Beware of junky information

Let me tell you, "junky" is a nice term. I have been in a marketing/advertising reading and writing marathon for the last three weeks.  I've been in what I call the "vortex" of developing my presence on the web so that I can share information with you, my dear audience and followers.  

Most everyone who writes on the subject about building traffic to your website will tell you you have to have lots and lots of content (blogs, stories and photos about your product and services), get listed on lots of site directories and social media.

There are a lot people who will tell you that you can do this quickly and easily.  They may even charge for a single format that will do this.  From what I can see, it ain't so.  Not that there aren't ways to get some of it done through individual sites but in general, you have to take time and go out there an enter information yourself.

One of the sites for content contribution is SubmitYourArticle.com  This site will take your articles and blast it out to other content publishing websites worldwide.  What this does is builds traffic back to your website.  In the coming weeks, I will put together an e-book with everything I have learned and give it to you.

My goal is to provide you with great information that will help you develop your small business into a powerhouse.  Saying, that, I found a really great article for you to look at this week:

http://www.wix.com/blog/2013/11/how-to-make-sure-your-business-is-found-on-google/

How to get MORE for you business doing LESS

I can't really tell you how to do that. If I really knew how to do that I would be rich.  But I do know that you can become more efficient with your marketing.  There is no better time in history to be able to get more done than today.  With all of the technology that is available you can reach more people and it will cost you PENNIES or even FRACTIONS OF PENNIES on the dollar than it did just 10 years ago.

Remember when direct mail was all the rage? You could get your message and name in front of thousands of households. Compare that to digital advertising where you get can get millions of impressions for the same cost.

Now, you would think telling small businesses and entrepreneurs about this and helping them to find other marketing ideas would be an easy sell, right?  Wrong.  For some reason a lot of business owners are overwhelmed with the idea of doing marketing that will grow their business --even though you show them how to save TONS of dollars and reach the people they need to reach.  

My friend Tracie Davis (the Marketing Guru) and I (The Marketing Ninja Master)  have decided that there are businesses out there that need help so badly that we are going to GIVE information away.  That's right, give it away.

 So, stay tuned to find out what we -- as entrepreneurs ourselves -- are going to do in the very near future.

JOIN OUR VIP MARKETING CLUB

It's official -- digital advertising wins!

As a digital advertising guru (yes, I am a guru) I am glad to hear what I already knew: digital advertising is outpacing all other forms of advertising. Now, I have some proof to show my clients. Yes, those pesky clients are always so skeptical when you come to them with something new. Trying to explain digital advertising to clients at times made me feel like the first person to sell TV advertising.

Everything has its season and it is a new season. Those who effectively utilize digital advertising will reap great rewards. The cost? The cost is no where near the cost of a monthly billboard on a highway, or commercials on TV and radio and newspaper ads. One reason is because you can target your market like no time in advertising history. Actually, my company uses hyper targeting methods. We actually profile your customers and clients using psychological methods. (We have a real honest to goodness marketing psychologist.) Then after researching your clients, we use hundreds, and depending on the customer thousands, of keywords to target where they hang out. And remember, these aren't random customers. They are people most likely to purchase or use your services.

We then re-market to them by trailing them through their favorite sites on the internet. You've experienced that yourself. You click on a website that you saw on the sidebar of one of your favorite sites, let's say All About Juicing. You take a gander of the website and then go on your merry way. But the next day you notice that sales on juicers are popping up on your news website. Then later you see the newest juicer again on the entertainment site you view.Yes, that's re-marketing.

So, get ready for the next version of advertising models.  Don't get left behind.

http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/10/digital-advertising-hits-43b-passing-broadcast-tv-for-the-first-time-ever/

6 tips to shine at expos and fairs

It's fair and expo season!  I love going to fairs and expos.  They are not just informative and fun, but I get to evaluate the businesses on their expo and fair acumen.  It never fails.  I can find at least ten businesses that just don't know how to really promote themselves at these events.  And it has nothing to do with size of the company. 

Every company -- big or small -- should still put its best face forward. So, taking the positive approach, I have developed a six point list I call, "Six Ways to Shine at Expos and Fairs": 

• Be personable. You would be surprised how many people at booths just sit there. The don't smile. Step from behind the table and engage people that walk by. Make eye contact, smile,and speak. Offer literature, samples or demonstrate your product or service.  

• Be informed. If you can't discuss the benefits and merits of your product or service, you should not be at the booth or table. Don't send Martha in accounting just because she volunteered, leave her at the office if she doesn't have the answers.

• Be well-fed. Don’t eat at your booth. It’s not very enticing to go to a booth where people have greasy fingers, a paper plate of half-eaten food and crumbs on the table. Eat your meal in the designated eating area.  Hopefully this is far away from your booth.

• Be on time. Make sure you set-up during the appropriate time so that you can be fresh and ready to engage the attendees when the fair or expo begins. If you aren’t there at the beginning, you are losing money. You will get the most for your booth fee if you are there on time and stay until it is over.

• Be identified. Your marketing materials should be well-produced, have no misspellings, and include your contact information. Have a table cloth, sign and/or stand up banner with your company or organization name that can be seen from several feet away. If you wear a uniform, be clean and pressed — even if it is a tee-shirt.

• Be organized. Have your materials, samples, exhibit ready for people to pick-up, taste, or view.

I'll be seeing you!