A website is not an island. It needs help and support from your marketing efforts. Just because you’ve built it doesn’t mean people will automatically come. So you need to promote your website via print ads, marketing materials, business cards, email signatures, phone messages, word-of-mouth, etc. Below are a few examples of how a top-selling magazine draws readers to its website:

1. Make the Most of QR Codes.

Sometimes an ad doesn’t and shouldn’t say it all. It should leave the reader (potential customer) wanting more. A well-placed QR Code can be the door leading to more information. Next to the code, say something like: “For more warning signs, scan this code with your smartphone.”

2. Be Specific.

Sending people to your homepage is great, but sending contest participants to a specialized landing page all about the contest is better. Continue the excitement by sending them specifically where their interest lies. The URL should be short and sweet — just your domain.com/keyword if possible. Or send people to your Facebook, Google+, or Twitter page to get a conversation going.

3. Get Subscribers, Not Just Visitors.

At the end of an article, intentionally leave out some information. Save that privileged information for members, subscribers. Send it to them in a newsletter that also features other helpful tips and product or service suggestions. A subscriber looks forward to receiving something of value from you. And they are that much closer to becoming a customer. Say something like: “Find 9 more ways to get website visitors at domain.com/newsletter”

These are just three ways to direct people to your website from printed materials. What ways have you found to work for you? Share!

How many Twitter followers do you have? How many Facebook fans? Most people have a good idea of their online social popularity. But can you describe how these followers are interacting with your website or blog? How many are actually visiting you and converting to customers?

Track Marketing Campaigns Using the UTM Tag

Google Analytics, free web tracking software, allows you to attach little codes to your links so that you can track just about anything. You can track campaign performance through email newsletter clicks, tweets, banner ads, affiliate programs, pay-per-click, and even offline campaigns. This will help you see which marketing efforts are the most effective and to better target your future campaigns.

You can use Google’s UTM Tag Builder to accomplish this, but I prefer UTM.to because it uses easy, down-to-earth language. You type in your link URL and your campaign details. Little pop-up bubbles tell you how to fill out the short form, and alert you when you’ve messed up the format. You can also get a long or short version of the new tagged-up URL.

Let me know how this works for you.

Okay, a bit of shameless self-promotion never hurt anyone. Hey, it’s my blog! So the following is going to be put into my new ads. It’s adapted from The Web Design Business Kit (www.sitepoint.com). Everytime you try a new online marketing approach, document it. Document how much you spend, how long it runs, who responds and who buys. Here it goes:

Free webinar details the secret to web site success…

Often times web sites are developed by cool designers who have little or no interest or understanding in your business needs. What you need is a website that really works.

Mindspring Design is a cutting-edge web development firm. We know how to make a web site that generates leads, positions your business, and increases customer care.

Specializing in:

• web site development
• improving under-performing web sites
• online marketing

For your FREE Webinar: 9 Steps to Building a Small Business Website, or for your free consultation, call (856) 393-0385.

I’m a big fan of Hubspot’s Internet Marketing Blog. They always feature hot topics and offer educational downloads. Hubspot also produces cool videos highlighting inbound marketing techniques from industry leaders. Check out their free Marketing Whitepapers which touch on:

• using Twitter and Facebook
• getting found online
• online marketing

Stay abuzz by adding Hubspot’s Internet Marketing Blog to your Favorites, as it is a valuable resource for small businesses!

Many small businesses are using social media (like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs) to drive sales. One firm has their sales targeted to reach $1 million this year.

Here are a few excerpts:

Two-thirds of all online users visit social networks and blogs, according to data from Nielsen Online.

There’s no better reference than your friends telling you about something. It’s that exact interaction that happens on Facebook

Read the entire article here.

Mindspring Design can help you to establish and design your blog, and link your website to Twitter and Facebook accounts.

When choosing a printing company to produce your marketing materials, you want the best quality for your money. Here are a few tips to help you find the best printer for your marketing needs.

Get multiple price quotes from reputable printers. Make sure to send each printer the same project description so that you can compare apples to apples. Include the size of the paper, whether or not the artwork bleeds off the paper, number of ink colors, number of pages, type of paper, file type, etc. Be as descriptive as possible, a good printer will often follow up your enquiry with additional questions and suggestions.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Price Quote Request [PDF Example]
And check out this glossary of printing terms so that you’re not left in the dark!

Aside from your graphic designer, ask your printer any questions you have. They are knowledgeable about design layout, paper weights, ink colors, and more. Once you find a printer you like, try to build a relationship. You may even be able to visit the press facilities for a tour. This has been very helpful to me in the past.

Local Printers

I’ve had good experience with these local south Jersey printers. What printers have you used? Have you had good or bad experiences?

• Alphagraphics
• Kiva Printing & Graphics
• Minuteman Press
• Pirolli Printing
• FedEx Kinkos (the Cherry Hill branch is open 24-hours — I’m listing it only for if you’re in a bind, but don’t expect miracles at this location, let alone a good print job)

I’ve also had good experiences using online printing services for pop-up banners, tablecovers, t-shirts, and direct mail postcards. Just make sure you use a reputable company that gives you a proof (so you can see what your final will look like) and has a good return policy. And make sure to call their customer service reps for any guidance and practical suggestions.

Ways to Save Money

• Design with only 1 ink color.
• Don’t let your design bleed off the paper.
• Choose standard paper sizes.
• Avoid folds, special cuts (die-cuts), special colors (like metallic inks).

Have you found a creative way to save money in your business printing endeavors? Let us know.

Website Grader claims to measure the marketing effectiveness of your website based on search engine optimization, social popularity, inbound links, Google page rank, page source code, and other factors. Simply enter your website URL, wait a few seconds, and get your website score along with a full report emailed to you.

Why should I use this tool?

Website Grader is a good tool to let you know how you rank compared to your competition in selected online marketing efforts. It also alerts you to areas in which you could increase the scope and effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

But don’t sweat the small stuff…

This tool doesn’t score you on everything you are doing with social or viral marketing, or show every directory you are listed in. In addition, it didn’t pick up all my inbound links, although other search engines picked them up.  Some alerts that it reports are not to be overly concerned about. I’m not sure I agree with the readability level scoring either. It seems that more technical sites might come up with a “Graduate” level readability score simply because they include some technical terms.

Overall, I believe this is a useful tool. Grade your website and use the report card to lay out specific steps to improve your online marketing strategies.

Many small-business owners cringe at the thought of email marketing. They think: I already get too many emails … Isn’t that spamming? … Will I get in trouble for that? … Won’t people be annoyed?

Personally, I don’t mind receiving something I’ve signed up for. I may delete it if I don’t have time to read it, but at least I know that another email will be coming my way soon enough.

So relax, because not only is this marketing method legal (when you follow best practices), it’s also effective and fun. Let’s consider how email marketing can help you to increase sales.

Benefits of Email Marketing

• Cost effective – Achieve a solid ROI considering you can produce your own emails in-house using cheap tools, DIY templates and wizards
• Build relationships – starting a dialogue with your target market can offer new business ideas, improve service or product quality, bring attention to weaknesses
• Build brand consciousness – get people used to seeing your logo, your ads, your face, your identity
• Increase website visits – emails are a great way to pique a person’s interest and direct them to your website, forum, blog, store, whatever
• Keep custumers informed – they will feel priveleged to be in the know about discounts, events, news, and other valuable information

Harvest Emails with a Professional Email Marketing Policy

There are both reputable and shady ways to get email addresses. The safest way to collect emails is to use an opt-in form on your website. A person opts-in (in effect saying, yes! send me emails!) and then confirms their subscription through a link in their email inbox.

Other ways of getting email addresses include purchasing or renting a list, and emailing people asking if they’d like to receive emails in the future. Many people don’t like receiving these unsolicited emails and will consider them spam. Use good judgement and tread wisely.

You should always have an opt-out or unsubscribe option available in your emails. This is in case someone decides they don’t wish to receive any more correspondence, or if they’ve received an email in error.

Plan to Be Consistent and Informative

In order to have a consistent and productive email marketing plan, list the topics you’d like to cover. Decide with what frequency you will be corresponding with your contacts. Schedule everything out — some businesses email once a month, others more freqently. You may want your emails to coincide with the seasons or sales cycles.

What can you write about? Write about new products, new services, discounts, customer stories, educational articles, contests, FAQs, etc. The possibilities are endless. Elicit  ideas from your staff members, other business owners, and from customers themselves.

Maximize Your Design and Optimize Your Content

It is a good idea to hire a professional web or graphic designer to create a customized template just for you. This is the best, most professional way to go. He or she will be able to ensure that your email newsletter will look good in the most email clients.

Make sure your newsletter is not so wide that it’s hard to read from an email inbox. Also, your most important content would be towards the top, so that no one has to scroll down to see it. For this reason, some list links to the newsletter’s topics at the top of the email.

Use eye catching graphics (note: not loud, flashy, tacky graphics) and make sure your header and footer blend well with your company’s brand image. Include your contact info and liberal links to your site.

Make sure your newsletter title is catchy and descriptive. Your email ‘subject’ and ‘from’ email address should be instantly recognizable by your readers. Use keywords that your target market would be searching for and interested in. Body copy is usually scanned quickly, so keep it divided up into short chunks or bullet points.

Partner with a Powerful Email Marketing Service

There are tons of email newsletter services - Constant Contact, Vertical Response, Mailchimp, and the list goes on. Find the one that’s right for you. Some incorporate free, editable email templates. Some offer the option to send HTML and/or text-only emails. Some do surveys and even direct-mail postcards as well. 

Definitely look for one that keeps track of your collected email addresses and newsletter campaign stats. Search for one that meets all your needs, because it’s probably out there.

Work to Meet Your Marketing & Sales Goals

Set concrete goals you’d like to achieve, be it more web visits, more phone calls, increased sales, etc. And after each email is sent out, monitor your stats using your email newsletterprogram. This valuable information will help you to make adjustments to your design or content.

For example, I noticed that one newsletter was not getting many click-thrus to the company’s website. I realized that by sprinkling additional, descriptive hyperlinks throughout the newsletter, people had moreoptions of interest to click on. And with that, the click-through rate increased considerably, as did product sales.

These tips should get started marketing via email.

Is your company already successfully marketing via email? Talk to me!