Tag Archives: blog

Should I Put My Headshot On My Blog?

eMarketing, Starting Out

I am building a professional business blog. I see many sites with actual Faces on them but as a minority I feel this would be a disadvantage. Even when people think they are not prejudiced they really are. Not intentionally but why should I take a chance? I know a face adds credibility and trust but my gut feeling is to not put a face or put a white face. I plan to monetize the website but I just don’t think I would get taken as serious for my recommendations. What do you think?

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People make judgments on how people look, how they dress, how tall they are, how thin, etc.

If you’re marketing yourself based on what you know, then appearance doesn’t really matter (as opposed to marketing your looks for a modeling job, for example). Instead, focus on providing something of value to your potential customers. That’s what they really care about. How you look helps them put a face to the words.

Should I Send Out Press Releases?

eMarketing, Publicity, , , , , ,

A few months ago I published a new on-line boutique website offering designer laptop bags. I have a small budget and would like to know if there really is any GOOD FREE PR websites; or any PR firms that you could steer me too. I have no experience in this area at all. I have written my own press release but don’t know where OR what to do next.

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Press releases are great for disseminating something new (that may be of interest to the media). However, they’re not a substitute for marketing / advertising.

What I think you want is targeted traffic for your website that converts into customers.

Before you get more traffic, I would encourage you to enhance your website. To actually see a good picture of one of your bags for sale (ignoring the 2 that are on the home page), it took me 3 clicks to get to the page. My suggestion is since you have an ecommerce site, make the site easier to navigate, and quicker to see the merchandise to entice me. For example, when I want to buy bags, I don’t want to read about your bags (which is basically text that you’ve artificially created for the search engines) – I want to see them. Once the site is enhanced, then increase your traffic.

If you don’t have a big budget, then start by doing a keyword investigation to see what people are searching on and what’s (and who’s) ranking well. Given your price point, a PPC campaign may make sense as well.

You also want to get mentioned in the various fashion magazines, blogs, and websites if you have something special/unusual. For the magazines, a targeted press release to the proper editor would be better than an press release “blast”. On blogs, feel free to post something of value and get a backlink. On fashion websites, contact the owner and see if they’d be willing to give you a mention.

Overhauling My Website (And Why You Should Care)

Creative Business Ideas, eMarketing, ,

Engine OverhaulPerhaps you’ve already noticed – I overhauled my website. This is my third rewrite of my site.

Originally I wrote the website using a canned template and site builder software that my web host provided for free. While that worked, it wasn’t a reflection of my business.

I then rewrote the site using Dreamweaver. This software gave me lots of control over the result, but it was a hard learning process.

As I’ve explained to many of my clients who wanted website advice – in addition to budgeting time and money to create the site, you’ll need to also keep the site up-to-date, which is an ongoing expense (since you need to pay a web designer to update the site for you).

Normally, to create a web site, you hire a web designer. A web designer combines the skills of a graphic artist with those of a computer programmer. They write your website in a language like HTML, which describes what goes where on a page on your website. The HTML is stored on your host computer. To create your website, the designer uploads the design to your host. To modify your site, the designer changes the relevant files and re-uploads them.

Recently, there’s a better way to build website, using blog (more formally called CMS = Content Management System) technology. CMS is designed to make it easy to write articles. CMS separates the design of the site from the content. So, you can have someone create the design for you (or do it yourself), and then you can change the content when you want, without the need to hire anyone, or use any special software. Only basic computer expertise is needed.

Since I’ve been answering marketing questions for a while, I realized that I could share some of this information with others. So I created a blog, and tied it into my existing site. It worked fine, but it didn’t look like the rest of the site, so I decided to rewrite my website to use CMS. You’re now looking at the result.

The biggest upside to the new look is that the site is easily searchable (by category, date, keyword, or search phrase). It’s more modern looking, and it’s also easier to change how it looks. I can update the site from anywhere in the world and people can subscribe to the RSS feed.

Overhauling your existing site isn’t for everyone. But the next time you’re planning to have your web designer update your site, you might consider CMS.

How Can I Create An E-Mail Marketing Plan?

eMarketing,

We sell software by Internet

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I’m assuming that your website is up, and keyword-targeted for your audience. That will help people who need you to find you.

For an email campaign the #1 thing you need is to avoid spamming your prospects. Ideally, you have a list of people who want to be contacted about your type of software (that’s the purpose of a sign up form on your website).

If you don’t have such a list, then you’ll need to avoid getting your emails blocked. Follow the ICANN guidelines (http://www.icann.org/faq/) to ensure you don’t get yourself in trouble.

Post relevant information on your software on the various blogs that your audience reads. That will help to generate some targeted traffic (and hopefully get people to opt-in to your email list).

Make your subject line short and to the point. Make your first sentence on who you’re targeting and why (Here are more tips)

Ideally, use contact manager software to measure your email bounce and open rates. Don’t send out all your emails all at once. Split test your emails to make the offer get more results.

How Can I Inexpensively Market A Book?

Products, Publicity, , ,

Do you have an eBook or a physical book? Does the book have an ISBN #?

If you have an ISBN, then Amazon & Google Books are certainly appropriate places to get listed.

If you don’t, then you’ll be self-promoting your self-published book. As a minimum, provide a website for the [e]Book (or a page in your existing website’s store). Provide samples of the book’s contents, as well as price, size, number of pages, etc. You need to build trust in the prospective buyer.

Don’t forget free classified services, such as Craigslist, etc.

If the book is more than a how-to (i.e., it’s a personal story, etc.), then create a press release for it, and distribute it (there are lots of services, such as www.free-press-release.com).

If there are self-contained excerpts, publish them at various article banks online.

To get people interested in your book, post information where your target audience visits online. Likewise, try to get people to link to your book. If you have a blog, announce it.