Internet Branding

There are four basic parts to any successful Internet presence; understanding your ideal prospect, a well constructed website, plenty of predisposed visitors and knowing what the competition is up to at all times.

Studies show that only 3% of those visiting a website selling products or services are ready to purchase. That means a relationship has to be built with the other 97% to keep them coming back until they are ready to buy, join or subscribe. That draw might be in the form of information that changes on a regular basis, subscription to a newsletter, RSS feed or blog postings. Visitors might be asked to opt-in to receive promotional, seasonal or sales materials.

“I’ve had the great pleasure of working with John on both a professional and
personal basis. He is a man of high integrity whose focus is on how he can
help others accomplish their goals. As a consultant, John brings excellent
problem solving skills to the table. The more I learn about John’s skill set, the
more I can see him adding value to my company’s web strategies and marketing
objectives. I highly recommend John for his professionalism, follow-through and
creative thinking skills.”
                                 Jeff Synder, President, national executive placement firm

To think you’ll sell to even 1 in 10 first-time visitors to your website is unrealistic based on these numbers. Let’s cover the four basic components of a successful site.

Understanding your ideal prospect

• Identifying your ideal prospect
• Discovering your prospect’s gathering points on the Internet
• Developing and executing a strategy to be “seen in all the right places”

A well constructed website

• Professional look-and-feel
• Audience appropriateness
• Ease of navigation
• Compelling content
• Strong call-to-action
• Obvious decision-making paths
• Right product mix and pricing
• Secure payment processing
• Defined web site goals
• Eye-catching tag lines

See our Website Assessment ($99) offering on our Web Works page if you believe any of the bulleted items are holding your website back. It’s hard to admit to oneself that the baby is ugly; but be honest.

Plenty of predisposed visitors

There are a variety of tactics one might employ to attract the right visitors. Some take patience, some take effort, some take money and some take all three. We have researched the Internet and believe these are the best methods for attracting the ideal prospects to your website.

We quote each service individually or put together packages depending upon your needs, budget and marketing strategy.

Pay-Per-Click– PPC campaigns are popular for some business models and disasters for others. You need to know what you’re doing before creating and launching a PPC campaign. Google AdWords is a popular choice for many businesses not because Google is offering any deals; but because they can produce results. In an AdWord campaign search terms are decided upon and ad verbiage is placed with Google. Google then decides where to place the ad, based on the search terms used, to attract the best prospects. This is a great option for newer websites that have little traffic and fewer sales.

Pay-Per-Lead– Pay-per-lead or PPL’s campaigns are services where they do the advertising to attract the right prospects and you pay for each qualified lead they send you. We have gathered the very best companies in this advertising sector. This service is great for companies with new websites which have not gained the necessary organic power to be placed on Page 1 of the search results.

Community Download Sites — These sites are perfect for new product launches or to get your face in front of your audience. They are also a great source of powerful back links to your site.

Networking Sites– Networking sites like MySpace.com, FaceBook.com and LinkedIn.com all service different audiences and are not for every business model. It all depend if your ideal prospect gathers there. If they do, then you need to have a highly visible presence.

Newsletters or eZines– One might ask, “Do we really need another newsletter?” There are more daily, weekly, bi-weekly and monthly newsletters, or eZines, out there than there are grains of sand on the beaches of the world. Newsletters can and do provide a necessary link between customers and business owners. We can help develop a successful newsletter or eZine that gets read. See our FREE eBook ad at the bottom of this page for more information.

Blogs — A blog is an online journal where users post thoughts, comments or news in a chronological format. Updates are often frequent and done on a regular basis. We compile a list of relevant blogs and make entries on a regular basis. This provides valuable back links to your site.

Forums & Chat Rooms — An online community where users read and post topics of common interest. Updates are often frequent and done on a regular basis. We compile a list of relevant blogs and make entries on a regular basis. This provides valuable back links to your site.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — SEO is obviously a strong ingredient in attracting the ideal prospect. See our service page titled, SEO.

Optimized Press Releases– any company can issue a press release. You might issue one announcing a new product or service, a sales or a move to a new business location. Think about sending one out before and after any significant event. There are dozens of free services as well as others that charge a nominal fee up to hundreds of dollars. We use several services quite successfully. See our FREE eBook ad at the bottom of this page for more information.

RSS Feeds– In laymen’s terms RSS stands for: Real Simple Syndication. It’s the latest way to pass information around the Internet. You can start a blog and then have people subscribe to your feed; much like subscribing to a news service. Every time you post a new entry; they subscribers sees the posting without coming back to visit your blog or website. See our FREE eBook ad at the bottom of this page for more information.

Viral Marketing Techniques – Method for making it easy for your clients or customers to advertise for you. Everyone has heard of the “Email this to a friend” link; you see it everywhere. Well that’s the beginning of viral marketing campaign. There are tactics you can use to help spread the word with little effort on your part. See our FREE eBook ad at the bottom of this page for more information.

Email Blasts(NO SPAM) — See our FREE eBook ad at the bottom of this page for more information.

MicroSites – Think of having more than one listing on Page 1 for any search term. That is what microsites or boutique sites will do for you. Microsites are small web sites that are optimized or targeted for a single audience. Think of selling four different product lines and having a web site dedicated to each. Multiple listings on Page 1 bring in more qualified visitors.

You may notice that we have not listed banner ads among our Internet presence strategies. We do not believe the return for using banner ads justifies the investment.

Competitor Evaluation

This service provides you with a written observation; backed up by plenty of spreadsheet data. We investigate your five closest competitors websites, the search terms they use, whether or not their website is optimized, their Google Page Rank and Alexa ranking, their Google page position (SERP) for your search terms as well as ones they are not yet aware of, their inbound links and a Website Assessment of each of the five sites.

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Read All About It!

There is no better (A.K.A. least expensive - most productive) way to bring qualified, predisposed visitors to your web site than through the use of a “good” newsletter or optimized press release. This eBook takes you through the components, construction and delivery of a newsletter that will have prospects beating down your door. Viral Marketing makes it easy to turn your clients into marketers. Learn the secrets of making it simple for people to help spread your word. Find out what the big corporations have known for years about sending out press releases. We will add search engine optimization to our press releases to make sure people looking for specific information find your press release before your competitions.

Send us an email and we’ll pass along the .PDF link to Read All About It!.

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Killer eZines That Draw Readers

In “Killer eZines that Draw Readers” you’ll learn whether an eZine is right for you and your business model. This ePlaybook layout is easy to read and contains no geek speak. First you’ll notice Resource Meters. There’s no sense in starting something if you don’t have the time, money or talent to get the job done; and done right. These meters are designed to give you an indication as to whether the project; starting and maintaining an eNews publication, will take more money than time and what types of skills will be required.

Next you’ll find the success factors as well as the obstacles to publishing a successful newsletter. That is followed by creating a vision for your newsletter and how success will be defined. We’ll also look at format issues, publication schedules, helpful writing tips and a host of other important factors.

“Killer eZines that Draw Readers” also covers building your readership, email blasts and the yeas and nays of selling advertising. At the end of this ePlaybook we’ll take you through a third One-minute Drill titled, “Reality Check” so you can do a little initial planning, answer some questions and hit the ground writing.

Send us an email and we’ll pass along the .PDF link to Killer eZines that Draw Readers.