing of that sort in the online directories. All the data can be organized easily on the web pages.Easy to Add/Remove Data: If you have already published your business on the online directory, you can always add or remove any particular feature of your products or services. You can make the updates on a daily basis and this is what is more interesting about these online directories.

When you opt for online directories, you will not have to pay for any publishing or distribution costs. Hence, this is indeed a cost effective option for all the business owners.
Eco-Friendly: When we use any kind of book, it means that each and every page is the result of deforestation. However, the online directories are eco-friendly. No tree is being cut in order to make these directories.Easy Promotion: You can always add your company’s website with your business listing on the online directories. This way, the views can directly jump to your website to get a detailed knowledge about your services or products. This means that you will be able to promote your business in a much easier manner.Apart from all the above listed features, you can also enjoy a much higher SEO rank if you include your business in these online directories. The search engines give a lot of priority to these listing sites than any business website. So, you should no more think any further and add you business to these online directories. This way, you will easily be able to attract probable customers towards your products and make profit.

How Unethical SEO Service Providers Bad-Name Professional SEO

I remember back in 2009 when I was learning Search Engine Optimization, our trainer said that SEO has already started to become a field that everyone thinks he/she can do it. Just like we used to have so many (self-proclaimed) web/graphics designers, now you can see hundreds; even thousands of individuals claiming that they know SEO better than experts out there.I do not have any problem with that. Not as long as these SEO spammers do not bad-name and rob SEO clients. I can list a number of reasons why Search Engine Optimization is not for everyone. And believe me, I can prove it.

1. Starting From The Basics, They Don’t Have Any Base

That’s right. The majority of these SEO gurus have not ‘learned’ Search Engine Optimization the proper way. In fact, they have just ‘studied’ it as a topic and they got this crazy idea that anyone can do it. Of course SEO is not that hard or confusing that only selected people can do, but the key point here is to study and learn things the right way; from the basics.

Simply by reading couple of articles on the Internet and participating in couple of Internet Marketing blogs or forums can not make anyone a SEO specialist or a guru at all.

2. False Guarantees, Short-Term SEO Results, Spammy Techniques And Other Lies

When these low profile SEO’s have no clue about how to compile an SEO strategy or how to execute website optimization process, they will do what is obvious—they will mess things up for their clients; bit time. And that’s not all what they do. They lie almost about everything to their clients. They lie about ranking techniques they will be using, they lie about the results a client is expecting to see, they even lie about ranking their websites in a short span of time. Now ethically it is very wrong to misguide and make false commitments with clients for the results they will never see; at least not soon enough.

If I like Google even a little, it’s because of their constant search engine algorithm updates. Such updates have made it easy to track shady and spam SEO practices. Of course spammers can get short-term SEO results and rankings in Google using various Black Hat optimization techniques, but eventually they will be tracked and penalized by the big old G (Google).

How These People Negatively Affect To Authentic And Professional SEO Community

Just like in any other profession or business, people with unethical practices also bring in doubt the good ones. Same thing happens when clients are approached by legitimate SEO service providers. The businesses are more concerned about their online business and they are extra careful in selecting the right SEO company for their website marketing project.

But fortunately there are authentic ways an ethical SEO company can prove to be the right provider for the client. Most businesses ask for references and past SEO projects a company or a service provider has worked on. This minimizes the risk of becoming a victim of any shady search optimization company and it results in client satisfaction as well as winning the project.

What You Need To Do (As A Professional SEO Specialist)

Stay firm. Don’t let these spammers walk on your line. Keep learning and moving forward with latest SEO trends and marketing techniques. I can tell you one thing that identifying a fake SEO is very easy in today’s world as you can instantly tell by the way they talk about SEO and link building techniques. So be happy that you are different and far better than them.

As far as SEO projects and clients are concerned, the business community is now also mature enough to trace if they are being conned or scammed by a fake SEO service provider. Eventually you will see improved number of clients as long as your SEO techniques are not shady and obsolete.

To those who are new to the Internet Marketing world and want to learn things the proper way, there are lots of free and trusted resources out there and you can definitely learn a lot from these sites. Sites like WarriorForum and WickedFire should be your top learning platform when it comes to learning SEO.
If you have anything to add or share your experience about something relevant to this post, please leave your comment below.

Keep It Real

This is yet another essential aspect of running an online business successfully. Do everything ethically and by the rules. Developing trust of customers is vital and it pays well in the long run. Stay legit and professional. Just because you are a new business should not mean that you will not attract customers successfully. Yes, it requires very hard work in the beginning to find customers but it is possible. Never give up hope and strive on offering quality to your customers.
Remember, this is just a single aspect of starting an online business from scratch. There are many other metrics you should consider before launching your online venture. Things like, business name, domain, trademarks, policies and etc. are just a few of them. So it would be better to do your research from the ‘legal side’ as well. Just stay away from using trademarked business names and domain names, and always use original and unique content for your website and marketing campaigns.

Having a successful online business not only gives you piece of mind but it also has so many additional opportunities to dive into. Like I mentioned above that you can simply start anything, an eCommerce store, mobile application development company, search engine marketing agency, become a professional writer, proofreader, and the list goes on and on.Stay focused and firm. Do not hard work stop you from achieving your goals.

Writing Professional Website Copy Content

From the perspective of sales and business, it is important to present your website content in a distinguished way to your visitors. Remember, after seeing your website, it is your content that can either attract or irritate your visitors, and you don’t want to do the latter one; right!
Following are few key factors that every online business owner must adhere to while writing website content:

– Do Not Sell Directly

The first thing you do not want from your website is to wear-off your visitors by throwing your products or services directly on their faces. It is a fact that no one likes to be sold to. Don’t you hate salesmen when they knock at your door to sell you a vacuum cleaner? So play by the visitors’ rules and provide them a platform (your website) where they can comfortably browse things they are looking for.

– Show Customers How You Value Them

The most important thing is that customers are attracted towards the value they will receive from a certain business; in the service they receive from them. So use your website content to ensure your potential customers that you are one of the best solution providers and that you guarantee professional services or quality products.

You can do that in a variety of ways using your site content. Show them your skills, share personal experience of your projects you have recently done, add positive testimonials and reviews of your previous customers on your site, offer discounts and competitive pricing and etc. To simplify the above-mentioned, you can write blog about your business so that your audience can stay up-to-date about your business.

It may feel a tricky part if you are starting a business from scratch, but never compromise on quality factors. Starting a website business is typical but not that hard, so always focus on providing quality services to your audience and ensure them your reputability.

– Communicate With Your Audience

Engage them in your content in a way that they find it interesting to read. Tell them about your company and services/products you have and how these can be used for their benefit. Ask for their suggestions on how you can improve your website and services.It is crucial to have an option where you and your customers can communicate. It would minimize the gap between the buyer and the seller and would also answer various questions of the customer upfront.

How To Represent Your Internet-Based Business

When you are done researching about how to get started, then would be the time to move on to another important factor. And it is how you should present your business to your target audience.

1. Having A Beautiful Website

It is crucial to have an attractive and user-friendly website to receive attention from your target audience. Many business owners neglect this part in their online marketing strategy and they later face losses or low return on investment (ROI) from their online venture. Remember, your website is the first thing that visitors will see and it should have all the important features to offer a friendly visitor experience to your audience.

So how can you get a website with a good-looking design and how do you know if it is best for the business you are going start.

Normally there are ways you can identify how to go about when it comes to having a business website designed. The first thing to get started is to see other websites in similar businesses. See how their sites are designed and what features these sites are using. Explore how the site is presenting the information and how it engages with its audience. You can do these simply by using following websites:

1. Archive: You can see the history of websites and when the site was first launched and when it was redesigned. This will help you to observe what the site used to look before and what changes the new site has.

2. Alexa: See what traffic rank the sites have . AlexaRank of less than 100,000 is considered a good traffic rank and it defines that the site has probably thousands of visitors a month. Results may vary though from site to site. This is only to get the basic idea of how much traffic the site receives.

3. Google Mobile-Friendly Test: Having a mobile-friendly (or responsive) website is important these days as the majority of traffic now comes through mobile and other portable devices. This online tool will tell you whether the site has mobile-friendly layout or not.

4. Website Speed Test: Check load times of sites and how long they take to load properly. You can also use this tool to test your own website. A good load time is somewhere from 3-5 seconds. So make sure your web pages are not heavily crafted.

5. Content and Code Ratio Tool: Although this tool is somewhat necessary for SEO testing, but I am mentioning it here also. The tool lets you know the ratio of your on-page content and the actual code behind the page(HTML/backend coding.) It will also tell you what ratio is good for content and code.