Marketing Pet Peeves

Do some marketers have tactics that make you hit the delete button - quickly?

Do some of them play the same tricks so often that you no longer read their messages, even if the subject line looks interesting?

I've developed quite a long list now of marketers whose messages I ignore.

I share some of the reasons why on my other blog. Come on over and see if you agree with me - then add your own Marketing Pet Peeves to my list.

A Deadly Mistake Even Some Copywriters Make

Sometimes, just for fun, it's good to look and see what your competition is doing.

Maybe they have a marketing idea that will spark a new one in your own head - you just never know. It's even a good idea to just browse around and look at sites unrelated to your business, because some of the best ideas come from unusual places.

So, tonight I did a little search for copywriters. It all started with checking to see how my SEO was doing, and making sure I hadn't slipped from page one for any of my primary keywords.

No, I hadn't, but then I decided to see who else was sharing the pages and what they had to offer. One was my friend and fellow copywriter Kay Faulk - but I knew she'd be there.

The very first site I visited broke one of the first rules in copywriting: Remember that it isn't about you. It's about your prospect.

But here, on this "professional's" site, there were 17 paragraphs, two of which began with "My" and ten with "I."

One of the ways to double-check your copy is to use the "find" function in word and search out every "I word" (such as me, we, our, etc.) and count them. Then search out every "you" and "your."

The goal is to end up with either 3 or 4 times more "You" word than you have "I" words.

This rule is so firmly ingrained in most copywriter's heads that it becomes difficult to write an answer when someone asks a question that calls for an answer beginning with "I." It just feels wrong.

The lady does know something about search engine optimization or she wouldn't be on page one of a Google search, but if her client copy is similar to her personal copy, it isn't very good.

Who are these hype-masters? And who listens to them?

I don’t know about you, but I am completely put off by these marketers who write things like: “Great Frigging Call!”

Maybe it’s just because I have an aversion to that word (after all - we know the word he WANTED to say), but the hype that goes along with it prompts me to do just one thing: DELETE.

World events and the economy have created a great need for marketers to build something that maybe wasn't so important just a few years ago. That something is trust.

Before we part with our hard-earned money we want some kind of assurance that we're dealing with someone credible. We're tired of being scammed and flim-flammed. Shoot - we get enough of that from our elected officials, we don't need any of it from people in business!

So - in my humble opinion - the hype masters need to clean up their acts. They need to quit being offensive and become trustworthy.

Tell me what you think... because maybe it's just me.

Time to re-examine your marketing

As we enter the new year, it's time to take a look at what we did last year, and what we should do this year.

Out with the old! In with the new!

But first, examine what worked and what didn't. Check out Tune Up Your Web Pages for the New Year, then tell me what you're doing new and better this time around.

Increasing Your Site's Search Engine Optimization

Plenty of gurus will tell you to post comments on other people’s blogs in order to create more links to your website – and thus increase your search engine optimization.

Today I read a long article that said it doesn’t necessarily work. On many of the sites where you might post, the links are automatically designated as “no follow,” which means Google isn’t supposed to use them. If they increase the traffic to your site, you’ll benefit, but the link itself won’t help.

So what you’re doing is adding content and increasing the SEO on someone else’s site. That’s a nice thing to do, but you want to increase the content on your own site.

What to do?

Take a page from Clayton Makepeace’s book… Write the first few sentences of your message and then insert a link that readers have to follow to get “the rest of the story.” Then (well, actually first) post the entire article on your own site.

The link still won’t give you more Google juice, but the added content and the added visitors will.

Mr. Makepeace does this with his e-mail letters, and it has always annoyed me, because when you have a slow Internet connection you don’t want to have to click and go somewhere else. That means his first sentences have to be VERY interesting or I don’t click.

But now that I understand why he’s doing it, I guess I’ll have to curb my annoyance. At least there’s a darned good reason.

Something else I learned – Google is the only one that pays attention to “no follow” so your ranking on Yahoo and others will increase when you keep posting those links on your blog comments.

Did You Move With Me?

It's been a while since I moved my blog to wordpress so it could be part of my website. I hope you've followed me over, but just in case, here's a sample of what you might have missed:

How Your E-mail Links Can Drive Customers - AWAY!

How to Promote your business with Articles

A Big Telephone Mistake that Drives Customers Away

There's more - check the archives!

Please Visit the Other blog...

When I switched to Wordpress and put my marketing blog on my website I intended to take this one down. But... people were still visiting. So I left it.

The problem is, I can't keep up with 2. Some days I can't even keep up with one.

So please come on over to the website and visit the blog there...

Just click here.

Storytelling as good marketing

We all love stories - and we all know that we all love stories.

So why do we so often forget to use them in our marketing? A good story grabs attention, keeps your reader or listener engaged and curious, and is a fantastic way to demonstrate how your product or service can help someone.

Stories are also fine teachers. I remember going to real estate school and how much the lessons came alive when our instructor told about the things that happened to real live people when someone bent the rules we were learning.

Things like the crook who talked about 50 people into buying the same vacant lot and NOT recording the sale for 60 days. By the time the 60 days were up and all those people realized they'd bought the same lot, he was long gone. It must have been a hot market back then - or else the lot was priced so low that people were jumping to grab it.

Anyway - If he had merely told us that we needed to insist that our buyer's transactions were recorded immediately because bad things can happen, it wouldn't have made such an impression. Just think - I heard that story over 20 years ago!

So what kind of story can you tell that will somehow relate back to what you offer?

Can you tell a story that will teach your audience that they need what you offer?

Can you tell a story that will show how much you care about your customer's best interests?

Can you tell a story that shows how many ways your product can be used?

If you think about it, you probably have some true stories that would interest your readers. So... think about it!

Is Your website safe?

If your web host suddenly disappeared, would you be able to quickly re-create your site with a different host?

Or would you be like a friend of mine - sitting there completely stumped over how to start over from scratch?

For starters, your domain name should belong to you - with you listed as the administrator. If it isn't, get it changed as fast as you can - while the person whose name is there is still available to authorize the change. Otherwise, you could be in for months of proving who you are - honest.

This happened to me when I bought my first domain name - and had no clue at all about how it all worked. When it was time to renew we almost lost the name because the "administrator" had moved away. It took 4 years before I had that domain name in my own name, because we had to go through the whole proof process every 2 years until it "stuck."

Another friend of mine had an employee set up her website, and he was listed as administrator. That was fine - they were friends and he wouldn't have done anything to hurt her. But - he died. She had to go through proving that he was positively unavailable, and then proving that she had a right to the domain which was her company name. I think in her case it took about 3 months.

So start out right - put that domain in your own name.

Next, make sure that all of your web files are backed up on your own computer. Then back them up further on an external hard drive or even a disk.

My friend had someone else build her site because she knew nothing about how to do it. So when that person decided he no longer wanted to do it, she was stuck.

So be assertive - make sure you have a copy of everything. If you have to hire a high school student to come and help you understand it all, then do it.

Remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - and in this case, I think it's worth about a ton of cure.

A tale of excellent service

The other night my neighbor said he was thinking about buying a car, but this was the wrong time of year to drive to Montana.

Since there are plenty of car dealerships a lot closer than Montana, we asked him what Montana had to do with it. And he told us the story about the Montana salesman...

Many years ago he bought a pickup. Being a person who is careful with his money, he had shopped around and so knew that the price he paid for that pickup was more than fair. By the time he wanted another new pickup he had moved to a new town, about 6 or 8 hour's drive away, so he went shopping close to home.

But he kept thinking about that salesman in Montana who sent him a birthday card every year. And so, knowing exactly what he wanted and the going price for that make with those features, he called Montana.

The salesman was glad to hear from him, and listened to his list of make, model, features, etc. Then he gave our friend a price, which was in the same ballpark with the others. But, he added, since you have a long drive to get here, I'll give you back $200 for gasoline, put you up in a nice motel, and buy your dinner.

Of course he said yes.

The salesman had assured him that the pickup would be ready when he arrived - and it was. The extra features had been installed, the truck was washed and waxed, and the tank was full of gas. The paperwork was even completed, so taking delivery of his new pickup took minutes, rather than the hours most dealerships impose on customers.

And so, our friend will probably shop around and learn what is or isn't available on the car he wants. He'll find out the going price, too. And then he'll call Montana, because that salesman did two important things:

He gave unforgettable service, AND he stayed in touch, year after year, in spite of the fact that his customer had moved away.

Do YOU stay in touch with customers if they leave your neighborhood?

Do you hide from your customers?

If you sell something on line, do your customers know who you are? Or are you hiding?

If you're hiding, they might well wonder why. Are you ashamed of what you offer? Will you be impossible to find if they have a problem with the purchase?

This one practice could be costing you sales, so think about it. Even if you don't want your name front and center on your home page, it should be somewhere. Perhaps in your "about us" message, or on your "contact us" page.

By the way, your "about" page can be a valuable selling tool. When you tell your visitors who you are and why you're offering what you're offering, you have the opportunity to convey your enthusiasm for your product or service - and people react positively to enthusiasm.

Go look at your website. See if it needs an addition or two...

Best success,
Marte

Did you want money instead of gifts?

Plenty of people did this season.

Read all about it at: http://marte-cliff.com/wordpress/

There's also a new post there telling why internet scammers can promise you placement on page one of Google. Beware!

Happy New Year!

To heck with the New Year Grinches... this is going to be a good year!

All we have to do is keep on keeping on, and not listen to any of the down-mouthers.

My suggestion: As soon as you get awake on New Year's Day, do something to promote your business. And then do another something on January 2, 3, 4, etc.

Doing one small self-promotion each day will add up to a big thing by the end of the year, so even if you've had way too much fun on New Year's Eve, think of something, and do it.

Make it your resolution to do something positive to market your goods or services each and every day this year. Even if it's nothing more than a phone call to a past client, it will make a difference.

Happy New Year!

Marte

Broaden your audience - use written words!

Darn I hate videos! Seems like everyone on line with interesting information these days is putting it on video - so I miss it!

First I have to wait until midnight so Hughes Net won't shut me down for downloading too much. But then, with a satellite connection, many videos come in little chunks. I forget what they're talking about in between the chunks.

I know, I know. Video is the really cool thing to use - and it takes less effort than refining your words to write them out. But since only about half of all internet users have high speed, that means you have half the audience you could have if you wrote down your information.

Think about that...

Do You Ask Your Customers and Clients for Testimonials?

You really should, you know, even if it's hard to do.

In a world filled with big promises, big claims, and marketers shouting "I'm best, pick me!" having a 3rd party endorsement can mean a lot.

But it is hard to do. So, go about it a different way - ask without really asking.

I made some suggestions about how to do that on my other blog... Come see.

A new look at your competition

Hi all -
It's been a while since I posted here, because I moved my blog to my website. I intended to take this one down, but then my son talked me out of it. Bossy kid.

Anyway, I don't have enough hours in the day to write on both blogs, so I'll give you a hint about the content, and ask you to please follow me, and Read today's post...

It's a new look at competition - and why maybe it isn't competition at all! Please join me for an idea that just might give your business a boost!

Marte

Please follow me to my new blog site

If you read about SEO then you know that your blog should be attached to your website. So now, mine is attached to my primary website: www.marte-cliff.com.

I thought there was a way to do that with blogger, but couldn't make it work, so I finally downloaded Wordpress, got some help from the friendly tech guys at Go Daddy, and made it happen.

The new blog still needs some work on layout, etc. but it's there.

So, please join me...

See you there!

Marte

Think about the benefits you offer to customers

Two weeks ago we were all whining about the heat and the lack of rain - now I'm whining about the cold and the rainstorm that did me out of a horseback ride on Monday. We've had frost a couple times in the past few days, and the air has a definite "fall chill."

What ever happened to gentle transitions between seasons?

Well, if nothing else, some retailers should be glad. The change in weather should get people started thinking about winter clothing, heating stoves, snow blowers, and even Christmas shopping.

Do you have a business that will benefit from the arrival of winter? If so, have you got your new promotions written? It seems soon to be thinking of holiday promotions, but if you start now, you'll produce good ads, and if you wait until November... Well, they might be the kind of thing that results from working in a hurry.

So stop now and think about how your product or service really benefits people during the holidays. Do you sell something that would make a unique gift? Do you offer a product or service that would ease holiday stress? Have you made a special purchase so you can offer a huge discount on some popular item? Can you offer extra service that your competitors don't?

Take out a paper and pen and write down 10 or 20 reasons why someone should do business with you this fall and winter. Why should they choose you instead of a competitor? If you get stuck, write down wild ideas, because they'll lead to good ideas if you keep going.

When you finish, pick out the 4 or 5 best reasons (benefits to the customer, remember) and base your fall and winter ad campaign on those reasons.

Now decide how you intend to reach out to your customers. Will you place ads in a newspaper? Will you send out flyers? Will you do an email campaign? Get out the calendar and schedule your marketing events, then write the ads.

Do it now. Because if you wait, all those good ideas will have flown from your head and you'll be facing the last minute deadline without good copy.

Yours for prosperity,
Marte
writer@marte-cliff.com

P.S. Remember, if you get stuck, I'm as close as your email, and I love writing promotions that create sales!

The Law of Attraction and Time Management

I have to share a tried-and-true time management tactic that I've just begun to use, but first, have to share my excitement!

My copy of Money & the Law of Attraction arrived today! I got started reading over lunch, and can hardly wait to keep on. In fact, I'm going to block some time just for this book.

OK, back to time management. I keep CD's in my car and work on my education any time I have to drive somewhere. Early last week I gave a second listen to a Glazier/Kennedy CD and heard again about time blocking. So I tried it, and I really am accomplishing more. I'm also feeling better about it.

The idea is to block out a certain amount of time for each of the tasks you must accomplish - and of course to put first things first so you don't miss deadlines or put off doing the things that will bring you the greatest rewards. We humans seem to be experts at "busy procrastination" that keeps us doing trivial things and putting off the important ones.

My trouble always has been thinking that I had to do it all "today" and then ending up accomplishing nothing because I couldn't decide where to start.

With the time blocking method you know when you'll get at each project, and it removes the pressure of thinking you have to do everything at once. The only real problem is deciding which things can wait until another day. My method is deadlines and promises first, business-building activities next, and routine bookwork after that.

The second important benefit to time blocking is that time once blocked cannot be interrupted. In other words, you don't take phone calls or go throw a load of laundry in the washer. And you don't let your mind wander off to the other tasks you think you should be doing. You simply focus on the task at hand.

From a psychological standpoint, you're telling yourself that you will accomplish a certain thing within a set time frame - and the result is that you generally do so. The speakers on the CD didn't mention the Law of Attraction by name, but that's what they were talking about. You state an intention, you believe in it, you do it.

Yours for prosperity,

Marte

P.S. If you haven't ordered your copy yet, I recommend that you do. This book is really something!

How to make readers delete your mail

How silly would that be? But from the looks of my mailbox, plenty of people are working hard at it.

One that stands out today says something like "Why Jerry hated my article." But guess what? When I scrolled down, I saw no mention of Jerry or an article. It was just a whole lot of short blurbs urging me to click and go to dozens of different places.

I deleted it. I'm not that curious about Jerry or her article.

I've said it before - nearly everyone has said it before - be sure your subject line is not only interesting enough to make people open your mail, but has some relevance to the message below it. Otherwise, people won't just delete this time - after you've done it to them a couple of times they'll automatically delete without bothering to look at what you have to say.

One of our most well-known copywriting gurus is doing that now - his headlines promise some information,but when you scroll down you find that you'll only get the information if you buy something. I don't even bother to look any more. I really should take the time to opt-out of his stuff, but the speed of my satellite connection leaves a lot to be desired, so I don't want to take the time.

So - if you offer something in your subject line, be sure your visitors find it quickly when they open your mail. Otherwise, you'll lose your credibility and the trust you work so hard to build.

Yours for prosperity,
Marte