A common mistake in online marketing is not having a clear client target for individual campaigns. The thinking behind it is usually, “cast a wider net to have more opportunities to catch something.” The problem is there are a lot of nets in the water, so the people that know how to catch a particular fish stand a much better
Read moreAt its best social media is an interactive tool for businesses to engage their clients and prospects in meaningful interaction. At its worst is regurgitated content filling a stream of SPAM. It would seem that automating social media would lean toward the latter rather than the former, right? It doesn’t have to be that way. Setting automation for business social
Read moreI had a question come up recently with a prospective client that interestingly comes up a lot. The question was, “How do I know you’ll stick around to do these campaigns?” I’ve had some clients go so far as to ask for a contract for a dedicated length of time to work on their project. These questions and requests are
Read moreSuccessful online marketing is part art, part science, and a big part common sense. However, when we work on our online marketing campaigns everything makes sense to us. We clearly see the value proposition and truly believe in the product, service, or offer being made. That zeal can blind us to common sense. The most common unreasonable expectation that crops
Read moreCreating a sense of urgency is often noted as a best practice in marketing. We want prospects to take action on an offer now rather than filing it away for “later” and then forgetting about it. But urgency, like anything, can be abused. Many online marketers create arbitrary deadlines or dates to force urgency. Overusing the strategy causes problems in
Read moreOnce you have content for your email you’re at a jumping off point for your social media content. Many consultants, trainers, and professional coaches will copy their email content to their social media pages. That is a good strategy to save time and ensure that content is available to all your channels. However it’s not the most effective strategy. The
Read moreMany consultants, trainers, and professional coaches seem to be stumped on where to get quality content for their online marketing campaigns. In reality, the content isn’t the real problem. Given the nature of training and consulting literally everything being offered is valuable content. The real problem is organizing the material to make a cohesive online campaign. Training and consulting businesses
Read moreEvery so often I encounter a trainer, consultant, or professional coach that is not comfortable using an email marketing service platform like Constant Contact, Exact Target, Swiftpage, iContact. Vertical Response etc. The most common reasons for this aversion is that the client doesn’t feel the price is warranted as they can do the same thing in-house with their database or
Read moreWhen trainers, consultants, and professional coaches set up or maintain an online marketing campaign, prospects are typically the focus. This makes sense as marketing to prospects is the most direct way of generating new business. Unfortunately this focus often blinds trainers, consultants, and professional coaches to another, likely more valuable, group; their clients. Including communications and exclusive offers to clients
Read moreA question that trainers, consultants, and professional coaches ask is, “How will an online marketing campaign sell my services? The typical price is x thousands of dollars.” The simple answer is, “It won’t”. At least not directly. However, it is possible to break down the campaign into sections and make small sales/relationship builders that result in easier sales for the
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