Website Development

Traditional Versus Online Advertising: What’s Your Share?

April 28, 2011 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Wanted to share with you an article I wrote this month, which was featured in an e-newsletter of a colleague of mine, Janet Falkenberg of ExecuStrive, an Indianapolis virtual assistant firm. Thanks, Janet, for letting me share this article with my Indianapolis business colleagues.

Do you consider yourself a “traditional marketer”? Are you spending a majority of your marketing and advertising budget on offline activities, such as yellow pages ads, print advertising, coupons and billboards, because “that’s what our company has always done”? Are you wondering whether these methods are still paying off, or whether you’re spending too much in these areas for the return on investment?

Billboard Advertising - Traditional Advertising

Are you more of a fan of traditional advertising or online advertising?

Many companies have not yet maximized the opportunities that exist to market their businesses online. Some of the options available include:

Websites
Search engine optimization
Email marketing
Blogs
Pay-per-click advertising (Google AdWords)
Social media marketing (YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook)

Finding More Clients Online

Don’t get me wrong: traditional advertising has its place, and for some businesses, it’s the best method of reaching the ideal client. However, more people are using the Internet to research businesses and make purchases online rather than searching in yellow pages or in their local newspaper. With online marketing, your business could increase its brand awareness and lead generation exponentially using some of these online marketing methods. So you are missing out on a potential audience if you don’t at least consider online marketing as part of your overall strategy.

But where should you start?

Outsourcing your Online Marketing Efforts

Many business owners don’t have the skills or technical knowledge to use online marketing, or are overwhelmed with the idea of incorporating online marketing tools. In this case, it’s best to ask a marketing professional for help. They can steer you toward the right online marketing tactics that best fit your budget, target audience and sales goals. A professional can also create a marketing calendar of activities, as well as help you set up your online marketing plan and implement your online marketing program too.

For instance, if you had a plumbing company, and your website that was optimized for search terms such as ‘Indianapolis plumbing’ or ‘Indiana plumbing company,’ you could be generating hundreds of leads for your business each day, just from web searches alone. Couple this with blogging, a YouTube channel showing plumbing tips, and a modest pay-per-click advertising campaign, and you’ve got more leads than you can handle – all at a lower cost than one month of your yellow pages ad. Do you see the potential?

Integrating Online and Offline Marketing

Many businesses find it best to integrate both online and offline marketing methods in order to achieve greater results at a lower cost. If you’ve always spent $1500/month on billboard advertising and $1000/month on yellow page advertising, for example, we can look at how you could reduce your spend in traditional media and move some of that budget to online media. In most cases, you can market your business online at a much lower cost than traditional advertising.

I hope you can see the value of incorporating Internet marketing into your current efforts. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results and — the return for the cost — that it can bring for your business.

Filed Under: Advertising, Blogging, Business, Indianapolis Marketing, Indianapolis advertisting, Marketing Strategy, Marketing-Mix, Outsourced Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Website Development Tagged With: advertising budget, billboard advertising, blogs, offline advertising, online advertising, online marketing, pay per click marketing, search engine optimization, social media, traditional advertising, traditional marketing

Is Ghost Blogging for You?

October 14, 2010 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Ghost Blogging - Hiring a Ghost Blogger - Considering a Ghost Blogger

Hiring a ghost blogger - is it right for you?

Keeping up with the ritual of posting regular content to your blog can prove daunting. Have you considered hiring a ghost blogger or blog writing service, but wondered if it was right for you or your business? Here are some things to consider and tips to make it work:

Outsource to a ghost blogger who is committed to learning your business really well. This will enable them to capture your voice and industry, and that the topics adequately speak to your customers and sales goals.
If you are uncertain whether a ghost blogger will really represent your name well, consider one of two options: 1) Write the blog posts yourself, but consider that your blog posts may not be as regular or frequent as if they were outsourced to a ghost blogger or 2) Have the ghost blogger pen the blogs in his/her own name, but as a representative of your company.
Always review blog posts before they go live. That way you can make edits to ensure all information is accurate and add your own special touches to the blog post.
If your industry is highly regulated, make sure that all content has been approved by the appropriate departments or agencies before submitting the post.
Sit down with your ghost blogger and come up with a list of 10-20 blog topics that he/she can write about. Then prioritize the blog topics if you can. Continually add to this list.
Always be on the lookout for new blog topics to pass along to your ghost blogger. It could be something a customer said in passing, something you read in the newspaper, or a recent trend.
Keep in mind the keyword phrases that are relevant to your industry and to driving traffic to your website. This is important to ensure that your blog posts are properly optimized for search engines.
Make sure your ghost blogger sets up your social media sites to automatically promote your new blog topics when they are published.
Have your ghost blogger write several blog posts in advance and schedule them to post at various intervals throughout the month. This ensures routine blog posts and enables you to have content posted during holidays, vacations or other times.

The benefit of hiring a ghost blogger or blog writing service is that you’ll always have regularly scheduled and fresh content on your website. This will help drive traffic to your website through search engines and will keep your website visitors and customers coming back for more.

Filed Under: Blog Marketing, Blogging, Website Development and SEO Tagged With: blog writing service, blogging, corporate blogging, ghost blogger, ghost blogging

Why You Should Consider Outsourcing Your Web Content Development

September 22, 2010 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

outsourcing web copywriting for your next web project

Why writing your own web copy may not be such a good idea

Having been involved in many website projects, I have worked with many Indianapolis graphic design and web development firms over the last five years. We often work together on projects: I handle the copy and SEO and they do the design and back end work.

Do you want to know one of the most common reasons these designers and developers tell me that their website projects stall? Because they are waiting for the completed web content from the client, who insists on writing it themselves.

We all can guess the reason this happens. Busy executive is a decent writer, and since he/she knows the company inside and out, would like to take on the task of writing the web content for the company. The problem? The executive has no time in his or her overly booked schedule to sit down and write the content! Thus the website project drags on longer than the website design firm would like — for weeks and often months.

Time is money. If your website project is stalling because you have not had the time to sit down and write the content, it’s time that you outsource that to a professional copywriter. Having an updated website, even if it was written by someone else, will benefit you more in the end.

Still not convinced? Here are some additional reasons why it might make sense to outsource your website copywriting:

Your site will be written from an outside perspective: Marketers and web copywriters are paid to write objectively. Your web copy will not have that “all about me” feel and will be more focused on the selling benefits. A good copywriter will take the time to understand the business, industry and sales goals before writing the content.
Your site will focus on your customers’ needs: Again, an outsourced copywriter with a marketing background may be more likely to write your web copy with your prospects’ needs in mind, engaging them and encouraging them to respond to your call-to-action.
Your website will be better optimized for search engines: A web copywriter who specializes in search engine optimization (SEO) will do the research before writing and developing your website content, so outsourcing will inevitably help boost your search rankings.

So if you are a web designer who has stalled projects because you are waiting on the client to provide copy, see if you can encourage your client to outsource the content development to an expert. The content can typically be turned around in a matter of days, and will keep your website project moving forward.

If you are one of those clients who is holding up your web designer because you have no time to write the content, consider hiring an outsourced web content writer. You can thank me later.

Filed Under: Outsourced Marketing, SEO Strategies, Search Engine Optimization, Website Content Development, Website Development, Website Development and SEO Tagged With: outsourced web content development, outsourcing web copywriting, stalled web projects

Your Brand: Does it Need a Refresh?

July 29, 2010 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

I have been in the process of redesigning my logo / brand to make it more modern and appealing. It’s been five years and I am ready for a new look.

Old Logo: 2005

New Logo: 2010

I’ve noticed other national brands doing the same thing. Take the old Holiday Inn logo, for example:

There’s nothing wrong with this logo, but they have refreshed it to give it an updated look, while keeping some of the same properties that people associate with the name (the green color and the script logotype):

Another example is Walmart. Although their logo was actually updated in 2008, it has taken a while for it to show up on their store signage and other areas. Here is their old logo:

And their new and improved logo:

Check out this page to see how Walmart’s logo has evolved over the years

Refreshing your website:

Along with my new logo, I plan to re-launch a new website.

Old Website: 2005

I’ll be using the WordPress blogging platform in order to better incorporate my marketing tips articles as blog posts. By the way, WordPress websites are also a great way to boost your search engine optimization results. WordPress is also a good platform that enables you to update your website without a lot of technical knowledge. I am also going to streamline the content and provide some exciting new features and packages for site visitors and my small business customers.

If you haven’t updated your brand or your website in a while, or if you’re having no luck with the search engine game, maybe it’s time for a few tweaks. Let me know how I might be able to serve as a resource for you in that endeavor. It’s not as overwhelming or as costly as it may sound, and could lead to new business and an enhanced image.

To your new brand!

Filed Under: Branding, Search Engine Optimization, Website Development

AimFire Marketing Celebrates Five Years in Business

June 29, 2010 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

This month I’m celebrating my 5th year in business. It doesn’t seem like five years ago that I quit my corporate marketing job and ventured out on my own as a new entrepreneur. Who know that five years later I would have a business and two young children. And who knew that I would have the fortune to have worked with so many wonderful clients (you know who you are!) For that, I am very thankful. This post is for you.

Random things I’ve learned from my clients:

That a Winning Community is one that has a clear vision and action plan for achievement
That ImageStream Solutions makes affordable Linux routers that rival Cisco Systems’
Thanks to 2010 tax laws, more individuals are now eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA
The difference between blends, fair trade organic and varietal coffees

I have enjoyed learning about your various businesses and look forward to serving many more of you and helping you build the businesses of your dreams. Thanks again for the learning, fun, friendship and memories.

Filed Under: Advertising, Marketing, Public Relations, Website Development

Where Could you Be…If you Had Worked with Me?

June 29, 2010 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Many of you read my marketing articles faithfully (okay, maybe you skim some of them or just look at the pictures). But how many of you ever really knew what it was that I did for my clients?

Well, I am looking to clarify that and do a better job of communicating some of the things that I can do to help you promote your business. Here are some of the activities, products and results I’ve acheived for my Indianapolis area marketing clients thus far:

Marketing Plans: Complete with competitive info, key messaging and recommendations on where to market your business cost-effectively to reach your target audience.

Professionally Designed & Written Websites: Starting with the sales strategy behind it and engaging the visitor with the design and copy.

Top Rankings on Google: Because if you build it, they will not come unless your website is optimized organically for search engines.

Local and National Media Coverage: From trade publications to profile stories in the IBJ and Indianpaolis Star, to features in the Chicago Tribune and Wall Street Journal, to interviews or features on Inside Indiana Business, Fox morning shows, evening news shows and ABC Evening News.

Brochures, eNewsletters, Blogs, Case Studies, Direct Mail, Social Media posts and even Books. I write on my clients’ behalf, whether that is a blog post, a sales letter or an advertising headline.

How can I help you with your marketing initiatives?

Filed Under: Blogging, Branding, Marketing Plans, Marketing Strategy, Public Relations, Search Engine Optimization, Website Development

Why Consistent Marketing is a Key to Success

January 2, 2010 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Have you ever gone to the gym on a Monday and quit going on Friday because you hadn’t seen the results on the scale? You need to give it more time, right? It’s the same with our marketing activities.

PR: If you get one media placement, you might get more. Or, if you haven’t yet landed that front page story, keep on pitching, and someday you will.

Email: People save/read my email newsletters for months and even years sometimes, but may not call me unless they have a specific need. But sending them communication anyway keeps my name top-of-mind when they do have a need.

Web: Links stay online for a long time. The efforts you make now / articles you post on your blog or website now may result in a great web lead months later from a web keyword search. So keep adding content and keeping things fresh.

Ads: The more exposure your brand/name gets in the marketplace, and the more repetition, the more awareness you’ll get and the more likely you’ll get a response.

These were just a few ideas. The bottom line is that the more you do in the way of marketing, the more lasting impact you’ll have for your business. Just because you think one tactic doesn’t work, keep on marketing. You never know what will be in store for you in the future.

Filed Under: Advertising, Email Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Public Relations, Website Development

How the Internet can make your small business a “big business”

August 24, 2008 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Warning: Companies on the Web may appear Larger than they Are

One thing I love about the Web is how easily the “little guys” can compete with the “big guys.” With a good business presence online, you can commute down the hall in your house slippers to your home office, and no one is the wiser. Here are some ways your business can “look bigger” online:

1. A professional-looking website: It doesn’t have to be flashy or expensive and can still look as good as your nearest competitor’s. With all of the design talent out there, you can easily obtain a nicely designed or redesigned website for less than you might think.

2. Well-written website copy: Don’t overlook the value of a well-crafted marketing message on your website. Many large companies have in-house experts that handle marketing copywriting. If you don’t have the time or the written word isn’t your thing, have someone else put an objective, customer-focused spin on your site to give your content a professional feel.

3. A search-engine optimized website: Many companies have achieved great success through search engine optimization (SEO), the art and science of building your website to rank highly on Google and other directory keyword searches. An optimized site has an equal shot of being ranked #1 on Google for a particular search term as its nearest competitor, so it’s a level playing field.

4. A company well-represented online: whether you write and publish informational articles that link back to your website, send out press releases to national and online wire services, or receive positive media coverage through public relations efforts, use the Web to showcase your popularity online with an online news room. It will not only help your SEO efforts, but it will also position you as an expert to journalist and prospects who visit your website. You’ll look like a larger company with a major PR budget with a few of these simple tricks.

There are many other ways you can utilize the Web to compete. If you try any of these tactics, don’t be surprised if people start thinking you’re a much bigger company.

Filed Under: Advertising, Budget Marketing, Business, Marketing Strategy, Search Engine Optimization, Website Development

How Good PR Can Help Your SEO Results

March 7, 2008 By Susan Young Leave a Comment

Have you exhausted all of your search engine optimization strategies and you’re looking for a way to boost your website’s popularity and drive additional traffic?

You may not have thought about it before, but actually public relations (PR) is a great way to increase your natural/organic search engine results. And even better news – you don’t have to be a Fortune 500 company to benefit from PR services.

With the vast amount of information published online, you too can gain valuable press, which can boost your website traffic, and eventually lead to more sales. It’s a natural next step after you’ve launched your website, performed SEO and tried other marketing methods such as pay-per-click advertising.

How it works:

First, you write a press release, educational article or case study and submit it to your list of reporters in your targeted media (or have someone like AimFire Marketing do this for you). Once you receive media coverage, the particular media outlet (newspaper, magazine, website or blog) posts the story (or a copy of your press release) on their website or online news room. These stories should (in most cases) include a link back to your website. Make sure to include a blurb at the end of your press release or article with information about your company and a link to your website.

Search engines like Google and Yahoo assign a value to the popularity of your website, so the more websites that link to you, and the more popular those websites are, the higher your website will rank. The SEO term for this is called Link Building.

So if you’re struggling with search engine optimization and wondering what other tactics you might use, give PR a try, and you might find that your search engine rankings improve.

Filed Under: Marketing-Mix, Public Relations, Search Engine Optimization, Website Development

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