We Make Marketing Easy

Networking Your Way to Success

My friend Jeff Klein of Klein Creative is starting a six-week teleseminar next Thursday, July 24th to teach you how to network more effectively, grow your circle of influence and more importantly, increase the number of referrals you receive.

Visit his website at www.networktosuccessonline.com and listen to a short excerpt from a previous seminar.  Then sign up today and save $150.  You'll have to click through to the Class Details page to register, but do it now so you don't forget.

And don't worry if you can't make it to all of the sessions.  By registering you will receive a download of each session so you can listen to them over and over again.

Can I Count On Your Vote?

Celebrate Freedom from Pay-Per-Click

This Friday, July 4th, we will celebrate Independence Day here in the United States.  To honor this celebration, we are offering a 25% discount off the setup fee for any of our Search Engine Optimization Plans through the end of July.

Most of the companies we work with are actively participating in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.  They understand the value of getting visitors to their site and are willing to pay for that traffic.  The only problem is that PPC is an extremely inefficient way to do it.

Yes, there are instances where PPC is a valid method to get visitors to your site, but the best way to drive targeted traffic on a regular basis is by optimizing your web site and building incoming links.

Studies have shown that natural search pulls as much as 250% more traffic than paid search and natural search visitors convert nearly 30% higher than paid search. (Source EyeTools.com)

Why Search Engine Optimization?

1. 80-85% of all clicks happen in the natural search results.
2. When you get natural search results you are there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  With PPC, when your budget runs out your ad disappears.
3. When your site is optimized and ranks well naturally, you begin showing up high in all the major search engines, not just the one where your PPC ad is located.
4. When your site is optimized well and you are showing up high in the search results, you can drastically reduce, or eliminate altogether, your pay-per-click advertising campaigns.

So, Celebrate Freedom from Pay-Per-Click and save 25% off the setup fee through the end of July.

If you're not quite ready to optimize your own site, but know someone who could benefit from it, send them our way.  When you do, send me an email to let me know who they are so we can get you set up in our Evergreen Referral Marketing Program.

To your success,
Ken Partain

Keeping in Touch

My friend Bill Doerr over at the Sell More Marketing Blog put up a post today about keeping in touch.  I wanted to add a comment but for some reason couldn't get logged in, so I decided I would post my comment here and add a trackback.

Hi Bill - I've got a guy that installs Christmas lights for me each year.  I don't hear from him all year long (and quite frankly, have no need to), but come October 1st I know I'll get a call (yes, October - he apparently stays pretty busy).  "Hi, this is Rueben, when would you like for me to come install your Christmas lights?" (Notice he assumed the sale there.)

Now, I don't know if he has an electronic contact management system, or a spiral notebook, but he is certain to keep in touch.  Not only that, he does the job in about an hour; a job that would take me an entire day.  There's another lesson in there - hire a professional, they will typically get the job done in less time, with less headaches and possibly less money, especially if I were to fall off the roof and spend the day in the emergency room.  You know me - can you see me perched on the edge of the roof, two stories high?  I don't think so.

Great post.  Have a good day!

Twitter as a Training Tool for Mobile Marketing

It just dawned on me yesterday that Twitter is the perfect training tool for those who want to get into Mobile Marketing.

You see, Twitter is designed so that you have to add messages, or "tweets", using 140 characters or less.  I'm sure this was designed into their original business plan so that you could send and receive updates on your mobile phone.

Anyway, it makes perfect sense to me now.  SMS or short messaging system is limited to 160 characters per message.  So, as a mobile marketer, you need to learn how to get your point across with a very short message.  By using Twitter you can train your mind to do exactly that.

Follow me on Twitter.

B2B Lead Generation

Recently MarketingSherpa released their B2B Lead Generation Handbook.  I found some very interesting statistics in the excerpt that is available for download here.

In this excerpt they make several points that I and my fellow Duct Tape Marketing Coaches and my fellow Search Engine Marketing Professionals have been touting for years.

1. 80% of decision makers are finding vendors and suppliers on their own rather than being found by the vendor.

2. Hiring a professional search engine marketing firm resulted in a 110% increase in traffic after six months compared to a 38% increase in traffic for firms that tried to do their own SEO.

Takeaways:

A. It's important for your marketing efforts to blanket multiple media channels and touch points for your target market.

B. It's important for you to develop a sales funnel so you can begin to market to your prospects in a personal and meaningful way.

C. You need to continually be marketing so you are visible.  One of the best ways to do that is to have your site optimized by a professional and participate in social media channels such as LinkedIn and Facebook so you show up when and where prospects are looking.

If you haven't been to the MarketingSherpa web site, you owe it to yourself to visit.  They have a ton of great information about marketing for the small business owner.

Duct Tape Marketing Coach Blogs

I have the pleasure of working with some of the best marketing minds in the world.  They are my fellow Duct Tape Marketing Authorized Coaches.  There is a collective wisdom among this group that is hard to beat.  We each have our own strengths and perspectives and each one has a desire to help our local small businesses grow.

Below is a list of blogs that are authored by my fellow coaches.  Take some time to click through to each one.  Add them to your Google Reader or Bloglines account and take your business marketing to the next level.

John Jantsch - Duct Tape Marketing Blog

John Jantsch - Duct Tape Marketing Podcasts

Matthew Scott - Life's Work Group Blog

Scott Campbell - Atlanta Marketing Firm Blog

Joe Bowers - Australia Marketing Blog

Adrianne Machina - Tornado Marketing Blog

Michael Thompson - Marketing Accelerators Blog

Randy Vaughn - Marketing Twins Blog

Bill Doerr - Marketing Matters Blog

Joe Costantino - Ideas for Success Blog

Andy Schwartz and Rick Rochon - Illuminating Marketing Blog

Roger and Diane Morris - Sticky Note Marketing Blog

Liz Walker - Grow Your Small Business Blog

Joe Dager - Business 901 Marketing Blog

Bill Brelsford - Small Business Marketing Tips Blog

Sandra Lee - Business Profits Blog

Varju Luceno - Virtual Small Business Marketing Support Blog

Tara Rodden Robinson - Zugunruhe Marketing Blog

Jeff Paro - Las Vegas Marketing Coach Blog

North Texas Small Business Alliance Expo Next Week

I have been invited to speak at the North Texas Small Business Alliance "Art of Networking" Trade Show next Tuesday, June 17th at the Grapevine Convention Center.  The exhibit hall opens at 9am and we'll be there until 5.

There will be two keynote speakers in the morning, Mike Crow and Bryan Dodge. 

Mike Crow is the President of the DFW Chapter of the Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle and a Certified No B.S. Business Advisor.  He will be speaking at 10am on Magnetic Marketing, covering helpful information on advertising, marketing and prospecting solutions for your small business.

Then at 11:45 we'll hear from Bryan Dodge, author of three professional development audio programs and host of the "Build a Better You" radio show on WBAP 820 AM.

In the afternoon there will be four presentations/workshops.

The first one will be conducted by my friend Jennifer Bagley, the CEO of Compliments International, an international referral marketing company and Business Blitz, a business training and technology company.  She will be talking about networking strategies for you and your small business.

The next presenter is Bill Good, founder of Inceptual, Inc., which specializes in solving common business problems with web-based software.  Bill will be talking about E-Commerce Marketing.

Next up is Kathi Fleck.  Kathi's expertise in sales, marketing, finance and operations has led to her success as an executive in the staffing industry, growing a multi-million dollar operation.  Kathi will be speaking on the Three Principles of Getting Rich.  Now, who doesn't want to learn about that?

Then it's my turn at 4pm.  I'll be speaking on the 5 Simple Steps to Effective Search Engine Marketing and Online Networking.

Take a day next week to learn more about how to improve yourself and your business.  It will pay handsome dividends in your future.  For more details and to register for the show visit the "Art of Networking" trade show web site.

Free Small Business Webinar and Your Very Own Copy of Duct Tape Marketing

John Jantsch, of Duct Tape Marketing fame and Clate Mask from Infusionsoft have teamed up to offer you a deal you can't pass up as a small business owner.

Next Wednesday, June 18 at 3pm Central Time, they are conducting a webinar called "The Must Know Secrets of Small Business Growth."

Everyone who attends will also get a complimentary copy of Duct Tape Marketing, The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide.  You have to attend and actually listen because you'll be given instructions to get your copy during the webinar.

Sign up today so you don't forget!

Coaching Excellence Series Continues with Michael Port

The Duct Tape Marketing Coaching Excellence Series continues next week with Michael Port, best selling author of Book Yourself Solid and Beyond Booked Solid.

This teleseminar is at 2pm Central time next Tuesday, June 17th.

There is no charge for the call, so register now so you don't forget.  On the registration page, you can also listen to previous calls with the likes of David Allen, Guy Kawasaki, John Battelle and Michael Gerber.

Have a great day!
Ken