Native Advertising: What it is and how to implement it

The spring of 2012 marked the birth, or should I say “rebirth” of the native advertising debate.

You see, a lot is riding on the way online advertising will be executed in the coming years.  Billions of dollars, oodles of brownie points for the marketing intelligentsia, and unlimited prestige for those who make the right call.

But I digress…

Defining Native Advertising

For us mere mortals, a useful working definition of native advertising (NA) would help, so here goes:

Native advertising is an advertising tactic that emphasizes value-added, relevant content without denying its traffic-generating and monetizing goals or interfering with the overall user experience.

As banners, pre-roll video and pop-up ads delivery fewer and fewer clicks and even less genuine prospects for businesses, more marketers are looking to native advertising as the new savior.  Apparently, it is catching on, as some of the best known native advertising examples come from the “Who’s Who” of the Internet:

• Sponsored Stories or Suggested Pages (Facebook)
• Promoted Videos (WordPress blogs)
• Promoted Tweets (Twitter)
• Paid Discovery (StumbleUpon)

Open versus Closed Native Advertising

While the current fascination with native advertising seems entirely organic in nature, there is some structure taking hold.  Many large and better known websites (Amazon.com), as well as iTunes are the best examples of closed native advertising. i.e. the creation, integration, and promotion of content within a specific platform only.

On the other hand, there are a growing number of social websites (e.g. StumbleUpon) that are open, since their advertising model allows users to discover outside content from websites like YouTube while being promoted through native ads.

How radical is Native Advertising, really?

Native advertising can have many forms: sponsored ads, video, interactive graphics, photo montages, web films.  On the surface, it appears all encompassing, well-suited to the Internet, and a prime alternative to traditional display (“In your face”) web advertising.

Not surprisingly, many skeptics and “Madison Avenue” traditionalists hold the view that there is nothing special about native advertising.  It’s merely a rehash of how things have been done in ad circles for generations, albeit without the modern digital orientation.

Still, a number of respected organizations like Forbes, Mashable, and TechCrunch have conducted surveys indicating potential double digit growth in native advertising buys in 2013 over 2012.  It also seems to be a popular marketing tool amongst venture capitalists, angel donors, and other looking to take advantage of this cutting edge marketing option.[1]

What’s NA’s Relationship with Public Relations (PR)?

It appears that promotion and native advertising go hand-in-hand within the marketing lexicon.  If it can be promoted (e.g. videos, websites, listings, music playlists, images), it can be part of an advertiser’s NA strategy.   Doesn’t that sound like PR?  Being non-intrusive and well-integrated in the user’s trusted space is what public relations are about.  Therefore, can we call native advertising just the digital form of PR?

Conclusion

Making native advertising work for your organization demands strategies worthy of the ever-changing, competitive online business world that now exists.  A winning strategy involves many elements, so just in case you are not a marketing Einstein yet (!) take stock of some tried and true tactics:

• If you are part of a medium to large-size organization, thoroughly review your long-term web advertising strategy with the communications team.
• Don’t be afraid to research and hire freelance journalists, bloggers, photographers and others to make your native ad stand out – in a gentle manner, of course.
• Consult with and engage top talent from outside your “normal” peer group: content specialists, public relations agencies, etc. that can help you think outside the box.

For further reading: Dan Greenberg, “A Framework for the $10B+ Native Advertising Market.”, http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/30/a-framework-for-the-10b-native-advertising-market/, 30 June 12, Accessed 04 Apr 13.

How to Snatch Great Titles and Headlines Out of Thin Air Using The Infinite Monkey Theorem

Have you ever noticed the titles on the show Big Bang Theory? Most shows have titles and I never give them a passing glance, but Big Bang Theory has the best titles ever – like The Egg Salad Equivalency and The Closet Reconfiguration.

What makes their titles so great? First, they are funny. But I think what makes them so successful (and memorable) is that they make you wonder what’s going to happen in that episode. And that sense of suspense is one of the things that makes a great title.

In business titles and headlines are even more important than they are on TV. A good headline can make an advertising campaign. And a good title will get your content read.

How To Come Up With Compelling Titles and Headlines

Lots of people try to use a variation of the Infinite Monkey Theorem when creating titles. According to Wikipedia, this theorem states “a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare.”

I’ve seen people just pound away at the keyboard and try to come up with something. Or they sit at a blank screen waiting for inspiration to strike. I used to use this same Infinite Monkey Theorem approach as well (and never came up with much of anything good). But I realized that if I put a little bit of time and a little bit of skill into it I could get much better results.

Here are my top tips for writing headlines, product names, and titles that really work.

1.     Write your body copy/product description first

This tip has saved me many countless hours of staring at a computer screen. If I need to get a writing project done and don’t have a title or headline then I’ll sit down and write out the “body copy” first. This is the bulk of the email/sales letter/product description. Once I’m done writing that out I take a look at the content and pull out the most compelling phrase or phrases and create my title or headline out of that.

2.     Survey your customers and use THEIR words

One of my favorite methods for building successful products and sales campaigns is to really get to know my customers. I often use surveys to help me do this. People will answer all kinds of questions in a survey. And nothing is really off limits.

By keeping some of my questions open ended and having my prospects write in answers I get some golden headlines. I just look for themes of what people are saying and then craft those themes into a headline or title. By looking at what my prospects are saying and repeating their language back to them I create headlines and titles that they relate to and that bring in far more sales.

3.     Use the magic of micro-scripts

A micro-script is a little, repeatable phrase that people say over and over again. One of the best micro-scripts I’ve ever come across is the one that launched the Kleenex tissue brand.  It was the “don’t put your cold in your pocket” campaign. You can see it here. At this point everyone still used cloth handkerchiefs and the image and rhythm of that simple phrase created an entire new product category. How cool is that?

Learning how to write micro-scripts with that kind of power is actually very simple.  Bill Schley put together a brilliant little book call The Micro-Script Rules. And it is one of the easiest to read and easiest to implement copy writing books I’ve ever read. It will also make it much easier for you to write great headline and titles.

4.  Cheat (use a swipe file)

There are tons of talented people out there writing headlines and titles all the time.  So pay attention. Create a document and copy and paste titles and headlines that catch your eye. Take screenshots of great sales pages with headlines you admire, and start putting them all in a document together. Then when you get stuck, pull one from your swipe file and modify to your needs.

5.  Use Numbers

This is a tried and true method, but it works. People like lists and they also like bite sized pieces of information. So include a number in your title or headline and see what kind of results you get. Here are a few ways to start.

• 7 ways to…
• 5 things that…
• 4 ________ you must avoid
• 10 mistakes that ________ make
• The 3 Top….

Using numbers may seem simple, but it’s one of those tricks that really works well.

6.     Start with a crazy phrase and build from there.

That’s what I did with this article. I knew that I wanted to use Infinite Monkey Theorem in a title and I knew that I wanted to teach you how to easily write titles and headlines. So I figured out a tie in and put it in the title. You can do this with nearly any phrase you come across if you have a little practice.

7.     Practice.

The best way to get good at writing headlines and titles is to practice. Start every morning and write down 3 new titles or title ideas using some of the 6 techniques above. Don’t worry if they aren’t very good to start. They’ll get better as you go along and you’ll be amazed at the results.

It can be super intimidating trying to come up with a title or headline idea out of thin air, but if you use one or more of the above tips it gets much, much easier, and your titles will really shine.

Autoresponder Madness Review – Why It Works (and the One Big Downside)

Andre Chaperon’s AutoResponder Madness – Why It Works (and the One Big Downside)

When Charlie Sheen had his famous meltdown in 2011, and totally dissed Two and a Half Men, there were dire predictions that the show would soon be over.

But Chuck Lorre had a trick up his sleeve. It was a trick that great storytellers have been using since the dawn of time. He turned what could have been disaster into one of the biggest opportunities the show ever had.

He went public with the fact that he was firing Charlie Sheen and replacing him with Ashton Kutcher. And he said that all would be revealed in the 2011 season premier.

Lorre brilliantly used what is known as an Open Loop.  And the 2011 season premiere of Two and a Half Men had a record 29 million viewers. The most any show opener had since 2005. And it wasn’t an accident. It was the masterful work of a skilled story teller.

What does this have to do with AutoResponder Madness?

The art of storytelling isn’t limited to TV sitcoms. If you use it in your emails you will make far more money, have a rabid fanbase, and enjoy your business a whole lot more. AutoResponder Madness teaches you this art in a systematic, easy to follow format.

The money is in the list?

Marketers always hear “the money is in the list”. But there are very few people who tell you how to actually make money from your list. Most marketers use what is known as a *churn and burn* technique. They hammer their list with offers until the people on the list unsubscribe or start ignoring them. Churn and burn can work, but is becoming less and less effective all the time.

Andre Chaperon (author of AutoResponder Madness) approaches communicating with your list from a very different perspective.  His training gives you the power of the great storyteller. Chuck Lorre understands this power. So does Stephen King, James Patterson, and even Stephen Hawkings. That’s why these authors sell so many books. They know how to tell a great story.

A great story is both an art and a skill, and when you know how to leverage story-telling to create compelling content you can leverage an email list in ways that the *churn and burn* people can only dream about. A list of 500 people can suddenly compete with a list of 9,000 in terms of responsiveness and the ability to generate revenue.

What’s included in Auto Responder Madness?

AutoResponder Madness is a course with 4 chapters. Each chapter has 5 to 6 “bite sized” lessons. These lessons cover profiling your audience (the most important step in any marketing campaign) to advanced story-telling hacks. They take you step by step through the story telling process, and show you how to structure your email campaign in a way that is nearly guarantees your results.

My favorite section is chapter 2. This is the powerful Soap Opera Sequence section. It shows you step-by-step how to weave a compelling story line into your email sequence. This section alone has been worth thousands of dollars to my business.

What if I can’t write?

I’m going to tell you a secret. Most of the best marketers I know who write really, really well didn’t start out that way – including myself and Andre. In fact, Andre has dyslexia and is widely regarded as one of the best email writers in the world.

You don’t have to be a brilliant writer in order to create high-quality email sequences that convert. You only really need three traits.

1. A willingness to learn.
2. A willingness to practice.
3. A desire to give great value to your prospects and customers.

If you have those three traits, then AutoResponder Madness will be a great fit for you.  And if you follow it, it will have the power to transform your business.

Who should buy AutoResponder Madness?

Email marketing should be the cornerstone of nearly any businesses marketing campaign. Small businesses, authors, info-marketers, and anyone else who has an audience they need to reach will benefit from Auto-Responder Madness.

Any downsides?

There is one downside to AutoResponder Madness. It doesn’t teach you how to build your list (get people subscribed to your autoresponder in the first place).

This can be a major obstacle if you don’t have list when you start implementing the AutoResponder Madness lessons. That’s why I put together a special bonus just for my readers.

AutoResponder Purchase Bonus

When you buy AutoResponder Madness from one of the links on this page, I will send you a special bonus – ListBuilding 101.

ListBuilding 101 is a step-by-step guide that will show you how to get people subscribed to your autoresponder list.  I’ll show you:

• What secret image works to boost your sign up rate by 30% or more.
• How to install a sign up form on your site the quick and easy way.
• How to write a killer headline to get people to subscribe.
• What a “lead magnet” is and how to use one effectively in your business.
• How to get the traffic you need to get subscribers.

In order to claim your free copy of ListBuilding101 forward your receipt to me and I’ll get the ListBuilding101 guide out to you right away.

Where to buy AutoResponder Madness:

Andre is well-known for cutting off access to his programs once he has the amount of subscribers he wants. So I don’t know how much longer AutoResponder Madness will stay open. You can currently order it here.

If the link to buy isn’t available make sure to leave a comment on the first page. By leaving a comment you’ll be notified when the course becomes available again.

AutoResponder Madness is the course that top marketers use to boost their email response rate and make far more money from their lists. I highly recommend it (if you can get in).

Aweber Autoresponder Review – Is Aweber the Right Autoresponder for You?

Email autoresponders are a lot like Lamborghinis and Yugos.

Let me explain…

I saw an ad recently about a company that lets you drive laps in their Lamborghini for $500 or so. And I thought, “That would REALLY be fun.”  Lamborghini’s are amazing, high-tech cars. They go fast and they look like something out of a sci-fi movie. Doing laps in one would be an experience I would remember forever. Zoom. Zoom. (Hmmm… maybe I should book one of those driving experiences for myself).

But, buying one to drive every day is a different story all together. Lamborghini’s run around $200,000 or so. And while it would be fun to drive one for a day, taking one on Route 422 into King of Prussia (and then trying to park it without getting it scratched) seems like a bit of overkill for my everyday life.

On the other hand, I do like a NICE driving experience and don’t want to drive around in a stripped down car without ANY amenities at all. That’s not very fun and doesn’t make for a good experience. So, typically I buy the best car I can comfortably afford and that will meet my needs. Not a Lamborghini, but also not a Yugo (remember those death traps?).

When you buy an email marketing solution, or autoresponder,  you also want to buy what will suit your needs.

There are some seriously souped up autoresponders out there. These tend to be expensive and come with a HUGE learning curve. There are also some “freebie” types that I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole, because they won’t grow with your business the way you will need them to.

That’s where Aweber comes in. Aweber is a ‘just right’ email marketing solution that is easy to learn, easy to implement, and doesn’t cost a lot of money.

Why pay for an autoresponder service?

Email marketing is one of the best ways to reach an audience. It allows you to develop a personal relationship with people that isn’t available with most other mediums. But there are a lot of rules when it comes to email marketing. These are called the CAN SPAM rules and you MUST comply with them.

You can choose to set this up and try to comply with them all yourself (which is difficult and time consuming), or you can pay a company that is expert at it to do it for you. Aweber is one of these companies. They will make sure that your emails comply with all the regulations. Plus they have a lot of features that allow you to easily set up your marketing campaigns and have them run on autopilot.

What’s so special about Aweber?

Not all autoresponder companies are created equal. Aweber really stands out from the crowd in several areas.

• Ease of use. Aweber is easy to set up and manage.
• Customer service. Aweber has live help by chat and by phone and the people who are in customer service are very knowledgeable. If you don’t know how to use any part of the service just ask them and they’ll give you a prompt courteous answer.
• Deliverability. When you use Aweber your emails will get through. This is super important. If your emails aren’t delivered your autoresponder campaign won’t work. And you spend too much time and money getting those subscribers for them not to get your emails. That’s why good deliverability is so important.

How much does Aweber cost?

The service starts at just $19 a month for up to 500 subscribers. They always let you send unlimited emails and the price goes up as your subscriber base goes up. So it grows with you as you grow your business.

You can get your first month for just $1 by clicking here. This allows you to *test drive* their services so you can see if they are a good fit for you.

What are the downsides?

The only real downside to Aweber is that they don’t have automatic list segmentation. When you do email marketing it is a good idea to create smaller sub-lists that have specific interests. These are sub-lists that you market specific types of products and services to.

For instance, if you have a business that sells ski equipment you may want to know whether or not your customer has children and then send them the new line of kid’s skis that your company just developed. In order to do this in Aweber, you need to have them sign up to a new autoresponder using an autoresponder form. This is a perfectly good way to segment your list, but is not as elegant or as easy as tagging.

If you want to use tagging to segment, there is another service that integrates really nicely with Aweber – AW Pro Tools.  AW Pro Tools allows you to tag subscribers when they click on your links.  This means that if a customer clicks on a link that shows your new line of kid’s skis you can instantly put them in another list and then send emails based on that specific interest. It’s pretty powerful!

This type of tagging has only been available with very expensive “Lamborghini” email marketing solutions in the past. And it puts Aweber on steroids. To watch a video of how this works go here.

If you are just starting out with email marketing, then I don’t recommend that you get AW Pro Tools right away.  Just get started with Aweber first.  As you continue to use it more and more in your business, you might eventually have a need for it down the road – add it on then.  But if you are a little more experienced, and you know you will want to segment your list, check it out. It creates tagging functionality within Aweber at a fraction of the cost of those “Lamborghini” solutions.

How to purchase Aweber.

The best way to buy Aweber is to go directly to their website. You can get the $1 one month trial and give them a test drive to see if you like the service. When it comes to email marketing Aweber is an excellent solution.

GoToWebinar Review: Internet Marketing and Training Webinars Made Easy

Veteran Internet marketers, do you recall the bad old days of setting up conference calls and teleseminars to promote your latest products and services?

Setting up enough phone lines (trunks and bridges, anyone?), manually contacting your warm list to get them to your call, then frantically following up with e-mails to ensure your investment was not in vain?

All for a purely voice presentation (no visuals) that you knew listeners would regularly tune out from?

Sound familiar?

The Dawning of the Webinar Era

Fortunately, thanks to internet technology, traditional teleconferences are giving way to modern, flexible web-driven seminars (“webinars”) that better hold your prospects’ attention and make for a better all-round experience.

At the forefront of this webinar revolution is Citrix Online’s GoToWebinar (GTW), an extension of its popular GoToMeeting software.

GTW builds on GoToMeeting’s reputation for ease of use and optimal information exchange.  Set-up is relatively simple, even though you need to download the GoToMeeting software and have Java installed on your personal device.  Its web-based instructions and video tutorials are easy to follow, allowing you and your audience to fully appreciate the webinar experience, thanks to many special features:

A. Presenter Features:

• Form-based, full-service registration.
• Customizing branding (i.e. hosted registration pages, professional-looking e-mail invitations)
• Practice sessions for yourself, co-hosts, guest speakers, etc.
• Various audio options (e.g. VoIP, toll-free telephone lines).
• Real-time screen sharing.
• Optional toll-free service.

B. Attendee Features:

• Self-serve registration on web-based forms.
• Reminder e-mails.
• Calendar integration via Microsoft Outlook.
• Various audio participation options (i.e. live or recorded for later use)

and much, much, more…

High Definition Videoconferencing

An increasingly popular feature is Citrix’s high definition (HD) video conferencing option, HDFaces that allows presenters to further engage their audience and stand out from the crowd.  For example, you can share your screen with up to six presenters/panelists simultaneously, and perform real-time product and service demonstrations.

HDFaces (currently free with Citrix’s one-hundred attendee plan) also makes employees, suppliers, and others feel part of the action when major corporate decisions are announced.

Thanks to HDFaces, GoToMeeting/GTW won at least five (5) industry-level awards in 2012 alone, including the prestigious Edison Gold Award in the Business/Communications category.

Is GTW really for me?

GTW has posted a number of video testimonials from a variety of business professionals, some of which may resonate with your own experience and needs.

Starting at $79 USD per month (Annual plan), GoToWebinar is well within reach for most businesses, including the stereotypical “solopreneur” working out of his basement!  However, if you are skeptical about whether it can respond to your present needs, Citrix offers a 30-day free trial, which includes:

• Unlimited online webinars, each with up to 100 attendees.
• Audio via telephone and/or microphone and speakers.
• Free product training and 24/7 support.
• Instant meetings with GoToMeeting.

That should be enough enticement to get your fingers dirty (or have someone get their fingers dirty with the software on your behalf, LOL!).

GTW gives internet marketers the power to create instant products, i.e. the webinars themselves!  Just imagine, PowerPoint presentations, YouTube videos, and actual demonstrations during one session can be sold alone or as part of a greater offer over and over again.

And yes, prospects can now attend GTW webinars on iPad, iPhone, and Android devices (N.B. As of this writing, still awaiting news about Blackberry 10 compatibility).

Conclusion

Webinars are one of the best tools for evening the playing field for small-to-medium sized businesses.  GTW is an established product you can have confidence in.  It offers both PC and Mac support, and in response to some earlier criticism, has recently revamped its webinar mobility.

Still think that GTW is only meant for blue-chip, global corporations?  In the Internet Age, every company is a global company, and your ability to reach prospects and customers is no longer limited by geography.  It only makes sense to be fully equipped to compete.

Citrix and the GoToWebinar brand are not the only game in town, but it is among the few online service options that can cater to a wide array of business and marketing needs.  It is the logical step-up from GoToMeeting, and can be a vital piece of your customer-oriented internet marketing toolkit in the years to come.

If using webinars as a sales vehicle, training mechanism, or marketing tool isn’t already a part of your marketing mix I highly recommend trying out GoToWebinar and seeing how easy it is to add this powerful tool to your business.

How to Make Google Hate Your Blog in Three Simple Steps

Guest Post by Pat Marcello

Search engines are great for business.  If you do things right, you’re in for some great free, targeted traffic that only search engines can provide. However, if you do things the wrong way… You could find yourself booted from the results pages or even de-indexed from the search engine completely.

What does that mean?

It means that even if someone goes to Google, for example, and types in your exact URL, Google won’t have a result to show them. This is something you definitely want to avoid!  Though I haven’t found any hard statistics on this, I have read that some 70% of Web users type a search query into the address bar, rather than the actual URL.

Why?

It’s easier. Instead of going through the “http://www” part, people just type “Amazon” into Google and it’s the first result.  Since many browsers’ address bars are also now search query boxes, it’s happening more than ever. And think about it: If they’re typing your brand into Google and it’s not showing up at all? Your competitors are getting your business.

Being indexed in Google is very important, if you want to do business online.

Knowing all of that, you’re now probably worried. What can I do to be sure that Google won’t drop my brand? How will I know if I’m doing something so heinous that Google will boot my brand right into the nether?

Here are   things that Google really hates and that can cause you to be de-indexed, at least until you clean up your act and ask politely for reinstatement, which depending on the severity of the offense may never come. Don’t do these things, no matter WHAT you’ve been told:

1.  Linking schemes

The way to rise in the search engine results pages (SERPs) is to gather backlinks to your website. A backlink is when webmaster B links to webmaster A’s site, and search engines consider these backlinks a “vote” for your site. The more backlinks or votes you have, the higher your Web page will rise in the SERPs. Google wants this to happen naturally and as a result of your creation of killer, linkable content on your website, not because you paid someone to add a link for you. NO.

A few years ago, buying links was OK. Then, around 2007-2008, Google put its spidery foot down and said, “YOUSHALL NOT PASS!” just like Gandalf. Swear.  They didn’t like the fact that webmasters could go to link brokers and buy a bunch of links on pages with high authority. They saw it as “gaming the system,” and just like the Balrog in The Two Towers, they soon cracked the whip on any sites that they saw doing it.  And the whip flew in both directions. People selling other webmasters links on their websites were crushed by its blows, too.

In 2013, any kind of link manipulation is a HUGE no-no.  Google hates anything that smells like gaming their results. Last year, they also crushed “link wheels,” which were systems of building links among members of the wheel or linking system.   So, webmaster A would link to a page on webmaster B’s site, and webmaster B would link to a page on webmaster C’s site and so on. Bad business.

Today, most anything you do to make Google think you have more “votes” for your site than you actually should will get you booted from the system.

2.  Content Scraping

Content scraping is where you go to another site and merely copy the information and paste it into your own website. For example, you might like what Wikipedia has to say about a topic, and you might think it’s OK to just copy that text, verbatim, and paste it to your website.

It’s not, and it really never was.  It’s plagiarism, and Google put a stop to it with the Panda update last year.  This algorithm filter, which they run periodically, looks for scraped content and also duplicate content.

Duplicate content is any content that exists elsewhere on the Internet. It can hurt you the most if you add duplicate content to your own website, such as posting a blog entry to your front page just because you’re too lazy to write something fresh.

Duplicate content on other parts of the Web used to be OK, too. Google didn’t penalize it for you, but they didn’t give you credit for more than one example of it, either. This wasn’t really good for anyone, either, as the original author of the content may not have been the one that had Google credit for what they had labored over to write.

Now, all duplicate content is bad. Never place the same article on your blog, into an article directory (which Google now considers to be “content farms,” more or less), and into LinkedIn at the same time, for example. Bad idea!

Keep everything you write for the Web 100% unique.  If you write an article for LinkedIn, post it only to LinkedIn. You can post a link to that article on your blog, but not the article in entirety. It just won’t work.

3.  Link cloaking

If you show one page to human visitors and another to search engine spiders, this is known as cloaking and is another MAJOR Google peeve.   Several years ago, you could crank out a page, stuffed with keywords for your niche, everywhere possible and show it to spiders, while writing a readable page for human eyes. Yes, people really got away with that stuff.

Not today! If Google catches you doing it – SPLAT! You just hit the skids, my friend, and that will absolutely get you kicked out of Google.

There you have it. Though these aren’t the ONLY three things you can be de-indexed for, these are the major nasties.

If you’ve already done some of this without knowing it was bad for you, you can recover. Get rid of the paid links or links acquired via link wheels.  Remove the duplicate content from your site, and if you have any sneaky redirects sending visitors to one page while spiders see another, remove them.

Then, be oh so penitent. Write to Google, explain that you were being a silly newbie and that you will never do such things again, and they’ll relent – some time.

And then again, maybe not.

For more information on what Google wants and doesn’t want, visit Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide here. It will give you all the best practices to follow that will keep you humming along and out of the spider traps.

If you don’t want to do the SEO yourself, that’s what Pat’s company MagnaSites.com is for. Visit for a free SEO evaluation and more information about search engine optimization, something she’s been studying for the last 9 years.

Twitter Marketing: Four “Out of the Box” Twitter Marketing Tactics

Twitter, the phenomenal social media and microblogging website is closing in on its first decade of operation.

Amazingly, this well-established social media darling is still a mystery to business entrepreneurs who are still trying to figure out what the all the fuss is about.

While “Bigger than Life” entertainment personalities and media conglomerates have successfully made Twitter a big part of their marketing mix, one can’t help but wonder if smaller “bricks and mortar” companies and e-commerce websites are being shortchanged in the Twitter revolution.

Maybe business owners just don’t get it?

Fortunately, most if not all of Twitter’s marketing tactics are accessible and doable regardless of company size.  Whether you are working from a basement office or a corporate penthouse suite in the clouds, the following four (4) tactics will get you closer to your business goals:

1. Combining SEO with Twitter.

In the past, search engine optimization (SEO) and Twitter were part of separate marketing universes.  SEO was more “hard core” and technical in how it approached your website rankings.  On the other hand, Twitter was the epitome of touchy-feely, social media-based relationship-building.

That’s no longer the case!  Recently, major search engines like Google and Bing have tweaked their website quality measurement criteria to validate social media use.  Now, if enough people post positive comments about your sites on Twitter (quality frequency), your score will improve accordingly.

In other words, get enough people to like your content and share it with others (see next section) via Twitter to benefit from better search rankings as well as increased website traffic.

Search engines are also placing more value on the authority of links posted on your Twitter account.

2. “Retweets”- the modern, “cleaner” version of link building…

Link building has a somewhat notorious history, what with link farms, unauthorized link trading, excessive spamming, e-mail scams etc.

However, Twitter offers business people a simpler, safer and more effective way to share company information.  Thanks to the ubiquitous retweet icon, your website or blog can become a great jumping-off point to get more followers, more prospects, and ultimately more sales.

Retweets are a great promotional tool.  For example, Ezinearticles.com offers its list subscribers ready made motivational quotes, article writing tactics, and other juicy tidbits in tweetable form.  Not only do these phrases promote the Ezinearticles brand, but they help consolidate its ‘expert’ status among writers and readers alike.

3. Taking it to the next level – attracting friends of your followers and followers of your friends.

All too often, new entrepreneurs (not to mention established companies) are not proactive enough when it comes to growing their Twitter list beyond the first level.  Sure, it’s great that long-time customers and followers keep up with your activity.  However, why not encourage your core group to spread the word?

Failing to go beyond Level 1 not only limits your marketing potential, but prevents you from gaining instant followers who likely share similar tastes and buying preferences.

Make your tweets as shareable as possible by:

• Being human and conversational in tone.
• Welcoming feedback and interaction from new followers.
• Relating to your audience’s everyday needs and concerns.

4. Using Twitter to go visual and viral.

These days, any marketing strategy worth its salt must include a visual social media strategy component.

While Twitter use remains centered on those one-hundred forty characters of text, image marketing has begun to play a greater and greater role.  Driven to match the robustness of Facebook (Instagram), Pinterest and others, the site allows greater photo and video-sharing than ever before.

For your next campaign, consider something that drives customers to tweet photos with them holding or using your company’s latest offering (e.g. think Blackberry Z10 or the latest McDonald’s health food fad).  Seeing others use your service can help you drive sales and get more people under your tent!

Conclusion.

Twitter is useful for more than just announcing who the next Pope is!  It continues to evolve at a frantic pace, so businesses must stay focused and avoid throwing up their hands when faced with daily marketing onslaughts.

Stay on the ball!  Keep your long-term business aspirations in mind when planning out the next stage of company growth.  The key to Twitter success, as with all forms of social media, is to engage prospects/followers with rich, seductive content that leaves them wanting more…

Oh, and be sure to retweet this article on Twitter or share it on any of your favorite social networks as well!

How to Leverage these Big 7 Social Media Sites to Grow Your Business

What Can a Palm Tree in Pennsylvania Teach You About Social Media Marketing?

Walking through the woods at Valley Forge National Park is an amazing experience. The trees tower above you (some of them probably saw George Washington in camp during the Revolutionary War). There are maples and birches and even a few giant sycamore trees. The smaller plants, like mountain laurel, thrive under this canopy.

If you walk quietly, you may even see the animals that flock to this natural habitat.  There are ruffed grouse, deer, chipmunks, and raccoons to name a few. If you are ever in the area Valley Forge National Park is a place you really should visit.

But for all of the amazing plant and animal life that’s there, there are some things I’ve never seen while strolling through those woods.  For example, I’ve never seen a palm tree growing among the towering birches and maples.  And there is a simple reason; palm trees don’t grow in Pennsylvania. They need a much different environment (like Florida where my dad lives and I visit often).

When you are using content across the world wide web, you actually run into similar rules.  Different environments require different approaches to making an impact with your customers. This is called native advertising.  You have to find the right “ecological” fit to where you are placing your content.

For instance, most of the time you can’t take the same messaging you use on LinkedIn and transfer it to Facebook, and what works on Facebook probably won’t work on Instagram. But if you get the messaging right for each platform, social media marketing is a superb way to engage your audience and get your message out.

There are several things to think about when launching a social media marketing campaign.  Here are five.

#1. Don’t try to master EVERY platform.

For most small businesses mastering one or two platforms (sometimes 3) where you can really begin to generate a following is a much smarter approach than trying to use them all. There are currently the social media Big 7 – Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube to consider. Plus a huge variety of smaller sites.

To start, take a look at your target audience. If you market mostly B2B then LinkedIn is probably a good fit. If you have a very visual product line or a lifestyle product, you may want to consider marketing more on Pinterest and Instagram, which both encourage photo sharing. You can find information about the demographics that each of the big 7 serve by going to Quantcast.com.

Once you have your target market and platform(s) that you want to promote on nailed down, it’s time to move onto the next step.

#2. Look at what people are doing successfully on that site.

Most sites have a section where the most popular videos, pictures, or posts are being shared. These vary from site to site. Before you start putting together your native advertising campaign take a look at what other people are doing that is working.

You don’t need to copy them exactly, but having a good idea of what works will really help you refine your messaging and your strategy.

#3. Experiment and Document

One of the advantages of being a small business is that you can move quickly and respond quickly.  Because social media platforms need fresh content pretty much constantly it gives you the ability to experiment and get real market feedback to tune your message.

One approach I like is to develop 4 similar, but slightly different messages, or pictures, or videos and post them to the site that you are working with. Then let them sit for a few days and see which one did the best.

Use that one as your control and test some more ideas. This constant refinement based on real customer feedback will make your marketing much, much more effective.

And remember that content on social media sites doesn’t have to be slick to be effective. In fact, sincere or funny often work better than slick.

#4. Consider using tools to speed up the process

All this social media updating can be time consuming (which is why I recommend that you choose 1 to 3 platforms to start). But thankfully, there are a bunch of companies springing up that help you streamline the process. Contently and Percolate help with content creation and Sharethrough can help with Placements.  And those are just a few of what’s available.

So if you’re getting overwhelmed, go ahead and take a look at some of these companies. They may be able to help.

#5. Create a customer led campaign

This is one of my personal favorite ways to use social media. Because social media is social, when you can get your customers to endorse you or advertise for you, you leverage the power even more.

There is a ski resort in northern Vermont that does exactly this. Jay Peak asks skiers to tag Instagram shots that they believe show exactly what they love about the mountain and skiing there with a “Raised Jay” hashtag.  It gives people who are considering visiting a look at the mountain from the customers eyes and opens up a lot of conversations that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

When you are launching a content campaign (native advertising) on a social media site, remember to keep it relevant to what that site is about.  If your content is engaging and relevant, then it will bring you clients and keep money flowing into your business.

Website Hosting and Philly Cheesesteaks

5 Questions to Ask Your Website Host

I live in the Philadelphia area, and I have a confession to make…  I LOVE Philadelphia cheesesteaks.

Warm, shredded beef piled high with cheese, onions, peppers and gravy (also called red sauce if you’re not from around here).  But the best part is the bun. Cheesesteaks are served on these special buns that are soft and chewy on the inside and have just a bit of resistance on the outside.

They are like a little piece of heaven…. And sometimes I end up craving that taste of home, when I’m not home.

A while back I was traveling for a speaking gig at an event I was craving a cheesesteak.   I made a huge mistake. Instead of waiting till I got back home to get one, I ordered what claimed to be a “Philadelphia cheesesteak” off the menu at the restaurant I was at (dumb, dumb, dumb).

What came to my table wasn’t a Philadelphia Cheesesteak at all.  It tried to be a Philly Cheesesteak, but it just didn’t measure up. The beef wasn’t right. The onions weren’t caramelized. And worst of all, the bread was all wrong.  I could barely eat it.

The people in the restaurant THOUGHT they knew what a Philly Cheesesteak was supposed to be like, but they had no idea. It was described in pretty terms and had all the right stuff on it, but it was some kind of lowly beef sandwich – certainly not the real deal.

Now, that was just a cheesesteak. So I ate it (not very happily) and got on with my life. I also vowed to only ever order Philadelphia Cheesesteaks when in Philly from then on.

So what does a Philly Cheesesteak have to do with you and your online business?  I thought you’d never ask…

When it comes to business decisions, some of them can be quite a bit more critical, and it’s important that you know what you’re ordering right up front (and not to be fooled by pretty descriptions).

One of the places that it’s really important to understand what you’re ordering is website hosting. Hosting is where your website lives online and not all hosting providers are created equal.  If you’re considering a new hosting account, then you want to make sure it has several important features. Because these features can make your hosting amazing or make it really stink.

Here are five questions you should ask any place you are considering hosting your website.

Is your hosting reliable?

This is by far the most important question to ask. You need to know what the uptime is for your host. In other words, how often will your site be off the web because your hosting is down.  Most reputable hosting companies have very high percentage of uptimes. You want it to be 99.9% or greater.

Does your hosting have cPanel?

Not to get too geeky with the technical stuff, but you’ll want to make sure your web host has cPanel.

cPanel is a nifty little interface that lets you do all kinds of things with your website, remotely, from any computer in the world. You can upload and download files. You can see what your visitors have looked at and you can tweak a wide variety of settings. It’s so much better (and easier) than standard FTP – file transfer protocol – that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

But not all hosts have cPanel.  I can think of two very popular, highly advertised hosts that don’t right off the top of my head.  So make sure you ask this question… Do you have cPanel? If the answer is no, run away.

Does your hosting have Fantastico?

Fantastico is a little smiley faced icon that represents a kick-butt program. You can find it in your cPanel.

Fantastico lets you do a bunch of really cool things, but my favorite thing to do with it is install WordPress.  And it lets you do it in just three or four clicks, which is far easier than any other method I’ve come across.  But not all companies that have cPanel have Fantastico (Hostgator is one that does). So be sure to ask.

Is your hosting reasonably priced?

Hosting your website shouldn’t break the bank. Especially when you first start out and don’t have a lot of volume yet.

One of the things you want to think about is price. Usually the very cheapest plans aren’t so good. But there are many plans out there that are under $10 a month that work very, very well.

Can your hosting grow with your business?

This is a super important, but often overlooked question. When you’re starting out, you want the best price, but as you grow you will want faster, better servers that can handle the traffic you are sending them.

The company you choose should have a host of options that allow you to expand. Typically you will start with a starter account, then move to a reseller account, and then possibly dedicated servers. All of this should be offered in house, with simple transitions between each.

My recommendation

There are lots of hosting companies out there, but my favorite it Hostgator. They have kick-but customer service. They do a great job of expanding as you go and they have Cpanel with Fantastico, which lets you easily install WordPress.

Because I like them so much I’ve arranged a discount for you if you decide to host with them.

Here’s all you have to do:

1.  Click here to go to HostGator and purchase a hosting account (I recommend the “baby” plan because it allows you to host an unlimited number of websites)

2.  Use coupon code “incomecoach25” to save an additional 5% off for a total 25% discount.

Doing it right the first time will save you a ton of hassle in the long run. And the best part is that Hostgator is reasonably priced. So you’ll get great hosting at a great price.

Creating Killer Webinars: 5 Questions You Must Answer Before Going Live

That day, I was so nervous. I felt hot and sweaty and almost threw up.

The first time I did coaching via teleseminar (kind of the precursor to webinars), I was scared to death.  I was filling in for one of my mentors and of course the biggest fear was someone would ask a question that I wouldn’t be able to answer. I didn’t want to look stupid.

And even though I had these fears I did the teleseminar anyway.

And then the strangest thing happened. I realized how easy it is to use teleseminars and (then later on) webinars to build a business. They give you this tremendous leverage that you will never get with one on one contact and coaching with customers.

A giant lightbulb went off in my head that day. And from there things started taking off. I started using teleseminars and webinars to rake in cash. It took a bit of learning, but I was amazed at how easy it was after I did one.

Using webinars create explosive growth in your business too. There are lots of options of how to use this technology.

• You can run high ticket group coaching programs (like I have for myself and for other big name gurus).
• You can leverage webinars into major cash driving events.
• You can use them to incrementally create full-fledged products.
• And many more.

All you have to do is do it. Business only happens when you execute!

If you want to use webinars in your business then I have five questions to get you started.

How you are going to use the webinar?

There are many ways that you can use the power of a webinar to build your business. If you are just starting out you can direct people to register for a webinar and then go over your product idea and get real live feedback from your  potential customers.

If you have a product that is working, a webinar is a great pitch tool. Just make sure that you deliver solid content along with the pitch. Nobody likes to be sold to. You want to use the webinar to LEAD them to the purchase. Not ram the purchase down their throats.

Or perhaps you need to create a product. You can sell the product BEFORE you make it, and deliver it via webinar. By selling the product before you actually deliver it, you are able to tailor it specifically to your market first. There is no better proof that someone wants something than the fact that they bought it.

You can also create a $97/$197/$297 a month coaching program, where you deliver the content via live webinar. Coaching programs like this give you a tremendous amount of leverage. They allow your business to be super profitable, while delivering content you really believe in to a receptive audience.

Many business owners use all of these strategies at different stages of their business to boost profits.

What you are going to say?

When it comes to doing a webinar it pays to be prepared.

Webinars have a visual component and the people attending will be able to see your screen. Many people prepare slides in a PowerPoint / Keynote format ahead of time, and then have notes to go with those slides.

I’ve also seen very effective presentations from an outline on a Word document. Sometimes the presenter will draw pictures with a drawing program to explain the concepts as you go along, like Ink2go.

Another option is to do a “show and tell” teaching webinar. This type of webinar lets you show people exactly what you are doing on your screen and works very well for technical instruction.

How are you going to get people to go to the webinar?

If you don’t have a list yet, and are just starting out, it may feel overwhelming getting people to a webinar.

There are several ways to do this. You can partner with other marketers and give them a commission of your sales. You can advertise. You can build a list and then promote the webinar to your list. Don’t worry if you only have 6 people at your first event. You are getting practice at the skills you need for success.

If you already have a list, then you promote your webinar to your list – for the best training on the planet on how to create responsive lists go here.

Prerecorded or live?

You can actually do webinars that look like “live” webinars, but are pre-recorded. This is a great option for the automation of your business.  There are several different solutions out there that can do this.  The one that I personally use and recommend to create automated webinars is Evergreen Business System.  I think it’s very easy to use and extremely affordable compared to the other alternatives that are out there.

If you do go the prerecorded route, I recommend that you still do the first webinar live and record it.  The energy level will be much higher and you’ll be able to carry over that “live” feeling to the recorded version.

What service will you use?

I’ve already talked about the services available for recorded webinars. If you want to do live webinar’s instead of recorded ones, for live coaching or training for instance, then you will want to take a look at GoToWebinar.

GoToWebinar is extremely easy to use and present webinars with, and it has a feature that I love. It automatically sends out emails at predefined intervals to remind people of their webinars. This dramatically increases attendance rates at your event.  They also have great followup functionality as well.

Using webinars as a leverage tool in your business, is a smart move. They can make you a lot of money and they are a lot of fun to do (after you get over the initial fear).