BEGINNERSGUIDE

TODIGITALMARKETING:HOWTOFLOODYOURWEBSITEWITHTRAFFICIN30 DAYS

COPYRIGHT©2015ROMUALDANDRADE

ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.

Tomydaughter,Erika,Youhavetaughtmesomanythings:Whattrulymattersinlife,Tofindpleasureinsimplethings,Tofindhumorinanysituation,Andtotrustthattomorrowwillbeabetterday.Thankyouforjustbeingyou.Iamproudandhappytobeyourdad.

-Romuald

TABLEOFCONTENTS

SECTION1SECTION2Day1:TheCreativeBriefDay2:TheSuccessTrackerDay3:TheKeywordListDay4:YourDomainNameDay5:CallToActionDay6:TheContentCalendarDay7:SourcesOfTrafficPITSTOP1Day8:ListBuildingDay9:GoogleAdwordsDay10:GoogleWebmasterToolsDay11:GoogleAnalyticsDay12:CRM

Day13:ConversionRateOptimizationDay14:TheBuyingCyclePITSTOP2Day16:AutoresponderDay17:EmailContentDay18:SEODay19:FacebookDay20:LinkedINDay21:TwitterPITSTOP3Day22:PinterestDay23:GooglePlusDay24:HootsuiteDay25:LeadQualificationDay26:ReportsDay27:BrandandNon-BrandDay28:MeasurePITSTOP4Day29:CustomerBehaviorDay30:TheReview

SECTION3

YourFreeGiftAsawayofsaying,“Thanksforyourpurchase,”I’mofferingafree

downloadofmymarketingtemplate.ThistemplateistheexactsametoolIusedtohelpover200clients(ofwhich

12werewell-knownnationwidebrands)togetmorevalueoutoftheirdigitalmarketingefforts.

Youcandownloadthistemplatebygoinghere:http://www.authorandfriend.com/brief/IfyouhavereceivedsomevaluefromthisKindlebook,I’dlovetohavea

reviewfromyouonAmazon.com.Ilookforwardtoyourcommentsandfeedback.Youcansendmeanemailat

authorandfriend@gmail.com.

Whocanthisbookhelp?Ifyouhaveneverdonedigitalmarketingbeforeandneedasimplebookthat

getstothepointandshowsyouthestepstogettingitdone,thenthisbookisperfectforyou.

Ifyouhavealreadydonesomeformofinboundmarketingbutyouneeda

framework,thenthisbookwillhelpyou.Ifyouwanttocompressyearsoftrialanderrorintodays,thenthisbook

mightbeforyou.Ifyouhavedoneeventmarketingorprint-basedmarketing,whichmeans

youalreadyhaveamarketingbaseandyoujustwantaprimerindigitalmarketing,thenthisbookisforyou.

Ormaybeyouareabusinessownerandyouneedalaunchanewproductin

thenext30days.Thisbookwillgiveyoutheframeworkyouneedtosuccessfullymanageandkeeptrackofthemarketingaspectsofyourproductlaunch.

WhenIstartedwritingthisbook,Iwroteoutonlythe30-dayplanandI

thoughtthatIwasfinished.Afterreadingthroughitafewtimes,IrealizedthatIwasmakingcriticalassumptionsaboutyou.Iftheseassumptionswerewrong,thenitwouldrenderthiswholebookuseless.

Tocorrectthiserror,Ihavelistedthethingsyoumustunderstandbeforeyou

begin.Firstoff,IwantyoutoknowthatIbelievethatyouareaself-motivated

person.Ibelievethatyouaredoingthisbecauseyouhavealotofresponsibilitytohandleandthesuccessofyourdigitalmarketingeffortsiscriticalforbothyourcompanyandyourself.

1.Iassumethatyouhavebasictechnologyskills.YoucanusetheInternet,

finditemsinasearchengine,andsendanemail.2.Iassumethatyouhaveaproductorserviceoranichethatyouare

targeting.Inotherwords,beforedoinganythingelse,youmustknowwhat

audienceyouaretargeting,becauseyoucannotdomarketingwithouthavingthisinmind.

3.Iassumeyouhavesocialmediaaccountsalreadyestablishedon

Facebook,LinkedInandYouTube.WhileIwillexplainwhattodowiththeseaccounts,settingthemupisbeyondthescopeofthisbook.

4.Iassumeyouaretakingalong-termviewofyourdigitalmarketing

efforts.Thisisimportantbecauseifyouarejustlookingforaone-offsolution,thenthisbookmaynotberightforyou.

5.Iassumethatyouarewillingtotakeacalculatedriskwithpaidmediaandarenotlookingonlyforfreesolutions.WhatIhavelearnedisthatevenfreethingscostmoneybecausethereisthecostofthelostopportunitywhenyouinvestyourTIMEanddon’tgetthelevelofresultsthatyouexpect.

HowToUseThisBookThisbookisdividedintothreeparts.Section1focusesontheprerequisitesyouneedtohaveinplacebeforeyou

startyourdigitalmarketingactivities.Section2givesyouaday-wiseactionplan.Ideally,youwillfollowmyday-

by-dayinstructionsforthefirst30days.Aftertheinitial30days,youcancontinuetofollowmyday-by-dayinstructionsoryoucanfocusonthoseactivitiesthatworkedbetterforyou.

Section3givesyoualistofresourcessothatitiseasierforyoutoexecute.Inadditiontothisbook,youcanvisitmywebsite,listedbelow;toaccess

manyotherfreedownloads.http://www.authorandfriend.com/brief/

HowWillYouBenefitFromThisBook?Thebookismorestrategicthanhands-on.Youwillfindthematerial

organizedintoseveralcategoriesdesignedtowalkyouthroughtheprocess.Here’sjustatasteofwhatyou’lldiscover…#Howtostructureyourinboundmarketingeffortswithasimple30-dayplan#Secretsofdigitalmarketingmanagementfewpeopleknowabout#Howtobringalevelofsanitytoyourproductlauncheffortsinjustafew

shortminutes#Astrategicframeworkforthefirst30daysofyourmarketingplan.#Marketingstrategiesandtacticsworth$$$$$!Trustme,Ihaveseenhow

muchmoneybusinesseswasteonmarketing,anditcancostinthetensofthousandsofdollars.

You’regoingtowanttoknowsomethingbeforeyoupurchasethisbook:It’s

goingtobealotofwork,sobepreparedtoallocate30daysofdedicatedtimeandefforttothisactivity.

DigitalMarketingisn’talwayseasyorclearcutatfirst,butwithtimeand

energyspentlearningandpracticingthestep-by-stepmethodI’llshowyou,you’llunderstandhowtomeasuretheperformanceofyourteamandgettheresultsyouneedfromyoureffortsonaconsistentbasis.

Iwillexplaintoyoumyownpitfallsandperilsinthecasestudysection,

alongwithadviceIfoundwhileIwaslookingforsolutionstomyownchallengeswhenexecutingsuchprojects.Theseshouldhopefullymakethingssimplerforyou,sinceyouwillnothavetolearnfromtrialanderror;however,Iwouldliketounderlinethatjustbecauseitissimpledoesnotmeanitwillbeeasy.

Now,thisbegsthequestion:isitworththeeffort?Andmyanswerisyes;it

isdefinitelyworthit.IinviteyoutojoinmeonthisjourneyaswelearnaboutDigitalMarketing.

SECTION1

MyDigitalMarketingBackgroundIt’simportanttoknowwhoyouarelisteningtowhenyougetdigital

marketingadvice.That’swhyIwanttostartwithmystory.Ipublishedmyfirstwebsiteintheyear2003.Afterpublishingmywebsite,I

sentthelinktomyfriendsfortheirfeedback,whichresulted(eventually)inalotofinquiriesfromsmallbusinessownerswhowantedtohavewebsitesfortheirownbusinesses.Asafreelancer,Iwashappytohelppeoplebycreatingtheirwebsites,butafewofthemwouldcomebacktomeafterayearandsaythattheydidnotwanttorenewthewebsiteforthenextyear.

Thiscaughtmebysurprise,becauseIwouldgetapprovalfromthematevery

stageofbuildingthewebsite(aboutsixstagesintotal)andIwouldnotproceedfromonetoanotherunlesstheyhadapprovedthepreviousstage.Sohowcoulditbethattheywerenowunhappywithawebsitethattheywereecstaticaboutayearearlier?

Theanswerwastheyfeltthatthattheirwebsitesdidnotmakemoneyfor

themandwerethereforeawastedexpense.Butondrillingdownfurther,Irealizedthatthewebsiteshadhelpedthemintheirbrandingandmarketingefforts,buttheydidnothaveawayofmeasuringhowsuccessfultheirwebsiteswere.

ThesolutionIfoundatthetimewastoinstallGoogleAnalyticsonevery

websitethatImadefromthatpointon,whichledtomyinterestinSEO(SearchEngineOptimization)followedbysocialmediamarketingandpaidmedia.IjoinedanagencyasaProjectManagerandgotalotmoreexposuretodigitalmarketingwhilehandlingmarketingcampaignsformultinationalcompanies.Theaveragenumberofwebsitevisitsforsomeofthesecompanieswasabout2millionuserspermonth.

Ialsodevelopedaquestionnaire,whichIwouldaskeveryclienttofillout

beforestartinghisorherproject.ThisdocumentalsohelpedmealotwhenIstartedworkingwithsmallbusinessowners,andIwasabletoofferthemaccesstotoolsandhelpthemoutasadigitalmarketingconsultant.Asofnow,Ihavesuccessfullyusedthequestionnaireinover200companiesin14differentindustries,whichhasgivenmeconfidencethatmymethodworks.

Thisdocumentisprovidedasafreedownloadonmywebsiteasmywayofsaying,“Thanksforpurchasingthisbook.”

http://www.authorandfriend.com/brief/

LessonsLearnedThroughoutthisbook,I’llbesharingwhat’sworkedformeandwhatismost

likelytoworkforyou.Butthreelessonsstandoutabovetherest.Lesson1:Doaweeklyreviewofyourproject,whichIrefertoasa

Pitstop.Amarketingprojectthat’snotexceptionallysuccessfulisprobablyheading

downthewrongdirectionbecauseofoneormoreofitsleadsources/channelsnotoperatingatitspeak.Takingchargeandcheckingfairlyoftenisthekeytogettheplanbackontherighttrack.Apitstopwillhelpyoudothat.Youneedtomainlyuseaquantitativeapproachtomeasureyoursuccess.

Lesson2:Getqualitytraffic.Qualitytrafficisthekeytodigitalmarketing.By“traffic,”Imeanthe

visitorscomingtoyourwebsite.Ifthesevisitorsdon’thavetheintenttobuy,thenitisnotqualitytraffic.

Lesson3:KnowthedifferencebetweenStrategy,Tactics,andExecution.Theinitialprojectplanusedattheproductlaunchstageusuallygets

hopelesslyoutofwhackduetopoorexecution.(AcombinationofgoodstrategyandpoorexecutionislikeaFerrariwithflattires:itlooksgoodinthespecs,butfailsonthestreet.)Often,peoplepassofftacticsasstrategy,andsoendupskippingstrategyaltogether.Tacticaldecisionsaretheday-to-daydecisionsrequiredforthemarketingcampaign,whereasstrategyisgenerallyconsistentfortheentireyearandrarelychanges.

Sometimes,youneedtoknowwhichmarketingactivitywillhavethebest

resultsevenbeforeyoucommittoitfully.Thesolutionisapilotprogramoranexperimentwithasmallbudgetbeforeyouscaleuptheactivity.

PrerequisitesDigitalmarketingrequiresvarioustoolsandresourcestobeavailableforuse

dependingontheactivitiesundertaken.Wewillbelookingattheseactivitiesinthe30-dayplan;however,weneedtoensurethatwehaveafewbasicsinplacebeforeweundertakethe30-dayplan.

Therearethreebasicthingsyouneedtohaveinplacebeforewebegin.1)Alogoforeachsegmentofyourbusiness.2)Teammemberswithdifferentspecialtieswhocanprioritizeandhandle

tasksefficiently.3)AGmailIDspecificallycreatedforthepurposeofdigitalmarketing.

SinceyoumightneedtosharethisIDandpasswordwithyourteam,itmakessensetokeepitseparatefromyourpersonalorofficialIDs.

Iwillexplaintheseindetail.LogoWhenaclientapproachesmeandhedoesnothavealogoorhasalogothat

lookslikeclipart,itimmediatelysetsoffalarmsinmyhead.Tobefairtotheseclients,Iwilllistsomeoftheirreasons:1)Theydonotwanttoinvestinpromotingandmanagingmultiplebrands.2)Theyhavebeenusingthesameclipartlogoforyearswithoutany

problems.3)Theyarejuststartingoutsotheydon’tknowifitisworththeinvestment.4)Nooneintheirindustryusesalogo.5)Theyhaveneverfelttheneedforalogo.Alloftheabovemaybeperfectlyvalidreasons,giventhemindsetofanon-

marketingperson.Butasanygoodmarketingpersonwilltellyou,youNEEDtohavealogoforeverySEGMENTofyourbusiness.

Nowbeforeyouwritemeoff,letmeexplain.Youcanhavea“GroupLogo”

foryourmainbusinessthatstaysconstant,butwithataglinethatchangesfor

everysegmentwithinthatbusiness.Thatwouldstillgiveyouanedgeoverthecompetition.Butbynomeansshouldyoutrytoavoidhavinglogosfordifferentbusinesssegments,andherearethetopthreereasonswhy:

#Intheprocessofcreatingalogoforyourbrand,youendupdefiningthat

brandorsegmentforyourcompany.#Youclearlyassociateanimageofwhatyourbrandshouldlooklikeorfeel

liketoyourendcustomer.#Moreimportantly,youalsodefinewhatyourbrandisNOT,orwhatitdoes

notstandfor.YourTeam:Shouldyououtsource?Outsourcingisquitepopularnow.Butletusfirstunderstandwhatitisall

aboutandwhetheritcanworkforyouandyourcompany.Manysmallbusinessownersareanxioustogetstartedandwanttostartoff

asaone-manarmy.Othercompanieswithexistingin-housestafftrytogettheirstafftoexecutedigitalstrategywithoutreallyknowingifthatpersonorpersonsarerightforthejob.Therearealsocompaniesthatcreateanin-housedigitaldepartmentfromscratchwithstudentsfreshoutofcollege.

Digitalmarketingisarelativelynewindustryanditcanbequitechallenging

tofindtherightstaffforit.Thebestsolutionistohaveonein-housedigitalspecialistandthenoutsourcetheexecutiontoeitheranagencyorfreelancespecialists.Thein-houseexpertmonitorsthedigitalcampaigns,makessurethatanintegrateddigitalstrategyisfollowed,andmobilizesthecompany’sexistingresourcestodeliverwhattheagencyorfreelancerneeds.

AVirtualTeamAvirtualteam,oraremoteteam,isateamthatworksvirtually.Itisusually

geographicallydiverseandsomaynevermeetface-to-face.Outsourcingtoavirtualteamhasitsprosandcons.

Advantagesofvirtualteams:

#Increasedproductivity.Virtualteamshaveflexibleworkschedules.Withthe“followthesun”approach,ateamontheothersideoftheglobecaneasilypickupwherethepreviousteamhasleftoff.

#Extendedmarketopportunity.Withgeographicallydispersedteams,thereisdirectaccesstodifferentmarketopportunities.Organizationscanestablishtheirpresenceindifferentpartsoftheworldthroughtheirteams,allowingsmallbusinessestocompeteglobally.

#Knowledgetransfer.Havingpeoplewithvaryingknowledgeacrosstheglobeisadvantageoustoanyorganization.

Disadvantagesofvirtualteams:#Communicationdeficiency.Humanscommunicatebetterwithbody

language.WithlimitedvirtualcommunicationmediaandInternetrestrictions,misinterpretationsinemailsormessagesmayarise,whichcaneventuallyleadtofailure.

#Poorleadershipandmanagement.Anyfailureinanyteam,virtualornot,willboildowntopoorleadershipandmanagement.However,invirtualteams,thisbecomesmoreprominentduetoineffectivecommunication.

#Incompetentteammembers.Duetophysicaldistance,virtualteamsaremuchmoreaffectedbytimingwhencompletingprojects.Virtualteamsmustbecomposedofcompetentmemberswhocancompletetheirassignedtasksontime.

FreelancemarketplacesTolessentherisksassociatedwithavirtualteam,itisbettertoemploythe

servicesofafreelancemarketplacetomanageyourvirtualteam.Freelancemarketplaceshavetwousertypes:buyers(clients)andsellers

(freelancers).Buyersregister,completeabasicprofile,andpostprojectswiththeirrequirements.Sellersbidfortheprojectsonanhourlybasisorafixed-pricebasis.Oncethejobisdone,thebuyerpaysthesellerandprovidesfeedback.Thisfeedbackisdisplayedpubliclyontheseller’sprofile.

Freelancemarketplaceshaveratingsystemstoassesstheskillsofavailable

freelancers.Thisisvisibleinsellerprofiles,alongwithadescriptionoftheservicestheyoffer,sampleworks,andsometimestheirrates.Hirepeoplebasedonskillrating,skillsets,andpastworks,notjusttheirrates.Andaswithmost

things,thebestwayistostartsmall.SomeexamplesoffreelancemarketplacesareOdesk.com,Elance.com,

Guru.comandFreelancer.com.

Your5-MinuteDigitalMarketingBudgetPlanNow,let’sworkoutaverysimplebudgetplansothatyou’reontrackto

generateleadsforyourbusinessthroughdigitalmarketing.Asaruleofthumb,companiesshouldspendbetween10%to20%of

revenueonmarketing.*Whatisyourannualrevenue?____________*10%ofthatis___________.That’syourannualmarketingbudget.*Dividetheannualmarketingbudgetby12togetthemonthlymarketing

budget.*Dividethemonthlymarketingbudgetby4togettheweeklymarketing

budget.Yourmarketingbudgetwouldbesomethingyou’llneedtoplanfortheentire

financialyear,butitalsoissomethingthatyouneedtorevieweveryweekandincreasewhenrequired.Twentypercentofrevenueisnotthemaximumthatacompanyshouldspendonmarketing,especiallyifthatcompanyisastartuporiftheoveralleconomyortheindustrysegmentisonastronggrowthtrajectory.

Nowthatyourweeklybudgetisset,let’sgetintowhatyouneedtohave

done.Youmaywanttorevisitthissectionafteryouhavefinishedimplementingthe30-dayplan.

Whatarethemarketingactivitiesyouneedtogetdonethatyoucan’tdo

yourself?Foreachone,isitaprojectoranongoingprocess?*_____________________________Ongoing/Projectbased*_____________________________Ongoing/Projectbased*_____________________________Ongoing/ProjectbasedWhatarethemarketingactivitiesthatyouneedtogetdonebecauseyou

shouldn’tbedoingthem?(Thatis,whattasksareyoudoingthat,astheownerofthecompany,youshouldn’tbedoing?)Foreachone,isitaprojectoranongoingprocess?

*_____________________________Ongoing/Projectbased*_____________________________Ongoing/Projectbased*_____________________________Ongoing/ProjectbasedWhatarethemarketingactivitiesthatyouneedtogetdonebecauseyou

don’tlikedoingthem?Foreachone,isitaprojectoranongoingprocess?*_____________________________Ongoing/Projectbased*_____________________________Ongoing/Projectbased*_____________________________Ongoing/Projectbased

Ifyourbudgetistoolowforallofthisrightnow,we’llneedtoprioritize.WhichitemfromthelistsabovewouldgiveyoutheSINGLEbiggest

possiblereturnforyourcompanyifitweredone?Itmaybehardtopickonlyone,andofcoursenoonehasacrystalball,but

whatisreallyholdingyourcompanyback?Orwhatprojectwouldmostlikelyboostthebottomlineofyourcompanythefastest?

Inthe30-dayplanthatIwillexplaininSection2,youwillgetmanyideas

forthingsthatyoucandotoimproveyourmarketingefforts.ButjustbecauseyoucandoitdoesnotmeanthatyouSHOULDdoit.Aftertheinitial30daysofexecutingthisplan,youwillnotethatSOMEoftheactivitiesoutlinedintheplanareworkingforyourcompanywhileotheractivitiesarenot.Onetechniquethatusuallyworksverywellistostoptheactivitiesthatarenotworkingforyourcompanyandmovethebudgetallocatedtoactivitiesthatareworking.

Thetricktodoingthiswellistomeasure,measure,andmeasure.Ifan

activitybyitsverynatureisnotmeasurable,thenyoushouldnotdoit,especiallyifthereisacostintermsoftime,money,orpersonaleffortinvolved.

SECTION2

DAY1:THECREATIVEBRIEF

Acommonproblemmostclientsfacewithdigitalmarketingishowtogetthe

bestperformancefromtheirdigitalmarketingteam.Areyoufindingitdifficulttoexplaintheideayouhaveinyourmindtoyour

designersothatshecangetthejobdone?Hasyourmarketingteamstartedoffinthewrongdirection,soyouhaveto

stop,figureoutwheretheheckyou’regoing,andstartover?Whatifyouhadaroadmapthatcouldgetyouthere?Acreativebriefislikearoadmap.Agreatcreativebriefleadstopersuasive

marketing.Thiscanbesummarizedinasimplesentence:Don’tExpectYourMarketingTeamToReadYourMind.Whatisacreativebrief?Inmarketing,acreativebriefisadocumentcontainingtheinstructionsfor

theworktobedonebythemarketingteam.Thepurposeofthisbriefistoalignmarketingresources,suchasthecopywriters,graphicdesigners,andothers,withtheclient’smarketingstrategy.Inthisbook,Ikeepusingthewordscreativebrief,marketingbriefandclientbriefinterchangeablybuttheyallrefertothesamedocument.

Themostimportantpartofthiscreative/marketing/clientbrieftemplateisthe

listofthegoalsoftheclient.Ifthesemarketinggoalsarenotcommunicatedearlyonintheprocess,themarketingteamcanstartoffinthewrongdirection,whichleadstowastedtimeandwastedmoney.Ifyouareamarketerandyou

don’tknowwhatsuccessmeanstoyourclient,thenyouwillbelost.Ifyouareanemployeeinthemarketingdepartment,thensimplysubstitutetheword“client”with“boss.”

Ifyouareasmallbusinessownerandyouarereadingthis,youneedto

ensurethatyourmoneyiswellspent,whichmeansthatyouneedtoexplainyourideaofwhatsuccesswouldlookliketoyourmarketingteam.MostsmallbusinessownersIspeaktohavenotthoughtthisfarahead,whichmeansthattheyarenotclearastowhattheirgoalsshouldbe.Ontheotherhand,Ihavenotedthatsometimestheclientdoeshaveaclearbusinessgoalinhis/hermind,butdoesnotarticulatethisgoaltothemarketingteam.Inbothscenarios,itreallyhelpstohavetheclientfilloutaquestionnaireinordertogeteveryoneonthesamepage.Afewclientsdelegatethistaskwithoutfullyunderstandingwhatitmeanstothebottomline.

Thereisathirdscenariowithestablishedcompanieswhoalreadyhavealot

ofmarketingmaterialsavailable.Sometimes,whilegoingthroughthesemarketingmaterials,itisobviousthatthereisconfusioninthemessaging.Asthesayinggoes,“Ifyoudon’tstandforsomething,youwillfallforanything.”

Themainstakeholderhastobeapartofthisactivity.Ifheisunableto

dedicatethetime,youasthemarketershouldtaketheinitiativetointerviewhimandfilloutthecreativebriefformyourselfbasedonhisinputs.

Youcanvisitmywebsitelistedbelowtodownloadthecreativebrief,aswell

asmanyotherfreedownloads.http://www.authorandfriend.com/brief/

Asanexample,let’slookatafewquestionsfromthecreativebrieftemplate

andseehowwecouldanswerthem.Q1.Whoisyourtargetcustomer?Q2.Whatisthetargetcustomerproblemandsolutioninanutshell?Q3.Whatarethebenefitsofyoursolution?Q4.Whatisyourvalueproposition—thepromisethatwillsolvethetarget

customer’sproblem,meettheirneeds,orsatisfytheirdesires?Q5.Whyshouldyourtargetcustomerbelieveyourpromise?

Inordertoanswerthesequestions,let’sassumethatyouarethemarketingmanagerforDomino’sPizza:

Q1.Whoisyourtargetcustomer?A1.Peoplewithinaone-mileradiusofeachpizzeria,ages18andabove,

bothmaleandfemale.Q2.Whatisthetargetcustomer’sproblemandsolutioninanutshell?A2.Therearemanypizzerias,buttheyarealltryingtoeithercompeteon

priceorontaste.Therealproblemthattheyignoreisthatpeoplewhoorderpizzadeliveryarealreadyhungry.Thesolutionistogetthepizzatothemfast.

Q3.Whatarethebenefitsofmysolution?A3.Twokeybenefits:thecustomerwillnothavetostayhungryforlongand

canlookforwardtoeatingahotmealinthenext30minutes.Q4.Whatisyourvalueproposition—thepromisethatwillsolvethe

targetcustomer’sproblem,meettheirneeds,orsatisfytheirdesires?A4.Yougetfresh,hotpizzadeliveredtoyourdoorin30minutesorless—

orit’sfree.Q5.Whyshouldyourtargetcustomerbelieveyou?A5.Thetargetcustomerhasnothingtolose.Ifthepizzaisontimehewins;

ifthepizzaisnotontime,hewins.Word-of-mouthmarketingWhatdoesword-of-mouthmarketinghaveincommonwithdigital

marketing?Iamgladyouasked.Animportantcomponentofyourword-of-mouth/referralstrategyisyour

elevatorpitch.Yourelevatorpitchisa30-to60-secondpresentationthatcanbedeliveredverballywithorwithouttheuseofprops.Inotherwords,youneedtoidentifytheremarkablesegments/aspectsofyourbusinessandthenfigureouthowtobuildastoryaroundeachsegment.

Theelevatorpitchcanbealsousedformakingvideosforthepurposeofdigitalmarketingbecausethethoughtprocessforaviralvideoisessentiallythesameasanelevatorpitch.Thesevideoshavetoenticetheviewertoexcitedlytellafriend,“Yougottaseethis!”Whenyouproducethesevideostherightway,theyaredesignedtobeviralinnature.

HereisatechniqueIlearnedfromDr.IvanMisner,founderofBNIandthe

ReferralInstitute.Inhisbook,“TheWorld’sBestKnownMarketingSecret,”Dr.Misnerhasgivenusamethodtocraftourelevatorpitchbydividingitintofiveparts:

#Introduction-whatwedo#Theremarkablesegment-theaspectofyourbusinessyouwanttocover#TheLCDsuccessstory-elaboratefurtherwithastory,preferablyatrue

story:)#Calltoaction-specificactionrequest#Memoryhook-somethingcatchy;itdoesnotneedtorhymebutitshould

bememorableThefirstpartisfairlystraightforward,butbeforeyouintroduceyour

company,introducetheproblemyouwillsolveforyourcustomer.Thiscustomershouldrepresentanicheorasegmentofthepopulation.For

example,yourtargetcustomercouldbeadoctor,arealestateagent,orabanker.WhenwerefertotheLCD,wemeantheLeastCommonDenominator.Inthiscase,wehaveusedtheacronymLCDinterchangeablywiththetargetcustomer.

HowdoIidentifymyLCDgroup?Firstly,youhavetostartbyaskingtherightquestions.Thequestionsgiven

belowaremorefromthebusinessowner’sperspectiveso,ifyouarethemarketer,doensurethatyougetthefollowingquestionsansweredbythebusinessowner.

1)Thekindofleadthatworksforusissomeonewho…2)Thekindofleadthatdoesnotworkforusissomeonewho…3)Wedoourbestworkwithsomeonewho…4)Wearemostinterestedinthetypeofclientwho…5)Whatwedobestis…

OnceyouhaveidentifiedthisLCDgrouporgroups,thinkoftheposterboyorpostergirlofeachgroupagainandthinkoftheirstory.Whatweretheystrugglingwith,andhowdidyourcompanyhelpthem?

Nowplacethetargetcustomer(theLCD)atthecenterofastoryabout

him/her.Whatproblemishe/shefacing?Theremarkablesegmentofyourbusinessiswhereyouintroduceyour

companyastheknightinshiningarmorandshowhowyoursolutionwasusedtosolvethisproblemforsomeoneverysimilartothetargetcustomerorinthesamesituationashimorher.

Now,letususethesetwocomponents—thatis,thecreativebriefandthe

elevatorpitch—tomakeourfirstvideo.Thefourstepstocreatingagreatvideo:1)Identifytheproblem.Youneedtotapintotheemotionsofyourviewers.

Youshouldleadwithacommonproblemorwhatproblemyousolve.2)Explainthesolution.Next,mentionhowyou’llsolvethatproblem.It’s

besttokeepthisshortandsweetsothatyourviewergetsitimmediately.Describethebenefityouprovide,notyourfeatures.

3)Explainhowitworks.Thisiswhereyouelaborateonthesolutionandintroducesomedetailaboutyourproductorservice.Nowyoucanmentionfeatures,butdon’tforgettoincludethebenefitsofthosefeatures.Mostbuyerswillknowaboutyourcompetition,soifpossible,mentionthefactorsthatmakeyoudifferentfromthem.

4)Wrapup.Thisiswhereyoumentionyourcompanyandmemoryhook.Summarizeyourvaluepropositioninoneline.Thisshouldbeshortandmemorable.Makesureyoulettheviewerknowthenextstep;forexample,“clickonthelinkbelow”or“subscribenow.”

Yourscriptdoesn’thavetobelaidoutinthismanner(afterall,itisacreative

process),butthisisanintuitiveandnaturalwayforaviewertocomprehendanidea.

Thegoodnewsisthatyoudon’tneedtothinkaboutthevariouspartsofthe

videosinceyouhavealreadyhavealltheseanswerswrittenoutwhenyoufilledoutthecreativebriefandtheword-of-mouthstrategy.Infact,youjustmight

haveenoughmaterialforsevenoreightvideosbynow.:)Thestepsformakingavideoareasfollows:#Makeavideoscriptusingthefourstepsgivenabove.#Revisethescriptusingtheelevatorpitchframework.#Recordavoiceoveryourself,orhandthisscriptofftoavoiceoverartist.#Collecttheimagesforthevideooraskyourdesignertocollectimages

basedonthescript.#Combinetheimagesandvoiceoverintoavideousingvideoediting

softwareorhandofftheimageswiththescriptandtheaudiofileofthevoiceovertoyourvideo-editingspecialist.

CaseStudy–Day1Davidownsalettingagency(PIRentals)inSurrey,UK.Alettingagentisa

realestateagentwhodoesnotdealinbuyingandsellingofproperties,butonlyspecializesinbringinglandlords(whowanttorentouttheirproperty)andtenants(whoneedaplacetostay)togetherforabrokeragefee.Davidhasbeenalandlordhimselfforthelast13years,sohehasaverygoodideaaboutwhathistargetcustomerswant.

Hehastwotypesoftargetcustomers,landlordsbeingthefirstgroupand

tenantsbeingthesecondgroup.Davidisinterestedindigitalmarketing,sincehewantstogrowhisbusiness.

HehasgonethroughthebookBeginnersGuidetoDigitalMarketingandnowwantstoimplementthe30-dayplanforhisbusiness.

HestartsoutwiththeCreativeBriefquestionnaireandanswersthequestions

asfollows:Q1.Whoisyourtargetcustomer?Ihavetwotypesoftargetcustomers,landlordsandtenants.Landlordsown

morethanonepropertyintheSurreyareaoftheUK.TenantsarelookingforapropertytoliveinwithintheSurreyareaoftheUK.

Q2.Whatarethetargetcustomers’problemsandsolutions,ina

nutshell?Thelandlordislookingforsomeonetopayhimrentforhispropertybutis

worriedthatthetenantmaynotmaintainthepropertyandmayhasslehimforrepairs.Heisalsoworriedthatthetenantmaynotpayhimontimeandhemighthavetowaitalongtimetogettherightkindoftenant.Thetenantislookingforagoodandwell-maintainedpropertywithinhisbudgetintheSurreyareabecausehewantstolivenearhisworkplaceandhewantsaplacewhichisconvenientlylocatednearhisson’sschool.

ThesolutionforbothisourPassiveIncomeRentalService.Landlordscan

lookforwardtorentingouttheirpropertyinatimelymanner.Wecheckthecreditscoreofthetenantaswellasgethimaguarantorwhoiswillingtotakeresponsibilityforthetenant.Wealsodrawupthenecessarypaperwork,keepinginmindthecurrentlaws.Thisisapremiumservice,wherewetakecareofthepropertyrepairswithourteamofcivilcontractorsfortheactualcostoftherepairsandanadditionalfee.

Q3.Whatarethebenefitsofyoursolution?Thebenefittothelandlordisatruepassiveincomesolutionifhedecidesto

goaheadwiththepremiumservicesincewedoubleupasapropertymanagerandmaintainthepropertyforthelandlord.Thebenefitstothetenantarethathegetsapropertywithinhisbudgetandhewillnotneedtochasethelandlordforrepairs.

Q4.WhatisyourValueProposition—thepromisethatwillsolvethe

targetcustomers’problems,meettheirneeds,orsatisfytheirdesires?ForLandlords:ThePIGuaranteeisthatifyourcurrenttenantdoesnotfulfill

hislegalobligationsasmentionedinyourcontract,wewillwaiveoffourbrokeragefeeforyournexttenant.

ForTenants:Weguaranteethatwewillfixanybrokenplumbingoranyothercivilworkwithin24hoursonweekdaysandwithin48hoursonweekends.

Q5.Whyshouldyourtargetcustomerbelieveyourpromise?Landlords:Wewillclearlymentionourguaranteeinaseparatelegal

agreementthatyousignwithus.Tenants:Wewillappointadedicatedpropertymanagerandalsogiveyoua

24hourhelplinenumberforanyrepairrelatedmatters.

Davidthenstartsworkingonhiselevatorpitch.Hewouldliketofocusonlandlordsforhisreferralstrategy,sohebreaksdownhiselevatorpitchasfollows:

IntroductionHi,IamDavidSmithfromPIRentals.Wehavebeenaleadinglettingagency

inSurreyforthepast13years.TheremarkablesegmentToday,Iwouldliketotalkaboutmy“PassiveIncomeRentalService.”TheLCDsuccessstoryIwouldliketotellyouasuccessstoryaboutoneofmycustomers,Dr.

Stephen,whoisadentist.Heowns17propertiesintheSurreyareaandisaverybusyperson.Whenhecametoustwoyearsago,hewasalreadyworkingwithsevenotherlettingagentsandhewasveryknowledgeableaboutthepropertymarketinthearea.Inthepasttwoyears,hehasswitchedoveratotalof12propertiestomycompanybecausehewasveryhappywiththelevelofservicethatweprovided.Whilehestillworkswithotheragents,hepreferstodealwithus—andhasreferredotherdoctorfriendstous,too.

CalltoactionIfyouknowadoctorwhoisinterestedininvestinginpassiveincomerental

properties,pleasereferthemtome.MemoryhookAtPIRentals,weputyourincomeonautopilot.Daviddecidestousehisvideoasatrafficmechanismtogetmoreleadstohis

website.Hedecidestodoanexplaineranimationvideoandwritesthevideoscriptasfollows:

TheproblemThisisDr.Stephen.Heisabusydentistwhoownssomerentalproperties.

Fromtheoutside,Dr.Stephen’slifelooksideal,butheisreallytiredofattendingtohistenants’phonecalls.Theycallhimwhenheisconsultingwithapatient;theycallhimwhenheisinthemiddleofasurgery;theyevenhavewaystogetpasthisreceptionist.Stephenneedstofindawaytomakethiswork.

ThesolutionStephenmeetsanoldfriendwhoalsoownssomerealestate.Hisfriendtells

himaboutPIRentals,whohavehelpedhimputhisrentalincomeonautopilot.Howdoesitwork?StephencallsDavidSmithfromPIRentalsandmeetswithhimtodiscusshis

options.Davidisfriendlyandhelpful.HeshowsDr.StephenhisPassiveIncomeRentalPlanandhisPIguarantee.Healsoletshimknowabouthisfastturnaroundtimeandhislegalservices.

StephendecidestosignupwithPIRentals.Nowheisabletospendmore

timewithhisfamilyandfocusonhisbusinessofhelpingpatientswhileatthesametimeenjoyingastreamofpassiveincomefromhisrentalproperties.

WrapupIfyouownrentalpropertyinSurrey,youneedtolookusup.Clickonthelink

belowtosignupforano-obligation,FreelettingValuationofyourpropertyandgetallyourquestionsanswered.

Nowthathisscriptiscomplete,Davidemailsthescriptandhislogotohis

video-editingspecialist.Heishappythathehascompletedthefirststepofhismarketingplan.

DAY2:THESUCCESSTRACKER

MeasuringSuccessOnDay2,wewilllookatwaysofmonitoringandmeasuringsuccessforour

digitalmarketingactivities.Todothisweneedtoconsiderfourthings:goals,strategies,objectivesandtactics.

Agoalisabroadprimaryoutcome.Astrategyistheapproachyoutaketoachieveagoal.Anobjectiveisameasurablestepyoutaketoachieveastrategy.Atacticisatoolyouuseinpursuinganobjectiveassociatedwithastrategy.WhatdoesSuccesslookliketoyou?Youmayhaveaproductoraservice.Theproductorservicemayhaveane-

commercesetup,abrick-and-mortarstorefront,orahybrid“clickandbrick”model.Itisfairtoassumethatwhateverthecase,whatyoureallyrequireissalesofyourproductorservice.Salesaredoneontheorderpageofthee-commercesiteorbysalespersonsinthestore.

Themainjobofthemarketingteamistoprovideleadstothesalesteam.A

typicaldigitalmarketingprojectmayhaveoneormoreofthefollowinggoals.1)Revenue2)Branding3)LeadGeneration4)ProductorServiceSales5)WebsiteVisitorConversions6)Engagement7)ROI–ReturnonInvestmentYoushouldnoticethatImentioned“ProductorServiceSales”asoneofthe

goals.Ifthisisagoalforyourmarketingteam,thenthemarketingteamwillhavetoworkverycloselywiththesalesteamtoachieveit.Ageographicallydispersedteamwouldhavegreatdifficultyinchasingthisparticulargoal.

TheformulasgivenbelowaretheformulasIhaveseencompaniesusingto

measurethegoalslistedabove.Youmaychoosetomeasurethesedifferently,butIhavelistedthemhereforeasyreference.1)Revenue.Theformulaforcalculatingrevenueis(numberofcustomers)×(numberoftransactionspercustomer)×(averageticketsize).

2)Branding.Thenumberofreferralsfromexistingcustomersisthebestmetrictomeasurebrandingefforts.Thenumberoftransactionspercustomerisalsoagoodindicator.

3)LeadGeneration.ThetwobestmetricsforleadgenerationarethenumberofleadsandtheROI%(returnonInvestment).

4)ProductorServiceSales.Thebestmetrictomeasuresalesistheabsolutesalesnumber,alongwiththeLead-to-SaleConversionRatio,alsoknownasConversionRate(%).

5)WebsiteVisitorConversions.VisitorConversionsiscalculatedasfollows:NumberofClicks/Visitors,dividedbythenumberofLeads.

6)Engagement.FacebookmeasuresEngagementRateasfollows:TotalEngagement(likes+comments+shares)dividedbytheTotalFans.

7)ROI–ReturnonInvestment.ROIisoneofthebestmethodsofmeasuringsuccess.AgoodROImeansspendingonedollarandgeneratingmorethanadollarinreturn.AbadROIiswhenyouaregeneratinglessthanadollarinrevenueagainstyourmarketingspendofonedollar.

Myadvicewouldbetopickonlyoneofthesegoalsasthegoalforyour

digitalmarketingefforts.Whenyouhavetoaimatamovingtargetormorethanonetarget,youtendtomissmostofthetime.

Thesuccesscriteria,however,wouldvarydependingontheactivities

undertaken.Forexample,ifengagementisacriterionforyou,yourbestinvestmentmightbeFacebookorLinkedIn,dependingonyourtypeofbusiness.

Letusseehowwecanmapthesuccessofaparticularmarketingactivity

usingoursuccesscriteria.GoalTogenerate200%ROIStrategyTofocusontrafficwithbuyingintent

ObjectiveToconvert4%ofleadsagainstthecurrenttrendof2%leadconversionTacticsFacebookAds,GoogleAdsExpectedOutcomeCurrentlywearegenerating1000leadspermonthat100%ROIand

converting20leadsintosales.Wewanttoincreasethatto40saleswhilekeepingthebudgetandthenumberofleadsconstant,whichwouldbeaconversionof4%withanROIof200%

CaseStudy–Day2Daviddecidestonotedownhissuccesscriteriabutfirsthehastopickagoal.

HedecidestoconsiderLeadGenerationashisprimarygoalwithROIasthesecondarygoal.Currentlyhedoesnothaveamarketingbudgetandhismonthlyrevenueiserratic.ForeasycalculationsIamconsideringhisrevenueindollars,ratherthanpounds.

AnnualRevenue:$600,00010%ofthatis:$60,000minimumannualmarketingbudgetMonthlymarketingbudget:$5000permonthWeeklymarketingbudget:$1250perweekGoalTogenerate1200leadsat100%ROIperyearStrategyTogenerate1200freshleadsviadigitalmarketingperyearObjectiveTospend$1250perweekonleadgenerationagainst25leadsperweek

TacticsGoogleads,FacebookadsExpectedOutcome25leadsperweek

DAY3:THEKEYWORDLIST

Yournextstepindigitalmarketingshouldbedealingwithyourkeywords.

YoubasicallyneedtothinkaboutwhatyourtargetaudienceistypingintoGoogletofindyousothatyouwillbeabletotargettheminGoogleandothersearchengines.

Keywordsarethetextqueriesenteredintosearchenginesandsocial

networkswheneveryou’reconductingasearch.Onetypeofkeywordphraseiswhatisknownasalong-tailkeyword.Along-tailkeywordisacombinationofthreeormorewords;itneedstoalsobeincorporatedintoyourtargetlistbecauseitismorenicheandthusislesscompetitive.Nevertheless,shortkeywordsarealsoimportantbecausetheyofferahighervolumeofsearchtraffic.

Whybuildakeywordlist?Oneofthemainreasonstobuildakeywordlististhattoday’sconsumersare

discoveringbrandsthroughsearchengineslikeGooglethatrankwebsitesbaseduponuniquekeywordcombinationsandalgorithms.Youcantakeadvantageofthisbyoptimizingyourwebsitewithrelevantkeywordstoincreasethelikelihoodofitbeingrankedandfound.

Alotofotherplatforms,likeFacebook,Twitter,etc.,arealsoutilizing

keywordsnow,sochoosingtherightonesisanimportantpartofincreasingyourexposure.Thisisespeciallytruewheneveryou’recreatingSearchEngineOptimized(SEO)content.

Althoughit’sdifficulttoknowpreciselywhichkeywordsaregoingtoattract

themostpeople,therearesomewaysbywhichyoucandeterminejusthowpopularandcompetitivetheywillbe.Therearenumeroustoolsthatyoucanusetodeterminejusthowcompetitiveaspecifickeywordis—theGoogleKeywordtool,Wordstream,andWordtrackerareexamples.Manyofthesetoolswillalsohelpyoutocomeupwithnewideas.Whenusingthem,youshouldstriveforabalancebetweenrelevance,searchvolume,andcompetitiveness.Keepinmindthatyourfirstlistisn’tgoingtobeperfect,soyou’llwanttotryoutdifferentkeywordstodeterminewhichwillworkbestforyou.

Ofcourse,youwillcontinuallyneedtobetesting,analyzing,andrefining

yourkeywords,too.Thistypeofkeywordresearchisanongoingprocessthatwillneedtobemonitoredclosely.Thebenefitisthatyou’llgainvaluableinsightsintoindustrytrendsandproductdemand,whichinturnwillhelpyoutoincreaseorganictraffic.

Nowthatyouhaveabetterunderstandingofkeywords,here’showtocreate

akeywordlist:#Writedown10keywordsorshortphrasesthatarerelevanttoyourwebsite.

Thinkaboutwhatyourcustomerwouldtypeoutwhenthey’reonlinesearchingfortheproductsorservicesthatyouoffer.Yourbusinessnameshouldn’tbeincludedhere,especiallyifyou’reasmallbusinessowner.

#Chooseyourkeywordsbasedupontheirdifficultyandrelevance.Some

wordsaresocompetitivethatit’salmostimpossibleforyoutorankwellforthem.It’sinyourbestinteresttochooselesscompetitivekeywordsthataremorerelevanttoyourbusiness.Generallyspeaking,thegreaterthesearchvolumeisforakeyword,themorecompetitiveitis.

#Findabalancebetweenrelevance,searchvolume,andcompetitiveness.

Choosetenkeywordsthatmatchyourbusinesswell.Yourstarterlistwon’tbeperfect,sotryoutdifferentkeywordstoseewhichworkbestforyou.

Nowthatyouhavechosenyourbasekeywords,youshouldhandthemoffto

yourSEOteam.ThesamekeywordscanalsobeusedforyourvideowhenyouareuploadingittoYouTube.

CaseStudy–Day3DavidcallsuphisSEOprojectmanagertohaveadiscussionabouthisSEO

strategy.Heexplainsthathisstrategyistofocusontrafficwithbuyingintent.TheSEOprojectmanagerassureshimthatthiscanbedoneandrequestshimtoprovidetheinitiallistof10keywordphrasessothathecanstarthiscompetitorresearchandhiskeywordresearch.

DavidthenemailsthenewlycreatedkeywordlisttotheSEOproject

manager.Hislistisasfollows:#lettingagentsurrey#rentarrears#tenanteviction#tenancydeposithelp#goingtocourtforpossessionproceedings#findatenant#lettingsfullmanagement#rentcollectionlettings#tenancyagreements#propertyinventorychecklist

DAY4:YOURDOMAINNAME

Youneedtodecidewhatnicheorbusinesscategoryyouplantotarget,and

thennarrowitdowntosomethingveryspecific.UsingtheexampleofDavid,whoisalettingagent,Davidhastonarrowdownthetopictosomethingsuchas“lettingagentsurrey,”asheistargetingaveryspecificaudienceinaveryspecificgeographicalarea.

IfsomeoneintheSurreyareawantstoletouttheirproperty,thenthechances

arethattheywilltypeout“lettingagentsurrey”inGoogle.Therefore,itwouldmakesenseforDavidtopurchasethedomainnamelettingagentsurrey.co.ukifitwereavailable.

Whatisadomainname?Adomainnameisbasicallythenameforyourwebsite.However,owninga

domainnamesimplygivesyoutheabilitytopreventsomeoneelsefromusingthatnamefortheirwebsiteuntilthepointwhereyouassociatethisdomainnamewithahostingserver.

Whatishosting?Ahostingserverisalsoknownasawebhostandacompanyprovidinga

hostingservertothegeneralpublicisknownasahostingcompany.AhostingcompanyhascomputersthatarespeciallyconfiguredandpermanentlyconnectedtotheInternet.Theyallowyoutoplaceyourwebsiteontheirsystemforamonthly/annualfeesothatyourwebsitecanbeviewedbyothersontheInternet.

Youcanpurchasedomainnamesfrommanyplaces,butIwouldrecommend

keepingyourdomainnameandyourhostingseparate.Asanexample,youcanpurchaseyourdomainnamefromGoDaddyandhaveyourhostingatBluehost.

Topurchaseyourdomainname,yousimplyvisitGoDaddy.comtoseeifthe

domainnameyouwantisavailable.Enterthedomainnameyouwant,clickthe

Nextbutton,andyouwillseewhetherornotthenameisavailableforyoutobuy.Ifthatparticulardomainnameisnotavailable,thenyoucanchoosefromoneofthesuggestions.

Ifthedomainyouwanttobuyisavailable,thenyoucanentersome

informationaboutyourself,andthenclaimthedomainname.Itisaseasyasthat.

Youwillneedtoenteryourbillinginfo,andthenyouwillwanttoreadthe

termsofservice,andthenyoucangoaheadandclicktheNextbutton.Onceyouhavedonethis,youwillbeabletocreateyourpasswordthatyouwillusetologintoyouraccount.

Onceyouhaveloggedintoyouraccount,youwillbeabletogetstarted,

whichmeansyouwillbeonestepclosertogettingyoursiteupandrunning.Don’tworryaboutwhatyousee,sincetheyarealotofupsells,whichcanconfusenewbies.

PickASecondDomainNameNowthatIhaveconvincedyoutopurchasethedomainnamerelatedtoyour

niche,canIalsoconvinceyoutogetaseparatedomainnameforyourbrand?Nowhereiswherealotofpeoplestartthinkingthattwodomainnamesmeansthattheyhavetoinvestintwowebsites—youdon’tneedtoworryaboutthat.Simplyaskyourwebdesignertoredirectyourbranddomainnametoyournichedomainnameandthensetupyourhostingonyournichedomainname.

Thenextthingyouwillwanttodoispurchaseahostingplan.Iwould

recommendBluehost.comforyourhostingplan.Bluehostwillgiveyouanoptionforafreedomainnamesoyoudon’tneedtoworryaboutactuallybuyingtheseconddomainname.Onceyouhaveboughtyourhostingplan,youcouldeitherwatchaYouTubevideoonhowtoconnectyourdomainnametoyourhostingplanbyusingsomethingcalledanameserveroryoucansimplyhandovertheusernamesandpasswordstoyourwebmastersothathecandowhat’snecessary.Itusuallytakesaboutfourhoursforthechangestotakeeffect.Ifitistakingtoolong,youcanusethesupportticketsystemtoraiseaquerytoeithertheGoDaddyteamortheBluehostteamtosortoutthematterforyou.

YouractualwebsiteNowthatyouhavepurchasedyourdomainnameandassociateditwithyour

hosting,youwillwanttoinstallaWordPresswebsiteonyourhostingserver.Bluehosthasavideotutorialonhowtodothis,soyoucanusethatoraskyourwebmastertodotheinstallforyou.

Now,youmightwonderwhatWordPressisandwhyyouwouldneedit.

WordPressisauser-friendlysystemthatallowsyoutoupdateyourwebsitewithoutyouneedingtolearnHTML.Doesn’tthatsoundgreat?HerearesomemoregreatreasonstouseWordPress:

*GooglelovesWordPress.*Youcanusethemestostyleyoursiteinlinewithyourbrand.*YourwebsitecangrowwithyousinceWordPressisveryscale-able.*WordPressletsyouinstallpluginstogiveyoumorefunctionality.*WordPressprovidesablogbydefault,whichmeansthatyoucanhavetwo-

waycommunicationwithvisitors.*Ifyouwanttomakeyourwebsitemobile-ready,itisveryeasytodowith

WordPress.PremiumWordPressThemes:WhatAreThey?OnceWordPressisinstalledonyourserver,youwillseethatthedefault

themethatappearsisnotveryvisuallyappealing.ThesolutiontothisistoinstallapremiumWordPresstheme.ApremiumWordPressthememeansthatthethemecostsmoney,andmostofthetimeithasbeenbuiltbyaprofessionalwebdesigner.Manymarketingprofessionalsusepremiumthemes.

Thereareafewreasonswhyyoushouldchooseapremiumtheme.Oneof

themisthatthequalityisgood,farbetterthanthefreethemesyouwillfind.Premiumthemesareeasiertouse,too,intermsofediting.Lastly,thesecuritythatcomeswithpremiumthemesisfarbetterthanthesecuritythatcomeswithfreethemes.

ItisalsoworthnotingthatpremiumWordPressthemesareupdatedregularly,

astheyneedtobeinordertokeepupwithnewversionsofWordPress.Notonlyarepremiumthemesupdatedoften,butthesupportyoureceivefromthedesignersissecondtonone.Matteroffact,ifyouuseafreetheme,thenyoumayhaveahardtimefindingsupportwhenyouneedit.Apersonwhohascreatedafreethemeisundernoobligationtohelpyououtregardlessofproblemsthatyouexperiencewiththeirtheme.ItisworthnotingthatthetopprovidersofpremiumthemeswillprovideExcellentsupport.

Ifyouvalueyourtime,thengoingwithapremiumthememakessense.If

yourunintoproblemswithafreetheme,thenyoucouldeasilywasteafewhourstryingtofigureouttheanswertotheproblemthatyouareexperiencing.Youmightfindaforumwhereyoucanfindsomeonetohelpyou,buttherearenoguaranteesthatyouwillfindsomeonewhowilloffertohelp.YoucouldsearchonGoogleorYahoo,butthisisalsoaverytime-consumingprocessandcanwastemanyhours.Ifyoudon’tthinkyourtimeisvaluable,thenyoushouldgetafreetheme.However,ifyoudovalueyourtime,andyouwantproblemssolved,thengowithapremiumtheme.

Therearemanytypesofpremiumthemesoutthere,sotakealookatthe

differentonesandchoosetheonethatyoulikethebest.Thesooneryouchooseatheme,thesooneryoursitewillbeupandrunning.

Apointtonotehereisthateachthemeisdifferent,soyoumayneedtolearn

howthethemeissetup.Usually,premiumthemedeveloperslikeWooThemesprovidesupport(video)tutorialsonhowtonavigatethevariousfeaturesofthetheme.Someofthemeoptionsallowfortheuploadofacustomlogoorfavicon,andthere’sasectiontopastesomecodeforGoogleAnalyticstotrackwebsitevisitors.

Now,letuslearnandunderstandwhatGoogleAnalyticsisandwhyweneed

it.SettingupGoogleAnalyticsonyourwebsiteGoogleAnalyticsisatrackingsystemprovidedbyGooglethatisfreetouse.

Ithelpswebsiteownerslearnwhatisdrivingleads/salestotheirwebsite.YoucangetyourpersonalizedGoogleAnalyticscodebycreatinganaccount

athttp://www.google.com/analytics/Justfollowthestep-by-stepinstructionsontheGoogleAnalyticswebsite.OnceyouhavecreatedyourpersonalizedGoogleAnalyticscode,youcan

passittoyourwebmastersothathecandowhat’snecessary.OtherHostingOptionsIfyoudonotwanttohostyoursitethroughBluehost,thenyoumightwantto

doitthroughGoDaddy,astheyhavemanymoreextensionstochoosefrom.Therearealsoalotofotherhostingprovidersoutthereforyoutochoosefrom.IpreferaLinux-basedhostingserviceandnotaWindows-basedhostingservicebutthatisapersonalpreference,sincewordpressnowalsoworksonawindowsbasedhostingservice.

CaseStudy–Day4Davidreceiveshisfinalvideofromhisvideo-editingspecialist.HeproceedstouploadthevideoonYouTube.Inthedescriptionfield,he

placesthescripthehaswrittenforthevideowithalinktohiswebsite.Heusesthekeywordsfromhiskeywordlistastagsforthevideo,aswellasthetitleofthevideo.Next,heusesthesharefeatureofYouTubetosharethevideoonFacebookaswellashisothersocialmediachannels.

Whenhecheckshisemail,heispleasantlysurprisedtonotethathisSEO

teamhasalreadysenthimtheadvancedkeywordlist,competitorresearch,andthekeywordresearch.TheinformationisorganizedintoExcelsheets,butashestudiesthedetailsfurther,herealizesthatthereisalotofinformationandhefindshimselfabitoverwhelmed,sohecallsuphisprojectmanagertodiscussthesame.

TheSEOprojectmanagersuggeststhatDavidshouldfollowthecolor-coded

systemusuallyknownas“trafficlights,”whichusesred,yellow,andgreenhighlighterstohighlightthecellsoftheExcelsheet.Davidrequestshimtodo

what’sneededandsendhimthemodifiedExcelsheetswhendone.OnreceivingtheExcelsheetsback,Davidishappytonotethateachsheet

hasbeendividedintothreecolorcodes:GreenforHigh-PriorityKeywords(trafficwithbuyingintent),YellowforMedium-PriorityKeywords,andRedforLow-Prioritykeywords.

HedecidestofocusonthegreenHighPriorityKeywordsintheshortterm

forthenext30daysandtheyellowmediumprioritykeywordsforthelongtermandtoignorethelowprioritykeywordsfornow.

Davidpurchasesthedomainnamelettingagentsurrey.co.ukfromGoDaddy

anddecidestouseBluehostashishostingprovider.HenotesthatBluehostprovidesafreedomainwitheveryhosting,sohedecidestobuypirentals.co.uk.

HethenproceedstocreatehispersonalizedGoogleAnalyticscodeby

visitinghttp://www.google.com/analytics/andfollowingtheinstructions.Next,DavidpicksupapremiumWordPressthemefromWooThemesand

downloadsthefilesgiventohim.HethenemailsthesefilesandhislogotohiswebmasterwithhislogindetailsforGoDaddyandBluehostsothathecansetuphiswebsiteforhim.

ThewebmastersetsuptheWordPresswebsiteonlettingagentsurrey.co.uk

witharedirectfrompirentals.co.ukandsendstheWordPresslogindetailstoDavid.DavidnowproceedstochangethepasswordsforhisGoDaddyaccount,Bluehostaccount,andWordPresswebsiteasasecuritymeasure.

Davidnotesthatthethemehehaspurchasedhasaseparatesectionfor

GoogleAnalytics.HepastestheGoogleAnalyticscodeintheboxprovidedandlogsintohisGoogleaccounttocheckifithasbeensetupproperly.HeusestheGooglewizardtocheckhiswebsiteandishappytoseethattheGoogleAnalyticscodehasbeensuccessfullyembeddedintohiswebsite.

DAY5:CALLTOACTION

Youmayhavenoticedthatsomeadscaptureyourattention.*GetMarriedforLessthan$5,000*Low-FatFare*ProFitnessGuideWhatmakestheseadsstandout?Theyliterallyenticeyoutoclickonthem.

Acalltoactionisnotaboutsimplypresentinga“buynow”button.Whatreasonareyougivingyourvisitorstoinvitethemtosubscribe,purchase,moveforward,orclicktoviewadditionalcontent?

Inordertohaveasuccessfulcalltoaction,youneedto:*Explainwhatisinitforthevisitor.*Removeblandstatementsfromyourads.*Createmoreactivebuttons.*Testsimplemessagesforconversions.Fromjustaninitialglanceatyourpages,determinethemostcritical

informationonthepage.Itwouldalsohelptobringinathirdpartytogetanunbiasedopinionofthemessagingofyourmarketing,thepurposeandclarityofthetagline,andthearrangementofthecontentandimagesonthepage.

Evaluateyourcontactformsandyourusageofthem.Aretheyaskingthe

rightquestionsfortherightconversionpoint?Aretheytoolong?Dotheyhavetoomanyrequiredfields?Doyoureallyneedtoaskallthatinformationinordertogetthecontact?

Afterward,lookatyourlandingpageaftertheconversion.Whatdoesitsay?

Whatcanyoudotoprovidefollow-upaftertheconversionthatwillassistinbuildingarelationshipwiththenewcustomerorinmovingalongthesalescycle?

YouwantpeoplewhovisityoursitetoDOSOMETHING.Compelling

peopletotakeactionisvitalifyouwanttogenerateleads,getphonecalls,makesales,raisedonations,orachievewhatevergoalsyouhavesetforyourdigitalmarketingefforts.

CaseStudy–Day5DavidstartsoutDay5byoutliningthesalespathforhisidealcustomer.He

figuresthathisidealcustomerwouldlanduponhisblog,readanarticleortwo,andbecomeinterestedinsubscribingtohisnewsletterformorearticles.

He’salsoconsideredthatsomeofthemmightpreferaconcisePDFreport

aboutpassiveincomelettingsinexchangeforgivingouttheiremailaddress.Sincehehastwodifferentsalespathsinmind,henamesthemPath1and

Path2:Path1:#ProspectsearchesonGooglefortopic#Prospectclicksonthelink#Prospectlandsonwebsiteandreadsarticle#ProspectfillsoutthenewslettersignupformPath2:#ProspectsearchesonGooglefor“passiveincomeletting”#Prospectclicksonthelink#Prospectlandsonwebsiteandreadsarticle#ProspectfillsoutthenewslettersignupformDavidrealizesthathedoesnothaveaPDFreportonpassiveincomelettings

ready,soheemailsoneofhisvirtualassistantstoresearchthetopicforhim.HealsoemailshisgraphicdesignerregardingthecoverforthePDFreport.

Healsodecidesthatheneedstocreate“calltoaction”buttonsforeachsales

path:Path1:*SubscribeNow*ClickHeretoSubscribeNow

*LearnMorePath2:*GettheFreeReport*DownloadNowHeemailsthesecall-to-actionideastohisgraphicdesignertoconvertthem

intobuttons.

DAY6:THECONTENTCALENDAR

TheimportanceofcontentinDigitalMarketingForme,digitalmarketingisnotjustaboutprovidingcontent.It’salsoabout

brandingyourbusiness,generatingleads,andfocusingonleadsthatconverttosales.

Herearesomeguidelinestohelpyoucreateeffectivecontent.#Considerthegoalsofyourbusiness#Decideonacompanyimage#Buildaword-of-mouthmarketingplan#Developacontentstrategy#Createanescalationmatrixfornegativereviews#Formacontentcalendar#Createacommentplan#ConnectCTA(callstoaction)toallcontentAwell-organizedmarketingcampaignislikelytobeeffective.The

guidelinesaboveareself-explanatory;however,theydon’tworkinisolation.Theyneedtobeapartoftheoverallmarketingstrategy.

TheAdvantagesofDevelopingaContentCalendarThecontentcalendarisashareableresourceusedtoplancontentactivity.

Utilizingacontentcalendarenablesthedigitalmarketingteamtoplanahead.Mostteamsusethecalendarforforwardplanning,tohelptolineupfreshcontent,andtoensurethatsufficientcontentislinedupreadytopublish.Forwardplanningenablescompaniestobrandtheirbusinesseffectively.

IdentifyyourAudienceYourbusinesswilltrytoreachouttonumeroustypesofcustomers,andthese

clientswillinevitablybeinterestedindifferentkindsofcontent.Digitalagenciesproduceuniquecontentforpotentialclients;however,theyalsostrivetodevelopcontentthathelpsabusinessstandoutaboveallothers.So,howdoyouidentifyyouraudience?

Thosewhoaremarketinggoodsorservicesshouldlistentoallclient-facing

employees.Meetwithcustomerservice,sales,andmarketingandgatheraconsensusofopinion.Focusoncreatingvariedcontentthatgeneratesleads.

TakeStockofContentAssetsPlentyofbusinesseshaveawealthofvaluablecontentstoredaway.Youmay

owninnumerablecontentmarketingassetsthathavebeensetaside.Slidedecksusedintrainingsessionscouldbereusedasblogposts,onlineslidedecks,orvideos.DataretrievedfromtheCRMsystem,financedepartment,orsurveyscanbetransformedintonewsstoriesorinfographics.Whitepaperscanberewrittentoformaseriesofblogpostsandolderblogpostscanbeupdatedusingfreshandcurrentinformation.

Savvymarketersworktirelesslytobrandtheirbusiness,andtheyareaware

thatcreativecontentisanessentialpartofanysuccessfulmarketingcampaign.Everysuccessfuldigitalmarketingplanreliesonfreshcontent.Developingacontentcalendarhelpsyoutonoticethewindowofopportunityandpublishattherighttime.

Marketingandplanninggohandinhand.Failtoplanandyoumayseelittle

returnoninvestment.Soundmarketingplansarefilledwithinnovativeideas,andabusinessthatisabletocomeupwithfreshandinterestingcontentreachesouttoawideraudience.Developadrumbeatapproachtocontentdevelopmenttoconnectfullywithyouraudienceandaddfreshandintriguingcontenttokeepyourloyalbandoffollowersenthralled.

Tosummarize,contentcalendarsareimportantbecausethey:#Helpyoufocusontheneedsofyouraudience#Helpyouinspireandconnectwithyouraudience#Helpyouprovidevaluetoyouraudience#Forceyoutothinkfurtherthantodayandtomorrow#Helpyouintegrateacrossmediums

#Leverage,acrossmediums,differentaudiences#Createonce,usemanytimes(=increasedROI)#Streamlineresources#Driveinternalteamwork#Fuelideagenerationandinnovation#Helpsetexpectationswithyouraudience#HelpyoucreateloyalbrandevangelistsCaseStudy–Day6Davidispleasedtoreceivesomegoodideasfromhisvirtualassistantforthe

PDFreportonpassiveincomelettings.HedecidestooutsourcethecreationofthisreporttohisvirtualassistantwithafewcommentsontheflowofthePDFreport.Healsoreceivesthecoverpagedesignfromhisgraphicdesigner,whichhepromptlyemailstohisvirtualassistanttobeintegratedintothePDFreport.

Davidnowdecidestoupdatethecontentofhiswebsite.Heproceedsto

YouTube,wherehelooksforYouTubevideosonhowtoupdateWordPresswebsites.Next,helooksuptheWooThemessupportareaforadditionalinformationabouthispremiumtheme.

Startingwithapenandnotepad,Davidjotsdownhiscontentgoalsfirst.His

maincontentgoalistoattractlandlordsintheSurreyareatohiswebsite,sincehewouldbeeasilyabletogettenantleadsbyputtingupthepropertylistingonabiggerportal.

SinceDavidhasbeenalandlordhimself,heunderstandsthatlandlordsworry

thattenantsmaynotmaintainthepropertyandmayhasslehimforrepairs.Theyalsoworrythattenantsmaynotpayontimeandtheymighthavetowaitalongtimetogettherightkindoftenant.

Hedecidestofocushiscontentnotjustonhispassiveincomerentalservice,

butalsoonlegaltipsandthingshehaslearnedfromexperience.Hedecidestofocus80%ofthetimeoncontentthatisinformativeanduseful,whichwouldestablishhimasanexpert,and20%ofthetimeonsales-focusedcontent.

Hedecidestowritehisarticlesinthetoneofachattynext-door-neighbor.

Hecurrentlyhastwovirtualassistantswhohelphimwithresearchandcontent,sohedecidestoprepareacontentcalendartoensuretheyputupsomecontenteverythreedays,whichhecanthenapproveandpublishonthewebsite.

Hedecidestousehiskeywordsstrategicallybyutilizingthehighpriority

keywordsprovidedbyhisSEOteaminthetitleofeveryblogpostthatheputsup.HenotesthatWordPressmakesthiseasyforhim,sinceWordPressprovidesablogbydefault,whichmakeshiswebsiteablog,too.

Hestartsoffwithacontentcalendarforjustonemonthwithathemeforeach

week.HisthemeforWeek1islegalissues;thethemeforWeek2iseasytipsforpropertymaintenance;thethemeforWeek3istheSurreyareaitselfandwheretofindthebestdealsinSurrey;andhisthemeforWeek4isrentalratenegotiations.

Heemailsthebasiccontentcalendartohisvirtualassistantsfortheir

feedbackandinputstostartoff.

DAY7:SOURCESOFTRAFFIC

Whatistheoneimportantthingthat’sneededtomakemoneyonline?Manyonlinemarketersbelievethattheonlywaytomakemoneyonlineis

havingalotoftraffictotheirwebsites.Butthisisnotentirelycorrect.Asmuchasanonlinemarketerneedspeopleorvisitors,heorshemustalsobuildtrustwiththevisitorsandalsoensurelastingrelationships.Youcanmakemoneyonlineonlywhenyoucanconvertyourtraffictoasaleandthatsaleintorepeatsales.

Wealsoknowthatnoteveryonewhocomestothewebsitewillbuyfrom

you.So,itisimportanttoknowwherepeoplearecomingfrom—inotherwords,thesourcesofyourtraffic.Whenyouareabletotrackyourtrafficsources,youwillknowwhichofthemconverttosalesandwhichdonot.

TherearemanysourcesoftrafficthatcanbetrackedusingGoogleAnalytics,

including:#OrganicSearchTraffic#Referrals#SocialMediamarketing#EmailMarketing#PaidSearch#DirectTraffic#DarksocialtrafficOrganicSearchTrafficdoesn’tcomejustfromsearchengines.Youneedto

takeyourkeywordsintoconsiderationheresoyouknowwhereyourtraffic,leads,andcustomersarereallycomingfrom,sothatyoucandevelopbetter-informedcontentstrategies.ThisisdifficulttodaybecauseofGoogle’sSSLencryption,wherebykeywordinformationisnowencryptedorhidden.Thismakesitalothardertounderstandwhichofyourkeywordsandtermsareworking.

Referralsasamarketingtacticcanmeanalotofdifferentthings.Thisis

becausewedefineareferralasanywebsitethatsendstraffictoyouthrough

inboundlinks.Assuch,differentsoftwareandtoolstrackdifferentthingshere.Forinstance,theymayormaynotincludesocialmediawebsitesandsubdomains.Thisinformationisimportantwheneveryou’retryingtodeterminewhichwebpropertiesareofbenefittoyouwhenitcomestoco-marketing,SEOpartnerships,andguestbloggingopportunities.

Socialmediamarketingisanotherimportanttrafficsource.Itnotonly

includessomeonefindingyourwebsitethroughasocialnetworkinglink,butitalsoincludessomeonetweetingoutalinktoyourwebsiteorpostingalinktoyourwebsiteontheirFacebookpage.Wheneveryouengageinthistypeofmarketing,youshouldmakesuretoaddatrackingtokentomakeiteasierforyoutoanalyzeeverythinglateron.SomeotherimportantsitestoremembertousehereincludeReddit,Tumblr,Digg,StumbleUpon,andSquidoo.

Emailmarketingneedstoalwaysincludelinksbacktoyourwebsite.These

linksneedtoincludetrackingtokenssothatyoucanknowwherethepersoniscomingfromwhentheyviewyourlink.Thenicethingaboutthistypeofmarketingisthatyou’llbeabletoseejusthowmuchtrafficisbeingsenttoyourwebsitefromyourcampaign.

PaidSearchmarketing,oraPPCcampaign,allowsyoutotrackhowmuch

websitetrafficisbeingdriventoyou.Thisisfoundinareportfromthewebsitewhereyou’repurchasingyourclicks.You’llwanttopaycloseattentiontothisreporttomakesurethatthistrafficisactuallyconverting,somakesuretoalwaysincludetrackingtokens.

Directtrafficisthetrafficthatarrivesatyourwebsiteoutsideofoneofthe

aforementionedchannels.Forinstance,wheneveryoutypeinyourdomainURLandhitenteryouarriveatyourwebsitethroughmeansofdirecttraffic.Inotherwords,there’snoreferringURLheresowheneveryouseeanincreaseinyourdirecttrafficyoucanbehappythatthenumberofpeoplewhoknowyoubynameisincreasing.

Darksocialtrafficmayalsofallunderthecategoryofdirecttraffic.Thisis

trafficthatalotofanalyticsprogramscan’tcapturesinceitlacksreferraldata.Typically,itcomesfromthingslikeemailsandinstantmessengerprograms.JusthowmuchofthistrafficyouactuallyreceivewillsomewhatdependuponhowdiligentyouareinusingtrackingIDs.Thegoodnewsisthatthistypeoftrafficshoulddecreasemoreandmoreoverthecourseoftime.

TrackingyourtrafficsourcesRegardlessofwhattypeofmarketingyouaredoing,youshouldalways

makesuretocreatetrackinglinkssoyouknowwhatyourtrafficsourcesare.Whenyou’rereadytocreateatrackingURL,youwilldiscovertherearea

lotofprogramsonlinetodaythatwillhelpyoudoso.OnesuchtrackingsoftwareisBitly.Bitly.comisfree,easytouse,andprovidestrackingstatisticsthatyou’llbeabletokeepaneyeon.

Firstofall,you’llneedtosetupanaccount.Thenyoucanfollowthesesteps

tocreateaBitlytrackinglink:Let’sassumewearetrackingthetrafficfromourYouTubevideo.#OpenatabinyourbrowserandsearchfortheYouTubevideothatyou

uploadedearlier.#OpenasecondtabinyourbrowserandlogintoyourBitlyaccount.#Openathirdtabinyourbrowserandopenupyourwebsite.#SelecttheURLofyourwebsiteinyourbrowser.#PastethiscodeintoBitlytocreateyournewlink.#MakesurethatyouaddanotetothelinkinsideofBitlysothatyouwillbe

abletorememberexactlywhatyouareusingthislinkfor.Thenotecanbesomethingassimpleas“YouTubeVideo1”

#Copyandpasteyournew,shortenedBitlylinkintothedescriptionfieldoftheYouTubevideowithacalltoactiontext,suchas“clickheretolearnmore.”

Inconclusion,themainaimofdigitalmarketingistomakemoney.Ifyou

knowwhereyourmoneyiscomingfrom,thenyouknowwheretogetmoreofit.CaseStudy–Day7DavidstartsoutDay7bycallinghisSEOprojectmanagertodiscussthe

trackingrequirements.Davidfeelsthatinordertotrackthingsproperly,thetrackingshouldbeintegratedwiththeCRMsystem,buttheSEOprojectmanageradviseshimthatthereisnoeasywaytodothis.

Instead,Daviddecidestothenfocusonafewareashefeelsareimportant.

Mainly,hewantstousehiswebsiteasahub,withhistrafficsourcesbeingthespokesofhishub-and-spokemodel.

HeinstructshisvirtualassistanttocreateseparatetrackingURLsfortwo

mainareas,whichareemailmarketingandsocialmediamarketing,sothatitiseasiertotracktheresultsoftheeffortsputinforthesetwoareas.Thiswouldalsogivehimasecondarylevelofanalytics,apartfromGoogleAnalytics.

HeproofreadsthedraftcopyofthePDFreportandsuggestsafewchanges

tohisvirtualassistant.Whenthechangesaredone,heemailsthereporttohisgraphicdesignersothatshecancombinethetextandgraphicsintoonePDFreport.

PITSTOP1

DavidcreateshisSuccessTrackerinExcelwiththefollowingdetails:#Weeklybudget:$1250perweek#Leadtarget:25leadsperweek#Appointmenttarget:15appointmentsperweek#Salestarget:1saleperweekSincehehasnotyetdoneGoogleadsorFacebookads,hehasnotusedup

anyofhisadbudgetandhealsodoesnothaveanyleadsforthisweek.

DAY8:LISTBUILDING

Thekeytolistbuildingliesinofferinga“leadmagnet”ona“squeezepage”withan“autoresponder.”Whatdoallofthesetermsreallymean,though?

Tobeginwith,youshouldknowthataleadmagnetisasmallPDFreportthat

apersonwilldownloadaftertheyhavegivenyoutheiremailaddress.Thisistypicallyfoundona“squeezepage,”whichisawebpagethatisn’tlinkedtoyourmainwebsite.

Thesqueezepageworksbyusinganautoresponder,whichissoftwarethat’s

beensetuptoautomaticallysendanemailtosomeonewho’sfilledouttheleadcaptureform.ThisworksbysimplyembeddingafewlinesofHTMLcodefromtheautorespondersoftwareintoyourwebsite.

Wheneveryou’retryingtocreatealeadmagnet,youshouldconsidertheone

thingthatyouwanttohelppeoplesolve.Maybeyouareanexpertonrealestate.Maybeyouareanexpertondogtraining.Thisshouldbeputintosometypeofanoutlinefromwhichyouwillbeabletowriteanappealingreport.Oncethisisdone,it’ssimplyamatterofdistributingit.

Keepinmindthatyourleadmagnetdoesn’thavetobeafullebook.Itcan

be:#Anexcerptforabookyou’vewritten#Ashortvideothatdemonstratesaconcept#Sometypeofaudio#Anillustrationofferingavisualsolution#SometypeofsoftwareHowdoesthetrafficfunnelwork?First,youmusthaveatleastthreesourceswhichcanhelpconvertvisitorsto

subscribersandthenplacetheminthefunnel.

Thefirstisablog,whichhastwomaintasks:toprovidefreshanduseful

contenttovisitorsandtocapturetheirnamesandemailaddresses.Alwayshavingfresh,usefulcontentwillensurethatfirst-timevisitorsreturntotheblogandevensharethecontentviasocialnetworks.

Thesecondsourceisthesqueezepage.Themainfunctionofthispageisto

getnamesandemailaddressesfrompeople.LastistheFacebookfanpage,witha“LikeGate”ora“FanGate”utilizing

theTabSiteapp.Thisisarepeatofthesqueezepage,butitwillallowapersontocollectnamesandemailaddressesfromindividualsvisitingthefanpage.

Alastingrelationshipcannotbebuiltwithjustfewvisitstothewebsite.A

marketerneedstogetholdoftheemailsofasmanyvisitorsashecan.HowdoyougoaboutgettingtheemailIDsofpeoplevisitingyourwebsite?Theanswertothisishavinganexcellentleadmagnet.

Aleadmagnetiscontentonyourwebsitethathelpspeopleyetpersuades

themtoleavetheirnamesandemailaddresses.Thiscontentcanbeacasestudy,video,orPDFreport.Aftervisitorsleavetheirdetailsinthewebsite,theywillgetintoyourfunnel.Fromthatpoint,youcanthenbeginbuildingconnectionsandtrust,andafterthat,marketingproductstothesepeoplecanbepossible.

Aftercreatingallthoseleadmagnetpages,nextisensuringtheygettraffic.

Thiscanbethroughavarietyofways,namelyGoogleAds,Twitter,YouTube,searchenginetraffic,soloads,andtheFacebookfanpage.Withaconstantflowofsubscribersintothefunnel,themarketershouldgetsubscribersinvolvedbyencouragingthemtosharethepage,askquestions,orcomment.

Whenmarketingyourproduct,youshouldgotolengthstoensurethe

productreallyhelpspeople.Bydoingthis,youwillbebuildingyourcredibilitywiththebuyers.

Whyofferafreegiftonyourwebsite?Inthepast,itwaseasytoenticepeopletosignuptomailinglists;sadly,this

isnolongerthecase.However,offeranincentiveforvisitingandtheymayshowinterest.Commonincentivesincludeafreeniche-focusedPDFreportoranother

kindoffreegift.Imagineyouhadthirtydaystoenticeonethousandpeopletosignuptoyour

site.Howareyougoingtoachievethis?CreateaFastandUniqueMarketingReportasagiveawaygift.VisittheEzineArticleshomepage.Typetheprimarykeywordintothesearch

boxonthepage.Thissearchwilluncoverawealthofsuitableniche-relatedarticles.Selectoneortwoarticlesthatareinformativeandenjoyable.Youcanusethesearticlestocreatethebasisforafreemarketingreport;however,youshouldensuretheauthordetailsremainintact.CopyandpastethearticleintoaMicrosoftWorddocument,addauniqueintroduction,exporttoPDFformat,andyouhavesuccessfullycreatedafreemarketingreport.

SqueezePagesAmailinglistisasubtlebutusefulmarketingtool.Createinteresting

marketingreportsthatreaderslookforwardtoreceivingandyourbusinesswillthrive.Failtomarketyourbusinessandyourearningswillnosedive.

Regardlessofwhattypeofleadmagnetyouchoosetocreate,you’llneedto

alsocreateasqueezepageforit.Thispagewillneedtohaveamemoryhook,whichshouldtellpeoplewhytheyneedthisproduct.

Remember,thegoalofyoursqueezepageistoobtainthevisitor’semail

address.Anydistractionscouldcausethemtoleave,whichiswhythereshouldn’tbeanyotherlinks.Thisgoalhasahugerewardforyouasadigitalmarketer,becauseonceyouhaveaperson’semailaddress,you’llhavenumerousopportunitiestopresentthemwithmultiplesalesmessages.

YouneedtoensurethattheGoogleAnalyticscodeyoucreatedearlieris

embeddednotjustintoyourmainwebsite,butalsointoyoursqueezepages.Today,youcaneasilyfindalotoffreeHTMLtemplatesforcreatingsqueeze

pages.Evenprofessionalstendtousethem,becausetherearealotofbenefitstodoingso,including:

1)Theyarequickertocreatebecauseyousimplyneedtofillintheblanks.

There’snocodingortechnicalstuffinvolved.2)Theyhaveaprofessionallookevenifyouaren’tanexpertwebdeveloper.

3)They’recheaperthancreatingyourownorpurchasingacustomsqueezepage.

ChoosingtherightautoresponderPartofputtingtogetheryoursqueezepagehastodowithchoosingtheright

autoresponder.Thiscanactuallybethedifferencebetweensuccessandfailure,whichiswhyyouwantaservicewithprovendeliverability,suchasGetResponseorAWeber.Whilethesearen’tthecheapestautoresponders,theyarethemostsuccessful.Furthermore,theyallowyoutoconfirmnotonlythatyourmailshavearrived,butalsothattheyhavebeenopened,eventellingyouwhen.

ByincludingaBitlytrackinglinkinyouremailthatpointstoyourwebsite,

you’llbeabletogetasecondaryleveloftracking,apartfromthetrackingprovidedbyyourautorespondersoftware.

CaseStudy–Day8DavidstartsoutDay8bylookingforanautorespondersolutionforhis

business.HefinallysettlesonGetResponseandstudiesthevideosprovidedtostartwithhislistbuildingactivities.Hefollowsthestepsrequiredtogeneratetheembedcodeforhissqueezepage.

HereceivesthecompletedPDFreportfromhisgraphicdesignerandis

happywiththefinalresults.Next,hewritesoutthecontentforhissqueezepageandemailsthecontent,thePDFreportandtheembedcodetohiswebmastersothathecandowhat’snecessary.Hiswebmasteremailshimbackmentioningthefactthatafewcall-to-actiongraphicsarerequiredonthesqueezepage.Davidforwardstheemailtohisgraphicdesignertohandlethat.

Davidthenentersthefirstandsecondemailsthatwillgooutintothe

autorespondersoftware.

DAY9:GOOGLEADWORDS

GoogleAdWordsispaidadvertisingwhereyoupayGoogletoplaceanad

foryouinthesearchengineresultspage.Whenpeopleclickonyourad,theycometoyourwebsiteandGoogleispaidonaper-clickbasis.ThisisalsoknownasPPC(pay-per-click)adsorSEM(searchenginemarketing).

Whenitismanagedandsetupproperly,GoogleAdWordsisoneofthe

bettersourcesfornewcustomers.Afewyearsago,Iassistedabusinesswiththeirgrowthtoearn$4millionwithAdWordscampaigns.But,IhavealsowatchedbusinesseswastetensofthousandsofdollarsbecausetheydidnothaveproperlymanagedAdWordscampaigns.

HerearesomestepsthatwillhelpyougetstartedwithAdWords:CompetitorIntelligenceCarefullystudythecompaniesbiddingonkeywordsthroughAdWords.Find

outwhoranksatornearthetopoftherankingsonaconsistentbasisbyusingaspytoolsuchasiSpionage.Notetheoffersandadcopythattheyuse,andcheckouttheirwebsites.Signuptogetontheirmailinglists,andbuytheirproducts.

CustomerDemandItisimportanttofindoutwhereyourpotentialcustomersarereviewing

businesses,services,andproductslikeyours.Readthereviewsasmuchaspossible.Determinewhatitisthattheyhateandloveaboutyourcompetition,andthedeepdesiresandneedsthattheywouldliketohavefulfilled.Lookoutforsomequotesthatyoucanutilizeinyouradcopy.

CreateAmazingLandingPagesIncludinganawesomeofferonyourlandingpagewillhelptoovercomeany

deficienciesthatyoumayhaveinyourAdWordscampaign.Youhaveseenwhatyourcompetitorsareoffering,sofigureoutifyoucanoffersomethingthatisbetterorunique.

UseExactMatchKeywordsWhenyouarefirststartingoutwithAdWords,keepthekeywordlisttoonly

about5to10keywords.CreateExactMatchkeywords,whichwillensurethatyouradswouldbedisplayedonlywhentheusertypesthatexactsetofkeywordsinthesameorderthatyouintended.Eliminatekeywordsthatarenotgettingconversionsorclicks,andexpandononesthatare.

Groupyourkeywordsintoadgroupsthatarecloselyrelatedandbasedupon

theintentofthesearcher.Forinstance,keywordssuchas“purchase”and“buy”showthattheprospectisclosertobuying.Thelandingpagesandadvertisementsshouldbefocusedmoreonclosingthesale.

StickwithRelevantAdsTheadcopymustbehighlyrelevanttothekeywords,reflectthemessaging

andofferonyourlandingpage,andstandoutfromthecompetition.FindoutwhatworksthebestandthenstickwithitsothatAdWordscanguideyourmarketingengine.

Otherstepsnecessaryforyoutotakeincludecreatingabudgetforyour

AdWordscampaign,re-marketingtowardsindividualswhohaveexpressedinterestinpurchasingfromyou,andfiguringoutyourAdWordsaccountstructure.YoualsowillwanttosignupforconversiontrackingthroughGoogleAdWords.Youwillbeabletoviewwhatkeywordshavevalue.

Createseveraladstorunatonce,andcheckontheaccountfrequently.

Hopefully,thishashelpedyoutostartyourowncampaigntoincreasetraffic,yoursales,oryourbrand.

CaseStudy–Day9DavidstartsoutDay9bystudyingthekeywordresearchandthecompetitor

researchthatwassenttohimbyhisSEOteam.Hereviewshisbudget,whichis$1250perweekonleadgenerationagainst25leadsperweek.

HealsostudiestheremarketingplanthathehasreceivedfromhisPPC

consultant.Heissurprisedtolearnthathecanuseremarketingtacticstobringanoriginalvisitorbacktohiswebsiteandconverthimintoapayingcustomer.HeispleasedwiththeideathathecanconvertlostvisitorsviaremarketingonGoogleAdWords.

HestartsoutwithanAdWordsplanbasedonthetemplateprovidedtohim

byhisPPCconsultant.Heassumeshewillhavetogenerateatleast50clicksperweektoget25leads.Therefore,hedecidesthatthemaximumbidpriceshouldbe$6perclick,assumingthathewouldgetabout16clicksperweekfromGoogleAdWords.ThePPCconsultanthasalreadysetupthebasicAdWordsandremarketingcampaignsforhimandDavidgiveshimago-aheadfortheadbudget.

ThePPCconsultantreviewsthesqueezepagethathasbeencreatedand

suggeststhatatleastfivemoresqueezepagesarerequired.DavidgivesthesqueezepageURLtohisvirtualassistantandgiveshimfivetopicsforthenewsqueezepagestobecreatedandaskshimtocreatethecontentforthenewsqueezepages.

DAY10:GOOGLEWEBMASTERTOOLS

“Indexing”referstothewayGoogleclassifiesandcataloguesyourwebsite.

GoogledoesthisindexingbyusingaprogramnamedGooglebot,whichindexesyourwebsiteby“crawling”thewebsite.“Crawling”isthetermusedtodescribehowGooglebotmovesfromonepageofyourwebsitetoanother.

Typically,awebsitethatcan’tgetcrawledhasaproblemwithit.Thiscould

beprogramming,scripts,orevenchangesthathavebeenmade.Sometimes,there’sspammycodeinitthatwasusedformarketingtosearchengines.Thesolutionforspammycodeistomakea“reconsiderationrequest”toGoogleoncethecodeisfixed.

GoogleWebmasterToolsareagreatwaytodiagnose,trackandreceive

importantGooglealerts.ThisisasetoftoolsfromGooglethatshowshowoftenyoursiteiscrawled,whatpagesaredownloadedandifthere’sanythingthat’snotbeingfound.You’llalsoreceiveinformationaboutyoursite’srank,click-throughsandkeywordstohelpyouunderstandhowyourwebsiteisperforming.

ThesetoolsareagreatresourcethatGoogleiscontinuallyupdatingand

improvingupon.Assuch,youshouldbelookingatitonamonthlybasis,becauseifyourwebsitedoeswellinGoogle,itwilldowellinothersearchengines,too.

Apartfromthis,themostimportantfunctionalityprovidedbyGoogle

WebmasterToolsistheabilitytofindoutwhatkeywordshavebeentypedinGooglebytheprospectinordertoleadhimtoyourwebsite.

Ifyou’reredesigningyourwebsite,thistoolwillalsohelpyoutofindpages

thatGooglehas“lost.”Thisisparticularlyimportantifyou’renotusingaredirect.Itallowsforasmoothtransitionfromyouroldwebsitetoyournewone.

Withinthepage-not-foundreport,you’llfindthebrokenlinksonyoursite.

Bycheckingthisweekly,you’llknowofanylinkingissuesbeforethere’saproblem,dependinguponyourlevelofactivityonthewebsite.

ThecrawlstatswillshowyouhowoftentheGooglebotisvisitingyourwebsitetodownloadnewversionsofyourpages.Sometimes,thishappensmultipletimesperdayorthousandsoftimesamonth.

WheneverGoogleisn’tcrawlingyourwebsite,therearesomeissues.The

primaryoneisthattherearen’tanyincominglinksfromreputablewebsites,whichistheprimarywayinwhichsearchenginesfindnewwebsites.Ifyourwebsiteisbeingcrawledbuttherearen’talotofpagesbeingupdatedordownloaded,thentheremaybesomeprogrammingissues.Keepinmindthatjustbecauseyourwebsiteiscrawledandindexedbythesearchenginesdoesn’tmeanthatyou’regoingtoautomaticallyrankwell,becausetherearenumerousfactorsthataffectrankings.

UndertheSearchQueriestabinGoogleWebmasterTools,you’llfindagreat

ideaofhowvisibleyourwebsiteis.Hereinyou’llfindthekeywordsthatwereusedforfindingyourwebsiteandhowmanytimesforeach.You’llalsolearnhowmanyclick-throughsyourlistinghasattractedforthatkeywordandtheaveragepositionforthiskeyword.SimplyorganizethisreportbaseduponeitherAvg.PositionorClick-ThroughRate(CTR)sothatyoucanseethehighest-rankingwordsincomparisontoyourclick-throughrate.

Ifyoufindthatmostofthekeywordsareeitheryourcompanyoryourbrand

name,thenyouneedtoworkonyourSEO.Thiswillhelptoimproveyourrankingstoensurethatpeoplewhoaren’tyourexistingclientswillbeabletofindyou.

Itisimportanttotaketimetoresearchkeywordrelevancetomakesurethat

you’rebeingfound.Youdon’twantmisleadingorirrelevantterms.GoogleWebmasterToolswillhelpwiththis.

CaseStudy–Day10DavidisquitehappywithhisprogresssofarandhelogsintoGoogle

WebmasterToolstocheckthekeywordtraffic.Heispleasedtonotethattherearenocrawlerrors.Heissurprised,however,toseethatthekeywordsourcesarenotbeingtrackedandcallsuphisSEOprojectmanagertodiscussthematter.Theprojectmanagerexplainsthatuntilsufficienttrafficvolumeisreceivedonhiswebsite,Googlewillnotdisplaythekeywordsearchqueries.Davidisquite

disappointedtohearthis,butheisreassuredthatsincehehasjustrecentlybegunhisAdWordscampaign,itwilljustbeamatteroftimebeforethekeyworddataispopulatedwithinWebmastertools.

DAY11:GOOGLEANALYTICS

Afewdaysago,youembeddedafewlinesofHTMLcodeprovidedbyGoogleAnalyticsintoyourwebsite.Bynow,youshouldalreadyhavegottenafewvisitorstoyourwebsite,whichwillprovidesomedatathatcanbeviewedbyvisitingthefollowingURLandloggingin:

http://www.google.com/analytics/

WheneveryoufirstviewyourGoogleAnalyticsreport,you’llencounter

pageviewinformation.Thisisdata,whichisvalueneutral—itissimplyfacts.Inordertogainabetterunderstandingofit,youmustassociateitwithotherdatainordertoaddcontextandthuscreateinformation.Inotherwords,byassociatingthesenumberswithanaction,youcanstarttodevelopapowerfulmentalimagethatallowsyoutoseethetrendsandactivitiestakingplaceatyourwebsiteeveryday.Bycontinuallyaddingmoredata,youcontinuetocreateadditionallevelsoftheinformationhierarchy.Bysynthesizingthedatathatyouhave,you’reabletocreateknowledgeaboutyourwebsite’svisitorsandtheiractivity,whichresultsinrevenue.

However,thisisthepartwhereGoogleAnalyticsceasestobehelpful.While

GoogleAnalyticsisagreattoolbywhichyouwillbeabletogainknowledgeabouttheeffectivenessofyourdigitalmarketingactivities,ittakessomethingmoretobeabletoapplythatknowledgeandmakeituseful.This“somethingmore”isyou,theanalyst.Onceyougainknowledgeaboutyourmarketingactivities,youwillarriveatanunderstanding.Whileanalyticssoftwarecanprovideyouwithanswers,itwon’tprovideyouwithunderstanding.Itisuptoyoutoknowwhattodowiththeknowledgethatyouhavebeengiven.

Afteryouhaveunderstanding,thencomeswisdom.Thisiswhathappens

whenyouknowwhattodotomakeimprovements,conductanalysis,andgainadditionalinsights.GoogleAnalyticsisonlyasgoodasthepersonwhogetstheinformation.Forthisreason,youneedtoinvestinyourself.Otherwise,youmaybewastingalotoftimeongeneratingreportsthatnobodytrulyunderstandshow

touse.Itreallyisuptoyoutolookatthecontextinwhichthenumbersareprovidedtoyou.Takethetimetolookatthesearchtermsthatacertaingroupofvisitorsused.Indoingso,youwillbeabletodevelopacontext,astory,andahypothesisthatyoucanthenevaluate,judgeandmakedecisionsabout.

Afteryoudevelopthiscontext,youcanstarttobuildapowerfulnewwayto

viewyourwebsite’sdata.Indoingso,youaremovingbeyondnumbersandintothecontextofbehavior.Thismakesyoumoreofapsychologistratherthanananalyst.Thebetteryou’reabletounderstandyourvisitors—theirintentions,theirreactions,andtheresultsoftheirvisits—thebetteryou’llbeabletoimproveyourdigitalmarketing.Thisisbecauseyouneedtoknowyourvisitors’motivations,expectationsandreactionsinordertobeabletoexplaintheirbehavior.

Theresultofthisexplanationwillbebettertesting,optimizationandideas.

Allofthisresultsfromfocusingonasmallgroupofspecificvisitorsinsteadoftryingtoimproveuponalarge,unfocusedgroup.

CaseStudy–Day11DavidstartsoutDay11byloggingintoGoogleAnalyticsandstudyingthe

dashboard.HenotesthatmostofhistrafficiscominginfromYouTubefromthevideosthathehasuploaded.

DAY12:CRM

Nowthatmostofyourdigitalmarketingtoolsaresetupandrunningsmoothly,itistimetoinvestinadatacapturemechanism.Customerrelationshipmanagementsoftware,orCRM,canhelptocapturedataaboutyourprospectsandtracktheirjourneyfromaprospecttoacustomer.However,CRMismorethanjustsoftware.Asthenamesuggests,customerrelationshipmanagementiscustomer-centricstrategyforoptimizingcustomersatisfaction,revenue,andprofits.

Betterunderstandingofyourcustomerswillresultineasiertargetingofnew

prospectsandboostingsales.Whenthemarketingdatabase,salespipeline,andcustomerdataareroutedthroughtheCRMsystem,itbecomespossibletomonitorcustomerrelationshipandhaveanaccurateassessmentofROI.Secondly,whendataisusedeffectively,itbecomeseasiertogeneratesalesfromexistingcustomers,andthecompanyendsupspendinglessmoneyforattractingnewcustomers.

Anybusinesswouldwanttomaximizeitsmarketingleads,customers,and

returnoninvestment.Thesebasicgoalsarequiteattainableprovidedthecompanyisabletosimplifyitscommunicationchannelprocesses,whichwouldmakeitpossibletoderiveandmeasureCRMbenefits.

IntegrationistheMantraforOptimizationItisimportantformarketerstoknowwhatrevenuetheircampaignsare

generating,andthisispossibleonlythroughintegrationofordermanagement,sales,andmarketingprocesses.ItisveryimportanttoknowROIandwhichchannelsarefunctioningoptimally.Integrationwillbeabletodeliveraflowofthemostusefulinformationtoentrepreneurs.Additionally,anintegratedsystemofCRMwillenablethecompanytomaximizeefficiencybyleveragingonlinebusiness,whichisincorporatedintothecenterofbusinessactivityratherthanastandaloneinitiative.

Withtherapidtechnologicaldevelopmentofmarketingsoftware,itispossiblenowtotargetspecificaudienceswithfocusedmessages,withbetterreach,andwithmorefrequency.However,thiseffectivenessdecreasesovertimeduetopostingofmessagesthatcouldbeirrelevant,confusing,ordownrightconflicting.Suchnoisedilutesdeliveriesandoverexposestheaudience,resultinginfailuretoconnect.However,newCRMsoftwarecanmeetsuchmarketingchallengesandprovidesmuchmorethancapturingcustomerinformationanditsmanagement.Today,CRMsolutionscansynthesize,create,andcorrelatedataandpresentitinawaythatmakesiteasytoidentifyrelationships,patterns,andnewopportunitiesforselling.

Youhavealreadycreatedamarketingcampaignandidentifiedprospectsand

targetaudiences.Nowitistimetoselecttheproductthatyouareplanningtosell,designamessagethatwillconnecttheneedforyourproductwithyourtargetaudience,andchooseamediumfordeliveringthismessageorsetofmessages.

Themedium(alsoknownasatouchpoint)couldbeemails,phonecalls,

voicebroadcasts,andsoon.YourCRMsoftwarewillbeabletotrackhowoftenaprospecthasbeencontactedandwhichofthetouchpointshasbeenthemosteffective.

AgoodCRMsystemcan#Createmessages#Composetargetlists#Automateandschedulethedistributionofmessages#Captureinquiresandreplies#Routerepliestothecorrectdepartment#Tracktheprogressofsalesopportunities#Recordsales#CalculateROIfromthecampaignCRMsystemsarenowabletodeliversomuchbecausemarketinglist

managementcanbeintegratedwiththecompany’sinternalfinancialsystemandexternalemailservices.Inaddition,manyCRMsystems,suchasOntraportandInfusionsoft,nowincorporateanemail-marketingengine.TheCRMsystemoftodayisnotapassivetoolforcollectingcustomerdata,butanadvancedtacticaltoolthatprovidesbusinessintelligenceandhelpscreateeffectivemarketingstrategies.

CaseStudy–Day12DavidstartsoutDay12bycheckinghisemail.Heissurprisedtoseethathis

inboxisfullofinquiriesfromnewcustomers.Davidisabitworriedabouthowheisgoingtohandlealltheinquiries,sohecheckstoseeifhisvirtualassistantcanstartcallingeachleadandsettingappointmentsforhim.

Togetthingsstreamlined,DavidstartslookingforaCRMsolution,which

couldhelphimmanagetheseleads.Aftersomeresearch,hefinallysettlesonNimbleCRM,whichhasthefeaturesthathewaslookingfor.Heforwardstheemailsonebyonetohisvirtualassistant,whoenterseachinquiryasaleadintotheCRMsystemandthenstartscallingtheprospects.

Twooftheprospectsarekeentomeethimtoday,soDavidcheckshis

GoogleCalendarandsetsuptheappointmentshimself.

DAY13:CONVERSIONRATEOPTIMIZATION

Theword“conversion”isimportantinthemarketingaswellasthebusiness

world,anditisimportanttoyoubecausethepurposeofyourwebsiteistoconvertprospectsintocustomers.Conversioncanmeandifferentthingstoyou,suchasgettingsomeonetobuysomething,register,download,signaleadform,clickanad,orsubscribe.Eachconversionisdesignedtomakeyourbusinessmoreprofitable.

YoushouldrunaminimumoftwoConversionRateOptimization(CRO)

testspermonth.CROisdonetoimprovetheprofityoumakepervisitor.Thinkofitthisway:Ifyou’respending$1,000permonthtodrivevisitorstoyoursite,andonly1%ofyourvisitorsmakeapurchase(orcontactyou),that’sacostof$10persale(orlead).Ifyoucanget2%ofthesametraffictotakethesameaction,you’vejustdoubledyourincome(orleads)withoutspendingadimemore!Plus,you’vecutyourcosttoacquireacustomer(lead)inhalf.

Youneedtothinkaboutwhatyourwebsite’sprimarygoalsare.Whatisthe

purposeofyoursite?Whatactionoractionsdoyouwantvisitorstotakeonyoursite?Then,figureoutwhatyoursecondarygoalsare.Inotherwords,ifvisitorsdonotdothemainthingyouwantthemtodo,thenwhatisthesecondthingyouwouldpreferthemtodo?Ifavisitorcomestoyoure-commercesitebutdoesnotbuyanything,forexample,thenasecondarygoalmightbetogetthatvisitortoatleastsubscribetoanewsletter,asthiswilladdanewnametoyourmailinglist.

CROistheprocessbywhicheachconversionpointistrackedandmeasured

sothatitcanbeimprovedovertime.Theconversionpointcouldbetheleadmagnet,thesqueezepagecopy,thepositionoftheautoresponderleadcaptureform(leadform),thedesignofthepage,thethoughtprocessoftheprospectfromtheclickingoftheadtothefillingoftheleadform…basicallyanythingandeverythingthatcanbemeasuredabouttheconversionprocess.

TherearemanymethodstodoCRO,includingsplittesting(A/Btesting),

multivariatetesting,heatmaps,focusgroups,UItesting,etc.

ThereareafewpointsworthrememberingaboutCRO.*ThefirststepwithCROisthatyoushouldgatherqualitativeand

quantitativedatabeforeyoudoanysortoftesting.Basically,youdonotwanttoruntestsbecauseofwhatyourgutistellingyou.Youwanttobaseyourtestingondata,notyourgutfeeling.GoogleAnalyticswillprovideyouwithCROtoolssuchasGoalSetting,etc.

*ThesecondstepistodoA/Btests.WhenyoudoA/Btesting,youtakethe

originalversionofyoursite’ssqueezepage(knownasthecontrol)andthentestitagainstaminorvariation(knownasthetreatment).

*Donotexpecttoseeincreaseseverysinglemonth.*Youshouldalwaysoptimizeforrevenueandnotoptimizeforconversions.*Drasticchangeswillalwaysresultindrasticresults.Onceyoumakeafew

majorchanges,youwillprobablystartnoticingthatthingssuchasbuttoncolorswillstophavinganimpactonyourconversionrate.Alwaysmakesmall,measurablechangessothattheyareeasiertotrack.

*Thelastlessonisthatyouneedtoprovideyourteamwithsomesortof

direction,astheyarenotmiracleworkers.Justbecauseyoupaythemalotofmoneytoboostyourconversionsdoesnotmeantheywillactuallybeabletodoitwithoutanydirectionfromyou.

AnimportantpointthatIwantedtomakeregardingCROisthatCROisnot

aprocess;itisamindset—moreimportantly,it’sascientificmindset.YouknowthatCROisdonetoimprovetheprofityoumakepervisitor.Sowhatisitthatyouaredoingtoachievethat?

Forexample,somepeopleaddalivechatfeaturetotheirwebsites,butit

doesnotworkforeveryone.Ifyoudecidetoputupalivechatfeatureonyourwebsite,yourfirstthoughtshouldnotbe,“WhoarethevendorsIneedtocontact?Yourfirstthoughtshouldbe,“Whatisthegoal/outcomethatIhopetoachievebyinstallingalivechatfeatureonmywebsite?”Yoursecondthoughtshouldbe,“HowcanImeasureasuccessfuloutcomethatcanbedirectlyattributedtothisnewfeature?”WhatIamtryingtosayisdon’tjustimplement

thelatesttacticandthinkofitasastrategy.CaseStudy–Day13DavidstartsoutDay13withanotherinboxfullofemails.Hedecidesto

outsourcethisactivitycompletelybyprovidinghisautoresponderlogindetailsalongwithhisemailaccountlogintohisVA,sothathedoesnotneedtokeepforwardingemails.

Whenhecheckshiscalendar,henotesthathehasfiveappointmentssetup

fortoday.Sincehewouldnotbeabletohandleallfiveappointments,heinstructshisVAviaemailtosetupnomorethanthreeappointmentsperday.

Aftermeetingwithhisthreeprospectsfortheday,hereceivesacallfromhis

PPCconsultantmentioningthattheweeklybudgethasbeenexhausted.Davidisverydisappointedtohearthisandaskshimwhythishashappened.TheconsultantexplainsthathehadsetalimitontheexpendituretoensurethatDaviddidnotgooverbudget.

DavidinstructshimtopausetheAdWordscampaign,sincehehasenough

inquiriestohandlefornow.Healsomentionsthatnoneoftheinquiriesoneitherofthetwodayshaveconvertedtosales.ThePPCconsultantsaysthathewilllookintoit.

DavidcallsuphisfriendRon,whoisalsorunningaGoogleAdWords

campaignsforhisownbusiness.Ronadviseshimtolookintoallaspectsofconversionandnotjustthelead-to-saleconversionasametric.

Hefurtherexplainsthattherearemanydifferentconversionshecouldlook

at.1)Impression-to-ClickRatio(alsoknownasCTR)2)Click-to-LeadRatio3)Lead-to-AppointmentRatio4)Appointment-to-SaleRatioDavidrealizesthatthereisalotmoretoGoogleAdWordsthanmeetsthe

eye.WhilethefirsttwoitemsareunderthecontrolofhisPPCconsultant,hisVAwasincontrolofthethirdandhehimselfwasincontrolofthefourthratio.

However,hewasnotveryhappywiththequalityoftheleadsthemselvesandeventhoughtheappointmentshadbeenset,theprospectswerejustlookingforfreeadviceandwerenotlookingtosignupwithhim.Inadditiontothis,hisAdWordsbudgetwasalreadyexhaustedwithoutasinglesaleforthisweek.

DAY14:THEBUYINGCYCLE

Imentionedearlierthatthereisarelationshipbetweencontentandthesales

funnel,andthateverysinglepieceofcontentisanimportantingredientofyoursalesfunnel.Youneedprospectstobeattractedtoyourcontentinorderforyourmarketingeffortstopayoff.(Forexample,youcanattractnewvisitorsviayourblogpostsandFacebookpage.)However,thebiggestproblemyouwillfaceisinknowinghowtouseyoursalesfunnelinawaythatwillallowyoutobeatyourcompetition.Inotherwords,youneedtoknowwhattypeofcontenttouse.

Everysinglepersonknowshowimportantcontentis,andeverysingleperson

wantshisorhercontenttogetalloftheattention.Peoplewillusecatchyheadlineswithdifferentapproachesinordertogettheircontentseen.However,allthisreallydoesiscreatemorenoise.Ifyoudon’ttakethetimetomapoutyourcontenttothedifferentstagesofthebuyingcycle,youwillnoticethatyourcontentwillnotdeliverthedesiredresult.Inotherwords,itispointlessforyourcontenttohavetheloudest,weirdestormostcreativeheadlineifyourcontentisnotactuallyrelevanttothestageofyourfunnelthatyourreaderisat.Asaresult,yourreaderwilljustskipyourcontent.

Thereareahundreddifferentwaysyoucanmapoutyourcontenttothe

differentstagesofthebuyingcycle.Forexample,youcanusesuchthingsascheatsheets,blogposts,shortvideos,how-toguidesandwhitepapersforthetopofyourfunnel.Forthemiddleofthefunnel,youcoulduselongervideos,casestudies,e-books,assessments,curatedcontent,webinars,blogposts,orvideoposts.Atthebottomofthefunnel,youcouldusesuchthingsase-zines,casestudies,productdemos,andin-depthblogposts.

TheConsumerDecisionJourneyTheMcKinseyConsultingGrouphasdoneextensiveresearchonthesales

funnelandcustomerbehavior.Theyhavecomeoutwithareportonthe“ConsumerDecisionJourney”basedonthisresearchthatstatesthatcustomersnowbuyusinganon-linearapproach.Whatdoesthismeantoyouasamarketer?Itsimplymeansthatyouneedtomapoutyourcontenttothevarious

intentionsthatyourpotentialbuyershave.Forexample,attheintent-to-learnstage,yourprospectmaynotevenrealize

thattheyhaveaproblem.Theyaresimplyatastagewheretheywanttolearnaboutanewconceptthattheyhaveheardof.Theintent-to-comparestageiswhenyourreaderknowswhattheirproblemisandtheystartcomparingoptions.Prospectsthatareatthisstageshouldknowwhatyourproductsofferandhowtheyshoulduseyourproducts.Theintent-to-orderstageisthestagewhenyourprospectsarereadytobuyfromyouandnotyourcompetition.Theyusuallyknowexactlywhattheyarelookingforandtheyusuallyhavetheircreditcardsout,readytoorder.

Ifyoulearnhowtomapoutyourcontenttoreaderswhohavediffering

intentions,thenyouwillincreaseyourprofits.Inordertogetstartedwithmappingthebuyingcyclewiththefunnel,you

needtooutlinethestepsintheprocessthatyourequireyourvisitorstotake.Listeverystepintheprocess.Afteryouhavecompiledthelistofactions,evaluatewhichonesarenecessary,whichonescanbeoptimizedorcombined,andwhichshouldbeleftoutentirely.

CaseStudy–Day14DavidstartsoutDay14byreadingtheMcKinseyreportonthe“Consumer

DecisionJourney.”Hefiguresthatitonlytakesaclicktoembarkonajourneyawayfromhisbrand—butontheotherhand,italsojusttakesasingleclicktocomebacktohisbrand.Heisworriedaboutnotbeingtop-of-mindwithhispotentialcustomers.

HecallsupRontodiscussitwithhim.Rontellshimthathesimplyneedsto

improvehisfollow-upandnotexpectallcustomerstoconvertimmediately.Rontheorizesthatperhapstheinitialleadshegotwerepeopleintheearlystagesofthebuyingcyclewhowerenotyetreadytomakeapayment,sincetheywereevaluatingalternatives.

PITSTOP2

DavidupdateshisSuccessTrackerinExcelwiththefollowingdetails:#Weeklybudget,actual:$1200thisweek#Leads,actual:26leadsthisweek#Appointments,actual:6appointmentsthisweek#Sales,actual:0salesthisweekHedecidestotryhisbesttocatchupwithsales,sincehedoesnothaveany

salesyetinthefirsttwoweeks.

DAY15:LEADSCORING

WhenyoulookatyourCRMdataandyourGoogleAdWordsdata,youwill

realizethatnotallleadsareequal.Somearereadytobeconvertedintopayingcustomers,whileothersaren’treadytobuyyet.

Itwouldbeabetterutilizationofyoursalesresourcesifyoucouldidentify

whichleadsarethehotleadsfromthemanyleadsthatyouhavegeneratedinotherwordsit’simportanttodeterminewhetherornotaprospectisreadytohearfromasalesrep.Thiscanbedoneviaaprocesscalledleadscoring.

Inordertostartoffwithleadscoring,thesalesandmarketingteamsneedto

workcloselytogether.Therearefivestrategiesthatshouldbeutilizedhere:1.Holdmeetingswithyoursalesandmarketingteamstodeterminewhat

characteristicssales-readyleadshave.Someofthecharacteristicsthatshouldbetakenintoconsiderationhereincludedemographics(i.e.,theperson’sjobtitle,thesizeofthecompany,wherethey’relocated),whatactivitiestheyhaveengagedinwhilevisitingyourwebsite,andhowyouhavebeenabletointeractwiththem.Youmightevenwanttoselectmembersfrombothoftheseteamstocreateanewteamwhosemainobjectiveistocontinuouslybeworkingtobetterimprovesuchcharacteristics.

2.Thefeedbackfromthismeetingneedstobeutilizedtoestablishthepoint

valueofasales-readylead.Forexample,iftheleadwereaCEO,thenyouwouldassign10pointstothisparameter.IftheleadwereaCOO,thenyouwouldassign5pointstothisparameter,andifyoucannotdeterminethedesignation,thenyouwouldassign1pointtothisparameter.Similarly,youneedtoassignpointstoallthedatacollectedonyourleads.

3.Weightedscoresneedtobecreatedfordifferentactions.Thiswillrequire

somedetectivework,asyou’llneedtoreviewyourhistoricaldataaswellasyourexistingsalesdatatoseewhattraitstypicallyhelptocloseadeal.Youshouldalsoreviewyourmarketingautomationandwebsiteanalyticstoseewhatpageswerevisited,whatcontentwasdownloaded,andwhatformswerefilledout.Inordertobecomebetteracclimatedwiththisimportantmarketing

information,youmaywanttoestablishaspreadsheetthatlooksatthingslikeemailinteraction,voluntaryrequestsforinformation,websitevisits,informationthat’sbeendownloaded,andeventsthathavebeenattendedeitheronlineorinperson.

4.Thesalesteamshouldtakesometimetoreviewtheseproposedscores.

Decidewhichscoringcriteriareallymatter,assomewillsimplybemoreimportantthanothers.Onceyouhavedeterminedthis,youwillbeabletosetyourscoringthresholds.Here,you’llbeabletosegmentleadsbasedupontheirscoressothatyouknowwhodeservesmostofyourattention.Atthisstage,youwillwanttocomeupwithamaximumscoreof100pointsbyassigningthemaximumpointsforthemoreimportantdatapointsandprioritizingaccordingly.Forexample,designationoftheleadmightgeta20%weightage,whilethelocation(withinacertainradius)wouldmaybegetatotalof30%,whichleavesjust50%tobedistributedamongsttheotherdatapoints.

5.Takesometimetotestthescoringsystemagainstyourexistingsales

pipeline.You’llwanttoknowwhattheROIofyourleadscoringprogramis.Bytrackingandcapturingchanges,you’llbebetterequippedtodetermineyourlead-scoringsystem’struevalue.Thingstolookathereincludeopensalesopportunities,anyopportunitiesthathavebeeneitherunresponsiveorunqualified,andleadsthatarestillinthenurturingpipeline.Youmayneedtotweakthepercentageshere.

You’llneverreallybedoneworkingonyourlead-scoringmodel.Testingand

trackingwillneedtocontinuouslytakeplaceinordertoidentifynewwaysinwhichtorefineit.Getridofbadassumptionsandrememberthatasthemarketiscontinuallyevolving,yourleadscoringsystemshouldalsocontinuallybeevolving.

CaseStudy–Day15DavidasksRontohelphimreviewhiswebsiteandmarketingmaterials.Ron

suggeststhatDavidshouldcreatemoreopportunitiesforthetargetcustomertointeractwithhisbrand.Asofnowthereisonlyoneopportunityforeachtypeofcustomer.

DavidremembersthathisPPCConsultanthasaskedhimtocreatefivemore

squeezepagesandtellsRonaboutit.Ronexplainsthatsqueezepagesareonlyonepartoftheprocess.Whileadditionalsqueezepageswouldbehelpful,theywouldbebetterusedinconjunctionwithweightedscores.

HefurtherexplainsthatDavidmightbegettingsomeinformationfrom

GetResponseregardinghissignups.DavidimmediatelybrightensupandshowsRontheExcelsheetthathehasdownloadedfromGetResponsewithhissignupdata.

RonshowshimthatGetResponseiscapturingtheIPaddress,postcode,

latitude/longitude,city,aswellasthecampaignname,againsteachprospect,apartfromthename,emailaddressandmobilenumberthattheprospecthasentered.HealsoshowsDavidhowhecanlookupaprospectonFacebookusingthemobilenumber.

Davidnowunderstandsthatweightedscoresimplymeansassigningsome

pointstoeachprospectbasedonthedatacollected.Forexample,hecanseethatthereisaprospectfromScotlandwhohasfilledouttheform,soDavidassignshim1pointwhileassigning10pointstoanotherprospectwhoisfromSurrey.

Theydiscussweightedscoresinsomedetail,andalsoworkoutaspecific

numberofactionsthatatypicalcustomerwouldtakebeforehemakesuphismindtodobusinesswithDavid.

DAY16:AUTORESPONDER

Youhavealreadybeenusingyourautoresponderforafewdaysnow.

PerhapsitisAweber,GetResponse,orsomeothersimilarautoresponder.Itisnowtimetoreviewyourautorespondermessagesandsetupasequenceofpre-writtenresponses.Thispre-writtensequenceisalsoknownasalead-nurturesequenceoradrip-marketingsequence.

Apre-writtensequencewouldfollowadeliveryschedulesimilartothe

following:Day1:Firstemaildelivered.Day3:Secondemaildelivered.Day5:Thirdemaildelivered.Day8:FourthemaildeliveredImmediatelyafterproductdelivery:Fifthemaildelivered#Email1:Thiswillconsistofsympathyfortheirproblemandreassurance

thatyoucanhelp.#Email2:Get“hands-on.”Educatethemtoanunderstandingofthepain

theyarefeeling;helpthemtoreachthecoreoftheproblemathand.#Email3:Explainthatyouhaveananswerfortheirpain(yourproduct)and

proceedtoofferittothem.#Email4:OnlygoesouttopeoplewhohavenotopenedEmail3andasks

themiftheyhaveseenEmail3.#Email5:Athank-youemailforpeoplewhotakeuptheoffermentionedin

Email3,outliningthenextsteps.Asyouwillnote,Email5wouldgooutoncetheprospectpurchasesthe

productorsignsupfortheoffer.Autorespondersarereallybeneficialbecauseyou,astheadministrator,sit

downonetimeanddotheworkthatneedstobedone.Youthensetthetimesequenceyouwishtousefordelivery,uptoayear,andthemessagesyousendthroughtheautoresponderassistyouinthemarketingandsalesaspect.

Thepurposeofthisinvaluabletoolistoassistyou,thecompany,inbuilding

arelationshipwiththosewhohavesubscribedtoyourlist.Youdonothavetoworryaboutrevenuerightaway;rather,yourfocusshouldbethatyoursubscribersreadandenjoytheemailcontentyouhavesent,thusbuildingasolidfanbaseforyourbrand.

Autorespondersareusedbestwhentheyfocusonthelargestproblems

subscribersfaceatthattime.Solveoneproblemwiththempermessageoremail.Therearevariouswaystoaccomplishthis:

*YoucangivePDFstothesubscriberthatcontainsplansandstrategiesthat

areeasytoimplement.*Takesomeofyourmostinformativepodcasts,articles,andvideosandlink

themtotheemailstheautorespondersendsforyou.*Sitdownandwriteaqualitybioorpageofyourpersonalstory;thishelps

subscribersrelatetoyouasahuman.Addaphotosotheycanputafacetoyourname.

*Offerapagewithacommon,vexingproblemandgivethereadersa

solutiontoit.Thisisalwaysamotivatortothosefamiliarwithyouremails.*AskforsubscribersupportonFacebook,LinkedIn,andTwitter.Howmanypre-writtenemailsshouldyousetupinyourautoresponder

sequence?Theanswertothisquestiondependsonthefollowingfactors:#Inamonth,howmanybroadcastmessagesdoyouintendtosend?#Doyouneedtobringyourmarketup-to-date?#Asfarasproductsyoumayreleaseinthefuture,willyourelyonthemfor

support?#Areyouwillingtowrite,andifso,howmuch?

Ingeneral,youshouldsetyourautorespondersequencetolastatleast30days.Youwillhavetimetoproducequalitycontent,andsubscriberswillhaveanopportunitytogettoknowyouduringthistime.Oncethisiscomplete,anysubscriberswhohavesignedupforaperiodoftimelongerthan30daysshouldbeaddedtoa“broadcastmessage”list,whichIwilldiscusslater.

Withallofthismadeclear,youcanthenhavethechoicetocreateasequence

thatconsistsofaperiodlongerthan30days.Eachmessagecanbewrittenindividuallyandwillbesenttoeachsubscriberoverthelifetimeoftheemaillistyouareusing.Forthisveryreason,autorespondersareconsideredinvaluableingeneratingpassiveincomeforthosewhoimplementthem.

Now,keepinmindtheimportanceofsendingfrequentemailswhen

marketingtonewsubscribers.Youmusttakecaretobecertaineachemailcontainscontentthatisofgoodusetothesubscriber.Notonlyisthisvaluabletothem,buttheywillcometoknowthequalityofinformationyousendout,andcontinuetosubscribe.

Youalsomaycometorealizethatdifferentsituationscallfordifferent

frequenciesregardingdeliveries.Regardlessofthesedifferences,alwaysbeginwithcontentthathasthestrongestuseandfoundationanddeliveritwithinthefirsttwoweeksofthesubscription.Youwillslowlybegintodeliverthemessagefartherapart,ofcourse,throughthepassageoftime—say,withfour-tosix-daygapsinbetween.

Developing&ImplementinganAutoresponderSequenceThisisgoingtobealotliketheplanningyouwoulddoifyouwerethinking

uptheplotofabook.Youaregoingtowanttostartoffaskingyourselfthetheme,or“whatisthisgoingtobeabout?”Withthatvision,youprogresstomajorscenesorplotlines,chaptersandpassages,allthewaytofinallytellingastorythatfitstogetherfullyandcompletely.Itisastep-by-stepprocessthatwhendonecorrectlywillbehighlyeffectiveandcontinuetogetbetterresponsestoyourmarketingastimepasses.Askyourself,“WhatdoIwantmysequencetoachieve?WhatisitIamhopingmysubscriberswilldoasaresultofthisemail?DoIwantthemtobuy?AmIhopingthey’llcall?”

Nowyoumustdoabasicauditoftheresourcesavailabletoyoucurrently.

Doyoualreadyuseresourceslikeinfographics,blogs,audio,video,emailorothercontentsources?Implementtheresourcesthatwillbebeneficialtoyoursubscribers.Conductsurveysandcasestudiesthathelpyoutoknowyoursubscribersbetter.Workthesethingsintotheemailformat.

Atthispoint,youshouldhaveafairlyimpressivelistoftopics,aswellas

manyotherresources,thatcangointoyouremailsequences.Youshouldhaveabundantresourcesandboundlessideasforcontent.Onyourfirstsequence,keepitsimple:6-12emailsinthebeginning.Morecanalwaysbeadded.

Remember:1)Emailsshouldfocusonsubscribergoalswiththemostpressingsituation

atthetime.2)Addtipsandinsightsintothatparticularproblem.Keepsolutionssimple

atfirst;youcanaddmoredetailasthesubscriberfoundationstrengthens.3)Balanceouttheemailsyouaresendingbytypeorkind.Thatwillensurea

mixofvariousemails,fromthosewithasalesfocustothoseofaninspirationalnatureandmore.Justremember,earlyon,keepthembrief.

Ifyouareatthispoint,Iencourageyoutositandplanoutyour

autorespondersequence.CaseStudy–Day16DavidstartsoutDay16byevaluatinghiscurrentautorespondersequence.

Herealizesthatheisnotreallytappingintothepainthatthetypicallandlordisfeeling,sohesubscribestotheemailnewslettersofotherlettingagentssothathecangetabetterideaofwhatisoutthere.Heissurprisedtoseethatafewofhiscompetitorshaveveryimpressiveinitialemailsthattheysendouttocustomers.Davidgetssomebetterideasonhowtomoveforwardanddecidesthatheneedstositdownandwritetheautoresponderemailshimself.

Hededicatestwohourstothisactivityandispleasedwiththeresults.He

createsatotalof20emails,whichhethenputsintotheautoresponderseries.

DAY17:EMAILCONTENT

Apartfromyourautoresponder,youwillneedtoalsohaveastrategyforone-

offemailmessagesorforemailnewslettermessages.There’snorightorwrongwaytomanagealist.Allofitsimplydependsuponyourbusiness’slong-termgoals.

Thetypeofemailmessageyouchoosetosendwilldependuponyour

strategy.Doyouwanttobeaggressiveandasksubscriberstospendmoney?Ordoyouwanttofocusonbuildingrelationships?

Thereareonlyeighttypesofemailtactics.Alleightofthesetacticsservea

differentpurpose,whichyoumustunderstand.Forinstance:#Whenyou’reoutforthemoney,focusonaPureProfitStrategy,using

tacticslikeAgitation,SpecialDiscount,ProductFreebie,andSalesemails,wherebyyoupromoteproducts.Makesuretomixthemupsothatpeoplewon’tgetbored.

#WhenyourstrategyistobecomeaThoughtLeader/Authority,you’llwant

tofocusonutilizingtacticslikeHelpingHand,NewContent,andPersonalityemailsinordertoencouragereaderstoconsumecontentandtakeaction.

#Hybridcampaignsutilizeallofthesedifferenttypesofemails.They

usuallystartwithanAuthorityseriesbeforeincorporatingsomePureProfitstrategyemails.Makesuretokeepabalancebetweengoodcontentandtheoccasionalpromotion.

Letusunderstandthesetacticsfurther.1)Personalityemailsprovideyoursubscribersaglimpseintowhoyouare

viaashortstoryoranecdote.2)NewContentemailsworkgreatwhenyoursubscribersarestarvingfor

updatedinformation.Herein,you’llwanttowrite300wordsatmostandprovidelinkstonewcontent.Thisworksgreatwhenyouhavenothingelsetosay.

3)Sub-Listingemailsaremoreadvanced,astheyexistsothatyouhavea

wayinwhichtocreateamorespecialized,nichelist.Theyworkbestwheneveryouhaveasecondofferthat’sdifferentfromyourprimaryoffer.Wheneversomeonetakesaction,youcanthenmovethemtotheotherlist.Keeptheseemailsaround200words,simplyencouragingreaderstotakeaction.

4)HelpingHandemailsarewhereyouaskyoursubscriberstotakeaspecific

action.Thisisagreatwaytoengageyourlist,sinceyou’reaskingforinput.Herein,you’llneedtodescribethebenefitoftheactionin200–300words.

5)Agitationemailsaremuchmoreaggressive.Herein,youdiscussa

problemanditssolution.Inafutureemail,youcanthensolvethisproblem.Simplywrite300–600wordsabouttheproblem,then“hint”atapossiblesolutioninthenextemail.

6)ProductFreebieemailsexposeyourreaderstonewproductsand

encouragethemtobuyiftheylikethem.Keeptheseemailsshort,asyou’resimplyintroducingtheofferandencouragingthemtoclickalinkandcheckitout.

7)SpecialDiscountemailstieintolimited-timeoffersthatexpiresoon.

Hence,it’sreallyascarcitytactictohelpyougeneratealotofincomebymotivatingyoursubscriberstoactquickly.Assuch,theyshouldonlybeusedfortime-sensitiveoffers.TheytypicallyfollowAgitationmessagesandserveasareminderofthedeadline.Keepitshortandtothepoint(100–200words).

8)Salesemailsareusedinintroducingoffersandexplainingtheirmain

benefits.Typically,theseare400to800wordslong,filledwithshort,punchysentencesandparagraphsandbulletpoints.

CaseStudy–Day17Davidstartsworkingonacalendarforhisregularemailssothathecankeep

hislistmoreengagedwithhisbrand.HedecidesthathewantstofocusonaThoughtLeadershipstrategyforhisone-offemails.

ThethreeareaswherehewantstoestablishhisthoughtleadershipareLegal

Aspects,PassiveIncomeStrategiesandHomeImprovements.Hedecidesthathereallyneedstomakethetimetodothishimself.Hededicatesthreehourstothisactivity,andattheendhehasatotalof26emailsonvarioustopicsinthesethreecategories.Healsoaddssomeholidaygreetingemailstothelist,whichmakesatotalof34emailsinadditiontothe20emailshehadwrittenforhisautoresponder.

Heloadsall34emailsasdraftsinthenewslettersectionofGetResponse.

DAY18:SEO

SearchEngineOptimization(SEO)isaverymisunderstoodareaofdigital

marketing.Tenyearsago,SEOwasallabout“tricking”searchenginestorankyourwebsite.ButwiththeadventofPanda,Penguin,andHummingbird,thesetricksnolongerworkandyoursitecouldgetpenalizedbyGoogle;thatis,itwillnolongerrankonGoogleSearchifyouoryourSEOteamusetheoldbagoftricks.

MostwebsiteswillneverrecoverfromaGooglepenalty.Oncehitwitha

Googlepenalty,youmightevenneedtocreateanewwebsite!However,somebusinessesarestilltakeninbythetallclaimsofthese

tricksterswiththeir“Black-hatSEO”techniquesbecausetheyclaimfastandeffectiveresults,likeasprinter.Potentialclientsshouldkeeptheireyesopenforthosewitha“sprinter”mentality.TheproblemwiththesesprintersisthatsometimestheyareabletoliveuptotheirclaimsforthefirstoneortwomonthsbeforeGoogleshutsthemdowncompletely.

Thefactisthatgettingrapidresultswithoutalong-termwhite-hatSEO

strategyoramarathonstrategyisnexttoimpossible.TheOlympics&SEO:TheParallelsWhenoneiscompetinginamarathon,onewillundergohoursoftraining,

notjusttorun,buttobuilduptheotherpartsofthebodyinpreparationforthebigrace.Thetrainingregimenofasprintrunnerwouldprobablybeasexhaustive;however,acompetitivesprintrunnerwouldhaveaveryhardtimewinningamarathonandviceversa.Whatyouproduceiswhatyouhavebeentrained,orprogrammed,toproduce.Thesprinterhasbeentrainedexpresslyforrapidresults;itisthatsimple.

SEOisasimilartypeofsituation.YouhaveSEO“sprinters.”Theypromise

results,fastandeasy,andtheymayevenproducethem!Buttheirresultswillhaveaveryshortlifespan.Theproblemisobvious:Nowyouhavebeen

penalized,andit’stoolatetoredeemyourwebsite,whichmeansthatyouhavetradedshort-termsuccessforalong-termfailure.

Youhavetofocusonresultsthataregoingtobeconsistent.Consistencyisat

theverycoreofSEOsuccess,asitshowsdependabilityandstability,whicharethefocushere.Long-termplanninginregardtoSEO,long-termplanningasin“marathon”marketing,willnotonlygiveyoutheabilitytostarttherace,butyouwillbeabletocarryonconsistentlythroughitaswell,gettingyouthroughrightuntiltheend.ThistypeofmarketingiswhatyouneedfortheSEOofyourwebsite.

Becauseofthevastnumberofcompetitorsintheonlinefield,youshould

studyotherswhosecorebusinessisonline;thatis,theyneedtheirwebsitesforsalesoftheirproductsorservices.ObservetheiruseofSEOandtheirwebsitesandtrytodrawcomparisonsbetweentheirstrategiesandyourown.WhataretheideasyoucanborrowfromthemtoimproveyourownSEOstrategy?

WhenconsideringSEO,rememberthis:Youwanttobearoundinthelong

run.Keepingcurrent,planningahead,frequentreviewsandrewrites,andalterationsshouldbecompletedonanas-neededbasis.

HowdoyouidentifyifyourSEOteamisusingsuchtactics?IfyourSEOteamadvocatesthingslikekeywordstuffing,invisibletext,

irrelevantkeywords,orcreatingwebpagesthatredirectvisitorstoanotherpageorusingbacklinksfromlinkfarms,youcanbesurethattheyareusingblack-hattechniques.Iftheypromiseyouaspecificnumberofguaranteedlinksordirectorysubmissions,articlespinningandguestposting,oradeliverytimeforspecificresults(example:you’llrank#1within30days),youshouldpayextraattentionbecauseitisalmostguaranteedthattheyareusingtechniqueswhichcouldgetyoublacklistedbyGoogle.

Ifthesetermssoundtootechnicalorconfusing,herearesomesimplethings

tobewareof…#Ateamthatpromisesyouquickresultswithinonetotwomonths#Changestothetextofyourwebsitetosuchanextentthatthecontent

becomesunreadableormeaningless#Ifyoudoawebsearchforyourkeywords,findingwebsiteswithlinksback

tonotonlyyourwebsite,buttootherwebsitesaswellCaseStudy–Day18DavidstartsoutDay18bycontactinghisSEOprojectmanagertodiscuss

theprogressuptillnow.HisSEOmanagerexplainsthatitwilltakesometimetogetsometractiononGoogle.Inthemeantime,someofhiskeywordshavebeengettinggoodresults,sohesuggeststhatDavidshouldfocusonthosekeywords.

Davidisnotveryhappywiththeconversation,sohecallsupRontodiscuss

thematter.Ronadviseshimthatheshouldhavealong-termviewforSEOandthatexpectinghisSEOteamtodeliverresultsimmediatelymightgetthemtocutcorners,whichwouldbedetrimentaltohisbusiness.Davidpointsoutthatsurelyitisgoodbusinesssensetoexpectoutcomesfromanactivitythatyouhaveinvestedmoneyin.RonagreeswithhimandsuggeststhatDavidshouldhaveaweeklyreportingformatwithhisSEOteamtoensurethattheyareworkinginlinewithhisstrategyandthatheshouldsetmilestonesintermsoftaskstobeaccomplishedandnotintermsofrankingintheshortterm.

RonemailsDavidhisweeklySEOtrackersothatDavidcanrepurposeitfor

hisownbusiness.DavidishappytoreceiveitandimmediatelymodifiesthetrackerandsendsittohisSEOprojectmanagerwithhisexpectationsfortheSEOcampaign.

DAY19:FACEBOOK

IassumeyoualreadyhaveaFacebookpageandthatyouareinteractingwith

yourfans,uploadingpictures,andgivinginformationorprovidingoffers.Allofthiswillcreateloyalty,retentionandbranding,butveryfewbusinessesareutilizingFacebooktoitsfullpotential.Inotherwords,theyarenotusingFacebookfortheacquisitionofnewcustomers.

Facebook’spopularityprovidesbusinessownerswiththeopportunityto

promotetheirbusinessonlinewithminimalinvestment.Assuch,yourdigitalmarketingeffortsarenotfullyutilizedifyouarenotusingFacebookadsandapps.

WithFacebook,abusinesscancreateapowerfulsocialnetworkpresence

simplybypromotingthemselvesandattractingfollowers.Facebookallowsyoutocreateadsthatfeatureyourwebsite.TheirlayoutandmanagementtoolsaresimilartoGoogleAdWords.

Whenyoustartusingthissystem,youhavetorememberthatit’saboutthe

customerandnotaboutyou.Therefore,youradreallyneedstotalkaboutyourcustomers’needsandnotallaboutyourbusiness.

Facebookhasalotofgreattoolsthatwillhelpyourbusinessgrowifused

correctly:1)StorefrontSocialisanapplicationthatturnsyourFacebookpageintoan

e-commercesite.Thismeansthatyoucancreateyourownbannerandtemplate,aswellasotherpromotionalitems,thenimportproductsfromyouronlinestoretoyourFacebookpage.

2)FacebookPromotionshelpyoucreatecampaignsforyourfans.Thisisa

greatwaytohostcontests,offercoupons,andtalkaboutsweepstakes.3)ThePollappsharesyourpollonyourbrand’swall,thushelpingyouto

acquireawideraudience.

4)TabSiteallowsyoutocreateawelcomepageandcontent,includingimages,linksandmore,foryourFacebookpage.

5)PowerEditorisafreeyetverypowerfulandfunctionaladvertisingtool

thatallowsyoutohavecompletecontrolovertheplacement,bidding,andtargetingofyourads.

6)CustomAudiencesisanapplicationthatallowsyoutotargetcustomers

andemailsubscribersevenifyoudon’thaveaFacebookpage.TherearealsosomereallyneatthingsthatyoucandowithFacebookads:1)Targetpeoplewhoarehavingabirthdayandofferthemeitheradiscount

orsomethingfree2)Remindyourfansaboutcooleventsandpromotions3)Introduceyourselftoanewcompany4)Buildnewrelationshipswithkeypeople,suchasthosewhohave“CEO”

or“president”aspartoftheirjobtitles5)Getconnectedwithpeoplewhoworkfornewspapers,televisionstations,

ormajorpublicationsUsesponsoredstoriesWhileallofthesemarketingtoolsaregreat,they’remeaninglessifyoudon’t

knowhowtotrackyourconversions.Here’swhereyouhavetomonitorwhetherornotyouradsareactuallyleadingtoaspecificconversationthatwillendwithasale.

TheproblemthatIhavefacedwithtrackingFacebookadsisthatIhavenot

beenabletouseBitlyfortrackingtheresults.ButyourGoogleAnalyticsaccountinconjunctionwithadedicatedsqueezepagewillbehelpfultogiveyouthatextralayerofperformancetrackingandalsoshowhowyoujusthowmuchmoneyyoushouldbespendingonFacebookads.

AnadditionalpointherewithregardtoBitlytracking:YoucanstilluseBitlyclick-trackingifyouaredoingregularpostsonyourfanpagetosupplementthedatayouaregettingfromGoogleAnalytics,justnotforFacebookadsorsponsoredstories.

CaseStudy–Day19DavidstartsoutDay19bysigningupforFacebookads.Heispleasedto

knowthatFacebookalsohasaremarketingoptionfortheirads.HepassestheFacebooklogindetailstohisPPCconsultantandinstructshimtouseTabSitetosetupawelcomepageforhisFacebookfanpagebeforehestartstheadcampaignonFacebook.

DavidalsodecidestosetupapollusingthePollappandtheBirthdays

featuretoengagehisFacebookaudienceandcreatesomegoodwillforhimselfandhisbrand.

TodayisalsothedaythatDavidmakeshisfirstsalethroughhisdigital

marketingefforts.Heisverypleasedandbooksaspatreatmentforhimselfandhiswife.

DAY20:LINKEDIN

Withmorethan200millionusersthroughouttheworld,LinkedInisquickly

expandingandprofessionalshavemuchtogainbylearninghowtouseitcorrectly.LinkedInismostcommonlyviewedasamediumforB2B,orbusiness-to-businessactivities,butitcanalsobeusefulforB2C,orbusiness-to-consumerinteractionsaswell.

CompaniescanbenefitfromLinkedInindifferentways:#Establishstrongorganizationalbrandsandpersonalbrands.#Createcompanyprofilesthatboostbrandawarenessbyreflectingthefull

rangeofservicesandproductsavailable.#Enhancebrandvaluesbygrowingindividualteamrecommendationsand

endorsementsandbybuildingproductandservicerecommendations.#Embedvideosincorporateorpersonalprofilesinordertoprovideinsights

intoservicefeatures,products,testimonials,casestudiesandportfolios.#Connectwithpotentialclientsinaproactivemannerwhowill,withtime,

developabetterunderstandingofyourreputationandcapabilitiessothattheyconnectwithyouwhentheyarereadytomakepositivepurchasingdecisions.

#Routinelypostcontentthatisbothhighinqualityandrelevanttothetargetedmarket.

#Utilizethedifferentoptionsinpremiummembershiptocontactand

messageinatargetedfashionaccordingtoyourbusinessormarketingobjectives,whetherbysearchingforandrecruitingqualifiedtalentorsalesmanagementamongotherthings.

#Intelligentlyuseanalyticsdatatospotworthwhileopportunities.LinkedInprovidesalotofvaluablecompanyandindividualmetricsfor

targeting.Ifyouhavenotyetgottenapersonalprofile,establishoneandstarttheprocessofcreatingyouronlinereputation.

Youwillthenbeabletoestablishacompanyprofile,whichwillserveasa

mini-websitewithinLinkedIn(whichincludescareersforjobopenings,ahomepage,andproductandservicepagesaswell).

StandardMessageTemplateCheckoutthistemplateforastandardmessagethatyoucanusewhen

someonehasaddedyouasacontactonLinkedIn.Dear<prospectname>,Thankyouforconnectingwithme!Iamwritingtocheckifyouwouldbe

interestedinmeetingwithmetodiscusssomemutualbenefits.Iunderstandthatyouareinthe<industryname>industryandthatyouwould

probablyneedhelpwith<somethingthatyoucanhelphimwithpersonally>orwith<somethingthatyourcompanycanhelphimwithprofessionally>

Iam<staterolewithinthecompany>of<namethecompany>,(abrief

explanationofwhatthecompanydoes.Usethisspacetolistthekeybenefitsofdoingbusinesswithyourcompany.Forexample,“Ourwarehouseanddistributionservicesormanufacturingfacilitiesmaintainthehigheststandards,meetstringentglobalrequirements,andhavereceivedapprovalfromseveralregulatorybodiesthroughouttheworld.”)

<prospectname>,Iwouldalsobepleasedtoconnectyouwithanyofmy

contactsonmyLinkedInnetworkifyouthinktheywouldbeablehelpyouwithyourbusiness.

Thanksagainforconnectingwithme.Ilookforwardtohearingbackfrom

you.

Sincerely,YourNameCompanyPositionBusinessNameEmailWebsiteCaseStudy–Day20DavidsignsupforaLinkedInpremiumaccountsothathecanusetheInMail

featuretocontactprospectsinhisarea.HealsostartsworkingonhisLinkedInstandardmessagetemplatesothathecanhaveitreadywheneverheconnectswithprospects.

DAY21:TWITTER

YouneedtolearnhowtomarketonTwitterbecauseitisaplacewhereyoucanbuildalargefollowingandyoucangetyourcontentoutthereinfrontofpeople.

Youcanalsobuildagood-sizedemaillistusingTwitter,andyoucandoit

quickly.WhatCanYouPromoteviaTwitter?TherearevariousthingsyoucanpromoteonTwitter.Youcansendyour

followerstoasqueezepage,andyoucanoffertogivethemsomethingforfreethere.Youcanalsosendthemtoablogpost,oryoucanevenjustsendthemtoanopt-informwheretheywillsignupinexchangeforafreeguideorwhateveryouwanttooffer.

Youcanusetwitterhashtagstolatchontoacurrenttrendrelatedtoyour

businessanddrivethattraffictoyourwebsite.Don’tforgettousetrackingURLs,sinceyouarelimitedtoonly140

characters.WriteEngagingTweetsWhenyouuseTwitter,youwillwanttomakesuretowritetweetsthatare

designedtogetyourfollowerstoengage.Youwantpeopletoretweetyourcontent.

Thegreatthingabouthavingyourcontentretweetedisthatthefollowers

whohavetweetedyourcontentwillengagetheiruserstoshareyourcontent.Thisisbecausetheirfollowerswillpotentiallyseeyourcontentaftertheyhaveretweetedit.

HelpfulToolsTweetDeckissoftwarethatyoudownloadtoyourcomputerthathelpsyou

manageyourTwitteraccount.AnotherhelpfultoolisKlout.KloutactuallymeasuresyourinfluenceonTwitter,aswellasonFacebook.

TrafficAndTwitterThereareafewwaysyoucandrivetrafficwithTwitter.Forexample,ifyou

havepublishedablogpost,thenyoucansendoutatweetdirectingyourfollowerstofollowthelinktoyourblogpost.

GoogleAlertsandGoogleTrendsarealsousefultofindtrendingtopicsthat

youcanusetogeneratetrafficbacktoyourwebsiteviaTwitter.ManysuccessfulpeopleonTwitterposttheircontenttoTwitteraroundfour

timesperday.Ifyouthinkpeoplewillgetsickandtiredofyoutweetingyourcontent,thenyoucanjusttweetatdifferenttimesoftheday,orsimplydeletesomeofyourineffectivetweets.

RetweetContentfromPopularPeopleAnotherthingyoushoulddoisfollowinfluentialpeopleonTwitterand

retweettheirpoststoyourTwitterfeed.Sometimesyouwillhaveyourowncontentretweetedbythem,andthiswilldriveabunchoftraffictoyoursite.

SettingUpanAccountandBuildingaFollowingSetupaTwitteraccount,whichisveryeasytodo,andthenworkonbuilding

afollowing.YouwillwanttorunspecialpromotionsorgivepeoplesomethingforfreeinexchangeforthemfollowingyouonTwitter.Youcangiveawayafreeguideorsomeusefulinformation.

YouwillfindthatbuildingaTwitterfollowingisquiteeasy,anditisfunto

do.However,moreimportantly,Twittermarketingworksanditworksverywell.CaseStudy–Day21DavidstartsoutDay21byreadinganarticlebySethGodinaboutcreating

tribes.Herealizesthatforhim,theonlytribesthatmatterarepeoplewhoareinterestedinthelegalaspectsoflettings,PassiveIncomeRentalStrategies,andhomeimprovementsforlandlords.HecreatestheappropriatehashtagsonTwitterandhandsoffhislistof34emailstohisvirtualassistantsothattheycanbecondensedinto140-charactertweets.

HeissurprisedtoreceiveanExcelsheetwithhislistoftweetsintwohours.

Hehasover120tweetsonthelist.Hesuggestssomechangesandcolor-codesthelistusingthetrafficlightssystem.Redtweetsneedtoberedoneaccordingtohisinputs,yellowtweetsneedslightmodifications,andgreentweetsaregoodtogo.

Davidmakeshissecondsaletodayandheisecstatic!HecallsupRonand

theyheadtothepubforabeer.

PITSTOP3

DavidupdateshisSuccessTrackerinExcelwiththefollowingdetails:#Weeklybudget,actual:$1200thisweek#Leads,actual:25leadsthisweek#Appointments,actual:15appointmentsthisweek#Sales,actual:2salesthisweekHeispleasedthathehasachievedtwosalesthisweek,whichhasmadeup

forthelackofsaleslastweek.HelooksuphistrafficdataonGoogleAnalyticsandnotesthatheisgettingmoretrafficonTuesdaysandWednesdays,sohemakesanotetodiscussthatwithhisPPCconsultant.

DAY22:PINTEREST

Itiseasytoassumeeveryonlinebusinessenterpriseissuccessful;however,

experiencedmarketersknowthatconstantmarketingcampaignshelptobrandabusiness.HerearevaluablewaysofincreasingyoursearchrankusingPinterest.

#Chooseauniqueandprofessionalcompanyname#Usethesamenameonallsocialmediasites#Includebacklinkstoyourwebsiteusingpins#PeoplewholikeyourPinterestpostwillclickonthelink,andthis

automaticallygeneratesanincreaseinwebsitetraffic#Chooseanaptandinterestingnameforyourboardtoenticereaders.#Thinkoutsideoftheboxandutilizecreativemarketingtechniquesthat

attractreaders.TakeaUniqueApproachtoMarketingCustomersdon’ttakeasecondglanceatdullboards.Pinterestfollowers

enjoyreadinginformativeandinterestingcontent.Peoplejoinsocialmediasitesfortheirentertainmentvalue.Createlightheartedcontentthat’sfuntoreadtogatheralargePinterestfollowing.Savvyonlinemarketersalreadyknowthatthesiteencouragescreativity,soworktirelesslytocreatefascinatingboardsthatareajoytoread.Everyonlinebusinesswantstopromoteitsgoodsorservices,somarketyourbusinessusingfunboardsothersareabletorelateto.Drearypicturesandbusinessliketextboresreaders.

Pinscontainingashortdescriptionarepopular.Describingyourpinsmakes

theminterestingandashortdescriptiongivesreadersanideaofthecontent.Experiencedmarketersuseinspirationalquotesandbeautifulimagestoenhancetheirpinboards.Addinguniquephotographsandcatchytexthelpstobrandabusiness.

HashtagsareUsefulMarketingTools

HashtagsarenotjustforTwitter.Addinghashtagstotheshortdescriptionsmakestheboardseasiertotrack.Followingthesesimpletipswillhelptomarketyouronlinebusinessefficiently.Everyonlinebusinessownerneedstoreachouttoawideaudience.Readerswholikeyourboardswillclickonthehashtagandviewyourotherposts.

LinkPinteresttoOtherSocialNetworkingSitesOnlinemarketersshouldtakeadvantageofeverysoundmarketing

opportunity.LinkyourPinterestboardstoothersocialmediasitestocreatemoreinterest.Thesocialnetworksitesarebuzzing,andlinkingyourboardstoothersitesincreaseswebtrafficandenhancesyoursearchrank.

UsePinterestwidgetstomarketyourproducts.Learnmoreaboutthefour

mainPinterestwidgetbuttons.Thewidgetsofferasimplebuteffectivewayofmarketingyourbrand.

ThefourPinterestwidgetsare:#Thefollowbutton#Thepinitbutton#Theboardwidget#TheprofilewidgetPinterestandothersocialmedianetworkingsitesarefollowedbymillions.

Amateuronlinemarketersshouldunderstandtheymusttakeadvantageofthesebusysitestopromotetheironlinebusiness.Failtomarketyourbrandeffectively,andyouronlinebusinessventurewillfail.

CaseStudy–Day22Daviddecidestouseabefore-afterengagementmodelforPinterest.He

forageshisharddriveforphotosoframshacklehousesthathavebeenrefurbishedbyhisteamandremodeledtofetchbetterrents.HeemailsthesephotostohisgraphicdesignersothatshecancombinethebestimagesandenhancethemandputupsomedesignelementstohighlighttheBeforeandAftersections.

DAY23:GOOGLEPLUS

GoogleownsGoogle+,whichmeansthatGoogle+hashugepotentialto

boostone’spagerankandvisibility.EventhoughGooglehasscaledbackitscommitmenttoGoogle+,asofthiswriting,IhavefoundthattherearestillsomegoodSEObenefitstobegainedbyusingGoogle+.HerearesomemethodsthatyoucanusetoleverageGoogle+better.

ThefirstthingistoopenaGoogle+accountandactivatetheGoogle

Authorshipfeature.ThisfeatureallowsyoutolinkeverythingyouwriteandpublishonthewebinplacesotherthanGoogle+toyourGoogle+profile.

Onceyoudothis,yourimageintheGoogle+profilewillappearalongside

everypostofyoursthatislistedinthesearchengines.Thisservestoauthenticateyourcontentandaddshighercredibilitytothesame.

TherearealsootherwaysyoucanfullyexploittheSEObenefitsthat

Google+offers.Thinkstrategicnetworks,notnumberofcircles.Thisisimportantsince

themorecirclesyouaddyourselfto,thegreaterthevisibilityofyourcontent.ThesecirclescanbeFriends,Family,Influences,B2C,B2B,etc.Butinorderforthistobeeffective,youneedtoensurethatthereisareasonbehindeverycircleyoucreatetoensureabetterSEOboostviaGoogle+.

Usehashtags.Onecanneveroveremphasizetheimportanceofadding

relevanthashtagstoyourGoogle+content.JustasinTwitter,usinghashtagswillmakeiteasierforotherstofindyourcontentinGoogle+.Usehashtagswithrelevanttopicssotheyareeasilyfound,andyou’vecreatedanoutstandingresourcethatwillgetyounoticedandwillincreasetraffictoyourblog.

LinkblogpoststoGoogle+.Everytimeyoupublishanewblogpost,make

sureyoumakealinktoitfromyourGoogle+profile.Theideaisthesame—onceyoulinkittoGoogle+,allthecirclesmembersinyourprofilewillgettoseethelinkandthiswillincreasetheSEOpotentialofyourpage.

TheGoogle+poststhatreceivethemostcommentsareresource-typearticles

withalotoflinks.ThosecoveringGoogle+how-toinformationareheavilyshared,alongwithanytutorials.Writeakillerpostandlinkbacktoyourownblogforadditionalresources.

Usethe“Ripples”feature.ThisisalittleknownfeatureofferedbyGoogle+

thathelpsyoutoidentifypeoplewhohavethelargestaudienceintheplatform.Onceyouidentifythemandaddthemtoyourcircles,youcanthenleveragetheirpopularityandspreadintheplatformtoyourownadvantage.

ThesearejustsomeofthewaysthatyoucanuseGoogle+toyouradvantage.

Astheplatformgrowsandoffersnewfeatures,itwouldbebeneficialtoyourbusinesstostayaheadofthecurvebyadoptingthosefeatures.

CaseStudy–Day23Davidmakestwosalestodayoutofthethreeprospectsthathemeetswith.

Heisveryhappythathisdigitalmarketingeffortshavebornefruitanddecidestoincreasehisbudgetforthenextmonthsothathecandoevenbetter.

HestartsoffhisGoogle+researchbyfollowingthebig-namethoughtleaders

andinfluencersinhisindustryandcommentingontheirposts.Heuses#CircleSharingtofindcircle-sharingopportunitiesandaddsaGoogle+badgetohiswebsite.

Hehighlightstheimportantkeywordphrasesinhisemailcontentwitha

viewtowardattractingtherightkindoffollowers.HeemailshisvirtualassistanttorepurposesomeofhisemailnewslettercontentforGoogle+andprovideshislogindetailstohersothatshecandowhat’sneeded.

Hefocusesoncreatingstrategiccirclesoflandlordswhoareinterestedin

legalaspectsoflettings,PassiveIncomeRentalStrategies,andhomeimprovements.

DAY24:HOOTSUITE

HootSuiteisatoolreferredtoasa“SocialMediaManagementSystem”ora

“SocialMediaManagementDashboard.”Itisdefinitelyanincredibletoolthatcansaveyoualotoftime.Ithelpsyoukeeptrackofandmanageyourmanysocialnetworkchannelsandalsosyndicateyourcontent.Youcanmonitorwhatpeoplearesayingaboutyourbrandandrespondinstantly.Youcanalsoconnectallyoursocialmediachannelstogether,likeotherTwitteraccounts,yourFacebookpersonalprofileandFacebookpages,andyourLinkedInprofile.

TheadvantagetoHootSuiteisyouonlyhavetopostonceanditwillget

postedonallyourchannels,whichsavesyoualotoftime.YoucansetituptoseeotherthingsfromyourTwitter,Google+,andFacebookaccounts,suchasdirectmessages,specificlists,andmore.HootSuitealsoworksifyouhavemultipleTwitteraccounts,whichmaybeatacticyouwouldwanttouseifyouaretargetingseveraldifferenttargetaudiencesonTwitter.

Thereareavarietyofadvantagestohavingallofyoursocialchannelsinone

placeonHootSuite.Forinstance,youcansendonemessageandhaveitsimultaneouslybroadcasttoallofyourprofilesandpages,oryoucanhaveamessagegoouttoonlyafewselectprofilesorpages.Youcanalsouseitasascheduler,sothatyoudon’tneedtobeonlineallthetime.Yousimplywriteyourmessageinthemessagefield,andthensetaday,time,andnetworkorchannelswhereyouwanttobroadcast.Youcanevenuploadyourcontentcalendarfromaspreadsheettothescheduler.

YoucanalsouseyoursmartphonetomanageyourHootSuiteaccountand

yourdashboardfromwhereveryouare,wheneveryouwantto.Anothergreatfeatureis“Drafts.”Here,youcansavethemostcommon

messagesthatyouputoutasatemplate.Thisisusefulsothatyoudon’thavetotypeoutgenericmessagestimeandagain.

ThereisalsoaninterfacetoembedyourGoogleAnalyticscodeinto

HootSuite.Yousimplyclickonthegearicontotheright,anditopensan“Advanced”settingswindow.Youthenchoose“GoogleAnalytics”fromthe“AddcustomURLparameters”drop-down.

Eachweek,HootSuitesendsyouanemailwithaPDFattachmentofyour

clicksummaries.HootSuitegivesyougraphsshowing:#Numberofclicksperday#Geographicalinformationonthepeopleclickingthrough#Topreferrers#MostpopularlinksFreeVs.PaidIfyouareopentousingthepaidortheprofeaturesofHootSuite,youcan

delegateresponsestodifferentteammembers.Forexample,ifyoureceive10mentionsinoneday,youcandelegateeachonetoadifferentteammember.Whenateammemberisloggedin,they’llseewhichtaskshavebeenallocatedtothemandnotmakethemistakeofrespondingtoastatusthathasalreadybeenrepliedto.

AnotherusefultoolisHootSuite’smessagingfeature,whichallowsteam

memberstosendprivatemessagestoeachother.Thisisparticularlyusefulforvirtualteams.

CaseStudy–Day24DavidstartsoutDay24bysigningupforHootSuite.Hehandsoffhis

HootSuitelogindetailstohisvirtualassistantsothatshecansetupschedulingforthecontent.

Davidhasalsobeennoticinganalarmingtrendregardinghisoldfollow-ups;

hisvirtualassistantshavenotbeenabletoprovidehimwithdetailedreportsonthem.Heemailshisteamsothattheycansendhimthestatusofthefollow-ups.

DAY25:LEADQUALIFICATION

Qualificationisthemostcriticalanddemandingstageofthesalesfunnel.Inthequalificationprocess,youverifythattheprospecthasaneedforyourproduct,thattheprospectseesvalueinyouroffering,thatthereissufficientbudgetforadeal,thatyouhaveaccesstothedecision-maker,andthatthereisanagreed-upontimelineforthesalesprocess.

AleadcanbequalifiedbyusingtheBANTapproach.BANTisanacronym

forbudget,authority,need,andtiming.Ithelpsdigitalmarketersdecidewhichleadsarelikelytoconvertimmediately.Ifyougatheranswerstothesefourquestionsattheleadstage,prioritizeleadsandfocusonleadsthatarelikelytoconverttoimmediatesales,youhavegeneratedsomequalifiedleads.

Basicleadsareuseful,butqualifyingleadssavestimeanddoesnot

demoralizeyoursalesforce.Abasicleadislikelytocontainlimitedinformation,suchasanameandanemailaddress.Thistypeofsalesleadcostsmuchlessthanaqualifiedlead.Basicleadshavepoorconversionrates,whereasqualifiedleadsofferasuperiorconversionrate.BusinessownerslookingforagoodROIbenefitfromgainingqualifiedleads.

Overall,digitalmarketingleadsdeliverresultsiftheyareservicedatthe

righttimebyeitheracallcenterorbythesalespersonthemselves.SalesprofessionalswhofavortheBANTapproachrealizetheimportanceofaskingprospectivebuyerstherightquestions.Dedicatedsalespeoplearetrainedtotakecontrolofthemeetingandputforthtargetedquestions.Droppingyoursalespitchtooearlymayputthecustomeronthedefensive;askafewprobingquestionsandyouremainfirmlyinthedriver’sseat.

Studieshaveshownthatpeoplearelikelytopurchasefromsomeonethey

feelabletoconnectwith.Thosewhoworktocreateanhonestpitcharelikelytosucceed.Goodsalespeopleshouldbeabletotapintopeople’segos,tuneintotheiremotions,andunderstandtheirconcernsandfrustrations.Teachyourselftoaskprospectivebuyerstherightquestionsandtheywillprovideanswers.Gaintheirtrustandyouincreaseyoursalesprospects.

OutboundCallCenterServicesThemaingoaloftheoutboundcallcenteristoqualifyhotleadsthatwill

becomenewcustomers.Atthecoreofthisapproachisadetailed,accurate,andupdateddatabase.Usingdatavalidationtoolstoremoveincorrectentriesandcorrectmistakesishighlyadvised.Aclearandaccurateleaddatabasefacilitatesahigherconversionrate.

Follow-upsNotallleadswillbereadytobuynow.Oneessentialpartofagood

campaignisaspecificfollow-upplanforleadswhoexpressinterestinaproductorservice.Follow-upphonecallsneedtobefriendlyandinformative,andoutsourcingthesetaskstoaprofessionalcallcenterisoftenasmartbusinessdecision.Experiencedcallcenterpersonnelarewellversedatkeepingupcustomerinterestandbuildingrapport,whichhasapositiveimpactonanycompany’sbottomline.

EffectsofaPoorly-ExecutedCampaign.Salespeopletypicallyfocusonleadsthatcanbeclosedimmediately,which

areknownaslow-hangingfruit.Thereasonisthatgoingafternewleadstakestime,andrevivingpastcustomerrelationscanbeassignedalowerpriority.

However,thetaskoffollow-upisactuallyeasierandlesstime-consuming

thangeneratingnewsalesleads.Thisalsopresentsanopportunitytoinformaboutthelatestproductsandservices.Failuretofollowupcanendupcostingrevenueinthelongrun.Theoutboundcallcentercanassistwiththisprocessbysettingupaneffectivefollow-upsequenceuntiltheleadcycleiscompleted.

CaseStudy–Day25DavidstartsoutDay25bystudyingthefollow-upreportssenttohimbyhis

virtualassistants.Heisnothappywiththefollow-upthatiscurrentlyhappening,orrathernothappening.Herealizesthatduetothenumberofleadsthathavebeencomingin,thevirtualassistantshavenotbeenfocusingontheoldleads,justthefreshones.

HedecidestolookupsomewebsitesofprofessionalcallcentersintheUKandisshockedtoseetheirrates.Hewondersiftherecouldbeabetterandmorecost-effectivewaytofollowupwitholdleads.InsteadofusingtheBANTapproachforqualifyinghisleads,Daviddecidestomaphisleadsbythe“sixdegreesofseparation”modelinstead.HetakesarandomsampleofleadsandputstheirmobilenumbersintoFacebooktocheckiftheyareinhisnetwork.Heispleasedtoseethat70%ofhisleadsaretwodegreesawayfromhim.

Hedecidestosplithisvirtualassistantsintothreeteams.Team1willusehis

FacebooklogincredentialsandresearcholdleadsonFacebookandLinkedIn,creatinganExcelsheetwiththeirmutualconnectionsmentioned.TheywillthenmessagethemutualconnectionsfromDavid’sFacebookorLinkedInaccounts,askingforapersonalintroductiontotheprospect.

Team2wouldfocusoncallingtheleadsprovidedbyTeam1,andTeam3

wouldbefocusedonfreshleads.Hecreatesseparatedailyreportsforeachteammember,sothathecanchecktheirprogress.

Davidhopesthatthisnewsetupwillresultinmoreleadswithoutbreaking

thebank.

DAY26:REPORTS

Productivityismeasuredbytheregularityofreportsfromstaffandnotby

thesizeofyourvirtualteam.Youneedtokeepyourteamontrack.Keepingthemmovingintherightdirectionwillgreatlybenefityourbusiness.However,yourmonitoringofyourteamshouldbekeptundercontrol.Thesebenefitswon’tbeaccomplishedbybeingavirtualvulture;you’llgetthembysettingupbettersystemsandcontrolstructures.

Soinsteadofbreathingdownyourteam’snecks,listyourrecurringtasksand

indicatemajorprojectsthatshouldbeprioritizedinasharedcalendar,whichcouldbeinaproject-managementsystemlikeBasecamporonanonlinecalendar(e.g.,GoogleCalendar),andthencreateareportingprocess.

LessWorkUsually,whenthetopicofreportingisbroughtup,peoplethinktheyhaveto

domorework.Butthetruthisaneffectivereportingcansaveyoufromadditionalwork.Witheffectivereporting,youcan:

#Motivatevirtualstafftomakemeasurableprogressdaily#Answerquestionsorbringupproblemsencounteredand#Thinkupnewwaystodothingsbetter.Areportingprocesshelpsevaluateyourteam’sperformance.Soattheendof

everyworkdayforthefirstthirtydaysofanewvirtualassistant’semployment,havehimorhersendareportansweringthefollowingquestions:

#Whatdidyouaccomplishtoday?–Thiscreatesasenseofaccountability,havingtoanswerthiseachday.#Isthereanythingyouneedhelpwith?–Thisprovidesasafeforumforyourvirtualassistant(VA)toaskforhelp.#Doyouhaveanysuggestionsorquestions?–AnewVA’ssuggestionscanprovideadifferentperspectiveandvaluable

insightonyourbusiness.

ParadigmShiftMostsmallbusinessownersfocusondeficit-basedthinking—thegapsand

weaknesses,what’swrong,andwhat’snotworking.Buttoseeopportunities,amorepositiveapproachmustbedone:Thinkintermsofassets,ratherthandeficits.

Insteadofthinking,“Thatwon’twork,”turnthingsaroundandask,“What

couldwork?”Orifsomeonedidnotcompleteatask,insteadofasking,“Whydidn’tyou…?”askthem,“Whatwasinyourway?”Adifferentquestionprovidesadifferentperspective.

Everyday,thereisanopportunitytochoosehowyouperceiveasituation,

whetherbigorsmall.Bychangingthewayyoulookatthings,youcanchangethewayyouperceive,filter,andinterpretthesituation.

Awordofcaution:Sometimes,itisreallyeasytojustfocusontheproblems

andthinkaboutwhatwentwrongratherthanlookingatwhatcanbelearnedandgainedfromasituation.Ratherthanmoanandgrumbleabouthowbadtheproblemis,focusonthesolutioninstead.Thischangesyourownattitudeandthinking,andwillleadyourvirtualassistantsinthesamedirectionaswell.

OtherReportsInadditiontoreportsfromyourvirtualstaff,youalsohaverichreportsfrom

GoogleAnalytics,HootSuite,GoogleAds,FacebookAds,andBitly,tonameafew.Thetrickistoviewthesereportsonaweeklybasiswithatleastoneotherpersonandbounceideasoffofeachotheraboutwhatisgoingwellandwhatneedstoimprove.

CaseStudy–Day26DavidstartsoutDay26byevaluatingthereportshereceivedfromhisvirtual

assistants.HeschedulesSkypecallswitheachofthemtounderstandtheirchallengesandmakesdetailednotesabouteachinteraction.

Hedecidesthatheneedstomodifyeachtypeofreport:#ForhisSEOteam,hedecidestofocuson“proof.”Inotherwords,itshould

beheavyqualitativedatamentioningthepurposeoftheactivity,withspecific

URLsforeachlinkbuildingactivity.#ForhistelecallingTeam1,hedecidestofocusonqualityofcustomer

profilesandnumberofprofilesbuiltbyeachteammember.#ForhistelecallingTeam2,hedecidestofocusonnumberofcalling

attemptsonthedata,qualityofcallnotes,andlead-to-appointmentconversionratios.

#ForhistelecallingTeam3,healsodecidestofocusonnumberofattempts

made,qualityofcallnotes,andlead-to-appointmentconversionratios.#ForhisPPCteam,hedecidestofocusontheimpression-to-clickRatio,

click-to-leadratio,andpercentageofimprovementoverpreviousweekforleadnumbers.

DAY27:BRANDANDNON-BRAND

There’sagreatdebateoverwhetherornotacompanyshouldbidupontheir

ownbrandnamewheneveritcomestoPPCmarketing.Reasonableargumentscanbemadebothforandagainsttheissue.

Someoftheadvantagestobiddinguponsuchkeywordsinclude:1)Youwillhavemorecontroloveryourprospect’sjourney.2)It’sfasterandeasiertogetupdatedinformationouttoyourclientwhen

theycomedirectlytoyouforinformation.3)Thistrafficisn’teasilydistractedandisalotlesslikelytoleaveifsome

partofyourwebsiteisn’tasappealingasthey’dhopeditwouldbe.4)It’slesslikelythatyourcompetitionwillstealyourvisitorsfromyou.5)Ifyoudon’tbidonbranding,yourcompetitorswillfinditeasiertodoso,

whichisobviouslysomethingyoudon’twanttolethappen.Yourcompany’sbrandisdefinedbyavarietyofthings,including:1)Thepeoplewhomakeupthecompany2)Yourclientsorcustomers3)Yourcompany’smission4)Yourcompany’smessageAllofthisinformationgoesintodecidingwhenyourbrandshouldgoto

marketandhow.Ofcourse,whenitcomestoPPCmarketing,youwanttobeasloudaspossiblebecausethisformofmarketingisreallyeffective.

It’simportanttounderstandthatbrandedclicksandtrafficaren’tthat

expensiveinthegreaterscopeofthings.Typically,theywillonlycostyouafewcentsperclick.However,theydoleadtoafairlyproductiveconversionproductionrate.

So,ifyourcompetitionisbiddingonyourbrandingterms,youshouldbe

biddingonthem,too.EvenifyourorganiclistingsaredoingquitewellwithintheSERPs,you’llwanttohaveyournameoutthereasmuchaspossible.Fromhereonin,yourgoalshouldbeforyourcustomerstoseebothyourPPCandorganiclistingsincloseproximitytooneanotherwithasimilarmessagefrom

both.Regardlessofwhatyoudo,youshouldn’truntestsinregardtothe

effectivenessofbrandedPPCtrafficandthencompareitsprofitabilitytothatofunpaid-fortraffic.It’sasifyouarecomparingapplestooranges,eventhoughtheresultswillalwaysshowthatit’sworthwhiletopayfortraffic.Instead,therearesomespecificmetricsthatyoushouldbemonitoring.Forinstance,you’llwanttotakealookatyourtrafficandifithasdecreasedinrelationtohistoricaldata.You’llalsowanttotakealookatyourconversionsandiforganicbrandedconversionshaveincreased.

It’salsoimportanttokeepaneyeonyourcompetition.Ifthey’reactively

biddingonyourbrandedterms,thenyourcompetitionisservingasanactivethreattoyourmarketshare.Alotofpeoplearegoingtoclickoncompetitors’ads,andthat’snotwhatyouwantthemtodo.Youwantallofthetraffictocometoyoursite,soyouhavetodeterminethebestwaytogetitthere.

CaseStudy–Day27Davidisabletogetasalefromallthreeappointmentsfortheday.Hehas

beenobservingthetrendofhisGoogleAdWordsandFacebookadresults,andhenotesthatthebrand-basedkeywordshavebeengettingabetterconversionresultintermsofactualsales.HediscussesitwithRon,whosuggeststhatperhapsthisisbecausethepeoplelookingforhisbrandnamehavealreadydecidedthattheywanttobuyfromhim—theyhavealreadydonetheirresearchandtheyareconvinced.

DAY28:MEASURE

It’simportanttogetalotoftraffictoyourwebsite.However,thiswon’ttell

youhoweffectivelyyourwebsiteisconvertingthistrafficintopayingcustomers.Inordertodeterminethat,you’llneedtolookatconversionrates.

Inordertocalculateyourconversionrate,simplydividethenumberofleads

bythenumberofvisitorsyouhave.Thisiswhat’sknownasthevisitor-to-leadpercentage.Itcanbeusedtodeterminehowmanyvisitsyou’llneedtohaveinordertoreachyourgoal.Ifyouhaveahighconversionrate,you’llneedfewervisitors.Sowhileit’simportanttoincreasetraffictoyourwebsite,it’sevenmoreimportanttoimproveuponyourconversionrates.

Thereareanumberoffactorsthatcanimpactyourvisit-to-leadrate.These

include:1)Yourcalltoaction2)Howmanylandingpagesandformsyouhaveoutthere3)Thequalityofyourwebsite’scontent4)Howwellyourwebsiteisdesigned5)Howgoodthetrafficisthatyouhavecomingtoyourwebsiteandwhereit

comesfromYoumayalsowanttotakealookatwhat’sknownasthelead-to-sale

conversionrate.Thisisthepercentageofleadsthatbecomeactualcustomers.It’smoredifficulttoevaluate,sincealotofofflinefactorsalsoimpactit(e.g.,yourproduct’squality,yoursalesteam’seffectiveness,yourbusiness’sreputation).Somethingsthatcanimpactthisrateinclude:

1)Emails2)Automatedworkflow3)Leadscoring4)CRMIntegrationsConversionsplayanimportantroleindrivingleadsandsales.However,

they’remoreeffectivewheneverthey’reusedaspartofastrategyinsteadofagoalinandofthemselves.Thisrateisactuallyeasytomeasureifyou’reusing

FacebookthankstotheirConversionMeasurementtool,whichallowsyoutoseeexactlywhichofyourFacebookadsresultinconversions.Allyouhavetodoisputasmallbitofcodeontoyourwebsite,andinturnFacebookwillshowyouhowyourusersactoncetheyclickonyourad.

CombiningconversionmeasurementwithanotheroneofFacebook’stools,

whichisknownasOptimizedCPM(OCPM),allowsyoutogetevenmoretargetedwithyouradvertising.Facebookestimatesthattheirtoolswillhelpyousaveapproximately40%.

Therearethreewaysinwhichthesenewfeaturescanhelpyoutoimprove

yourFacebookadstrategy:1)You’llbeabletotrackwhethersomeonewhoseenyouradontheirmobile

devicewilllaterlookatitontheirdesktopcomputerandviceversa.2)You’llbeabletoreduceyourcostperconversionbycreatingmore

targetedadcampaigns.3)You’llbeabletocutadspendingthatisn’tprovidingyouwithhigh-value

useraction.Ifyou’realreadyhighlyfocusedwhenitcomestoFacebookadtargeting,

thesetoolswillhelpyoucreateevenbettercampaigns.TheircallstoactionandURLswillleadyourcustomerstotakeactionasyoustandbytotracktheresults.

CaseStudy–Day28DavidstartsoutDay28bystudyingtheGoogleconversioncodesand

FacebookOCPM.Hedecidestofocushiseffortsonthevisit-to-leadratio,startingbyreviewingthecall-to-actionbuttonsandthelandingpages.Healsodecidesthatheneedstoaddanotherfreelancertohisteamwhocanfocusoneditingandproofreadingthecontent.

ReviewingallthetrafficsourcesfromhisBitlystats,Davidnotesthatmost

ofhistrafficiscominginfromhissocialmediaactivities.

PITSTOP4

DavidupdateshisSuccessTrackerinExcelwiththefollowingdetails:#Weeklybudget,actual:$1200thisweek#Leads,actual:25leadsthisweek#Appointments,actual:15appointmentsthisweek#Sales,actual:5salesthisweekHeispleasedthathehasachieved5salesthisweekandatotalof76leads

havebeengeneratedthismonthfromhisdigitalmarketingefforts.HedecidestolookintohisBitlyaccounttocheckfortrendsinhistrafficsources.Hefollowsthefollowingsteps.

1)HelogsintohisBitly.comaccount.2)HefindsthefirstlinkthatshowsclicksandclicksontheViewStatsfor

thatlink.3)HenoticesthathegetsmoreclicksonTuesdaysandWednesdays.4)Healsomakesanoteofwhenhislinksweresharedandlooksforpatterns

withintheGeographicDistributionofClicks.5)HerepeatsthisstatisticscheckwitheachofhisBitlylinks.Aftersometimecheckingoutthesestats,hestartstogetalittletired,but

thenheremindshimselfthatheisjustlookingforpatternsanddoesnotneedtosetupanactionitemforeachone.Fromwhathehasseensofar,itisobviousthathismarketingmethodsareworking,soheispleasedwiththat.

DAY29:CUSTOMERBEHAVIOR

Itisafactthatmarketingtacticsboostconversions.Thereisawholeindustry

basedonstudyingcustomerbehaviortocomeupwithinsightsthatcanhelpunderstandthebuyingcycle.

Whatismeantby“thebuyingcycle?”Thisistheprocesscustomersuse

beforemakingafinalpurchase.TheFiveStagesoftheCustomerBuyingCycle#CustomerAwareness:Prospectivecustomersidentifyaneedandrealize

thatyourbusinesscanfulfilltheirneed.#Consideration:Thecustomerweighstheoptionsbycheckingsimilar

itemsofferedonotherwebsites.#IntentandPreference:Customerbehaviorindicatestheyusebothlogic

andemotionbeforemakingapurchase.#Purchase:Thecustomerordersgoodsfromyoure-commercesite.#Repurchase:Contentedpurchasersutilizelogicalandemotionalprocesses

thatleadtorepurchase.TounderstandtheCustomerBuyingCyclebetter,marketersshouldstudy

searchtrends.Hereareafewexamplesofcurrentcustomersearchtrends:FlatscreenTV–Customerswhoareconsideringpurchasingaflatscreen

televisioncarryoutagenericsearch.Thenatureofthequeryitselfshowsusthattheprospectisnotyetreadytobuy.

CompareflatscreenTVs–Prospectivebuyerstrytocomparealternatives.

Thenatureofthequeryshowsusthateventhoughtheyseemtohaveagenuinerequirement,theyhavenotyetmadeuptheirmind.

Sony42inchLCD–Thecustomerisstatingapreferenceandisreadyto

buy,butperhapshasnotyetdecidedwhoheshouldbuyfrom.Onlinebusinessownersshouldfocusonbuildingadependablecustomer

pipeline.Sinceallprospectsareatdifferentstagesofthebuyingcycle,youshouldnottreateveryoneasiftheywerereadytobuy.Therefore,follow-upbecomescrucial.

Themajorityofcustomerslocatee-commercewebsitesviasearchengine

marketing.Pay-per-click(PPC)andsearchengineoptimizationarevaluableonlinemarketingstrategies.Inadditiontothis,thecontentonyourwebsiteshouldbegearedtowardssellingyourproductsorservices.

Recentcustomerbehaviorstudiesshowthatbuyerslookforcouponsand

discounts.Theseofferscanbecreatedthroughapre-salesemailoraPPCadvertisement.Customersliketodealwithfriendlyandtrustedsellers,thereforeyoushouldkeepcontactwithvaluedcustomersviasocialmediasites,personaloutreach,andscheduledemails.

Herearesomemoretacticsthatcanworkforyou:#Providespecsheetsthatinformcustomersaboutyourbrand#Usecustomertestimonialstoyouradvantage#Addexcitingcontentthatencouragesshopperstobuy#Offeralimited-timediscount#Sendmonthlynewslettersthatenticethemtorepurchase#UsetherighttrafficsourcestomakecontentavailableBusinessownersandmarketerswhoresearchtheirmarket,drawupunique

marketingplans,andimplementthefivestagecustomerbuyingcyclestayaheadofthegame.Marketerswhofailtoconsidercustomerbehaviortendtofallatthefirsthurdle.

CaseStudy–Day29DavidstartsoutDay29bystudyingtheGoogleAnalyticsaccounttocheck

howmanyofhiscustomersarecominginfrommobiledevices.Heispleasantlysurprisedtofindthat40%ofcustomersarevisitinghiswebsitefrommobiledevicesandtablets.Herealizesthathislandingpagesarenotoptimizedformobiledevices,andthatcouldperhapsresultinsomelossofrevenue.

HealsodecidestopausesomeGoogleAdWordscampaignsthathavenot

resultedinagoodvisit-to-leadratio.

DAY30:THEREVIEW

Onceyouhaveanestablishedbusinessthat’srunningwell,youneedtoreviewyourplansandstartmakingnewones.Hereyou’llwanttodeterminehowyoucanmakethemostoutofthemarketpositionthatyou’vebeenabletoestablish.You’llalsowanttodecideuponsomenewgoalsforyourbusiness.Thisissimplyapartofrevisitingandupdatingyourbusinessplan.

It’simportanttoputsomeeffortintolong-term,strategicplanning.Thisis

especiallytrueifyou’reunsureabout:1)Howyourbusinessisperforming2)Ifyou’regettingthemostoutofyourbusiness3)Ifyou’remakingthemostoftheopportunitiesthatarepresenting

themselvestoyou4)Whetherornotyourbusinessplanisoutdated5)Whyyourbusinessismovinginadifferentdirectionthanyouhad

anticipated6)Whythebusinessisunresponsivetothemarket’sdemandsAmarketingreviewisalsousefulwheneveryou’reestablishingthedirection

foryourcompany.Thisisbecauseitwillprovideyouwithanswersto:1)Whatdirectionshouldthebusinessbeheadingin?2)WhatmarketsshouldIbecompetingin?3)Whatresourcesarenecessaryforsuccessfullycompetingwithinthese

markets?4)Whatfacilitiesarenecessaryforsuccessfullycompetingwithinthese

markets?5)Whattypeofbusinessenvironmentarewecompetingin?6)What’schangedsinceIstartedmybusiness?7)Whatexternalfactorsareaffectingmybusiness’sabilitytocompete?8)How’smybusiness’ssuccessbeingmeasured?Youmayneedsomehelpfromseniorstaffinyourbusinesstoanswerthese

questions.Theywillbeabletohelpyouassessyourcoreactivitiestoseehoweffectivelyyou’remeetingyourcustomers’needs.Youshouldalsoconsiderwhichproductsandservicesaresucceeding,aswellaswhytheothersaren’tperformingasplanned.Theanswerstothesequestionsformthebasisuponwhichyourbusiness’simprovedperformanceandprofitabilityrests.

Someotherthingsthatyoushouldtakealookatinclude:1)Yourbusiness’slocation2)Thefacilitiesthatyourbusinessisoperatingoutof3)Howyou’rehandlinginformationtechnology4)Thepeoplethatyouhaveinplaceandwhattheirskillsare5)YourfinancialpositionWhileallofthingsmentionedaboveareimportantwhenyou’rereviewing

yourbusinessplan,thewayinwhichyouconductthereviewisequallyimportant.Thereareavarietyofusefulbusiness-analysismodelsavailableforyoutochoosefrom.

1)TheSWOTanalysisisbyfarthemostpopular.Ittakesalookatyourbusiness’strengths,weaknesses,opportunities,andthreats.

2)TheSTEEPLEanalysishelpsyouunderstandthevariousexternalinfluencesuponyourbusiness,whethertheybesocial,technological,economical,environmental,political,legal,orethical.

3)Scenarioplanninghelpstakealookatthefutureofthebusiness.4)Criticalsuccessfactoranalysisisusedtoidentifytheareasinwhicha

businessneedstosucceedinordertobeabletoachieveitsobjectives.5)TheFiveForceslooksatfivefactorsthatinfluencethedevelopmentof

marketsandbusinesses.CaseStudy–Day30DavidcallsupRontoaskiftheycouldmeetupforacupofcoffee.David

wantstogetRon’sinputsonhismarketingcampaignsandwhathecoulddogoingforward.

HeshowsRonthereportformatsthathehascomeupwithtotrackthe

effectivenessofhisteam.Ronsuggeststhathewillprobablyrequireanothersalesperson,sincethenumberofappointmentshasgoneup.Ronsuggestsa

commission-onlysalesperson.Also,DavidasksRonifthebusinessmodelneedstobechanged.Ron

suggeststhatperhapsDavidisthinkingtoosmall.Davidagreesandsaysthathehasbeenwonderingaboutthat,too.NowthatheisestablishedasathoughtleaderonlettingsintheSurreyarea,nothingshouldpreventhimfrombeingestablishedasathoughtleaderthroughouttheUK,butthatwouldprobablymeanchangingthebusinessmodelitself.

Ronsuggeststhatperhapsthatwouldnotberequiredatall.Allhewould

needtodowouldbetolookatthisasadifferentbusiness,altogetherseparatefromPIRentals.DavidlikestheideaandasksRonifhewouldliketobeapartnerinhisnewventure.Ronispleased,butsaysthathewouldneedatleastaweektothinkaboutit.

Thetwofriendssiptheircoffeeandrecounthowhecticthelast30dayshave

been.Davidisthrilledwiththenewdirectionandthenewideasthattheyhavediscussed.Hecanhardlywaitfornextweek,whentheyplantomeetagain.

SECTION3

YOU’VEFINISHEDTHEBOOK.NOWWHAT?

Digitalmarketingdoesn’thavetobeadifficultprocess,butIwouldnot

claimthatitissuper-easy.Thegoodnewsisthatyoucandoitifyouworktowarditonadailybasis.Itallcomesdowntodedicatingyourselftotheprocess.

Inthisbook,you’velearnedseveralnewwaystogeneratenewleadsforyour

business.Soit’stimetotakeaction!Startoutsmall.Usethetechniquesgiventooutsourceifrequired—theidea

isnottotrytodoitallbyyourself.Don’tbeafraidofmakingmistakes.Justbesurethatyoulearnfromeach

experienceandusethisinformationtomoveforward.Ifyouwanttomakebigchangesinyourmarketing,you’regoingtoneed

help.Noneedtoworry.Youwon’thavetodoitalone,evenifyoudon’thavethebudgetforateam.Ihavecreatedawebsite,http://www.authorandfriend.com/brief/,whereyou’llgetexclusiveaccesstoadditionalcontent,helpfulchecklistsandtemplatesoneachofthesectionswehavecovered,andmore!

Theimportantthingtorememberisthatyoucanlearnanything.Whenever

yougetstuckwithaspecifictopic,simplydoasearchonGoogleorYouTube.Bothwebsiteshaveawealthofinformationthatcanhelpyouovercomeanyobstacle.

Now,it’suptoyou!Don’tjustclosethisbook.Immediatelyapplywhatyou’vejustlearned.To

helpyoufurther,Ihavelistedtheresourcesyouwillneedalongthewayinthenextsection.

Iwishyousuccessandallthebest.

LISTOFRESOURCES

http://bit.ly/1qKCLK6-GetResponse-30dayTrialAvailableAutoresponderSoftware

http://bit.ly/1viZZqC-SEOLinkMonsterSEOLinkBuildingSystemhttp://bit.ly/1o06Rok-MailchimpEmailNewsletterSoftwarehttp://bit.ly/RK3lmR-AweberAutoresponderAutoresponderSoftwarehttps://bitly.com/BitlyURLtrackingsystemandmeasurementtoolhttp://bit.ly/1jTAOpWKeywordSpySoftwareSpyonyourcompetitors–competitivekeywordsoftwareforSEO

COMMUNICATIONTOOLSREQUIREDFORAVIRTUALTEAM

http://bit.ly/1mHWEx7DropboxForsharingfileswithyourvirtualteamhttp://bit.ly/1jVQhWxBasecampFormanagingmultipleprojectshttp://bit.ly/1n6HOmJNimbleFreeCRMsystemforupto3000contactshttp://bit.ly/1gDuP9iElanceJob-postingmarketplaceforfreelancingvirtualassistantshttp://bit.ly/1ke6hmrFreelancer.comLargejob-postingmarketplacewithmanyinternationalfreelancershttp://bit.ly/1vnrgIgOdeskJob-postingmarketplaceforfreelancingvirtualassistants

LISTOFFREELANCERS(TEAMMEMBERSREQUIRED)

AnalyticsManager/ExcelExpertTelecallers/AppointmentsettersContentWriterGraphicDesignerWebmasterVideoEditingspecialistPPCConsultantSEOConsultantYoucanalsocategorizeinthefollowingmanner#Technical#Analytical#Creative#Content#Auditors#ProductCreators

MOREKINDLEBOOKSBYROMUALDANDRADE

Pleaseclickthelinkbelowtocheckoutmyotherbookshttp://www.amazon.com/Romuald-Andrade/e/B00J272LEU/