The Guerrilla Marketing Strategy That Helped Launch My Marketing Career

The Internet is a great place to do business. So great in fact, many marketers often neglect the abundance of offline guerrilla marketing opportunities that are available. I'd like to tell you a story about one such opportunity.

Twenty years ago, when I was just starting out in marketing, one of the things I used to do to promote myself was offer to print the paper menus of local restaurants for free. The catch was they had to allow me to slightly alter their menus, so that I could strategically insert a little advertising blurb in certain sections of the menu to promote my fledgling marketing business.

Virtually every restaurant I approached with my proposition took me up on my offer. Why wouldn't they? After all, they were getting something for free, they normally had to pay for.

The reason I insisted on the condition that I mentioned is because certain sections of a menu are more popular than others. For example, did you know that customers are more likely to pick the very first, or very last menu item in a section? It's true. So I would always place my ad at the very beginning, and at the very end of each section of the menu.

By the way, this isn't a theory, It's a fact. I confirmed it myself, by testing different sections of menus, and my ad always got the best results in the aforementioned sections. My ad read:

Urgent! If You Own A Small Business, Call 555-0000 Immediately!

Believe it or not, that simple little ten word ad pulled like a forty mule team on steroids!

I'm sure you're probably wondering, if I was printing the menus for free, how was I making any money? Good question. Here's the answer: I had a barter arrangement with a local printer. I did all his copywriting in exchange for printing services.

Fortunately, my little ad was so successful at pulling in cash paying clients, I was more than able to support myself, and eventually branch out into more lucrative business ventures.

So if you're having difficulty breaking through on the Internet, take a step back, and get creative. Perhaps an offline guerrilla marketing strategy is just the remedy you need to finally break through online!

This article is available in video version on my YouTube channel.

Internet Marketing: What's Your Line?

What’s My Line? was a popular television game show in which celebrity panelists attempted to determine the line, or occupation of the mystery contestants. The show had an amazing run - from 1950-1967. In fact, according to Wikipedia, it is the longest-running game show in the history of prime time network television.

So what does an old television game show have to do with Internet marketing? Well it appears, many Internet marketers are intent on reviving the classic tv game show with a new and improved Internet version. Because when you visit their websites, you literally have to try and guess, what's their line? Seriously, when you visit many websites, at first glance, you have no idea what the site is about.

And therein lies the problem. Because most visitors won't hang around to figure out the mystery that is your website. If they don't see what they're looking for in the first few seconds, they'll simply click out of your site. That's not a theory, it's a fact. Marketing studies show, you have less than 10 seconds to make a favorable impression on visitors to your site.

Visitors should know at a glance, exactly what your site is all about, and/or what your business does. That's why it's critical that you determine what image and message you want to purvey in those first few seconds, and design your home page, or landing page toward that singular objective.

So what's your line? Do visitors have to guess what your website is about?

NOTE: This article is available in video version on my YouTube channel.

The Unusual Suspects: 3 Little Known Internet Marketing Blogs You Should Be Reading

When it comes to Internet Marketing, we all know who the superstars are, right? After all, we buy their products, we read their articles, and we follow their blogs faithfully. People like Willie Crawford, Brad Fallon, and Joel Comm, just to name a few. You know, the usual suspects.

But there's another group of marketers flying under the radar whose marketing credentials are just as impressive, or more so. And who may not be quite as well known to the average Internet marketer. I call them "the unusual suspects." And since they may not be as well known, chances are, you probably aren't familiar with their blogs.

Anyway, here are 3 Little Known Internet Marketing Blogs You Should Be Reading:

1. Brian Carroll's B2B Lead Generation Blog
http://blog.startwithalead.com

Brian Carroll's blog focuses on B2B lead generation, sales leads, and marketing.

2. Peter Stone's Copywriting Blog
http://peterstonecopy.typepad.com/peter_stone

Peter Stone is simply one of the finest copywriters in the world - period!

3. Chris Mole's Media Blog
http://www.chrismole.co.nz/blog

From copywriting to website design, and everything in between - this blog covers it all.

As I mentioned earlier, these marketers may not be as well known to the average Internet marketer. However, if by chance, you've already discovered one or more of these outstanding blogs, kudos to you! And if you haven't, you're in for a treat!

Is Direct Mail Really Dead?

Even with sky high postage costs, a properly executed direct mail campaign still provides a solid ROI. What? You've bought into the myth that direct mail is dead?

You're not alone. And while people are entitled to their own opinions about direct mail, they're not entitled to their own facts. Here are the facts: According to an annual study from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), spending on direct mail marketing is expected to increase by more than $1 billion in 2010. Yes, that's billion with a "B". Hmmmm...it would appear that rumors of direct mail's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Don't People Hate Junk Mail?

And if you've also bought into the myth that people hate junk mail (and that's exactly what it is a myth), here are the myth-busting facts: According to the 2010 DMA Statistical Fact Book, 79% of households either read or skim junk mail advertising sent to their home. Contrary to popular belief, junk mail does not go straight into the circular file.

That study is right in line with an International Communications Research survey commissioned by postal automation giant, Pitney Bowes. The survey found, despite the immense popularity, and widespread use of digital media, consumers still prefer mail over e-mail, as it relates to receiving new product announcements, as well as confidential business communications such as bank statements and other financial information.

Here's how the numbers breakdown: 73 percent of consumers prefer mail for receiving new product announcements or offers from companies they do business with, as compared to 18 percent for e-mail.

For important and confidential communications such as bills, bank statements and other financial information, a huge majority of respondents (86 percent)preferred mail as their communication method of choice, as compared with 10 percent for e-mail.

But wait, the news gets even better: The survey also found that 31 percent of consumers are less likely to discard unopened mail - including new product announcements, coupons, brochures, catalogs, etc. - than they are to delete unsolicited e-mails (spam) regarding new product announcements (53.2 percent).

When consumers were asked what specific advantages they saw in junk mail versus unsolicited e-mail and telemarketing calls, 45.3 percent of respondents found mail to be, get this - less intrusive; (40.2) percent more convenient - can be saved and considered at leisure; (30.2) less high-pressured - lets you consider your decision; (22.7 percent)more descriptive - lets you picture the offer; and (12 percent)more persuasive - encourages you to respond. I don't know about you, but those numbers definitely got my attention.

What is Cooperative Direct Mail?

If you haven't considered trying direct mail, maybe you should. A properly executed direct mail campaign combined with online marketing methods could be an unbeatable combination. Don't know where to start? No problem. Cooperative direct mail companies like Valpak and Clipper Magazine make launching a direct mail campaign easy and affordable, for even the most budget conscious small business.

So what exactly is cooperative direct mail? Cooperative direct mail simply means you share an envelope with other advertisers - mostly local merchants, but usually a couple of national companies as well. Sharing an envelope with other advertisers reduces your costs significantly.

For example, if you were to do a mailing on your own to 10,000 homes, it would cost you thousands of dollars - even at reduced bulk rate postage costs. However, that same mailing shared with other advertisers would only cost you a few hundred dollars. That's a huge difference that allows you to free up valuable marketing dollars that can be used elsewhere.

And if you're a "push the envelope" type of marketer and really want to take your direct mail campaign to the next level, a new company named Dukky (pronounced ducky) is merging "junk mail" with social marketing and web technology - creating an amazingly effective and powerful marketing combination. Dukky's web address is www.dukky.com.

In closing, if you do decide to give direct mail a try, whatever you do, don't approach the process blindly. In order to utilize direct mail to its optimum effectiveness, you need to know what you're doing.

In that regard, I highly recommend you purchase the book Million Dollar Mailing$ by the undisputed King of direct mail, Denny Hatch.

Just remember:

"You will go only as far as the limits of your knowledge. If you want to go farther, increase your knowledge." - David Jackson

NOTE: This article is available in video version on my YouTube channel.

How to Get Free Publicity For Your Small Business

Believe it or not, you can get free publicity for your small business. How? Simply pick up the telephone, and call your local media (newspapers, radio, tv), and tell them all about your small business. If they think your business sounds interesting and newsworthy, they'll come out and interview you - and just like that...voila, free publicity!

You may not be aware of it, but countless numbers of small businesses are taking advantage of free publicity every single day. They've discovered the media loves reporting about local human interest stories. It makes them appear more caring and sensitive about what's happening in their own community.

When large, powerful media corporations display this kind of concern for the community, it leads to more readers, listeners and viewers - as well as more advertising revenue. So giving exposure to local small businesses is in their best interest as well as yours.

However, it's not always as simple as picking up the telephone and having the media show up at your front door. Timing is everything, and the media may have many other, more important stories in the pipeline they have to get to first. That's why persistance is so important. If you contact the media and they don't show any interest in reporting about your small business, keep trying.

Gently nudge them on a weekly basis. Don't be rude, but be persistent. Reporters understand the necessity of persistence, because quite frankly, that's how many of them get their stories.

It also doesn't hurt to be both creative and aggressive. I once heard of a story where the owners of a brand new mom and pop submarine sandwich shop literally walked in the front door of the local tv station, and started handing out free submarine sandwiches to all the employees - including the security guards.

The news chief was so impressed with the sandwiches, she dispatched a news crew to interview the owners of the sandwich shop that very afternoon. The story made the 6:00 news, and the sandwich shop had a very successful grand opening thanks to the power of free publicity.

I know of another story where the owners of a new automobile detailing shop went to the town's biggest newspaper and started washing and waxing all the cars that were parked in the VIP parking spaces. That evening, the shop was featured on the front page of the newspaper.

As a result of that free publicity, the company was literally deluged with phone calls for months. They quickly outgrew their tiny little shop and were forced to move to a larger building, and hire more employees.

Free publicity - there's plenty of it out there. But it won't come to you, you have to go and get it!

NOTE: This article is available in video version here.

Internet Marketing: The Psychology of Colors

Did you know psychological research has shown the human eye notices the color yellow first over all other colors? Or how about the fact the color red escalates the body's metabolism, and promotes excitement and action? Blue is the most popular color, and has a calming psychological effect. And green is considered the most restful color for the eye.

If you didn't know these facts about colors, you're not alone. Most marketers don't. But do you know who does know these facts and alot more about color psychology? Marketing experts, that's who. And they use this knowledge every single day to the financial advantage of their clients.

Shouldn't you be doing the same thing for your business?

For example, does the color of your website have a calming effect on visitors, or a negative effect? How about the colors of your ebook covers? Do they influence sales, or have the opposite effect? What about your email promotions? Are you color optimizing their effectiveness?

Now I'm not suggesting you arbitrarily just up and change the color of your website, email promotions, or product packaging. That would be foolish. But it certainly can't hurt to split-test colors can it? Who knows, perhaps you'll discover the colors you're using are performing just fine.

Then again, testing may reveal another color is more effective and/or profitable. But one thing is certain, you'll never know for sure until you test.

NOTE: This article is also available in video version on my YouTube channel.

How to Make Money on the Web?

Before I decided on the title for this article I wrote down a list of options: how to engage an audience, how to affect change, and how to alter perceptions and change attitudes. All of which are valid, and all of which are important to you as a business owner or marketing manager.

The trouble is, most busy, results-oriented business owners and managers want quick, simple answers to complex marketing questions that involve psychological and sociological issues. Buying a mobile phone, makeup, or a car is more complicated than which option provides the most features at the cheapest cost. Even if that was someone's intent, it's a purchasing strategy that is defeated by the myriad of confusing and conflicting feature packages offered: you can get this with that, but not that with this, unless you get the other thing you don't want, and of course whatever you do want costs a lot more.

To clarify the situation you can always consult the specifications with the help of an engineer to explain them to you, or you could read some user-generated consumer reports that were probably written by some paid shill or someone with way too much time on their hands. As a last resort you could just buy the one that comes in the nicest color.

What gets lost in all the paradox of choice, technological hype, and fad-marketing confusion is no matter what you sell, tanks or toilet paper, it's people who buy it, even if those people work for mega corporations that order in container-load quantities. People are frustrating after all, it's hard enough negotiating where to go for dinner with your friends, so what chance do you have of convincing strangers to part with their hard earned cash.

As a result blogs and newsletters present a steady diet of search engine optimization, social networking, and link building tactics with some mobile marketing thrown-in. It's not that these things aren't important marketing tactics, it just that they are tactics not strategy, and in order for companies to maximize their marketing impact and sales, they must implement a broader more complete marketing approach that deals with the issues that trigger buying decisions and customer loyalty.

A System's Approach To Web Marketing Development

There are three reasons why people use the Web: access, content, and communication. These are the critical elements needed to build a Web-based business. The Web has become vital to business because that's where the customers are, both business-to-consumer and business-to-business. The Web is important because it provides access to a huge international audience.

And the reason the audience is there is because the Web is the largest depository of content the world has ever known. All of which wouldn't be of much value if it was all hidden away in some gargantuan library instead of being easily, and for the most part, freely accessible to send and receive; making it the most efficient communication environment ever devised. From a system's perspective the Web provides input, process, output, and feedback, a classic business system's model.

We can all get a little carried away with the latest marketing trends and technological solutions but when all is said and done a Web business strategy must be based on delivering content in the form of text, images, audio and video in informative, entertaining, and above all memorable presentations that influence perception and trigger action.

Everyone understands businesses have to make money in order to survive, but all too often companies waste valuable resources following trendy techno-fads that don't deliver meaningful, memorable content that influences market behavior, creates brand awareness, delivers service support, promotes positive public relations, generates leads, or increases sales.

Confessions of a Social Networking Misanthrope

There are two basic financial website models, sites that provide niche content that uses advertising as its revenue source, and sites that provide content about the products and services they sell. If you're in the business of selling eyeballs to advertisers you want as much website traffic as possible; but if you're in the business of selling merchandise or expertise, you really only want interested traffic. In other words, if you sell anything other than advertising you only want traffic that might actually buy what you sell.

Of course there are hybrid sites that want it both ways, they sell a service and provide a blog that contains advertising in order to support the effort. The trouble is the advertising bleeds off a lot of traffic, the very thing the content was intended to attract in order for the company to prove its expertise and thus gain new clients.

And with today's sophisticated behavioral advertising these ads can be sending visitors to indirect competitors even if direct competitors have been restricted. Even if the advertising is totally non-competitive, it is still a distraction drawing people away from your ultimate objective of gaining new customers.

This notion of distraction has even led to a new trend that supports putting all hyperlinks at the end of a presentation rather than spreading them throughout, which has been the norm and often recommended practice. The current thinking on inline hypertext links is that they are distracting and get in the way of the message so they should be relegated to the bottom of the page and used for reference purposes only.

Advertising sites want traffic, and any traffic will do; product and service sites want an interested audience. When all is said and done it's not traffic that website businesses want, it's awareness, engagement, and leads.

You Have To Influence Your Audience

It may not be trendy, and it sure isn't easy, but if you want to make a pile of dough, you have to influence your audience, you have to change perception, alter attitudes, target emotions, and facilitate positive change.

I know, I know, you only sell shoes or the thing that fits inside the thing that turns the other thing that you don't sell, but all that doesn't matter because whatever you sell you can make a difference if you stop worrying about traffic and the latest social networking fad du jour.

And that statistical analysis that arrives in your in-box only tells you what happened, not why; it presents only a sterile snap shot of history, it doesn't foretell the future; otherwise we'd all be driving flying cars, wearing Dick Tracey watches, and have so much free-time they'd have to legalize polygamy just to keep us busy.

Successful companies change the way we think and ultimately the way we act, and it usually revolves around the consistent communication of a simple idea or concept. Ever heard of a company called Apple? Wasn't it the firm that all the Wall Street stat-geeks and techno-wizards told us just couldn't compete and was going to go broke not so long ago; so much for blind statistical analysis.

When Apple first introduced the Mac they talked about a computer that was "convivial," meaning enjoyable due to its ease of use and quality of design. And with that guiding principle Apple has changed how we design things, how we communicate, how we listen to music, how we view video, and they're on their way to changing how we read books, newspapers, and magazines.

Apple has not just influenced its audience; it has changed society. Oh yah, they're now the computer company with the largest market capitalization, and it's all because they stuck to their core philosophy and message, and presented it in clever, meaningful, memorable marketing campaigns.

Business Websites are Communication Platforms

Poor communication is worse than no communication at all. Poor communication kills trust and credibility. You may be the greatest expert in widget technology or software engineering but if you're a poor communicator or are represented by ineffectual media, videos, and websites, then you're doing your business a disservice. If you want to make a lot of money you have to change attitudes, alter perceptions, and influence people, and you can only do that if you communicate effectively.

Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia, a website design and marketing communications firm that specializes in Web-video Marketing Campaigns and Video Websites. Visit http://www.mrpwebmedia.com/ads and http://www.136words.com. Contact at info@mrpwebmedia.com or telephone (905) 764-1246.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jerry_Bader

The Art and Science of Article Marketing

I've noticed lately, a lot of writers (and I use that term loosely) are saying article marketing no longer works. They're complaining, no one is reading their articles, and their pageviews are in the toilet. Well, maybe there's a good reason for that. Maybe they aren't giving readers what they want.

Look, contrary to popular belief, article marketing isn't just writing a bunch of words, submitting them to EzineArticles and other top directories, and magically getting back a ton of traffic and a gazillion backlinks. It just doesn't work that way. It just isn't that easy. Believe it or not, There's actually an art and science to article marketing.

The Art and Science of Article Marketing

For example, according to a readability study conducted by Jakob Nielsen of UseIt.com, 79% of Internet users rarely read web pages. Instead they scan, picking out individual words, sentences and paragraphs.

What? You didn't know that? You see, there really is an art and science to article marketing. Okay, now that you know, how can you use this knowledge to your advantage?

Well, if you want people to read your articles, the first thing you have to do is get their attention. And the best way to do that is with compelling article titles. Stay away from boring, unimaginative titles that are likely to be ignored or skimmed over. Get readers excited! More importantly, get their attention.

Are you attracted to boring titles? Of course not, and neither are your readers. So when writing your article titles, don't treat it as an afterthought. Put on your thinking cap, and be creative. Following are a few examples of article titles designed to get the readers attention:

-The 10 Biggest SEO Myths Exposed
-The Pervasion of Disrespectful Marketing
-The Seduction of Internet Marketing Newbies
-Article Marketing Success Tips: How to Write and Promote Articles
-How to Write Headlines That Make Readers Slam On Their Eyeball Brakes

If you'll notice, the last title on that list is a "How To" title. It's an article I wrote recently titled, How to Write Headlines That Make Readers Slam On Their Eyeball Brakes. In that article, I offer tips and advice on how to write better headlines for your ads and/or sales letters. But, the information applies to article titles as well. So you should definitely Google the title, and read the article.

Speaking of titles, "How To" titles are very effective at getting attention. Always have been. So use them as often as possible. By the way, all of the above titles are from real articles. In fact, I’m the author of each of those articles. You may have even read one or two of them. Notice how each title peaks your curiosity, and makes you want to read more?

But as compelling as those article titles are, a great title is only the beginning. Remember, Internet users are notorious scanners. That means you have to give them plenty of additional eye candy, in the form of subheads, bite size paragraphs, bullet points, etc. And having a well-written, interesting and informative article doesn't hurt either.

Oh, one last thing. While we're on the subject of titles. Always put your keywords in your article titles. It's been my experience, it really doesn't matter where in the title your keywords are placed, just as long as they're in there. After all, if you're going to write articles, you might well get some SEO benefits out of the deal.

Don't Reinvent the Wheel

In addition to the readability study I cited earlier, I also read a very interesting study on "findability" that was also conducted by Jakob Nielsen. In the study, he was discussing how having too many so-called "new" words can actually ruin your search rankings, as well as diminish your website's value. Because all those new words are unlikely to appear in search queries.

For example, many website owners attempt to coin new search terms because they're under the mistaken impression they can own the top search position, if the new search term becomes in vogue and catches on. But the reality is, more often than not, people will continue to use their old terminology, because it's what they're used to.

Here's a quote from Jakob Nielson's study titled, Use Old Words When Writing for Findability:

"Familiar words spring to mind when users create their search queries. If your writing favors made-up terms over legacy words, users won't find your site.

If you fill your pages with fancy new words, you'll lose the most powerful tool in Internet marketing: the ability for users to find you in search. Making the search listings is a crucial first step, but it's not the only step: users must also click your entry, and your site must have a good conversion rate.

There's more to website success than simply being found, but it is the first step. Use old words and you'll be that step ahead of the competition and their useless new words."

Consistent Promotion is the Key

As I stated at the beginning of this article, article marketing isn't just writing a bunch of words, and submitting them to EzineArticles and other top directories. There's actually an art and science to the process.

That being said, art and science notwithstanding, even if you do all the things I mentioned in this article, it will all be for naught, unless you consistently promote your articles like there's no tomorrow!

Promote them on article directories, promote them on your website or blog, promote them through social media, promote them on social bookmarking sites, promote them on RSS directories, promote them in your newsletter.

Promote, promote, promote!